Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland
Loess from west Greenland was studied to evaluate Holocene paleoclimate in the Arctic region. Deposits of loess are formed over long time scales through deposition of fine aeolian sediment and they exist in several places in the world. The main aeolian dust source in the study area is glaciofluvial...
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Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper
2019
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ftuppsalauniv:oai:DiVA.org:uu-394290 2023-05-15T13:11:31+02:00 Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland Arktiska lössjordar som miljöarkiv : Identifiering av vittring med XRF-analys på västra Grönland Karnik, Isabelle 2019 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-394290 eng eng Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-394290 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess loess XRF weathering index Holocene climate Greenland Physical Geography Naturgeografi Student thesis info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis text 2019 ftuppsalauniv 2023-02-23T21:50:59Z Loess from west Greenland was studied to evaluate Holocene paleoclimate in the Arctic region. Deposits of loess are formed over long time scales through deposition of fine aeolian sediment and they exist in several places in the world. The main aeolian dust source in the study area is glaciofluvial material derived from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Studying and understanding paleoclimate can help to make better predictions about the future in this sensitive region. Apart from sea level rise, melting of the GrIS also leads to an increase of aeolian dust as it gets released from the ice, which influences atmospheric and metrological phenomenon as well as the ice sheet’s albedo. This creates negative feedback mechanisms through increasing melting rates of glaciers and warming of the Arctic. Loess samples from two sites in the Kangerlussuaq area were analyzed and the mineral composition was measured with X-Ray Florescence Spectroscopy (XRF). With the measured mineral content, weathering indices were calculated to identify rates of weathering during the Holocene. Increased weathering intensities indicate warmer and more humid climate. The deposits in Greenland are relatively thin. Radiocarbon dating of the sediment suggests that the oldest parts of the profiles are about 4000 cal. yr B.P. (calibrated years before present). Arctic loess has not been studied very extensively. Weathering indices and ratios developed for classical loess, that had not been tested on Arctic loess, was used. The results were plotted by depth and age to visually identify changes over time. By considering the geology, climate and local conditions of the study area, some weathering indices seemed to be suitable, generating matching trends between the two sites. Compared with results from previous studies, the results also seemed credible. Löss från västra Grönland studerades för att utvärdera holocent paleoklimat i Arktis. Lössjordar bildas över långa tidsskalor genom avsättning av fint vindburet sediment och de finns på flera platser i ... Bachelor Thesis albedo Arctic Arktis Arktis* Greenland Grönland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) Västra ENVELOPE(21.867,21.867,66.817,66.817) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Uppsala University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftuppsalauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
loess XRF weathering index Holocene climate Greenland Physical Geography Naturgeografi |
spellingShingle |
loess XRF weathering index Holocene climate Greenland Physical Geography Naturgeografi Karnik, Isabelle Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
topic_facet |
loess XRF weathering index Holocene climate Greenland Physical Geography Naturgeografi |
description |
Loess from west Greenland was studied to evaluate Holocene paleoclimate in the Arctic region. Deposits of loess are formed over long time scales through deposition of fine aeolian sediment and they exist in several places in the world. The main aeolian dust source in the study area is glaciofluvial material derived from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Studying and understanding paleoclimate can help to make better predictions about the future in this sensitive region. Apart from sea level rise, melting of the GrIS also leads to an increase of aeolian dust as it gets released from the ice, which influences atmospheric and metrological phenomenon as well as the ice sheet’s albedo. This creates negative feedback mechanisms through increasing melting rates of glaciers and warming of the Arctic. Loess samples from two sites in the Kangerlussuaq area were analyzed and the mineral composition was measured with X-Ray Florescence Spectroscopy (XRF). With the measured mineral content, weathering indices were calculated to identify rates of weathering during the Holocene. Increased weathering intensities indicate warmer and more humid climate. The deposits in Greenland are relatively thin. Radiocarbon dating of the sediment suggests that the oldest parts of the profiles are about 4000 cal. yr B.P. (calibrated years before present). Arctic loess has not been studied very extensively. Weathering indices and ratios developed for classical loess, that had not been tested on Arctic loess, was used. The results were plotted by depth and age to visually identify changes over time. By considering the geology, climate and local conditions of the study area, some weathering indices seemed to be suitable, generating matching trends between the two sites. Compared with results from previous studies, the results also seemed credible. Löss från västra Grönland studerades för att utvärdera holocent paleoklimat i Arktis. Lössjordar bildas över långa tidsskalor genom avsättning av fint vindburet sediment och de finns på flera platser i ... |
format |
Bachelor Thesis |
author |
Karnik, Isabelle |
author_facet |
Karnik, Isabelle |
author_sort |
Karnik, Isabelle |
title |
Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
title_short |
Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
title_full |
Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Arctic Loess as an Environmental Archive : Identifying Weathering with XRF Analysis in West Greenland |
title_sort |
arctic loess as an environmental archive : identifying weathering with xrf analysis in west greenland |
publisher |
Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-394290 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) ENVELOPE(21.867,21.867,66.817,66.817) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq Västra |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq Västra |
genre |
albedo Arctic Arktis Arktis* Greenland Grönland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
genre_facet |
albedo Arctic Arktis Arktis* Greenland Grönland Ice Sheet Kangerlussuaq |
op_relation |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-394290 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1766247765944303616 |