Ice-sheet dynamics through the Quaternary on the mid-Norwegian continental margin inferred from 3D seismic data ...

• Main Authors: Montelli, A, Dowdeswell, JA, Ottesen, D, Johansen, SE
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2017
• Subjects: Fennoscandian Ice Sheet; glacial geomorphology; ice stream; marine geology; palaeo-glaciology; seismic stratigraphy; Fennoscandian; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.8147; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/262856

Reconstructing the evolution of ice sheets is critical to our understanding of the global environmental system, but most detailed palaeo-glaciological reconstructions have hitherto focused on the very recent history of ice sheets. Here, we present a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the changing nature of ice-sheet derived sedimentary architecture through the Quaternary Ice Age of almost 3 Ma. An extensive geophysical record documents a marine-terminating, calving Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) margin present periodically on the mid-Norwegian shelf since the beginning of the Quaternary. Spatial and temporal variability of the FIS is illustrated by the gradual development of fast-flowing ice streams and associated intensification of focused glacial erosion and sedimentation since that time. Buried subglacial landforms reveal a complex and dynamic ice sheet, with converging palaeo-ice streams and several flow-switching events that may reflect major changes in topography and basal thermal regime. Lack of ...