Polar coasts

Polar and subpolar coasts are distinctive because of extreme seasonality and the presence of ice (predominantly tidewater glaciers, ice shelves, sea ice, and ground ice). Sea ice plays a protective role but may be either erosional or constructive when mobile. Wave activity, though effective mainly d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Forbes, D.L., Hansom, J.D.
Other Authors: Flemming, B.W.
Format: Book Part
Language:unknown
Published: Elsevier 2011
Subjects:
Ice
Online Access:http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/98135/
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374711-2.00312-0
Description
Summary:Polar and subpolar coasts are distinctive because of extreme seasonality and the presence of ice (predominantly tidewater glaciers, ice shelves, sea ice, and ground ice). Sea ice plays a protective role but may be either erosional or constructive when mobile. Wave activity, though effective mainly during the short summer, imposes a strong morphological signature on most sedimentary coasts. Unlithified coasts in permafrost are widespread on the Arctic Coastal Plain, where combined thermal and mechanical processes promote rapid erosion in ice-rich deposits. Antarctic and sub-Antarctic coasts are mainly dominated by rock or ice, as are parts of the Arctic coast.