Physical modeling of ice-sheet-induced salt movements using the example of northern Germany ...

• Main Authors: Hardt, Jacob, Dooley, Tim P., Hudec, Michael R.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Freie Universität Berlin 2024
• Subjects: ice-sheet-induced salt movements; physical modeling; northern Germany; 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik550 Geowissenschaften, Geologie550 Geowissenschaften; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-43163; https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/43446

Salt structures and their surroundings can play an important role in the energy transition related to a number of storage and energy applications. Thus, it is important to assess the current and future stability of salt bodies in their specific geological settings. We investigate the influence of ice sheet loading and unloading on subsurface salt structures using physical models based on the geological setting of northern Germany, which was repeatedly glaciated by the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Pleistocene. Apparent spatial correlations between subsurface salt structures in northern Germany and Weichselian ice marginal positions have been observed before, and the topic is a matter of ongoing debate. Recently described geomorphological features – termed surface cracks – have been interpreted as a direct result of ice-sheet-induced salt movement resulting in surface expansion. The spatial clustering and orientation of these surface cracks has not been well understood so far, owing to only a limited ...