Micromorphology of diamicton affected by iceberg-keel scouring, Scoresby Sund, East Greenland ...

• Main Authors: Linch, LD, Dowdeswell, JA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2016
• Subjects: iceberg scours; ploughmarks; gouges; micromorphology; diamicton; ice-rafted debris IRD; Scoresby sund; East Greenland; Greenland; Sund; Scoresby; Scoresby Sund; glacier
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.6722; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/261526

Icebergs are important as agents of deposition and seafloor reworking on glacier-influenced continental margins. When the keel of an iceberg exceeds water depth it ploughs through soft sediments producing scours/ploughmarks that can be kilometres long, hundreds of metres wide and sometimes tens of metres deep. Because the influence of iceberg keels on sediment is a critical factor when offshore structures (e.g. pipelines, power cables) are installed, the surface morphology of iceberg scours on the seafloor is relatively well-documented. Less however, is known about sub-scour deformation below the seafloor. This is particularly true of iceberg scoured diamicton (poorly sorted sediment comprising a variety of particle sizes), which is present in many high-latitude fjords and continental shelves. The aim of this research is to examine directly (macroscopically and microscopically, with thin sections) the style and intensity of deformation caused by the scouring action of iceberg keels in diamicton offshore of ...