Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland
Greenland, along with the rest of the Arctic, is displaying a significant reaction to warming climate, resulting in considerable ice loss and consequent sea-level rise. Reconstruction of Greenland ice masses during former warm periods can afford context for present-day conditions and allow better pr...
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ftmaineuniv:oai:digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu:etd-1733 2023-06-11T04:09:59+02:00 Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland Lusas, Amanda Rose 2011-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/736 https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/context/etd/article/1733/viewcontent/LusasA2011.pdf unknown DigitalCommons@UMaine https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/736 https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/context/etd/article/1733/viewcontent/LusasA2011.pdf Electronic Theses and Dissertations Holocene Fluctuations Istorvet Ice Cap Earth Sciences Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Glaciology Physical Sciences and Mathematics text 2011 ftmaineuniv 2023-05-04T18:00:37Z Greenland, along with the rest of the Arctic, is displaying a significant reaction to warming climate, resulting in considerable ice loss and consequent sea-level rise. Reconstruction of Greenland ice masses during former warm periods can afford context for present-day conditions and allow better predictions for the effects of future warming. Small ice caps respond quickly to climate change and therefore are sensitive indicators of past climate. As part of an effort to determine if the current warming is unique in the Holocene and to provide long-term context for present-day events, I identified Holocene fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap in east Greenland from sediment cores taken from three glacially fed lakes and one non-glacial control lake. Bone and Round Lakes are closest to the ice margin; they are distal to a fresh, unvegetated, icecored moraine that marks the Little Ice Age (LIA) limit. Emerald Pond is fed through a channel from Round Lake. Snowbank Lake was chosen as a control lake, which allows identification of non-glacial (i.e., flood) events. I used sedimentological characteristics of the cores to identify past glacier fluctuations. In general, gray, inorganic, high magnetic susceptibility, clay-rich sediment indicates more meltwater input to the lake than brown, organic, silt-rich sediment. The same stratigraphic pattern occurs in all three glacially-fed lakes and consists, from the base of the sediments, of: 1) lower gravel and gray clay from early Holocene deglaciation; 2) thick, brown, organic silt relating to an extended period of restricted ice; 3) upper, inorganic, gray clay dating to the LIA; and 4) soupy, organic, brown silt at the surface. Snowbank Lake contained only the basal clay and gravel and the thick, brown, organic section. Radiocarbon dating of an organic mat near the base of Snowbank Lake afforded a minimum age for deglaciation of ~10.5 kyr BP, suggesting that the area probably became ice-free at the end of the Milne Land Stade (of late-glacial age) in east Greenland. Organic ... Text Arctic Climate change East Greenland glacier Greenland Ice cap Magnetic susceptibility Milne Land The University of Maine: DigitalCommons@UMaine Arctic Greenland Istorvet ENVELOPE(-22.150,-22.150,70.933,70.933) Liverpool Land ENVELOPE(-22.200,-22.200,70.917,70.917) Milne Land ENVELOPE(-26.750,-26.750,70.683,70.683) Round Lake ENVELOPE(142.665,142.665,-66.993,-66.993) |
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Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Maine: DigitalCommons@UMaine |
op_collection_id |
ftmaineuniv |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Holocene Fluctuations Istorvet Ice Cap Earth Sciences Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Glaciology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
spellingShingle |
Holocene Fluctuations Istorvet Ice Cap Earth Sciences Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Glaciology Physical Sciences and Mathematics Lusas, Amanda Rose Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
topic_facet |
Holocene Fluctuations Istorvet Ice Cap Earth Sciences Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Glaciology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
description |
Greenland, along with the rest of the Arctic, is displaying a significant reaction to warming climate, resulting in considerable ice loss and consequent sea-level rise. Reconstruction of Greenland ice masses during former warm periods can afford context for present-day conditions and allow better predictions for the effects of future warming. Small ice caps respond quickly to climate change and therefore are sensitive indicators of past climate. As part of an effort to determine if the current warming is unique in the Holocene and to provide long-term context for present-day events, I identified Holocene fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap in east Greenland from sediment cores taken from three glacially fed lakes and one non-glacial control lake. Bone and Round Lakes are closest to the ice margin; they are distal to a fresh, unvegetated, icecored moraine that marks the Little Ice Age (LIA) limit. Emerald Pond is fed through a channel from Round Lake. Snowbank Lake was chosen as a control lake, which allows identification of non-glacial (i.e., flood) events. I used sedimentological characteristics of the cores to identify past glacier fluctuations. In general, gray, inorganic, high magnetic susceptibility, clay-rich sediment indicates more meltwater input to the lake than brown, organic, silt-rich sediment. The same stratigraphic pattern occurs in all three glacially-fed lakes and consists, from the base of the sediments, of: 1) lower gravel and gray clay from early Holocene deglaciation; 2) thick, brown, organic silt relating to an extended period of restricted ice; 3) upper, inorganic, gray clay dating to the LIA; and 4) soupy, organic, brown silt at the surface. Snowbank Lake contained only the basal clay and gravel and the thick, brown, organic section. Radiocarbon dating of an organic mat near the base of Snowbank Lake afforded a minimum age for deglaciation of ~10.5 kyr BP, suggesting that the area probably became ice-free at the end of the Milne Land Stade (of late-glacial age) in east Greenland. Organic ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Lusas, Amanda Rose |
author_facet |
Lusas, Amanda Rose |
author_sort |
Lusas, Amanda Rose |
title |
Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
title_short |
Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
title_full |
Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Holocene Fluctuations of Istorvet Ice Cap, Liverpool Land, East Greenland |
title_sort |
holocene fluctuations of istorvet ice cap, liverpool land, east greenland |
publisher |
DigitalCommons@UMaine |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/736 https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/context/etd/article/1733/viewcontent/LusasA2011.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-22.150,-22.150,70.933,70.933) ENVELOPE(-22.200,-22.200,70.917,70.917) ENVELOPE(-26.750,-26.750,70.683,70.683) ENVELOPE(142.665,142.665,-66.993,-66.993) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Istorvet Liverpool Land Milne Land Round Lake |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Istorvet Liverpool Land Milne Land Round Lake |
genre |
Arctic Climate change East Greenland glacier Greenland Ice cap Magnetic susceptibility Milne Land |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change East Greenland glacier Greenland Ice cap Magnetic susceptibility Milne Land |
op_source |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/736 https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/context/etd/article/1733/viewcontent/LusasA2011.pdf |
_version_ |
1768384033294647296 |