Poppick 2010 Modern Depositional Processes Proximal to a Polythermal Tidewater Glacier Complex, Kronebreen -Kongsvegen, Kongsfjorden: Svalbard, Norway

• Main Author: ACADIS Community Support
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Arctic Data Center 2013
• Subjects: EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > SEDIMENTS; EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > OCEAN TEMPERATURE > WATER TEMPERATURE; EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > LAKE LEVELS; EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > LAND RECORDS > SEDIMENTS; EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > SEDIMENTS; EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > VARVE DEPOSITS; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > DEGRADATION; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > SEDIMENT TRANSPORT; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIER MASS BALANCE/ICE SHEET MASS BALANCE; EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > MARINE SEDIMENTS > SEDIMENT TRANSPORT; EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > MARINE SEDIMENTS > TURBIDITY; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > LAND TEMPERATURE > LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > ENTRAINMENT; EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIERS; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS > GLACIERS; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > SEDIMENTATION; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > FROZEN GROUND > SOIL TEMPERATURE; EARTH SCIENCE > CRYOSPHERE > FROZEN GROUND > PERIGLACIAL PROCESSES; EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > EROSION/SEDIMENTATION > SUSPENDED SOLIDS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > SAMPLERS > GRABBERS/TRAPS/COLLECTORS > SEDIMENT TRAPS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > CORERS > SEDIMENT CORERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > CONDUCTIVITY SENSORS > CONDUCTIVITY METERS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS > PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING > PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS > CAMERAS > CAMERAS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS > PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING > PROFILERS/SOUNDERS > TEMPERATURE PROFILERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > RECORDERS/LOGGERS > TEMPERATURE LOGGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > GAUGES > STREAM GAUGES; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS > PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING > POSITIONING/NAVIGATION > GPS > GPS > GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS > ACTIVE REMOTE SENSING > PROFILERS/SOUNDERS > ACOUSTIC SOUNDERS > ECHO SOUNDERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > PROBES > PROBES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > CORERS > CORING DEVICES; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > PROBES > STEEL MEASURING TAPE; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS > CURRENT/WIND METERS > CURRENT METERS; MANNED FIELD STATION; HOURLY TO DAILY; DAILY TO WEEKLY; ANNUAL; 1 MINUTE TO 1 HOUR; MONTHLY TO ANNUAL; WEEKLY TO MONTHLY; inlandWaters; oceans; environment; climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere; Jan Mayen; Kongsvegen; Kronebreen; Norway; Reu; Svalbard; glacier; Ice Sheet; Kongsfjord*; Kongsfjorden; North Atlantic; Tidewater
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18739/A29G7F

Abstract: A series of sediment gravity- and box-cores was collected in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard during the summer of 2009 as part of the Svalbard Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) project, which aims to characterize the modern sedimentary environment proximal to the Kronebreen-Kongsvegen tidewater glacier margin. This study serves to generate baseline data for future assessment of the local polythermal glacial response to climate change, and to contribute to the framework by which proximal polythermal glaciomarine environments are interpreted in the sediment record. Sedimentary facies identified within the cores, collected between 300 – 900m from the ice face and spanning the ice margin, serve as proxies of modern meltwater and depositional processes at the tidewater margin. Sedimentary facies are characterized, with increasing resolution, through x-radiograph, thin section, and grain size analyses and are considered in relation to local fjord floor morphology and sediment trap data. The lithofacies established in this study account for the dominant depositional mechanisms in the fjord, including turbidity currents, suspension settling, and iceberg rafting. These lithofacies relate well with those found in temperate fjords, suggesting that these two glacial regimes may be indistinguishable in the rock record. Ubiquitous evidence of sediment reworking from turbidity currents in all cores suggests a predominance of underconsolidated mud along the slope of the submarine outwash fan and surrounding moraines. Cyclically laminated fine sand/silt and clay couplets, interpreted to have settled from suspension, are also preserved at varying intervals throughout some cores. Preliminary comparison with sediment trap data suggests that such cyclicty may correspond with the semidiurnal tidal cycle, such that the vertical accumulation of two couplets represents daily sediment accumulation rates. Daily sedimentation rates have hence been preliminarily estimated to be 2 mm/d in a region 600m from the northern ice front, but more elaborate sediment trap data is needed to better constrain this estimate. Ultimately, this study provides an archive of the depositional environment proximal to Kronebreen Kongsvegen for the benefit of future studies addressing the effects of climate change on this subpolar glaciomarine environment.