The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals
Carbonate rocks of Neoproterozoic to Silurian age are abundantly distributed around the coasts of North and North-East Greenland. Palaeokarst horizons are particularly well developed within the Portfjeld Formation (Ediacaran – earliest Cambrian) and beneath the Buen Formation (Cambrian Series 2), an...
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Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
2022
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d2fb1e33b17c495d94f644489173b628 2023-05-15T16:03:31+02:00 The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals M. Paul Smith Gina E. Moseley 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 https://doaj.org/article/d2fb1e33b17c495d94f644489173b628 EN eng Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland https://geusbulletin.org/index.php/geusb/article/view/8298/14260 https://doaj.org/toc/2597-2154 2597-2154 doi:10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 https://doaj.org/article/d2fb1e33b17c495d94f644489173b628 GEUS Bulletin, Vol 49, Pp 1-23 (2022) caves cenozoic karst neogene miocene palaeokarst paleokarst Geology QE1-996.5 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 2022-12-31T02:30:41Z Carbonate rocks of Neoproterozoic to Silurian age are abundantly distributed around the coasts of North and North-East Greenland. Palaeokarst horizons are particularly well developed within the Portfjeld Formation (Ediacaran – earliest Cambrian) and beneath the Buen Formation (Cambrian Series 2), and there are caves within Ordovician limestones infilled by Caledonian molasse of Middle Devonian age. The youngest karst is a series of caves distributed from Hall Land in western North Greenland to Kronprins Christian Land in eastern North Greenland. Caves within Ordovician carbonates in Freuchen Land are currently the northernmost documented karst caves globally. The caves are mainly open phreatic conduits, any fill that is present is unlithified, and cave collapse is limited to minor breakdown associated with frost shattering. These geologically young caves are consistently located up to a few 100 m beneath the distinctive plateau that characterises the topography of the northern coast, and their identical context suggests that they developed in a single phase of speleogenesis. The caves are exposed where the plateau has been incised by outlet glaciers from the Greenland ice sheet. The timing of cave development in North Greenland is constrained by the mid- to late-Miocene (15–5 Ma) uplift of the plateau surface and the onset of fjord-forming glaciation in the latest Pliocene – earliest Pleistocene (c. 2.7–2.5 Ma). The evidence suggests that phreatic caves in the southern part of North-East Greenland, on C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak, are of a broadly similar age. The caves of North and North-East Greenland offer a glimpse of large-scale phreatic drainage systems that developed below an uplifted coastal peneplain during Neogene time. They preserve an important part of the geological history of North and North-East Greenland that is otherwise absent from the physical geological record. Article in Journal/Newspaper East Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Kronprins Christian land North Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Kronprins Christian Land ENVELOPE(-22.000,-22.000,80.500,80.500) Hall Land ENVELOPE(-58.000,-58.000,81.333,81.333) Freuchen Land ENVELOPE(-43.000,-43.000,82.500,82.500) C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak ENVELOPE(-22.883,-22.883,74.283,74.283) GEUS Bulletin 49 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
caves cenozoic karst neogene miocene palaeokarst paleokarst Geology QE1-996.5 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
spellingShingle |
caves cenozoic karst neogene miocene palaeokarst paleokarst Geology QE1-996.5 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 M. Paul Smith Gina E. Moseley The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
topic_facet |
caves cenozoic karst neogene miocene palaeokarst paleokarst Geology QE1-996.5 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
description |
Carbonate rocks of Neoproterozoic to Silurian age are abundantly distributed around the coasts of North and North-East Greenland. Palaeokarst horizons are particularly well developed within the Portfjeld Formation (Ediacaran – earliest Cambrian) and beneath the Buen Formation (Cambrian Series 2), and there are caves within Ordovician limestones infilled by Caledonian molasse of Middle Devonian age. The youngest karst is a series of caves distributed from Hall Land in western North Greenland to Kronprins Christian Land in eastern North Greenland. Caves within Ordovician carbonates in Freuchen Land are currently the northernmost documented karst caves globally. The caves are mainly open phreatic conduits, any fill that is present is unlithified, and cave collapse is limited to minor breakdown associated with frost shattering. These geologically young caves are consistently located up to a few 100 m beneath the distinctive plateau that characterises the topography of the northern coast, and their identical context suggests that they developed in a single phase of speleogenesis. The caves are exposed where the plateau has been incised by outlet glaciers from the Greenland ice sheet. The timing of cave development in North Greenland is constrained by the mid- to late-Miocene (15–5 Ma) uplift of the plateau surface and the onset of fjord-forming glaciation in the latest Pliocene – earliest Pleistocene (c. 2.7–2.5 Ma). The evidence suggests that phreatic caves in the southern part of North-East Greenland, on C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak, are of a broadly similar age. The caves of North and North-East Greenland offer a glimpse of large-scale phreatic drainage systems that developed below an uplifted coastal peneplain during Neogene time. They preserve an important part of the geological history of North and North-East Greenland that is otherwise absent from the physical geological record. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Paul Smith Gina E. Moseley |
author_facet |
M. Paul Smith Gina E. Moseley |
author_sort |
M. Paul Smith |
title |
The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
title_short |
The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
title_full |
The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
title_fullStr |
The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
title_full_unstemmed |
The karst and palaeokarst of North and North-East Greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
title_sort |
karst and palaeokarst of north and north-east greenland – physical records of cryptic geological intervals |
publisher |
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 https://doaj.org/article/d2fb1e33b17c495d94f644489173b628 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-22.000,-22.000,80.500,80.500) ENVELOPE(-58.000,-58.000,81.333,81.333) ENVELOPE(-43.000,-43.000,82.500,82.500) ENVELOPE(-22.883,-22.883,74.283,74.283) |
geographic |
Greenland Kronprins Christian Land Hall Land Freuchen Land C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Kronprins Christian Land Hall Land Freuchen Land C. H. Ostenfeld Nunatak |
genre |
East Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Kronprins Christian land North Greenland |
genre_facet |
East Greenland Greenland Ice Sheet Kronprins Christian land North Greenland |
op_source |
GEUS Bulletin, Vol 49, Pp 1-23 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://geusbulletin.org/index.php/geusb/article/view/8298/14260 https://doaj.org/toc/2597-2154 2597-2154 doi:10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 https://doaj.org/article/d2fb1e33b17c495d94f644489173b628 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.34194/geusb.v49.8298 |
container_title |
GEUS Bulletin |
container_volume |
49 |
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1766399201553416192 |