Unusual coastal flood impacts in Salmon Valley, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Abstract Large floods bringing significant sediments into the coastal oceans have not been observed in Antarctica. We report evidence of a large flood event depositing over 50 cm of sediment onto the nearshore benthic habitat at Salmon Bay, Antarctica, between 1990 and 2010. Besides direct observati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Dayton, Paul K., Hammerstrom, Kamille, Jarrell, Shannon C., Kim, Stacy, Nordhausen, Walter, Osborne, D.J., Thrush, Simon F.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2016
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
McMurdo Sound
Salmon Bay
Salmon Creek
Blackwelder Glacier
Salmon Glacier
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102016000171
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102016000171
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Summary:Abstract Large floods bringing significant sediments into the coastal oceans have not been observed in Antarctica. We report evidence of a large flood event depositing over 50 cm of sediment onto the nearshore benthic habitat at Salmon Bay, Antarctica, between 1990 and 2010. Besides direct observations of the sedimentation, the evidence involves a debris flow covering old tyre tracks from the early 1960s, as well as evidence of a considerable amount of sediment transported onto the Salmon Creek delta. We believe that the flood was sourced from the Salmon Glacier and possibly the smaller Blackwelder Glacier. Such floods will be more common in the future and it is important to better understand their ecological impacts with good monitoring programmes.

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