Holocene moraine chronology, Spitsbergen, Svalbard: lichenometric evidence for multiple Neoglacial advances in the Arctic

Abstract

Late Holocene (Neoglacial) moraines occurring within 1 or 2 km of present glacier margins are prominent features in the forefields of Spitsbergen glaciers. 'Little Ice Age' moraines are typically the most extensive and best preserved; moraines of older Holocene advances are much less common. Where observed, older moraines occur as moraine remnants and provide irrefutable evidence of earlier Neoglacial advances. The fragmentary moraine record indicates two 'Little Ice Age' advances and two older Neoglacial advances. Lichenometry provides calibrated ages for periods of moraine stabilization. The oldest moraines stabilized by ca. 1500 years ago, and a second group of moraines stabilized by ca. 1000 years ago. 'Little Ice Age' moraines were deposited during two periods: an early group of moraines stabilized ca. 650 years ago and a later group during the last several centuries. The proposed moraine chronology compares well with other proxy climate records on Spitsbergen and with moraine records from areas bordering the Norwegian-Greenland Sea.

Atlantic Water advection to the eastern Fram Strait — Multiproxy evidence for late Holocene variability

“…Age glaciation as the most extensive late-Holocene glacier advance recognized on Spitsbergen (Isaksson et al, 2005;Svendsen and Mangerud, 1997;Tarussov, 1992;Werner, 1993).…”

“…Little Ice Age moraines on Svalbard have been widely described to represent the Holocene glacial maximum (Svendsen and Mangerud, 1997). Glacier advances during the Little Ice Age were reported for the Svalbard region (e.g., Humlum et al, 2005;Isaksson et al, 2005;Svendsen and Mangerud, 1997;Werner, 1993) and must have released…”

Recent Environmental Change and Atmospheric Contamination on Svalbard as Recorded in Lake Sediments – an Introduction

“…The glaciers retreated with subsequent 20 th century warming (Werner 1993) with temperatures warmer than at any other time in the last 500 years (Tarussov 1992). There is evidence for recent glacial retreat, especially in the inner-fjord areas, since about 1950-1960(e.g., Ziaja 2001Hagen and Liestøl 1990;Werner 1993;cf. Humlum 2002).…”

Search for Barents: Evaluation of Possible Burial Sites on North Novaya Zemlya, Russia

“…The next day, psalms were sung before all went outside, despite the tremendous cold, to bury the deceased "in seven feet of snow" (De Veer, 1598: log entry for 26 January 1597). Investigations into the burial rituals of 17th-century Dutch seafarers on northwest Spitsbergen, where ground conditions are comparable to those of Novaya Zemlya, indicates that the dead would be taken on land for burial according to Christian principles, i.e., facing east (Hacquebord, 1981;Maat, 1981;Werner, 1990). The deceased were placed in improvised wooden coffins and buried on promontories in shallow (< 0.6 m deep) graves, which were marked with a cross.…”