Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Lake sediments retrieved from the beds of former nonerosive ice sheets offer unique possibilities to constrain changes in the extent and style of past glaciation, and place them in an absolutely dated context. We present the first pre-Holocene lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard. Radiocarbon dating...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/299561 2023-07-30T04:01:45+02:00 Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. van der Bilt, Willem G M Lane, Christine S 2019-12-06T02:27:39Z application/pdf https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.46633 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/299561 eng eng doi:10.17863/CAM.46633 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/299561 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ nlmid: 101653440 essn: 2375-2548 Article 2019 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.46633 2023-07-10T21:17:07Z Lake sediments retrieved from the beds of former nonerosive ice sheets offer unique possibilities to constrain changes in the extent and style of past glaciation, and place them in an absolutely dated context. We present the first pre-Holocene lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard. Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial plant fossils reveals that the investigated catchment was unglaciated and vegetated between 30 and 20 ka B.P. during the global Last Glacial Maximum. The presence of volcanic ash from a contemporaneous Azorean eruption also provides evidence for ice-free conditions. Indicators of sediment compaction and a depositional hiatus suggest subsequent coverage by nonerosive ice until 11 ka B.P. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data indicates that sea ice variability controlled this pattern of ice sheet evolution by modulating moisture supply. Facing rapid regional sea ice losses, our findings have implications for the future response of the Arctic's cryosphere, a major driver of global sea-level rise. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Arctic Svalbard |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
description |
Lake sediments retrieved from the beds of former nonerosive ice sheets offer unique possibilities to constrain changes in the extent and style of past glaciation, and place them in an absolutely dated context. We present the first pre-Holocene lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard. Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial plant fossils reveals that the investigated catchment was unglaciated and vegetated between 30 and 20 ka B.P. during the global Last Glacial Maximum. The presence of volcanic ash from a contemporaneous Azorean eruption also provides evidence for ice-free conditions. Indicators of sediment compaction and a depositional hiatus suggest subsequent coverage by nonerosive ice until 11 ka B.P. Comparison with regional paleoclimate data indicates that sea ice variability controlled this pattern of ice sheet evolution by modulating moisture supply. Facing rapid regional sea ice losses, our findings have implications for the future response of the Arctic's cryosphere, a major driver of global sea-level rise. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van der Bilt, Willem G M Lane, Christine S |
spellingShingle |
van der Bilt, Willem G M Lane, Christine S Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
author_facet |
van der Bilt, Willem G M Lane, Christine S |
author_sort |
van der Bilt, Willem G M |
title |
Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
title_short |
Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
title_full |
Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
title_fullStr |
Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. |
title_sort |
lake sediments with azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest spitsbergen during the last glacial maximum. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.46633 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/299561 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice Sheet Sea ice Svalbard Spitsbergen |
op_source |
nlmid: 101653440 essn: 2375-2548 |
op_relation |
doi:10.17863/CAM.46633 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/299561 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.46633 |
_version_ |
1772812518081691648 |