Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex
We reconstruct the behaviour of a High Arctic gravel‐dominated beach complex that has developed in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The studied coastal environment in northern Billefjorden (Petuniabukta) is characterised by limited wave action and ephemeral s...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 |
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:28:y:2017:i:1:p:4-17 2023-05-15T14:55:51+02:00 Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex Mateusz C. Strzelecki Antony J. Long Jerry M. Lloyd https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 2020-12-04T13:31:03Z We reconstruct the behaviour of a High Arctic gravel‐dominated beach complex that has developed in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The studied coastal environment in northern Billefjorden (Petuniabukta) is characterised by limited wave action and ephemeral sediment delivery from non‐glaciated, mainly snow‐fed fans and talus slopes. Aerial photographic evidence and morpho‐sedimentological observations of a beach‐ridge plain and spit complex in northern Billefjorden reveal a dynamic coastal system. During the post‐LIA period, a prominent coastal barrier at the mouth of the Ebbaelva migrated seawards several tens of metres and prograded northwards to form new spit systems, each > 150 m in length. The post‐LIA coastal evolution occurred in two main phases. In the first half of the 20th century, increased paraglacial sediment released by retreating land‐based glaciers led to the development of a subaqueous spit platform and the progradation of an ebb‐tide delta into the mouth of the Ebbaelva, diverting its mouth to the northwest. In the second half of the 20th century, the barrier prograded onto this platform, promoting the development of three massive spits. Sedimentological data suggest that changes in beach‐ridge composition that occurred during the 20th century are linked to episodic sediment delivery from an adjacent permafrost and snow‐fed alluvial fan and delta system. Our work provides a basis for a new model of paraglacial barrier development that recognises the fundamental role of climate and sediment supply as two intimately connected processes that control coastal development in the High Arctic over decadal to centennial timescales. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Billefjorden Ice permafrost Svalbard Spitsbergen RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Arctic Billefjorden ENVELOPE(16.417,16.417,78.563,78.563) Ebbaelva ENVELOPE(16.633,16.633,78.700,78.700) Petuniabukta ENVELOPE(16.532,16.532,78.687,78.687) Svalbard Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 28 1 4 17 |
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Open Polar |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
We reconstruct the behaviour of a High Arctic gravel‐dominated beach complex that has developed in central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The studied coastal environment in northern Billefjorden (Petuniabukta) is characterised by limited wave action and ephemeral sediment delivery from non‐glaciated, mainly snow‐fed fans and talus slopes. Aerial photographic evidence and morpho‐sedimentological observations of a beach‐ridge plain and spit complex in northern Billefjorden reveal a dynamic coastal system. During the post‐LIA period, a prominent coastal barrier at the mouth of the Ebbaelva migrated seawards several tens of metres and prograded northwards to form new spit systems, each > 150 m in length. The post‐LIA coastal evolution occurred in two main phases. In the first half of the 20th century, increased paraglacial sediment released by retreating land‐based glaciers led to the development of a subaqueous spit platform and the progradation of an ebb‐tide delta into the mouth of the Ebbaelva, diverting its mouth to the northwest. In the second half of the 20th century, the barrier prograded onto this platform, promoting the development of three massive spits. Sedimentological data suggest that changes in beach‐ridge composition that occurred during the 20th century are linked to episodic sediment delivery from an adjacent permafrost and snow‐fed alluvial fan and delta system. Our work provides a basis for a new model of paraglacial barrier development that recognises the fundamental role of climate and sediment supply as two intimately connected processes that control coastal development in the High Arctic over decadal to centennial timescales. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mateusz C. Strzelecki Antony J. Long Jerry M. Lloyd |
spellingShingle |
Mateusz C. Strzelecki Antony J. Long Jerry M. Lloyd Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
author_facet |
Mateusz C. Strzelecki Antony J. Long Jerry M. Lloyd |
author_sort |
Mateusz C. Strzelecki |
title |
Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
title_short |
Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
title_full |
Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
title_fullStr |
Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
title_full_unstemmed |
Post‐Little Ice Age Development of a High Arctic Paraglacial Beach Complex |
title_sort |
post‐little ice age development of a high arctic paraglacial beach complex |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(16.417,16.417,78.563,78.563) ENVELOPE(16.633,16.633,78.700,78.700) ENVELOPE(16.532,16.532,78.687,78.687) |
geographic |
Arctic Billefjorden Ebbaelva Petuniabukta Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Billefjorden Ebbaelva Petuniabukta Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Billefjorden Ice permafrost Svalbard Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Billefjorden Ice permafrost Svalbard Spitsbergen |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1879 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
4 |
op_container_end_page |
17 |
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1766327857464737792 |