Using Geochemical Evidence to Determine Provenance in a High Arctic Glacier-Fed Lake, Linné Valley, Svalbard, Norway, 2005

• Main Author: Elizabeth Katherine Thomas
• 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; Arctic; Svalbard; Norway; Jan Mayen; Reu; Linnébreen; Linnédalen; glacier; Ice Sheet; North Atlantic; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18739/A2P843V60

In the Linné Valley of western Spitsbergen, the Linné glacier (Linnébreen) advanced and retreated throughout the Holocene. Sediment from Linnébreen is deposited into Lake Linné, located 5 km downvalley. Sediment provenance in Linnédalen is being studied as part of the NSF-funded Svalbard REU Project to calibrate lamination stratigraphy in Lake Linné. This valley lends itself to provenance studies because it contains three distinct rock types: carbonate rocks form the eastern mountains, a sandstone with coal seams forms the valley floor and low-grade metamorphic rocks (phyllites) form the western mountains. The principal sediment source streams were identified on aerial photographs. Fine-grained sediment samples were collected from each streambed and source bedrock material was sampled. Lake sediments were taken every 200 m at 1-2 m water depth along the south shoreline where the main inlets enter the lake. The shallow 15 m east basin is fed by the main inlet carrying mainly glacially-derived sediment. The west basin of similar depth is fed primarily by a cirque stream that erodes only phyllites. The 35 m-deep north basin is not fed by any major inlets and is likely dominated by a mix of material carried by currents within the lake and derived from marine terraces on the east and west shores. Distal lake samples were recovered from the top 1-2 cm of short cores taken from these three basins. Loss on ignition is a proxy for provenance: carbon content is high in lake sediments near the Linnébreen meltwater inlet (up to 6.5% weight lost at 550deg C). Carbon content decreases in the west basin as sediment input is dominated by the phyllite-eroding cirque stream. A previous study (Werner 1988) suggests that percent carbon in lake cores may be a proxy for glacier position in the valley. Glacial advances augment weathering of the sandstone/coal formation, causing more carbon deposition in the lake. The geochemical fingerprint of each sample is determined by XRF, with the goal of determining the percent contribution of each source area to the lake. Stream sample compositions are compared to the geochemical composition of layers within lake cores to extrapolate relative source contributions during the late Holocene. Changes in the relative contribution of each source area to the basins are attributed to environmental changes in the valley.