Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen
Blomstrandsøya, at Kongsfjord (78° 57’N), Spitsbergen, is within the high arctic, a completely permafrozen zone. The bedrock consists of Paleozoic marbles and has yielded a surprising amount of karst features. Early phases of hydrothermal, possibly Caledonian, speleogenesis and subsequent Devonian k...
Published in: | International Journal of Speleology |
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Digital Commons @ University of South Florida
2006
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol35/iss1/5 https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/context/ijs/article/1202/viewcontent/63.536.35_Lauritzen.pdf |
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ftusouthflorida:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:ijs-1202 2023-07-30T04:01:32+02:00 Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen Lauritzen, Stein-Erik 2006-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol35/iss1/5 https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/context/ijs/article/1202/viewcontent/63.536.35_Lauritzen.pdf unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol35/iss1/5 doi:10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/context/ijs/article/1202/viewcontent/63.536.35_Lauritzen.pdf International Journal of Speleology karst speleogenesis arctic permafrost Quaternary subglacial Earth Sciences Geology Physical Sciences and Mathematics article 2006 ftusouthflorida https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 2023-07-13T21:40:47Z Blomstrandsøya, at Kongsfjord (78° 57’N), Spitsbergen, is within the high arctic, a completely permafrozen zone. The bedrock consists of Paleozoic marbles and has yielded a surprising amount of karst features. Early phases of hydrothermal, possibly Caledonian, speleogenesis and subsequent Devonian karstification with redbed deposits is well documented. 62 active seacaves, and more than 30 relict karst caves were found in the coastal cliffs and in escarpment faces around the island. All caves have very limited extent; they are either quite short, like most of the active sea caves, or they are soon choked by frozen sediments and ground ice after a few meters. The deepest penetration was some 34 m into the surface cliff. Many of the relict caves are scalloped and display welldefined paragenetic wall and ceiling half-tubes, implying that they are indeed conduits, leading further into the rock mass, beyond their present permafrozen terminations. Most of the speleogenetic volume of the relict caves is ascribed to sub-glacial conditions during stadials, when the site was covered beneath thick ice sheets. In many cases, the present caves were formed by reactivation of pre-existing paleokarst voids. Due to the present intense gelifraction and erosion in the littoral zone, and the relatively constant sea level during the past 9.5 kyr, most of the volume of the sea caves can be explained by processes acting during the Holocene. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice Kongsfjord* permafrost Spitsbergen University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP Arctic Kongsfjord ENVELOPE(29.319,29.319,70.721,70.721) International Journal of Speleology 35 1 37 58 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP |
op_collection_id |
ftusouthflorida |
language |
unknown |
topic |
karst speleogenesis arctic permafrost Quaternary subglacial Earth Sciences Geology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
spellingShingle |
karst speleogenesis arctic permafrost Quaternary subglacial Earth Sciences Geology Physical Sciences and Mathematics Lauritzen, Stein-Erik Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
topic_facet |
karst speleogenesis arctic permafrost Quaternary subglacial Earth Sciences Geology Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
description |
Blomstrandsøya, at Kongsfjord (78° 57’N), Spitsbergen, is within the high arctic, a completely permafrozen zone. The bedrock consists of Paleozoic marbles and has yielded a surprising amount of karst features. Early phases of hydrothermal, possibly Caledonian, speleogenesis and subsequent Devonian karstification with redbed deposits is well documented. 62 active seacaves, and more than 30 relict karst caves were found in the coastal cliffs and in escarpment faces around the island. All caves have very limited extent; they are either quite short, like most of the active sea caves, or they are soon choked by frozen sediments and ground ice after a few meters. The deepest penetration was some 34 m into the surface cliff. Many of the relict caves are scalloped and display welldefined paragenetic wall and ceiling half-tubes, implying that they are indeed conduits, leading further into the rock mass, beyond their present permafrozen terminations. Most of the speleogenetic volume of the relict caves is ascribed to sub-glacial conditions during stadials, when the site was covered beneath thick ice sheets. In many cases, the present caves were formed by reactivation of pre-existing paleokarst voids. Due to the present intense gelifraction and erosion in the littoral zone, and the relatively constant sea level during the past 9.5 kyr, most of the volume of the sea caves can be explained by processes acting during the Holocene. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lauritzen, Stein-Erik |
author_facet |
Lauritzen, Stein-Erik |
author_sort |
Lauritzen, Stein-Erik |
title |
Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
title_short |
Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
title_full |
Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
title_fullStr |
Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
title_full_unstemmed |
Caves and speleogenesis at Blomstrandsøya, Kongsfjord, W. Spitsbergen |
title_sort |
caves and speleogenesis at blomstrandsøya, kongsfjord, w. spitsbergen |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol35/iss1/5 https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/context/ijs/article/1202/viewcontent/63.536.35_Lauritzen.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(29.319,29.319,70.721,70.721) |
geographic |
Arctic Kongsfjord |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kongsfjord |
genre |
Arctic Ice Kongsfjord* permafrost Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice Kongsfjord* permafrost Spitsbergen |
op_source |
International Journal of Speleology |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol35/iss1/5 doi:10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/context/ijs/article/1202/viewcontent/63.536.35_Lauritzen.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.35.1.5 |
container_title |
International Journal of Speleology |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
37 |
op_container_end_page |
58 |
_version_ |
1772812308816330752 |