Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica
Abstract “Fresh-looking” moraines lying within a mile of glaciers in the lowlands of the McMurdo Sound area, Victoria Land, Antarctica have been interpreted by some to be only 50 or 100 yr. old and to have been left by recent glacier retreats. The present author believes that these moraines are cons...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1962
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000018232 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000018232 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000018232 2024-09-15T17:48:38+00:00 Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica Péwé, Troy L. 1962 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000018232 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000018232 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) Journal of Glaciology volume 4, issue 31, page 93-100 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1962 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000018232 2024-08-28T04:02:57Z Abstract “Fresh-looking” moraines lying within a mile of glaciers in the lowlands of the McMurdo Sound area, Victoria Land, Antarctica have been interpreted by some to be only 50 or 100 yr. old and to have been left by recent glacier retreats. The present author believes that these moraines are considerably older because a comparison of the position of existing glacier fronts in the area with positions on photographs of 50 yr. ago shows no movement of the front or appreciable thickening or thinning of the glaciers during the last 50 yr. Radiocarbon dating of mummified seal carcasses lying near glacier fronts indicates that the glaciers have not been more extensive for at least 1,000 yr. The youngest moraines in the area are ice-cored moraines to the existing glaciers. Radiocarbon dates of algae from extinct ephemeral ponds in the ice-cored moraines indicate the moraines to be at least 6,000 yr. old. Additional evidence for the antiquity of the near-glacier moraines is the presence of a rather uniformly well-developed micro-relief pattern of sand-wedge polygons on both the end moraines and the ground moraines extending up to the existing glacier front. Studies show that it requires hundreds if not thousands of years for such well-developed polygonal patterns to form. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Sound Victoria Land Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 4 31 93 100 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
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English |
description |
Abstract “Fresh-looking” moraines lying within a mile of glaciers in the lowlands of the McMurdo Sound area, Victoria Land, Antarctica have been interpreted by some to be only 50 or 100 yr. old and to have been left by recent glacier retreats. The present author believes that these moraines are considerably older because a comparison of the position of existing glacier fronts in the area with positions on photographs of 50 yr. ago shows no movement of the front or appreciable thickening or thinning of the glaciers during the last 50 yr. Radiocarbon dating of mummified seal carcasses lying near glacier fronts indicates that the glaciers have not been more extensive for at least 1,000 yr. The youngest moraines in the area are ice-cored moraines to the existing glaciers. Radiocarbon dates of algae from extinct ephemeral ponds in the ice-cored moraines indicate the moraines to be at least 6,000 yr. old. Additional evidence for the antiquity of the near-glacier moraines is the presence of a rather uniformly well-developed micro-relief pattern of sand-wedge polygons on both the end moraines and the ground moraines extending up to the existing glacier front. Studies show that it requires hundreds if not thousands of years for such well-developed polygonal patterns to form. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Péwé, Troy L. |
spellingShingle |
Péwé, Troy L. Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Péwé, Troy L. |
author_sort |
Péwé, Troy L. |
title |
Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
title_short |
Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
title_full |
Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Age of Moraines in Victoria Land, Antarctica |
title_sort |
age of moraines in victoria land, antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1962 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000018232 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000018232 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Sound Victoria Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Journal of Glaciology McMurdo Sound Victoria Land |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 4, issue 31, page 93-100 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000018232 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
31 |
container_start_page |
93 |
op_container_end_page |
100 |
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1810290089275686912 |