3D sedimentary architecture showing the inception of an Ice Age
Abstract Northeast Atlantic climate shifted into the Quaternary Ice Age around 2.6 M yr ago. Until now, however, the detailed changes associated with this inception of an Ice Age have remained obscure. New high-quality three-dimensional seismic data reveal a detailed geological record of buried surf...
| Published in: | Nature Communications |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16776-7 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16776-7.pdf http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16776-7 |
| Summary: | Abstract Northeast Atlantic climate shifted into the Quaternary Ice Age around 2.6 M yr ago. Until now, however, the detailed changes associated with this inception of an Ice Age have remained obscure. New high-quality three-dimensional seismic data reveal a detailed geological record of buried surfaces, landforms and sedimentary architecture over vast parts of the Norwegian North Sea. Here, we show the sequence of near-coast geological events spanning the Northeast Atlantic inception of an Ice Age. We identify the location of immediate pre-glacial fluvially derived sandy systems where rivers from the Norwegian mainland built marine deltas. The stratigraphic position of a large submarine channel, formed by enhanced meltwater from initial build-up of local glaciers, is also shown. Finally, we document the transition to full ice-sheet growth over Scandinavia from the ice sheet’s earliest position to the later pattern of debris-flow lobes reaching the present-day shelf edge. |
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