Characteristics of till transported by the Byrd and Nimrod Glaciers, Antarctica

Summary Particle size distributions were measured from till samples collected at seventeen moraines along the Byrd and Nimrod Glaciers. All sites are dominated by sand- and gravel-sized material with distinct spatial patterns in the silt and clay content. Till from the north side of Byrd Glacier and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: K. J. Licht, E. F. Palmer
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.562.8516
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1047/ea/of2007-1047ea114.pdf
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Summary:Summary Particle size distributions were measured from till samples collected at seventeen moraines along the Byrd and Nimrod Glaciers. All sites are dominated by sand- and gravel-sized material with distinct spatial patterns in the silt and clay content. Till from the north side of Byrd Glacier and tills along the trunk of Nimrod glacier have variable modes in the sand fraction and <5 % clay. The tills are primarily derived from locally eroded bedrock. Moraines at the base of nunataks found at the head of both glaciers contain 15 %-70 % fines (silt plus clay) and are interpreted to represent the presence of subglacially-derived sediment.