Ice Transport in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canadian Arctic Using Detrital FE Oxide Grain Composition ...

• Main Author: Li, Duan
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Old Dominion University 1997
• Subjects: Arctic; Axel Heiberg Island; Ellesmere Island; Ice Shelf; Queen Elizabeth Islands
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25777/6r8y-a134; https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/oeas_etds/248/

Nine Fe oxide mineral types (45pm-250pm) separated from 54 glacial and glaciomarine sediment samples from the Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI) of Canada were analyzed for 12 elements by electron microprobe to determine the dispersal patterns of ice rafted debris in this area. Both cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis (DFA) on the chemical compositions were used to match each detrital Fe oxide grain to a source The entire QEI area can be subdivided into eight unique areas based on the elemental composition of the Fe oxide minerals. These subdivisions are similar to the source areas based on the assemblage of lithic grain types (>250 pm). The results of matching Fe oxide grains to potential source areas indicate that glacial sediments on the QEI shelf are mixtures from multiple sources. The Nard Hunt Ice Shelf of northern Ellesmere Island was the major source for the QEI shelf off Axel Heiberg Island, especially the outer shelf. Inter-island channels were probably important conduits of ice in ...