Pingo growth ages in the delta area, Adventdalen, Spitsbergen

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Yoshikawa, Kenji, Nakamura, Toshio
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1996
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Adventdalen; Shore Pingo; permafrost; Polar Record; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400067565; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400067565

ABSTRACT The open-system pingos of Spitsbergen are formed outside terminal moraines, fault zones, and delta areas. Pingos in this study area were located near the shore in active geologic uplift areas. Three open-system pingos in the Adventdalen delta area of Spitsbergen were examined. Pingos closer to shore are younger in age and those farther away are older. Growth of these pingos occurs rapidly after initial submarine uplift and a minimum thickness of permafrost is established. Hut pingo, which is farthest from the sea, was formed after 6980±70 a BP (NUTA-3856). Driftwood associated with Longyear pingo, in the middle part of the delta, was dated at 2800±90 a BP. The radiocarbon age of peat near the shore pingo, Lagoon pingo, was 140±20 a BP. The growth of the pingos is related to transgression and development of permafrost.