Glacial geomorphology of the terrestrial margins of the tidewater glacier, Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard

ABSTRACT A 1:4000 scale map of the terrestrial margins of the foreland of Nordenskiöldbreen depicts a polythermal glacial landsystem containing a record of the landform signatures of individual ice flow units that operate within the glacier snout. A 1:700 map provides a detailed overview of fluted terrain, based on unmanned aerial vehicle images captured in 2014. The pattern of landforms lying inside the Little Ice Age (LIA) latero-frontal moraine on the northern side of the fjord comprises a fluted till surface, which in turn grades into ice-moulded bedrock. This signature records the recession of a single, wide ice flow unit, which was characterised by limited incorporation of subglacial material and restricted delivery of supraglacial debris. Inside the latero-frontal moraine on the south side of the fjord, a fluted surface is subordinate to a pronounced and large ice-cored moraine complex related to the confluence of five narrower ice flow units, each of which transported significant quantities of englacial and supraglacial debris at their suture zones as a series of longitudinal debris stripes. The suite of foreland landforms is diagnostic of both temperate subglacial and frozen-snout conditions, indicating the operation of a warm polythermal glacier fed by multiple flow units during the LIA.

[1]  J. Buoncristiani,et al.  Fluid-pressure controlled soft-bed deformation sequence beneath the surging Breiðamerkurjökull (Iceland, Little Ice Age) , 2009 .

[2]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Hørbyebreen polythermal glacial landsystem, Svalbard , 2012 .

[3]  Douglas I. Benn,et al.  Fluted moraine formation and till genesis below a temperate valley glacier: Slettmarkbreen, Jotunheimen, southern Norway , 1994 .

[4]  G. Casassa,et al.  Relief and decay of flow stripes on Byrd Glacier, Antarctica , 1993, Annals of Glaciology.

[5]  Elena Zanella,et al.  Interaction of pyroclastic density currents with human settlements: Evidence from ancient Pompeii , 2005 .

[6]  T. Murray,et al.  Structure and changing dynamics of a polythermal valley glacier on a centennial timescale : Midre Lovénbreen, Svalbard , 2005 .

[7]  N. Glasser,et al.  Longitudinal surface structures (flowstripes) on Antarctic glaciers , 2011 .

[8]  A. Lyså,et al.  Formation and disintegration of a high‐arctic ice‐cored moraine complex, Scott Turnerbreen, Svalbard , 2001 .

[9]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Eiríksjökull plateau icefield landsystem, Iceland , 2016 .

[10]  Bryn Hubbard,et al.  Application of borehole optical televiewing to investigating the 3-D structure of glaciers: implications for the formation of longitudinal debris ridges, midre Lovénbreen, Svalbard , 2010, Journal of Glaciology.

[11]  P. Carbonneau,et al.  Evolution of a debris-charged glacier landsystem, Kvíárjökull, Iceland , 2010 .

[12]  J. Grove.  Glacial Geomorphology , 1968, Nature.

[13]  L. Owen,et al.  Glaciated valley landsystems , 2003 .

[14]  T. Vorren,et al.  Late Weichselian and Holocene sedimentary environments and glacial activity in Billefjorden, Svalbard , 2010 .

[15]  L. Marks,et al.  Late Pleistocene and Holocene relief remodelling in the Ebbadalen-Nordenskioldbreen region in Olav V Land, central Spitsbergen , 1989 .

[16]  T. Vorren,et al.  Integrated acoustic and coring investigation of glacigenic deposits in Spitsbergen fjords , 2004 .

[17]  J. Oerlemans,et al.  Simulating melt, runoff and refreezing on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard, using a coupled snow and energy balance model , 2012 .

[18]  I. Lønne.  The influence of climate during and after a glacial surge - A comparison of the last two surges of Fridtjovbreen, Svalbard , 2014 .

[19]  J. Hart,et al.  Till and moraine emplacement in a deforming bed surge — an example from a marine environment , 1996 .

[20]  I. Lønne.  Low-velocity glacial surges- : Processes unlocked by modern surge on Svalbard , 2006 .

[21]  Chris Orton,et al.  Fláajökull (north lobe), Iceland: active temperate piedmont lobe glacial landsystem , 2016 .

[22]  B. Rea,et al.  Debris entrainment and landform genesis during tidewater glacier surges , 2015 .

[23]  Andreas Kääb,et al.  Decadal changes from a multi-temporal glacier inventory of Svalbard , 2013 .

[24]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  An assessment of surge-induced crevassing and the formation of crevasse squeeze ridges , 2011 .

[25]  C. M. Boston.  A glacial geomorphological map of the Monadhliath Mountains, Central Scottish Highlands , 2012 .

[26]  C. Clark,et al.  Flow-stripes and foliations of the Antarctic ice sheet , 2016 .

[27]  A. Tomczyk,et al.  Controlled, ice-cored moraines: sediments and geomorphology. An example from Ragnarbreen, Svalbard , 2012 .

[28]  T. James,et al.  Structural glaciology of Austre Brøggerbreen, northwest Svalbard , 2016 .

[29]  A. Long,et al.  Streamlined bedrock terrain and fast ice flow, Jakobshavns Isbrae, West Greenland: implications for ice stream and ice sheet dynamics , 2005 .

[30]  J. Dowdeswell,et al.  Assemblages of submarine landforms produced by tidewater glaciers in Svalbard , 2006 .

[31]  T. Murray,et al.  Dynamics of tidewater surge-type glaciers in northwest Svalbard , 2012, Journal of Glaciology.

[32]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Geomorphology and sedimentology of surging glaciers: a land-systems approach , 1999, Annals of Glaciology.

[33]  G. Slater.  Observations on the Nordenskiöld and Neighboring Glaciers of Spitsbergen, 1921 , 1925, The Journal of Geology.

[34]  G. Boulton,et al.  The Origin of Glacially Fluted Surfaces-Observations and Theory , 1976, Journal of Glaciology.

[35]  J. Hart.  Athabasca Glacier, Canada – a field example of subglacial ice and till erosion? , 2006 .

[36]  A. Vieli,et al.  Controls on bedrock bedform development beneath the Uummannaq Ice Stream onset zone, West 1 , 2014 .

[37]  M. Ewertowski.  Recent transformations in the high‐arctic glacier landsystem, ragnarbreen, svalbard , 2014 .

[38]  Jakub Małecki.  Elevation and volume changes of seven Dickson Land glaciers, Svalbard, 1960–1990–2009 , 2013 .

[39]  Jon Ove Hagen,et al.  Glacier geometry and elevation changes on Svalbard (1936–90): a baseline dataset , 2007, Annals of Glaciology.

[40]  M. Hambrey,et al.  The formation of a geometrical ridge network by the surge-type glacier Kongsvegen, Svalbard , 1996 .

[41]  M. Hambrey.  The Origin of Foliation in Glaciers: Evidence from Some Norwegian Examples , 1975, Journal of Glaciology.

[42]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Surficial geology and geomorphology of the Brúarjökull surging glacier landsystem , 2007 .

[43]  N. Knudsen,et al.  Ice marginal dynamics during surge activity, Kuannersuit Glacier, Disko Island, West Greenland , 2009 .

[44]  L. Kasprzak,et al.  The main stages of development of glacier margin morphology in the region between Billefjorden and Austfjorden, central Spitsbergen , 1989 .

[45]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Controlled moraine development and debris transport pathways in polythermal plateau icefields: examples from Tungnafellsjökull, Iceland , 2010 .

[46]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Glacial landsystems of Satujökull, Iceland: A modern analogue for glacial landsystem overprinting by mountain icecaps , 2011 .

[47]  B. Rea,et al.  Glacial geomorphology of the Tweedsmuir Hills, Central Southern Uplands, Scotland , 2014 .

[48]  Daniel,et al.  Recent landscape changes in terminoglacial area of the Nordenskiöldbreen, central Spitsbergen, Svalbard , 2013 .

[49]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Surging glacier landsystem of Tungnaárjökull, Iceland , 2009 .

[50]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Controlled moraines: origins, characteristics and palaeoglaciological implications , 2009 .

[51]  Leszek Kolondra,et al.  Fluctuations of tidewater glaciers in Hornsund Fjord (Southern Svalbard) since the beginning of the 20th century , 2013 .

[52]  M. Ewertowski,et al.  Post−"Little Ice Age" retreat rates of glaciers around Billefjorden in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard , 2007 .

[53]  N. Glasser,et al.  Lithological and Structural Controls on the Surface Wear Characteristics of Glaciated Metamorphic Bedrock Surfaces: Ossian Sarsfjellet, Svalbard , 1998, The Journal of Geology.

[54]  C. Stokes,et al.  A glacial geomorphological map of the southernmost ice lobes of Patagonia: the Bahía Inútil – San Sebastián, Magellan, Otway, Skyring and Río Gallegos lobes , 2014 .

[55]  Neil F. Glasser,et al.  Styles of sedimentation beneath Svalbard valley glaciers under changing dynamic and thermal regimes , 2001, Journal of the Geological Society.

[56]  Jon Ove Hagen,et al.  Geometry changes on Svalbard glaciers: mass-balance or dynamic response? , 2005, Annals of Glaciology.

[57]  J. Scholten,et al.  Sediment accumulation rates in subpolar fjords - Impact of post-Little Ice Age glaciers retreat, Billefjorden, Svalbard , 2009 .

[58]  M. Strzelecki.  Schmidt hammer tests across a recently deglacierized rocky coastal zone in Spitsbergen - is there a "coastal amplification" of rock weathering in polar climates? , 2011 .

[59]  I. Evans,et al.  The Glacial Geomorphology and Surficial Geology of the South-West English Lake District , 2011 .

[60]  Henrik Österholm.  The Movement of the Weichselian ice Sheet Over Northern Nordaustlandet, Svalbard , 1978 .

[61]  Veijo A. Pohjola,et al.  Stand-alone single-frequency GPS ice velocity observations on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard , 2010 .

[62]  J. Oerlemans,et al.  Inverse estimation of snow accumulation along a radar transect on Nordenskiöldbreen, Svalbard , 2014 .

[63]  Neil F. Glasser,et al.  The Role of Folding and Foliation Development in the Genesis of Medial Moraines: Examples from Svalbard Glaciers , 2003, The Journal of Geology.

[64]  D. Benn,et al.  Mud aprons in front of Svalbard surge moraines: Evidence of subglacial deforming layers or proglacial glaciotectonics? , 2009 .

[65]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  Satujökull glacial landsystem, Iceland , 2010 .

[66]  N. Glasser,et al.  Debris transport in a temperate valley glacier: Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Valais, Switzerland , 2005, Journal of Glaciology.

[67]  I. Lønne,et al.  Moraine development at a small High‐Arctic valley glacier: Rieperbreen, Svalbard , 2001 .

[68]  G. Hoppe,et al.  Studies of the Glacial History of Hopen (Hopen Island), Svalbard , 1969 .

[69]  N. Glasser,et al.  The landform and sediment assemblage produced by a tidewater glacier surge in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard , 1999 .

[70]  I. Lønne.  Protracted active surge phase in the high arctic (svalbard): dynamic development and morphological impact , 2014 .

[71]  David J. A. Evans,et al.  The active temperate glacial landsystem: a model based on Breiðamerkurjökull and Fjallsjökull, Iceland , 2002 .