The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf
Subglacial meltwater plays a significant yet poorly understood role in the dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheets. Here we present new swath bathymetry from the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, showing meltwater channels eroded into acoustic basement. Their morphological characteristic...
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Digital Commons @ University of South Florida
2009
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 |
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ftunisfloridatam:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:msc_facpub-2580 2023-05-15T13:24:06+02:00 The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf Smith, James A. Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter Larter, Robert D. Graham, Alastair G. C. Kuhn, Gerhard 2009-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 Marine Science Faculty Publications Subglacial meltwater Tunnel valleys Sediment infill Subglacial lakes Antarctica Life Sciences article 2009 ftunisfloridatam https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 2022-01-20T18:39:53Z Subglacial meltwater plays a significant yet poorly understood role in the dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheets. Here we present new swath bathymetry from the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, showing meltwater channels eroded into acoustic basement. Their morphological characteristics and size are consistent with incision by subglacial meltwater. To understand how and when these channels formed we have investigated the infill of three channels. Diamictons deposited beneath or proximal to an expanded grounded West Antarctic Ice Sheet are present in two of the channels and these are overlain by glaciomarine sediments deposited after deglaciation. The sediment core from the third channel recovered a turbidite sequence also deposited after the last deglaciation. The presence of deformation till at one core site and the absence of typical meltwater deposits (e.g., sorted sands and gravels) in all three cores suggest that channel incision pre-dates overriding by fast flowing grounded ice during the last glacial period. Given the overall scale of the channels and their incision into bedrock, it is likely that the channels formed over multiple glaciations, possibly since the Miocene, and have been reoccupied on several occasions. This also implies that the channels have survived numerous advances and retreats of grounded ice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Quaternary Research 71 2 190 200 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) |
op_collection_id |
ftunisfloridatam |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Subglacial meltwater Tunnel valleys Sediment infill Subglacial lakes Antarctica Life Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Subglacial meltwater Tunnel valleys Sediment infill Subglacial lakes Antarctica Life Sciences Smith, James A. Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter Larter, Robert D. Graham, Alastair G. C. Kuhn, Gerhard The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
topic_facet |
Subglacial meltwater Tunnel valleys Sediment infill Subglacial lakes Antarctica Life Sciences |
description |
Subglacial meltwater plays a significant yet poorly understood role in the dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheets. Here we present new swath bathymetry from the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica, showing meltwater channels eroded into acoustic basement. Their morphological characteristics and size are consistent with incision by subglacial meltwater. To understand how and when these channels formed we have investigated the infill of three channels. Diamictons deposited beneath or proximal to an expanded grounded West Antarctic Ice Sheet are present in two of the channels and these are overlain by glaciomarine sediments deposited after deglaciation. The sediment core from the third channel recovered a turbidite sequence also deposited after the last deglaciation. The presence of deformation till at one core site and the absence of typical meltwater deposits (e.g., sorted sands and gravels) in all three cores suggest that channel incision pre-dates overriding by fast flowing grounded ice during the last glacial period. Given the overall scale of the channels and their incision into bedrock, it is likely that the channels formed over multiple glaciations, possibly since the Miocene, and have been reoccupied on several occasions. This also implies that the channels have survived numerous advances and retreats of grounded ice. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, James A. Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter Larter, Robert D. Graham, Alastair G. C. Kuhn, Gerhard |
author_facet |
Smith, James A. Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter Larter, Robert D. Graham, Alastair G. C. Kuhn, Gerhard |
author_sort |
Smith, James A. |
title |
The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
title_short |
The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
title_full |
The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
title_fullStr |
The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Sediment Infill of Subglacial Meltwater Channels on the West Antarctic Continental Shelf |
title_sort |
sediment infill of subglacial meltwater channels on the west antarctic continental shelf |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic West Antarctica Amundsen Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Amundsen Sea Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
op_source |
Marine Science Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/1532 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2008.11.005 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
190 |
op_container_end_page |
200 |
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1766377458878119936 |