Subglacial morphology and glacial evolution of the Palmer deep outlet system, Antarctic Peninsula

Domack, Eugene W.; Amblàs, David; Gilbert, Robert G.; Brachfeld, Stefanie; Camerlenghi, Angelo; Rebesco, Michele; Canals, Miquel; Úrgeles, Roger

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.06.013

Cited by 118 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…. Some of these long, straight channels may be preferentially eroding joints and faults, similar to other areas along the AP shelf (Domack et al, 2006). The bathymetry in outer Beascochea Bay is also rugged, but this region is characterized by an anastomosing network of meltwater channels cutting through bedrock and flowing between elongated mounts, with a few small (< 1 km 2 area), deep (50-100 m depth), flat-bottomed basins located between the mounts.…”

Section: Beascochea Baymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The geological setting of the AP is characterized by Cenozoic tectonic extension and active volcanism (Griffith and Anderson, 1989). Glacial ice flow over crystalline bedrock has preferentially eroded over joints and faults, accentuating their appearance (Domack et al, 2006). The predominant rock types are metamorphic and intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks (Griffith and Anderson, 1989).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7). Subglacial sediment deposition occurs through subglacial meltwater flow and through tidal pumping, close to the grounding line (Domack, 1990;Domack et al, 2006).…”

Section: Basin Fill From Subglacial Sediment Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7). In addition, hemipelagic processes (Powell and Domack, 1995;Ó Cofaigh and Dowdeswell, 2001;Domack et al, 2006) and meltwater plumes originating at the glacier terminus (Domack et al, 1994(Domack et al, , 2006 contribute to sediment deposition in basins. Sediment reworking processes have likely been occurring since grounded ice started retreating; however, the recent warming period in the AP area may have contributed to an 218 Y. P. Munoz and J. S. Wellner: Geomorphology of Antarctic Peninsula bays Figure 11.…”

Section: Basin Fill From Turbid Meltwater and Rainoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the ice retreats, it leaves behind glacial geomorphic features on the seafloor; these submarine landforms have been mapped in glaciated environments in Antarctica Wellner et al, 2001Wellner et al, , 2006Evans et al, 2004;Heroy and Anderson, 2005;Larter et al, 2009;Livingstone et al, 2013;Hodgson et al, 2014), southern Chile (Dowdeswell and Vasquez, 2013), North America , and northern Europe (Ottesen et al, 2005;Dowdeswell, 2006, 2009;Dowdeswell et al, 2010), giving insight into the glacial history of each region. Several seafloor features have been mapped west of the AP on the continental slope and continental shelf Graham and Smith, 2012;Gales et al, 2013), the South Shetland Islands (Milliken et al, 2009;Simms et al, 2011), South Georgia Island Graham et al, 2017), Bransfield Strait (Canals et al, 2000(Canals et al, , 2002, Gerlache Strait , south of Anvers Island (Domack et al, 2006), and Marguerite Bay (Ó Cofaigh et al, 2002;Anderson and Fretwell, 2008;Livingstone et al, 2013). However, the seafloor geomorphology in western AP bays has not been described in detail, except for a few locations (Garcia et al, 2016;Munoz and Wellner, 2016;Wölfl et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seafloor geomorphology of western Antarctic Peninsula bays: a signature of ice flow behaviour

Munoz

Wellner

2018

The Cryosphere

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Abstract. Glacial geomorphology is used in Antarctica to reconstruct ice advance during the Last Glacial Maximum and subsequent retreat across the continental shelf. Analogous geomorphic assemblages are found in glaciated fjords and are used to interpret the glacial history and glacial dynamics in those areas. In addition, understanding the distribution of submarine landforms in bays and the local controls exerted on ice flow can help improve numerical models by providing constraints through these drainage areas. We present multibeam swath bathymetry from several bays in the South Shetland Islands and the western Antarctic Peninsula. The submarine landforms are described and interpreted in detail. A schematic model was developed showing the features found in the bays: from glacial lineations and moraines in the inner bay to grounding zone wedges and drumlinoid features in the middle bay and streamlined features and meltwater channels in the outer bay areas. In addition, we analysed local variables in the bays and observed the following: (1) the number of landforms found in the bays scales to the size of the bay, but the geometry of the bays dictates the types of features that form; specifically, we observe a correlation between the bay width and the number of transverse features present in the bays. (2) The smaller seafloor features are present only in the smaller glacial systems, indicating that short-lived atmospheric and oceanographic fluctuations, responsible for the formation of these landforms, are only recorded in these smaller systems. (3) Meltwater channels are abundant on the seafloor, but some are subglacial, carved in bedrock, and some are modern erosional features, carved on soft sediment. Lastly, based on geomorphological evidence, we propose the features found in some of the proximal bay areas were formed during a recent glacial advance, likely the Little Ice Age.

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Section: Beascochea Baymentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7). Subglacial sediment deposition occurs through subglacial meltwater flow and through tidal pumping, close to the grounding line (Domack, 1990;Domack et al, 2006).…”

Section: Basin Fill From Subglacial Sediment Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Basin Fill From Turbid Meltwater and Rainoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seafloor geomorphology of western Antarctic Peninsula bays: a signature of ice flow behaviour

Munoz

Wellner

2018

The Cryosphere

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A new bathymetric compilation for the South Orkney Islands region, Antarctic Peninsula (49°–39°W to 64°–59°S): Insights into the glacial development of the continental shelf

Dickens

Graham

Smith

et al. 2014

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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We present a new, high resolution (300 m) bathymetric grid of the continental shelf surrounding the South Orkney Islands, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The new grid, derived from a compilation of marine echo‐sounding data, improves previous regional bathymetric representations and helps to visualize the morphology of the shelf in unrivalled detail. The compilation forms important baseline information for a range of scientific applications and end users including oceanographers, glacial modelers, biologists, and geologists. In particular, due to the limited understanding of glacial history in this region, the bathymetry provides the first detailed insights into past glacial regimes. The continental shelf is dominated by seven glacially eroded troughs, marking the pathways of glacial outlets that once drained a former ice cap centered on the South Orkney Islands. During previous glacial periods, grounded ice extended to the shelf edge north of the islands. A large, ∼250 km long sediment depocenter, interpreted as a maximum former ice limit of one or more Cenozoic glaciations, suggests that ice was only grounded to the ∼300–350 m contour in the south. Hypsometric analyses support this interpretation, indicating that a significant proportion of the shelf has been unaffected by glacial erosion. Using these observations, we propose a preliminary ice cap reconstruction for maximum glaciation of the South Orkney plateau, suggesting an ice coverage of about ∼19,000 km2. The timing of maximum ice extent, number of past advances and pattern of subsequent deglaciation(s) remain uncertain and will require further targeted marine geological and geophysical investigations to resolve.

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Space geodesy constrains ice age terminal deglaciation: The global ICE‐6G_C (VM5a) model

2015

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A new model of the last deglaciation event of the Late Quaternary ice age is here described and denoted as ICE-6G_C (VM5a). It differs from previously published models in this sequence in that it has been explicitly refined by applying all of the available Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of vertical motion of the crust that may be brought to bear to constrain the thickness of local ice cover as well as the timing of its removal. Additional space geodetic constraints have also been applied to specify the reference frame within which the GPS data are described. The focus of the paper is upon the three main regions of Last Glacial Maximum ice cover, namely, North America, Northwestern Europe/Eurasia, and Antarctica, although Greenland and the British Isles will also be included, if peripherally, in the discussion. In each of the three major regions, the model predictions of the time rate of change of the gravitational field are also compared to that being measured by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites as an independent means of verifying the improvement of the model achieved by applying the GPS constraints. Several aspects of the global characteristics of this new model are also discussed, including the nature of relative sea level history predictions at far-field locations, in particular the Caribbean island of Barbados, from which especially high-quality records of postglacial sea level change are available but which records were not employed in the development of the model. Although ICE-6G_C (VM5a) is a significant improvement insofar as the most recently available GPS observations are concerned, comparison of model predictions with such far-field relative sea level histories enables us to identify a series of additional improvements that should follow from a further stage of model iteration.

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Subglacial morphology and glacial evolution of the Palmer deep outlet system, Antarctic Peninsula

Cited by 118 publications

References 44 publications

Seafloor geomorphology of western Antarctic Peninsula bays: a signature of ice flow behaviour

Seafloor geomorphology of western Antarctic Peninsula bays: a signature of ice flow behaviour

A new bathymetric compilation for the South Orkney Islands region, Antarctic Peninsula (49°–39°W to 64°–59°S): Insights into the glacial development of the continental shelf

Space geodesy constrains ice age terminal deglaciation: The global ICE‐6G_C (VM5a) model

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