Nittrouer and Hallet Glacial-Marine Sedimentation as a Recorder of Tectonic, Climatic and Sea-Level Dynamics on Active Continental Margins

• Main Authors: Charles A. Nittrouer, Bernard Hallet
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: tidewater glaciers; fjords; sediments; tectonics; climate; sea level; continental margin; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Hallet; New Zealand; Patagonia; Antarc*; glaciers; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.4335; http://www.nsf-margins.org/Planning_and_review/White_Papers/Nittrouer_and_Hallet.pdf

a) Overview Statement Glacial-marine sedimentation responds to and provides sedimentary archives for a diversity of important processes associated with continental-margin dynamics. Tectonic convergence and subduction on active margins lead to uplift and volcanism that commonly (in temperate and high latitudes) create coastal mountain ranges with sufficient elevation to be ice covered. Glaciers are extremely effective in eroding mountains, transferring much ice and sediment to the sea, and aiding continued uplift. In areas with high coastal mountains, the ice commonly extends to sea level as tidewater glaciers (e.g.: southern Alaska; Patagonia; south island New Zealand; Antarctic Peninsula). Today, in these settings, the glacial sediments are typically released into a fjord (Fig. 1) with nearly complete entrapment of erosion products, forming a well-preserved sedimentary record of uplift, ice build-up, associated climatic variations, erosion, and transfer events. These under-studied coastal glaciers and sedimentary settings are also gaining attention for their control over sea-level rise (e.g., Overpeck et al. 2006), which is one of the largest potential threats of future climate change. On a global scale, the complex behavior of outlet glaciers and rapid ice-marginal changes are prime factors limiting confidence in predictions of