Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet
The flow of glacial ice is impacted by basal meltwater drainage systems that fluctuate on a continuum from distributed, high-pressure environments to channelized, lower pressure networks. Understanding the long-term development of dominant drainage modes and impacts on ice flow and landform developm...
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 https://doaj.org/article/1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 2023-06-11T04:10:32+02:00 Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet Calvin Shackleton Henry Patton Monica Winsborrow Mariana Esteves Lilja Bjarnadóttir Karin Andreassen 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 https://doaj.org/article/1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 https://doaj.org/article/1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) esker subglacial drainage ice sheet hydrology glacial geomorphology barents sea tunnel valley Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 2023-04-23T00:35:11Z The flow of glacial ice is impacted by basal meltwater drainage systems that fluctuate on a continuum from distributed, high-pressure environments to channelized, lower pressure networks. Understanding the long-term development of dominant drainage modes and impacts on ice flow and landform development is a crucial step in predicting palaeo and contemporary ice-mass response to changes in climate. The spatial and temporal scales at which different drainage modes operate are largely unknown, and the geomorphological legacy of subglacial meltwater networks that evolve over a glaciation provide composite records of drainage system development. Here, we use high-resolution bathymetric data from shallow banks in the central Barents Sea to map the geomorphological imprint of meltwater drainage beneath the collapsing marine-based Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS). We observe a succession of distinct meltwater landforms that provide relative timing constraints for subglacial drainage modes, indicating that extensive networks of channelized drainage were in operation during deglaciation. Interlinked basins and channels suggest that meltwater availability and drainage system development was influenced by filling and draining cycles in subglacial lakes. Networks of eskers also indicate near-margin meltwater conduits incised into basal ice during late-stage deglaciation, and we suggest that these systems were supplemented by increased inputs from supraglacial melting. The abundance of meltwater during the late stages of BSIS deglaciation likely contributed to elevated erosion of the sedimentary substrate and the mobilisation of subglacial sediments, providing a sediment source for the relatively abundant eskers found deposited across bank areas. A newly discovered beaded esker system over 67 km long in Hopendjupet constrains a fluctuating, but generally decelerating, pace of ice retreat from ∼1,600 m ca-1 to ∼620 m ca−1 over central Barents Sea bank areas during a 91-year timespan. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Ice Sheet Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Barents Sea Hopendjupet ENVELOPE(27.000,27.000,74.000,74.000) Frontiers in Earth Science 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
esker subglacial drainage ice sheet hydrology glacial geomorphology barents sea tunnel valley Science Q |
spellingShingle |
esker subglacial drainage ice sheet hydrology glacial geomorphology barents sea tunnel valley Science Q Calvin Shackleton Henry Patton Monica Winsborrow Mariana Esteves Lilja Bjarnadóttir Karin Andreassen Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
topic_facet |
esker subglacial drainage ice sheet hydrology glacial geomorphology barents sea tunnel valley Science Q |
description |
The flow of glacial ice is impacted by basal meltwater drainage systems that fluctuate on a continuum from distributed, high-pressure environments to channelized, lower pressure networks. Understanding the long-term development of dominant drainage modes and impacts on ice flow and landform development is a crucial step in predicting palaeo and contemporary ice-mass response to changes in climate. The spatial and temporal scales at which different drainage modes operate are largely unknown, and the geomorphological legacy of subglacial meltwater networks that evolve over a glaciation provide composite records of drainage system development. Here, we use high-resolution bathymetric data from shallow banks in the central Barents Sea to map the geomorphological imprint of meltwater drainage beneath the collapsing marine-based Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS). We observe a succession of distinct meltwater landforms that provide relative timing constraints for subglacial drainage modes, indicating that extensive networks of channelized drainage were in operation during deglaciation. Interlinked basins and channels suggest that meltwater availability and drainage system development was influenced by filling and draining cycles in subglacial lakes. Networks of eskers also indicate near-margin meltwater conduits incised into basal ice during late-stage deglaciation, and we suggest that these systems were supplemented by increased inputs from supraglacial melting. The abundance of meltwater during the late stages of BSIS deglaciation likely contributed to elevated erosion of the sedimentary substrate and the mobilisation of subglacial sediments, providing a sediment source for the relatively abundant eskers found deposited across bank areas. A newly discovered beaded esker system over 67 km long in Hopendjupet constrains a fluctuating, but generally decelerating, pace of ice retreat from ∼1,600 m ca-1 to ∼620 m ca−1 over central Barents Sea bank areas during a 91-year timespan. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Calvin Shackleton Henry Patton Monica Winsborrow Mariana Esteves Lilja Bjarnadóttir Karin Andreassen |
author_facet |
Calvin Shackleton Henry Patton Monica Winsborrow Mariana Esteves Lilja Bjarnadóttir Karin Andreassen |
author_sort |
Calvin Shackleton |
title |
Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
title_short |
Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
title_full |
Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
title_fullStr |
Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last Barents Sea ice sheet |
title_sort |
distinct modes of meltwater drainage and landform development beneath the last barents sea ice sheet |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 https://doaj.org/article/1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(27.000,27.000,74.000,74.000) |
geographic |
Barents Sea Hopendjupet |
geographic_facet |
Barents Sea Hopendjupet |
genre |
Barents Sea Ice Sheet Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea Ice Sheet Sea ice |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 https://doaj.org/article/1b4e57291e98411bae511b19fc378d45 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1111396 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
11 |
_version_ |
1768384985877708800 |