Submarine geomorphology of the northeastern Baffin Island fiords and cross-shelf troughs

• Published in: Journal of Maps
• Main Authors: Etienne Brouard, Patrick Lajeunesse
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019
• Subjects: geomorphology; submarine landforms; bathymetry; glacial geomorphology; arctic canada; fjords; glacial troughs; Maps; G3180-9980; Arctic; Baffin Island; Canada; Baffin; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2019.1647302; https://doaj.org/article/66b34856b7be4e42b83efee3bbb98108

This paper presents a series of 50 geomorphological maps of the seabed of northeastern Baffin Island fiords and cross-shelf troughs, in eastern Arctic Canada. The mapping was produced using swath bathymetry imagery from multiple bathymetry datasets. A total of 24 types of landform were systematically mapped (>55,000 landforms) and reflect processes linked to subglacial, ice-marginal or paraglacial to postglacial environments. The landforms record the transition of the seabed from being covered by a marine-terminating ice sheet to the establishment of postglacial conditions. The landform assemblages allow the distinction of ice-flows orientation and ice-stream pathways along fiords and cross-shelf troughs. The multiple moraines and grounding-zone wedges indicate that the ice margin stabilized during retreat and that the overall deglaciation occurred by steps. These maps provide a framework for future investigations in northeastern Baffin Island fiords and shelf and can also provide a template for future seabed geomorphological studies in Arctic Canada.