Age determination of sediment cores off western Spitsbergen

The Late Weichselian glacial history of the continental shelf off western Spitsbergen is discussed, based on acoustic sub-bottom records and sediment cores. The outer part of Isfjorden and the inner shelf to the west of this fjord are characterized by a thin veneer (10-20 m) of glacigenic sediments...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Svendsen, John-Inge, Mangerud, Jan, Elverhoi, Anders, Solheim, Anders, Schüttenhelm, Ruud TE
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 1992
Subjects:
87-137PC
87-138
87-144PC
88-PCM-01
88-PCM-2
88-PCM-3
PC
Piston corer
Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North
QUEEN
QUEEN_Exped
Isfjord*
Isfjorden
Spitsbergen
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.732390
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.732390
Description
Summary:The Late Weichselian glacial history of the continental shelf off western Spitsbergen is discussed, based on acoustic sub-bottom records and sediment cores. The outer part of Isfjorden and the inner shelf to the west of this fjord are characterized by a thin veneer (10-20 m) of glacigenic sediments and absence of ice-marginal features. Towards the outer shelf the sediment thickness increases significantly, and exceeds 500 m at the shelf edge. Possible moraine complexes were identified in this outer part. Sediment cores from the inner shelf sampled a firm diamicton, interpreted as till, beneath soft glaciomarine sediments. Radiocarbon dates on shells from the clay resting directly on the till, suggest an age of around 12,500 yrs B.P. for the base of the marine sequence. We argue that grounded ice covered the sites shortly before. In contrast to suggestions that the fjords and coast were partly ice free during the Late Weischselian, we conclude that the ice must have reached out onto the continental shelf.

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