Integrated acoustic and coring investigation of glacigenic deposits in Spitsbergen fjords

In many areas of Svalbard, the Neoglacial terminal deposits represent the Holocene glacial maximum. The glaciers began the retreat from their Neoglacial maximum positions around 1900 AD. Based on high resolution acoustic data and sediment cores, sedimentation patterns in four tidewater glacier-influenced inlets of the fjord Isfjorden (Tempelfjorden, Billefjorden, Yoldiabukta and Borebukta), Spitsbergen, were investigated. A model for sedimentation of tidewater glaciers in these High Arctic environments is proposed. Glacigenic deposits occur in proximal and distal basins. The proximal basins comprise morainal ridges and hummocky moraines, bounded by terminal moraines marking the maximum Neoglacial ice extent. The distal basins are characterized by debris lobes and draping stratified glacimarine sediments beyond, and to some extent beneath and above, the lobes. The debris lobe in Tempelfjorden is composed of massive clayey silt with scattered clasts. Distal glacimarine sediments comprise stratified clayey silt with low ice-rafted debris (IRD) content. The average sedimentation rate for the glacimarine sediments in Tempelfjorden is 17 mm/yr for the last ca. 130 years. It is suggested that the stratified sediments in Tempelfjorden are glacimarine varves. The high sedimentation rate and low IRD content are explained by input from rivers, in addition to sedimentation from suspension of glacial meltwater. The debris lobes in Borebukta are composed of massive clayey silt with high clast content. Distal glacimarine sediments in Yoldiabukta comprise clayey silt with high IRD content. The average sedimentation rate for these sediments is 0.6 mm/yr for the last 2300 years.     

A 36 Ky record of iceberg rafting and sedimentation from north-west Iceland

Evidence from north-west Iceland's shelf and fjords is used to develop a scenario for environmental change during the last 36 cal Ky. The retreat history of the Iceland Ice Cap during the last deglaciation is delineated through lithofacies studies, carbon analyses and magnetic susceptibility, and studies of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in sediment cores. Sedimentological data from lake Efstadalsvatn, Vestfirdir peninsula, trace the glacier retreat on land. In two of the high resolution shelf cores we detect near continuous IRD accumulation from 36 to 11 cal Kya. However, IRD is absent in the cores from ca. 22 to 19 cal Kya, possibly indicating more extensive landfast sea ice conditions. All cores show intensified IRD during the Younger Dryas chronozone; the fjord cores show a continuous IRD record until 10 cal Kya. Magnetic susceptibility and carbon analyses from Efstadalsvatn reveal the disappearance of local ice in the basin just before 10.5 cal Kya. No IRD was detected in the sediment cores during 10 to Ø4 cal Kya. Some indication of cooling occurs between 4 and 3 cal Kya, with a fresh input of IRD in fjord cores after 1 cal Kya.     

西北冰洋楚科奇海台08P23孔氧同位素3期以来的古海洋与古气候记录

通过中国第三次北极科学考察在北冰洋楚科奇海台采集的08P23孔样品的多项指标分析以及与其他孔的沉积记录综合对比,将08P23孔沉积物初步分为氧同位素3期(MIS 3)-MIS 1的沉积序列。MIS 3以来,楚科奇海台08P23孔可以识别出5个显著的冰筏碎屑(Ice-Rafted Detritus,IRD)事件,分别出现在MIS 2和MIS 3。其中,MIS 3的IRD事件中碎屑碳酸盐岩主要来自于加拿大北极群岛分布广泛的古生代碳酸盐岩露头,MIS 2的IRD事件中碎屑石英可能来源于欧亚大陆边缘。该孔大部分层位浮游有孔虫左旋厚壁新方球虫Neogloboquadrina pachyderma(sinistral)(Nps)的δ18O和δ13C都轻于表层沉积物中的平均值。MIS 3中两个褐色层中偏轻的Nps-δ18O和Nps-δ13C值是由冰融水造成;MIS 1和MIS 3灰色层中偏轻的Nps的δ18O和δ13C值指示海冰形成速率的提高,导致轻同位素卤水的生产和下沉。MIS 2的Nps的δ18O和δ13C值变化趋势相反,是因为温度急剧降低导致Nps-δ18O变重,海水冻结成冰,海气交换明显降低使得Nps-δ13C偏轻。MIS 1和MIS 3的Nps的δ18O和δ13C受到融冰水或轻同位素卤水影响导致同时偏轻。     

Wisconsinan and Holocene Climate History from an Ice Core at Taylor Dome, Western Ross Embayment, Antarctica

Geochemical data and geophysical measurements from a 554-m ice-core from Taylor Dome, East Antarctica, provide the basis for climate reconstruction in the western Ross Embayment through the entire Wisconsinan and Holocene. In comparison with ice cores from central East and West Antarctica, Taylor Dome shows greater variance of temperature, snow accumulation, and aerosol concentrations, reflecting significant variability in atmospheric circulation and air mass moisture content. Extreme aridity during the last glacial maximum at Taylor Dome reflects both colder temperatures and a shift in atmospheric circulation patterns associated with the advance of the Ross Sea ice sheet and accounts for regional alpine glacier retreats and high lake levels in the Dry Valleys. Inferred relationships between spatial accumulation gradients and ice sheet configuration indicate that advance of the Ross Sea ice sheet began in late marine isotope stage 5 or early stage 4. Precise dating of the Taylor Dome core achieved by trace-gas correlation with central Greenland ice cores shows that abrupt deglacial warming at Taylor Dome was near-synchronous with the ∼14.6 ka warming in central Greenland and lags the general warming trend in other Antarctic ice cores by at least 3000 years. Deglacial warming was following by a warm interval and transient cooling between 14.6 and 11.7 ka, synchronous with the Bølling/Allerød warming and Younger Dryas cooling events in central Greenland, and out of phase with the Antarctic Cold Reversal recorded in the Byrd (West Antarctica) ice core. Rapid climate changes during marine isotope stages 4 and 3 at Taylor Dome are similar in character to, and may be in phase with, the Northern Hemisphere stadial–interstadial (Dansgaard–Oeschger) events. Results from Taylor Dome illustrate the importance of obtaining ice cores from multiple Antarctic sites, to provide wide spatial coverage of past climate and ice dynamics.     

GCM-simulated hydrology in the Arctic duringn the past 21,000 years

The Paleoclimates from Arctic Lakes and Estuaries (PALE) project has chosen to conduct high resolution data-model comparisons for the Arctic region at 21 and 10 (calendar) ka BP. The model simulations for 21, 10, and 0 ka BP were conducted with the GENESIS 2.0 GCM. The 10 ka BP simulation was coupled to the EVE vegetation model. The primary boundary conditions differing from present at 21 ka BP were the northern hemisphere ice sheets and lower CO2, and at 10 ka BP were the orbital insolation and smaller northern hemisphere ice sheets. The purpose of this article is to discuss the hydrological consequences of these simulations.At the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka BP) the large ice sheets over North America and Eurasia and the lower CO2 levels produced a colder climate than present, with less precipitation throughout the Arctic, except where circulation was altered by the ice sheets. At 10 ka BP greater summer insolation resulted in a warmer and wetter Beringia, but conditions remained cold and dry in the north Atlantic sector, in the vicinity of the remnant ice sheets. Less winter insolation at 10 ka BP resulted in colder and drier conditions throughout the Arctic. Precipitation - evaporation generally correlated with precipitation except where changes in the surface type (ice sheets, vegetation at 10 ka BP, or sea level at 21 ka BP) caused large changes in the evaporation rate. The primary hydrological differences (from present) at 21 and 10 ka BP correlated with the temperature differences, which were a direct result of the large-scale boundary condition changes.     

THE LAST GLACIATION OF SHETLAND, NORTH ATLANTIC

Evidence relating to the extent, dynamics, and relative chronology of the last glaciation of the Shetland Islands, North Atlantic, is presented here, in an attempt to better illuminate some of the controversies that still surround the glacial history of the archipelago. We appraise previous interpretations and compare these earlier results with new evidence gleaned from the interpretation of a high resolution digital terrain model and from field reconnaissance. By employing a landsystems approach, we identify and describe three quite different assemblages of landscape features across the main islands of Mainland, Yell and Unst. Using the spatial interrelationship of these landsystems, an assessment of their constituent elements, and comparisons with similar features in other glaciated environments, we propose a simple model for the last glaciation of Shetland. During an early glacial phase, a coalescent British and Scandinavian ice sheet flowed approximately east to west across Shetland. The terrestrial land‐forms created by this ice sheet in the north of Shetland suggest that it had corridors of relatively fast‐flowing ice that were partially directed by bed topography, and that subsequent deglaciation was interrupted by at least one major stillstand. Evidence in the south of Shetland indicates the growth of a local ice cap of restricted extent that fed numerous radial outlet glaciers during, or after, ice‐sheet deglaciation. Whilst the absolute age of these three landsystems remains uncertain, these new geo‐morphological and palaeoglaciological insights reconcile many of the ideas of earlier workers, and allow wider speculation regarding the dynamics of the former British ice sheet.     

Preliminary research on the transmission path of nssSO_4~(2-) and NO_3~- in Antarctic ice sheet

The main sources of nssSO 2- 4 and NO - 3 were summarized in this paper. By analyzing the spatial distribution features of major ions in Antarctic ice sheet and studying on the different time of the same volcanic event recorded by different ice cores from different regions in Antarctica, this paper intends to study the transmission path of nssSO 2- 4 and NO - 3. Results show that nssSO 2- 4 and NO - 3 are transmitted to the ice sheet through long distance and high altitude. The procedure of the transmission is that nssSO 2- 4 and NO - 3 are transmitted to the level between the top of troposphere and the bottom of stratosphere, then subsided to the ice sheet surface and spread to other regions.     

Extent and Chronology of the Ross Sea Ice Sheet and the Wilson Piedmont Glacier along the Scott Coast at and Since the Last Glacial Maximum

During the last glacial maximum, a coalescent ice mass consisting of the grounded Ross Sea ice sheet and an expanded Wilson Piedmont Glacier covered the southern Scott Coast. This coalescent ice mass was part of a larger grounded ice sheet that occupied the Ross Sea Embayment during the last glacial maximum. Deglaciation of the western Ross Sea Embayment adjacent to the southern Scott Coast was delayed until shortly before 6500 ¹⁴C yr bp , aconclusion based on ages of marine shells from McMurdo Sound, a relative sea-level curve, and algae that lived in ice-dammed lakes. Therefore, most recession of grounded ice in the Ross Sea Embayment occurred in mid to late Holocene time, after deglacial sea-level rise due to melting of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets essentially was accomplished. Rising sea level alone could not have driven grounding-line retreat back to the present-day Siple Coast.     

Glacial survival of blockfields on the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway

For more than hundred years it has been debated whether blockfields in mountain summit areas can be used to delimit the vertical extent of Pleistocene ice sheets. In this study the relationship between blockfields, developed in quartzites and sandstones on the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway, and glacially derived features have been evaluated. Erratics and circular ablation moraines are superimposed on the blockfields and lateral meltwater channels are eroded into them. Glacial striations and other signs of glacial sculpturing are restricted to low-lying areas with channelled ice flow. Relative ages of the blockfields and the features in them are inferred, and the first measurements of in-situ produced cosmogenic nuclides from the Varanger Peninsula are reported. We conclude that the blockfields have survived underneath at least one thick, cold-based ice sheet. Thus, these blockfields cannot be used as indicators of ice-free conditions as previously suggested for southern Norway. Our results have implications for the potential for land surface preservation beneath ice sheets and for glacial reconstructions in northern Fennoscandia.     

The onset of Pleistocene glaciation in the Barents Sea: implications for glacial isostatic adjustment

In this paper the effect of a delayed onset of glaciation in the Barents Sea on glacial isostatic adjustment is investigated. The model calculations solve the sea-level equation governing the total mass redistributions associated with the last glaciation cycle on a spherically symmetric, linear, Maxwell viscoelastic earth for two different scenarios for the growth phase of the Barents Sea ice sheet. In the first ice model a linear growing history is used for the Barents Sea ice sheet, which closely relates its development to the build-up of other major Late Pleistocene ice sheets. In the second ice model the accumulation of the Barents Sea ice sheet is restricted to the last 6 ka prior to the last glacial maximum.
The calculations predict relative sea levels, present-day radial velocities, and gravity anomalies for the area formerly covered by the Weichselian ice sheet. The results show that observed relative sea levels in the Barents Sea are appropriate for distinguishing between the different glaciation histories. In particular, present-day observables such as the free-air gravity anomaly over the Barents Sea, and the present-day radial velocities are sensitive to changes in the glaciation history on this scale.
A palaeobathymetry derived from relative sea-level predictions before the last glacial maximum based on the second ice model essentially agrees with a palaeobathymetry derived by Lambeck (1995). The additional emerged areas provide centres for the build-up of an ice sheet and thus support the theory of Hald, Danielsen & Lorentzen (1990) and Mangerud et al. (1992) that the Barents Sea was an essentially marine environment shortly before the last glacial maximum.     

Quantifying the erosional impact of the Fennoscandian ice sheet in the Torneträsk–Narvik corridor, northern Sweden, based on cosmogenic radionuclide data

Despite spectacular landform evidence of a dominant role for glacial action in shaping landscapes under former northern hemisphere ice sheets, there is little quantitative evidence for rates and patterns of erosion associated with specific glaciations. Here we use cosmogenic nuclide data to assess rates of subglacial erosion underneath the Fennoscandian ice sheet. By testing whether there are remnant nuclide concentrations in samples taken from sites that include both relict areas and features and landscapes typically associated with vigorous glacial erosion, we can constrain the level and pattern of modification that resulted from the last glaciation. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl data from the Torneträsk region confirm the temporal and spatial variability of glacial erosion suggested by geomorphological mapping. At some sites, glacial erosion estimates in what appear to be heavily scoured areas indicate erosion of only c. 2 ± 0.4 m of bedrock, based on cosmogenic nuclide inheritance. This implies that the generation of severely scoured terrain in this study area required multiple glaciations. The overall modification produced by ice sheets along glacial corridors may be more restricted than previously thought, or may have occurred preferentially during earlier Quaternary glacial periods.     

Quantifying the erosional impact of the Fennoscandian ice sheet in the Torneträsk–Narvik corridor, northern Sweden, based on cosmogenic radionuclide data

Despite spectacular landform evidence of a dominant role for glacial action in shaping landscapes under former northern hemisphere ice sheets, there is little quantitative evidence for rates and patterns of erosion associated with specific glaciations. Here we use cosmogenic nuclide data to assess rates of subglacial erosion underneath the Fennoscandian ice sheet. By testing whether there are remnant nuclide concentrations in samples taken from sites that include both relict areas and features and landscapes typically associated with vigorous glacial erosion, we can constrain the level and pattern of modification that resulted from the last glaciation. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl data from the Torneträsk region confirm the temporal and spatial variability of glacial erosion suggested by geomorphological mapping. At some sites, glacial erosion estimates in what appear to be heavily scoured areas indicate erosion of only c. 2 ± 0.4 m of bedrock, based on cosmogenic nuclide inheritance. This implies that the generation of severely scoured terrain in this study area required multiple glaciations. The overall modification produced by ice sheets along glacial corridors may be more restricted than previously thought, or may have occurred preferentially during earlier Quaternary glacial periods.     

南京年纹层石笋δ18O记录的冰期气候事件特征

根据南京葫芦洞一支石笋高精度²³⁰Th年龄及纹层计数建立24~21 ka B.P.时段平均分辨率3年的δ¹⁸O季风降水序列,精确标定了IS2事件的发生时间。通过与极地冰芯记录对比,发现G ISP2与石笋时标一致,而GR IP和NGR IP时标在相当事件上偏年轻800~2000年。结合洞内另一支不同时段的石笋年纹层记录,证实东亚季风降水与极地气候在反映气候事件特征上有所不同,季风气候在由干向湿的转型期(包括H2、H1)呈现阶梯式增长特征,其持续时间均超过600年,有可能说明除北大西洋温盐环流外,低纬太平洋海-气耦合也是东亚季风气候的重要触发源。     

Crystals and fabrics analysis of an Arctic thermal growth multi-year ice sample

One of sea ice core samples was taken from Arctic by the First Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition Team in 1999. 20 vertical and 2 horizontal ice sections were cut out of the ice core sample 2.22 m in length, which covered the ice sheet from surface to bottom except losses for during sampling and section cutting. From the observation and analysis of the fabrics and crystals along the depth of the ice core sample, followings were found. Whole ice sheet consists of columnar, refrozen clastic pieces, granular, columnar, refrozen clastic pieces, granular, columnar and refrozen clastic pieces. This indicates that the ice core sample was 3-year old, and the ice sheet surface thawed and the melt water flowed into ice sheet during summer. Hence, the annual energy balance in Arctic can be determined by the ice sheet surface thawing in summer, and bottom growth in winter. The thickness of the ice sheet is kept constantly at a certain position based on the corresponding climate and ocean conditions; A new     

A comparison of climate changes between Arctic and China in the last 600 years

A compilation of paleoclimate records from lake sediments, trees, ice cores, and historical documents provide a view of China and Arctic environmental changes in the last 600 years. Many of these changes have also been identified in sedimentary and geochemical signatures in deep-sea sediment cores from the North Atlantic Ocean, Arctic and Greenland and ice cores from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, confirming the linkage of environmental changes of different time scales between the Arctic and China. It is shown that the changes of precipitation, temperature and sea ice cover in Arctic were correlated with climate changes in China. This paper also developed a comparative research on the climate changes between Arctic and China both during the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the instrumental observation period. Cycles and trend of temperature variations during LIA and temperature and precipitation during the instrumental observation period are performed. We found some similarities and differences of environmental changes between Arctic and China.     

近600年来北极与中国气候变化的对比

A compilation of paleoclimate records from lake sediments, trees, ice cores, and historical documents provide a view of China and Arctic environmental changes in the last 600 years. Many of these changes have also been identified in sedimentary and geochemical signatures in deep-sea sediment cores from the North Atlantic Ocean, Arctic and Greenland and ice cores from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, confirming the linkage of environmental changes of different time scales between the Arctic and China. It is shown that the changes of precipitation, temperature and sea ice cover in Arctic were correlated with climate changes in China. This paper also developed a comparative research on the climate changes between Arctic and China both during the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the instrumental observation period. Cycles and trend of temperature variations during LIA and temperature and precipitation during the instrumental observation period are performed. We found some similarities and differences of environmental changes between Arctic and China.     

极地冰雪环境地球化学指标及其指示意义

极地冰雪中可以反映气候环境的环境地球化学指标主要是可溶性杂质和不可溶性微粒。可溶性杂质主要包括H+、Na+、Mg2 +、Ca2 +、NH4+、Cl- 、NO3- 、SO42 - 、CH3SO3- 等。本文在概述冰雪中的这些化学杂质的来源影响因素和时空分布特征的基础上 ,概述了冰雪中NO3- 沉积的主要来源 (即闪电作用和高层大气光化学作用产生的含氮化合物等 )及其影响因素 (包括太阳活动、火山活动、超新星活动、核爆炸试验和沉积后的蒸发及迁移作用等 ) ,SO42 - 的主要来源 (即海洋生物释放和火山喷发等 )、影响因素 (包括源区温度、ENSO事件及海冰面积等 )和它们的时空变化特点 ;讨论了南、北极地区冰雪中微粒沉积的主要源区和变化特征。。     

Late glacial and Holocene marine records from the Independence Fjord and Wandel Sea regions, North Greenland

The first marine sediment cores from the unexplored Independence Fjord system and the Wandel Sea, North Greenland, have been investigated to reveal the glacial marine history of the region. Two key sites in the Independence Fjord system, and an earlier analysed site from the Wandel Sea continental slope, off the mouth of Independence Fjord, are presented. The Independence Fjord sites reveal an early Holocene record (10.0–8.9 Kya) of fine-grained reddish muds with calcareous microfossils, dominated by the benthic foraminifera Cassidulina neoteretis . We suggest that a semi-permanent fast ice cover characterized the region in the early Holocene, and that the deeper troughs in the mouth region of the Independence Fjord system were intruded by subsurface Atlantic water. A stiff diamicton, at least 1.3 m thick, with coal and sandstone clasts of mainly local origin, and a 0.5-m-thick Holocene cover, are found in one of the sites. The diamicton is assumed to represent a subglacial till predating the early Holocene sediments (>10 Kya). Shallow seismic records off the mouth of Independence Fjord reveal kilometre-sized troughs with signs of glacial erosion, till deposition and a Holocene glaciomarine deposition. These features could indicate that glacial ice debouching from the Independence Fjord system at some time during the last glacial period extended to the mid-outer Wandel Sea shelf. Data from a high-resolution sediment core previously retrieved from the adjacent Wandel Sea slope indicate that the maximum ice sheet advance in this area culminated about 25–20 Kya.     

基于新闻大数据的北极地区地缘关系研究

随着全球气候变暖,北极地区海冰大面积消融,引发了严重环境问题,同时使得北极航道成为可能,北极地区的战略地位显著提升。作为近北极国家,北极地区国际关系变化对中国的北极政策有直接影响。全面实时地分析北极地区地缘关系及其变化特征,对中国制定北极地区的政治、经济、外交政策具有重要指导作用。海量全球实时开放数据库的出现以及大数据技术的发展,如GDELT新闻事件数据库提供了覆盖全世界的源于各国主要媒体服务平台的新闻数据,为地缘关系实时监控及分析提供了可能性。本文利用GDELT数据库,引入labeled- LDA主题分析的理论与方法,挖掘了2013—2019年北极圈内8个国家和地区社会发展关键要素,构建了国家（地区）交互网络,发现了北极地区国家（地区）之间关系的演变格局。主要结论为：① 北极地区热点新闻主题聚焦于气候变化/冰盖融化,冰盖融化是北极地缘关系变化的主要驱动因子;② 冰盖融化新闻热度与海冰监测数据变化存在极强的相关性;③ 随着冰盖融化,北极地区的社会经济军事活动激增,其主导权的争夺日趋激烈,总体呈现出俄罗斯、加拿大主导的格局。     

Past glaciation and sea levels on Bjørnøya, Svalbard

Bjørnøya has a very thin cover of unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. Glacial erratics of local origin are spread throughout the lowland areas, and glacial striae indicate glacial movement which was centred middle of the island. No traces of the Barents Sea ice sheet have been observed on Bjørnøya, nor has there been any postglacial emergence of the island. Lake cores date the deglaciation of the lowlands to ca 10,000 BP, and peat deposits on high mountains show that these were deglaciated before 8700 bp.