Preserved landscapes underneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet reveal the geomorphological history of Jutulstraumen Basin

The landscape of Antarctica, hidden beneath kilometre‐thick ice in most places, has been shaped by the interactions between tectonic and erosional processes. The flow dynamics of the thick ice cover deepened pre‐formed topographic depressions by glacial erosion, but also preserved the subglacial landscapes in regions with moderate to slow ice flow. Mapping the spatial variability of these structures provides the basis for reconstruction of the evolution of subglacial morphology. This study focuses on the Jutulstraumen Glacier drainage system in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The Jutulstraumen Glacier reaches the ocean via the Jutulstraumen Graben, which is the only significant passage for draining the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through the western part of the Dronning Maud Land mountain chain. We acquired new bed topography data during an airborne radar campaign in the region upstream of the Jutulstraumen Graben to characterise the source area of the glacier. The new data show a deep relief to be generally under‐represented in available bed topography compilations. Our analysis of the bed topography, valley characteristics and bed roughness leads to the conclusion that much more of the alpine landscape that would have formed prior to the Antarctic Ice Sheet is preserved than previously anticipated. We identify an active and deeply eroded U‐shaped valley network next to largely preserved passive fluvial and glacial modified landscapes. Based on the landscape classification, we reconstruct the temporal sequence by which ice flow modified the topography since the beginning of the glaciation of Antarctica.

[1]  Stein Tronstad,et al.  Quantarctica, an integrated mapping environment for Antarctica, the Southern Ocean, and sub-Antarctic islands , 2021, Environ. Model. Softw..

[2]  C. Ritz,et al.  Geothermal heat flux from measured temperature profiles in deep ice boreholes in Antarctica , 2020 .

[3]  S. Jamieson,et al.  Long‐Term Increase in Antarctic Ice Sheet Vulnerability Driven by Bed Topography Evolution , 2020, Geophysical Research Letters.

[4]  A. Läufer,et al.  Late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian magmatism in Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica): U–Pb zircon geochronology, isotope geochemistry and implications for Gondwana assembly , 2020 .

[5]  Lenneke M. Jong,et al.  Bed topography of Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica , 2020, Earth System Science Data.

[6]  W. Jokat,et al.  Bathymetry Beneath Ice Shelves of Western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, and Implications on Ice Shelf Stability , 2020, Geophysical Research Letters.

[7]  O. Eisen,et al.  Complex Basal Conditions and Their Influence on Ice Flow at the Onset of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream , 2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface.

[8]  O. Eisen,et al.  Basal roughness of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in relation to flow speed and basal thermal state , 2020, Annals of Glaciology.

[9]  O. Eisen,et al.  Bed topography and subglacial landforms in the onset region of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream , 2020, Annals of Glaciology.

[10]  R. Alley,et al.  Linking postglacial landscapes to glacier dynamics using swath radar at Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica , 2020 .

[11]  Won Sang Lee,et al.  Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet , 2019, Nature Geoscience.

[12]  O. Eisen,et al.  Detailed Seismic Bathymetry Beneath Ekström Ice Shelf, Antarctica: Implications for Glacial History and Ice‐Ocean Interaction , 2019, Geophysical Research Letters.

[13]  B. Scheuchl,et al.  Continent‐Wide, Interferometric SAR Phase, Mapping of Antarctic Ice Velocity , 2019, Geophysical Research Letters.

[14]  J. Bamber,et al.  Subglacial roughness of the Greenland Ice Sheet: relationship with contemporary ice velocity and geology , 2019, The Cryosphere.

[15]  W. Jokat,et al.  The initial Gondwana break-up: A synthesis based on new potential field data of the Africa-Antarctica Corridor , 2019, Tectonophysics.

[16]  Myoung-Jong Noh,et al.  The Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica , 2018, The Cryosphere.

[17]  W. Jokat,et al.  Erosion at extended continental margins: Insights from new aerogeophysical data in eastern Dronning Maud Land , 2018, Gondwana Research.

[18]  D. Sugden,et al.  The pre-glacial landscape of Antarctica , 2018, Scottish Geographical Journal.

[19]  E. Gabet,et al.  Assessing glacial modification of bedrock valleys using a novel approach , 2018, Geomorphology.

[20]  D. Rippin,et al.  Quantifying bed roughness beneath contemporary and palaeo-ice streams , 2018, Journal of Glaciology.

[21]  F. Pattyn,et al.  Promising Oldest Ice sites in East Antarctica based on thermodynamical modelling , 2018, The Cryosphere.

[22]  David G. Vaughan,et al.  Heat Flux Distribution of Antarctica Unveiled , 2017 .

[23]  L Mayer,et al.  BedMachine v3: Complete Bed Topography and Ocean Bathymetry Mapping of Greenland From Multibeam Echo Sounding Combined With Mass Conservation , 2017, Geophysical research letters.

[24]  D. Damaske,et al.  Cryptic sub-ice geology revealed by a U-Pb zircon study of glacial till in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica , 2017 .

[25]  Emily J. Arnold,et al.  Comparison of measurements from different radio-echo sounding systems and synchronization with the ice core at Dome C, Antarctica , 2017 .

[26]  D. Jansen,et al.  Physical analysis of an Antarctic ice core—towards an integration of micro- and macrodynamics of polar ice* , 2017, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[27]  Jilu Li,et al.  Multi-channel ultra-wideband radar sounder and imager , 2016, 2016 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS).

[28]  Klaus Grosfeld,et al.  Assessing the subglacial lake coverage of Antarctica , 2015, Annals of Glaciology.

[29]  Yuansheng Li,et al.  Temperature, lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary, and heat flux beneath the Antarctic Plate inferred from seismic velocities , 2015 .

[30]  Michael Bock,et al.  System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses (SAGA) v. 2.1.4 , 2015 .

[31]  D. Braaten,et al.  Freezing of ridges and water networks preserves the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains for millions of years , 2014 .

[32]  C. Stokes,et al.  The glacial geomorphology of the Antarctic ice sheet bed , 2014, Antarctic Science.

[33]  M. Siegert,et al.  Ancient pre-glacial erosion surfaces preserved beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet , 2014 .

[34]  M. Siegert,et al.  Basal roughness of the Institute and Möller Ice Streams, West Antarctica: Process determination and landscape interpretation , 2014 .

[35]  David Braaten,et al.  Advanced Multifrequency Radar Instrumentation for Polar Research , 2014, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[36]  M. Siegert,et al.  The Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands: Inception and retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet , 2014 .

[37]  W. Jokat,et al.  New aeromagnetic view of the geological fabric of southern Dronning Maud Land and Coats Land, East Antarctica , 2014 .

[38]  A. Lambrecht,et al.  The EPICA Dronning Maud Land deep drilling operation , 2014, Annals of Glaciology.

[39]  John Woodward,et al.  Potential subglacial lake locations and meltwater drainage pathways beneath the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets , 2013 .

[40]  Emmanuel Witrant,et al.  Transition of flow regime along a marine-terminating outlet glacier in East Antarctica , 2013 .

[41]  B. Scheuchl,et al.  Ice-Shelf Melting Around Antarctica , 2013, Science.

[42]  M. Siegert,et al.  Inland extent of the Weddell Sea Rift imaged by new aerogeophysical data , 2013 .

[43]  Bo Sun,et al.  Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica , 2012 .

[44]  D. Blankenship,et al.  Steep reverse bed slope at the grounding line of the Weddell Sea sector in West Antarctica , 2012 .

[45]  Sven Riedel,et al.  Mapping tectonic provinces with airborne gravity and radar data in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica , 2012 .

[46]  M. Winsborrow,et al.  Subglacial roughness of the former Barents Sea ice sheet , 2012 .

[47]  W. Jokat,et al.  The Jurassic history of the Africa–Antarctica corridor — new constraints from magnetic data on the conjugate continental margins , 2012 .

[48]  Matthew Fox,et al.  Hypsometric analysis to identify spatially variable glacial erosion , 2011 .

[49]  D. Blankenship,et al.  A dynamic early East Antarctic Ice Sheet suggested by ice-covered fjord landscapes , 2011, Nature.

[50]  Bo Sun,et al.  Characterization of subglacial landscapes by a two-parameter roughness index , 2010, Journal of Glaciology.

[51]  J. Tomkin,et al.  Glaciation as a destructive and constructive control on mountain building , 2010, Nature.

[52]  Frank Pattyn,et al.  Antarctic subglacial conditions inferred from a hybrid ice sheet/ice stream model , 2010 .

[53]  D. Sugden,et al.  The evolution of the subglacial landscape of Antarctica , 2010 .

[54]  Edward C. King,et al.  Formation of mega-scale glacial lineations observed beneath a West Antarctic ice stream , 2009 .

[55]  R. Bindschadler,et al.  The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica , 2008 .

[56]  P. Holmlund,et al.  The glacially sculptured landscape in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, formed by wet‐based mountain glaciation and not by the present ice sheet , 2008 .

[57]  C. Passchier,et al.  A Damara orogen perspective on the assembly of southwestern Gondwana , 2008 .

[58]  F. Ferraccioli,et al.  Subglacial imprints of early Gondwana break‐up as identified from high resolution aerogeophysical data over western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica , 2005 .

[59]  Michael Schulz,et al.  Impacts of orbital forcing and atmospheric carbon dioxide on Miocene ice-sheet expansion , 2005, Nature.

[60]  Nils Olsen,et al.  Heat Flux Anomalies in Antarctica Revealed by Satellite Magnetic Data , 2005, Science.

[61]  A. Payne,et al.  Spectral roughness of subglacial topography and implications for former ice-sheet dynamics in East Antarctica , 2005 .

[62]  G. Righini,et al.  Fluvial origin of the valley system in northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) from quantitative geomorphic analysis. , 2005 .

[63]  D. Lea,et al.  Middle Miocene Southern Ocean Cooling and Antarctic Cryosphere Expansion , 2004, Science.

[64]  R. Thomas,et al.  Himalayan-type indenter-escape tectonics model for the southern part of the late Neoproterozoic–early Paleozoic East African– Antarctic orogen , 2004 .

[65]  K. Whipple,et al.  Hypsometry of glaciated landscapes , 2004 .

[66]  Michael H. Ritzwoller,et al.  Inferring surface heat flux distributions guided by a global seismic model: particular application to Antarctica , 2004 .

[67]  W. Jokat,et al.  Timing and geometry of early Gondwana breakup , 2003 .

[68]  J. Harbor,et al.  A relict landscape in the centre of Fennoscandian glaciation: cosmogenic radionuclide evidence of tors preserved through multiple glacial cycles , 2002 .

[69]  T. Farr,et al.  The roughness of natural terrain: A planetary and remote sensing perspective , 2001 .

[70]  J. Näslund Landscape development in western and central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica , 2001, Antarctic Science.

[71]  Daniel Steinhage Beiträge aus geophysikalischen Messungen in Dronning Maud Land, Antarktis, zur Auffindung eines optimalen Bohrpunktes für eine Eiskerntiefbohrung = Contributions of geophysical measurements in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, locating an optimal drill site for a deep ice core drilling , 2001 .

[72]  J. Bamber,et al.  Balance velocities and measured properties of the Antarctic ice sheet from a new compilation of gridded data for modelling , 2000, Annals of Glaciology.

[73]  D. Steinhage,et al.  New maps of the ice thickness and subglacial topography in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, determined by means of airborne radio-echo sounding , 1999, Annals of Glaciology.

[74]  D. Steinhage,et al.  The newly developed airborne radio-echo sounding system of the AWI as a glaciological tool , 1999, Annals of Glaciology.

[75]  F. Henjes-Kunst,et al.  Continuation of the Mozambique Belt Into East Antarctica: Grenville‐Age Metamorphism and Polyphase Pan‐African High‐Grade Events in Central Dronning Maud Land , 1998, The Journal of Geology.

[76]  Burbank,et al.  Climatic Limits on Landscape Development in the Northwestern Himalaya , 1997, Science.

[77]  Ø. Høydal A force-balance study of ice flow and basal conditions of Jutulstraumen, Antarctica , 1996 .

[78]  B. Hallet,et al.  Glacial quarrying: a simple theoretical model , 1996, Annals of Glaciology.

[79]  H. Kreutzer,et al.  KAr, 40Ar39Ar and apatite fission-track evidence for Neoproterozoic and Mesozoic basement rejuvenation events in the Heimefrontfjella and Mannefallknausane (East Antarctica) , 1995 .

[80]  D. Sugden,et al.  Landscape evolution of the Dry Valleys, Transantarctic Mountains : tectonic implications , 1995 .

[81]  D. Elliot Jurassic magmatism and tectonism associated with Gondwanaland break-up: an Antarctic perspective , 1992, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[82]  J. Jacobs Strukturelle Entwicklung und Abkühlungsgeschichte der Heimefrontfjella (Westliches Dronning Maud Land/Antarktika) = Structural evolution and cooling history of the Heimefrontfjella (western Dronning Maud Land/Antarctica) , 1991 .

[83]  M. Aniya,et al.  A rational explanation of cross‐profile morphology for glacial valleys and of glacial valley development , 1988 .

[84]  J. H. Mercer Glaciers and landscape: A geomorphological approach , 1978 .

[85]  D. Sugden Glacial Erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet , 1978, Journal of Glaciology.

[86]  D. Sugden The Selectivity of Glacial Erosion in the Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland , 1968 .

[87]  G. Airy II. On the computation of the effect of the attraction of mountain-masses, as disturbing the apparent astronomical latitude of stations in geodetic surveys , 1856, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.

[88]  G. Airy III. On the computation of the effect of the attraction of mountain-masses, as disturbing the apparent astronomical latitude of stations in geodetic surveys , 1855, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.