The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance
The tidewater glacier complex of Kongsvegen/Kronebreen, at the head of Kongsfjorden in north‐west Spitsbergen, has advanced rapidly several times since its Neoglacial maximum. Two such advances, 1869 and 1948, are well constrained in time and space and are widely interpreted as glacier surges. Durin...
Published in: | Boreas |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
1998
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x |
id |
crwiley:10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x 2024-06-23T07:53:05+00:00 The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance BENNETT, MATTHEW R. HAMBREY, MICHAEL J. HUDDART, DAVID GLASSER, NEIL F. CRAWFORD, KEVIN 1998 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Boreas volume 27, issue 1, page 25-43 ISSN 0300-9483 1502-3885 journal-article 1998 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x 2024-06-11T04:46:28Z The tidewater glacier complex of Kongsvegen/Kronebreen, at the head of Kongsfjorden in north‐west Spitsbergen, has advanced rapidly several times since its Neoglacial maximum. Two such advances, 1869 and 1948, are well constrained in time and space and are widely interpreted as glacier surges. During the 1869 advance an ice‐dammed lake formed on the western side of Ossian Sarsfjellet. This ice‐dammed lake is associated with a thrust moraine complex. Four lake levels are identified, two of which are associated with rock‐cut shorelines implying a degree of lake stability. The history of this lake, the nature of the ice dam and its relationship to the thrust moraine complex are discussed. The lake history spanning 28 to 35 years is used to assess the ice‐marginal dynamics of the Kongsvegen/Kronebreen glacier. It is concluded that, contrary to previous suggestions, the rapid advance of this tidewater glacier may simply be an example of a non‐climatic ice‐marginal fluctuation, of the type common to tidewater glacier, as opposed to a glacier surge. A second ice‐dammed lake, to the east of Ossian Sarsfjellet, formed sometime after 1869 as the ice retreated, and still exists today. This largely supraglacial lake is associated with a very different geomorphological assemblage, which has a poor long‐term preservation potential. The geomorphological characteristics of the two lakes on Ossian Sarsfjellet are compared and used to discuss the problems associated with the recognition of ice‐dammed lakes within the Pleistocene record. On the basis of the evidence presented here, ice‐dammed lakes may be more common during deglaciation than currently suggested. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Tidewater Spitsbergen Wiley Online Library Svalbard Dammed Lake ENVELOPE(-68.258,-68.258,68.496,68.496) Kronebreen ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) Kongsvegen ENVELOPE(12.657,12.657,78.854,78.854) Rock Cut ENVELOPE(-57.618,-57.618,49.853,49.853) Ossian Sarsfjellet ENVELOPE(12.477,12.477,78.943,78.943) Boreas 27 1 25 43 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
The tidewater glacier complex of Kongsvegen/Kronebreen, at the head of Kongsfjorden in north‐west Spitsbergen, has advanced rapidly several times since its Neoglacial maximum. Two such advances, 1869 and 1948, are well constrained in time and space and are widely interpreted as glacier surges. During the 1869 advance an ice‐dammed lake formed on the western side of Ossian Sarsfjellet. This ice‐dammed lake is associated with a thrust moraine complex. Four lake levels are identified, two of which are associated with rock‐cut shorelines implying a degree of lake stability. The history of this lake, the nature of the ice dam and its relationship to the thrust moraine complex are discussed. The lake history spanning 28 to 35 years is used to assess the ice‐marginal dynamics of the Kongsvegen/Kronebreen glacier. It is concluded that, contrary to previous suggestions, the rapid advance of this tidewater glacier may simply be an example of a non‐climatic ice‐marginal fluctuation, of the type common to tidewater glacier, as opposed to a glacier surge. A second ice‐dammed lake, to the east of Ossian Sarsfjellet, formed sometime after 1869 as the ice retreated, and still exists today. This largely supraglacial lake is associated with a very different geomorphological assemblage, which has a poor long‐term preservation potential. The geomorphological characteristics of the two lakes on Ossian Sarsfjellet are compared and used to discuss the problems associated with the recognition of ice‐dammed lakes within the Pleistocene record. On the basis of the evidence presented here, ice‐dammed lakes may be more common during deglaciation than currently suggested. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
BENNETT, MATTHEW R. HAMBREY, MICHAEL J. HUDDART, DAVID GLASSER, NEIL F. CRAWFORD, KEVIN |
spellingShingle |
BENNETT, MATTHEW R. HAMBREY, MICHAEL J. HUDDART, DAVID GLASSER, NEIL F. CRAWFORD, KEVIN The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
author_facet |
BENNETT, MATTHEW R. HAMBREY, MICHAEL J. HUDDART, DAVID GLASSER, NEIL F. CRAWFORD, KEVIN |
author_sort |
BENNETT, MATTHEW R. |
title |
The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
title_short |
The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
title_full |
The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
title_fullStr |
The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ice‐dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
title_sort |
ice‐dammed lakes of ossian sarsfjellet (svalbard): their geomorphology and significance |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.258,-68.258,68.496,68.496) ENVELOPE(13.333,13.333,78.833,78.833) ENVELOPE(12.657,12.657,78.854,78.854) ENVELOPE(-57.618,-57.618,49.853,49.853) ENVELOPE(12.477,12.477,78.943,78.943) |
geographic |
Svalbard Dammed Lake Kronebreen Kongsvegen Rock Cut Ossian Sarsfjellet |
geographic_facet |
Svalbard Dammed Lake Kronebreen Kongsvegen Rock Cut Ossian Sarsfjellet |
genre |
glacier Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Tidewater Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
glacier Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Tidewater Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Boreas volume 27, issue 1, page 25-43 ISSN 0300-9483 1502-3885 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1998.tb00865.x |
container_title |
Boreas |
container_volume |
27 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
25 |
op_container_end_page |
43 |
_version_ |
1802644559380873216 |