First description of subglacial megalineations from the late Paleozoic ice age in southern Africa.

We identify late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) subglacial megalineations from field and geospatial imagery of the Twyfelfontein area of northern Namibia, and present the results of a geomorphometric analysis of those data. Asymmetric 0.1-1.5 km-long megawhalebacks indicate a paleo-ice flow to the northwe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS ONE
Main Authors: Graham D Andrews, Andrew T McGrady, Sarah R Brown, Shannon M Maynard
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019
Subjects:
Medicine
R
Science
Q
Antarc*
Antarctica
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210673
https://doaj.org/article/3ef5a8a3a7de4bf48a9f65118eb11749
Description
Summary:We identify late Paleozoic ice age (LPIA) subglacial megalineations from field and geospatial imagery of the Twyfelfontein area of northern Namibia, and present the results of a geomorphometric analysis of those data. Asymmetric 0.1-1.5 km-long megawhalebacks indicate a paleo-ice flow to the northwest. We infer that an ice stream draining the LPIA Kaokoveld ice sheet existed within the proto-Huab River valley and that was comparable to ice streams in modern Antarctica. Recognition of a paleo-ice stream in northern Namibia supports interpretations of glaciogenic sedimentary successions (Itararé Group) in southern Brazil that suggest the presence of major, terrestrial glacial outlet systems in southern Africa during the LPIA.

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