Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications
Iceland’s periglacial realm is one of the most dynamic on the planet, with active geomorphologicalprocesses and high weathering rates of young bedrock resulting in high sediment yields and ongoingmass movement. Permafrost is discontinuous in Iceland’s highlands and mountains over c. 800 m a.s.l,and...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17981 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/17981 2023-05-15T14:26:46+02:00 Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications Etzelmüller, Bernd Patton, Henry Schomacker, Anders Czekirda, Justyna Girod, Luc Hubbard, Alun Lloyd Lilleøren, Karianne Staalesen Westermann, Sebastian 2020-03-14 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17981 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 eng eng Elsevier Quaternary Science Reviews Norges forskningsråd: 223259 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/RCN/SFF/223259/Norway/Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate/CAGE/ Etzelmüller, Patton, Schomacker, Czekirda, Girod, Hubbard, Lilleøren, Westermann. Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2020;233:1-15 FRIDAID 1802339 doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 0277-3791 1873-457X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17981 openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2020 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 2021-06-25T17:57:20Z Iceland’s periglacial realm is one of the most dynamic on the planet, with active geomorphologicalprocesses and high weathering rates of young bedrock resulting in high sediment yields and ongoingmass movement. Permafrost is discontinuous in Iceland’s highlands and mountains over c. 800 m a.s.l,and sporadic in palsa mires in the central highlands. During the late Pleistocene and Holocene, Iceland’speriglacial environment varied considerably in time and space, dominated by glacialfluctuations andperiglacial processes. To evaluate the dynamics of permafrost in Iceland since the last deglaciation, weuse the output of a coupled climate/ice sheet model to force a transient permafrost model (CryoGRID 2)from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) through to the present. Wefind that permafrost was widespreadacross the deglaciated areas of western, northern and eastern Iceland after the LGM, and that up to 20% ofIceland’s terrestrial area was underlain by permafrost throughout the late Pleistocene. This influencedgeomorphological processes and landform generation: the early collapse of the marine-based ice sheettogether with the aggradation of permafrost in these zones initiated the formation of abundant and nowrelict rock glaciers across coastal margins. Permafrost degraded rapidly after the Younger Dryas, with amarked impact on slope stability. Permafrost that formed during the Little Ice Age is again thawingrapidly, and an escalation in slope failure and mass-movement might be currently underway. Our studydemonstrates that large regions of Iceland have been underlain by permafrost for millennia, facilitatinglandform development and influencing the stability of steep slopes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice Ice Sheet Iceland palsa permafrost University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Quaternary Science Reviews 233 106236 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 Etzelmüller, Bernd Patton, Henry Schomacker, Anders Czekirda, Justyna Girod, Luc Hubbard, Alun Lloyd Lilleøren, Karianne Staalesen Westermann, Sebastian Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450 |
description |
Iceland’s periglacial realm is one of the most dynamic on the planet, with active geomorphologicalprocesses and high weathering rates of young bedrock resulting in high sediment yields and ongoingmass movement. Permafrost is discontinuous in Iceland’s highlands and mountains over c. 800 m a.s.l,and sporadic in palsa mires in the central highlands. During the late Pleistocene and Holocene, Iceland’speriglacial environment varied considerably in time and space, dominated by glacialfluctuations andperiglacial processes. To evaluate the dynamics of permafrost in Iceland since the last deglaciation, weuse the output of a coupled climate/ice sheet model to force a transient permafrost model (CryoGRID 2)from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) through to the present. Wefind that permafrost was widespreadacross the deglaciated areas of western, northern and eastern Iceland after the LGM, and that up to 20% ofIceland’s terrestrial area was underlain by permafrost throughout the late Pleistocene. This influencedgeomorphological processes and landform generation: the early collapse of the marine-based ice sheettogether with the aggradation of permafrost in these zones initiated the formation of abundant and nowrelict rock glaciers across coastal margins. Permafrost degraded rapidly after the Younger Dryas, with amarked impact on slope stability. Permafrost that formed during the Little Ice Age is again thawingrapidly, and an escalation in slope failure and mass-movement might be currently underway. Our studydemonstrates that large regions of Iceland have been underlain by permafrost for millennia, facilitatinglandform development and influencing the stability of steep slopes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Etzelmüller, Bernd Patton, Henry Schomacker, Anders Czekirda, Justyna Girod, Luc Hubbard, Alun Lloyd Lilleøren, Karianne Staalesen Westermann, Sebastian |
author_facet |
Etzelmüller, Bernd Patton, Henry Schomacker, Anders Czekirda, Justyna Girod, Luc Hubbard, Alun Lloyd Lilleøren, Karianne Staalesen Westermann, Sebastian |
author_sort |
Etzelmüller, Bernd |
title |
Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
title_short |
Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
title_full |
Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
title_fullStr |
Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
title_full_unstemmed |
Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
title_sort |
icelandic permafrost dynamics since the last glacial maximum – model results and geomorphological implications |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17981 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 |
genre |
Arctic Ice Ice Sheet Iceland palsa permafrost |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice Ice Sheet Iceland palsa permafrost |
op_relation |
Quaternary Science Reviews Norges forskningsråd: 223259 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/RCN/SFF/223259/Norway/Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate/CAGE/ Etzelmüller, Patton, Schomacker, Czekirda, Girod, Hubbard, Lilleøren, Westermann. Icelandic permafrost dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum – model results and geomorphological implications. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2020;233:1-15 FRIDAID 1802339 doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 0277-3791 1873-457X https://hdl.handle.net/10037/17981 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106236 |
container_title |
Quaternary Science Reviews |
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233 |
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106236 |
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1766300192585285632 |