Non-linear response of glacier melting to Holocene warming in Svalbard recorded by sedimentary iron (oxyhydr)oxides

The recent acceleration of ice-sheet loss with its direct impact on sea-level rise and coastal ecosystems is of major environmental and societal concern. However, the effect of atmospheric temperature increases on long-term glacier retreat remains poorly defined due to limited historical observation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Main Authors: Jang, Kwangchul, Bayon, Germain, Vogt, Christoph, Forwick, Matthias, Ahn, Youngkyu, Kim, Jung-Hyun, Nam, Seung-Il
Other Authors: Geo-Ocean (GEO-OCEAN), Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2023
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Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-04204001
https://hal.science/hal-04204001/document
https://hal.science/hal-04204001/file/1-s2.0-S0012821X23000675-main.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118054
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Summary:The recent acceleration of ice-sheet loss with its direct impact on sea-level rise and coastal ecosystems is of major environmental and societal concern. However, the effect of atmospheric temperature increases on long-term glacier retreat remains poorly defined due to limited historical observations and uncertainties in numerical ice-sheet models, which challenges climate change adaptation planning. Here, we present a novel approach for investigating the time-transgressive response of Arctic glaciers since the last deglaciation, using glacially-derived Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide layers preserved in glacimarine sediments from a large fjord system in Svalbard. Glacial weathering releases large amounts of Fe, resulting in the deposition of Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide particulates in nearby marine sediments, which can serve as fossil indicators of past glacial melting events. Our results indicate that Svalbard glaciers retreated at a rate of 18 to 41 m/yr between 16.3 and 10.8 kyr BP, synchronously with the progressive rise in atmospheric and oceanic temperatures. From 10.8 kyr BP, glacier retreat markedly accelerated (up to ∼116 m/yr) when regional atmospheric temperatures exceeded modern values. Coupled with field observations, this finding directly supports a non-linear response of glacial melting to summer air temperature increases. In addition to suggesting that ice-sheet loss and sea-level rise may further accelerate in the near future, this study paves the way for the use of sedimentary Fe-(oxyhydr)oxide layers in subarctic environments for reconstructing past glacial dynamics.