The role of fluvial sediment supply and river-mouth hydrology in the dynamics of the muddy,Amazon-dominated Amapá–Guianas coast,South America: A three-point research agenda

The morphology and sediment dynamics of the 1500 km-long coast of South America between the mouths of the Amazon and the Orinoco Rivers are largely dependent on the massive suspended-sediment discharge of the Amazon, part of which is transported alongshore as mud banks. These mud banks have an overwhelming impact on the geology, the geomorphology, the ecology and the economy of this coast. Although numerous field investigations and remote sensing studies have considerably enhanced our understanding of the dynamics of this coast over the last three decades, much still remains to be understood of the unique functional mechanisms and processes driving its evolution. Among the themes that we deem as requiring further attention three come out as fundamental.The first concerns the mechanisms of formation of individual mud banks from mud streaming on the shelf off the mouth of the Amazon. An unknown quantity of the fluid mud generated by offshore estuarine front activity is transported shoreward and progressively forms mud banks on the Amapá coast, Brazil. The volume of each mud bank can contain from the equivalent of the annual mud supply of the Amazon to several times this annual sediment discharge. The mechanisms by which individual banks are generated from the Amazon turbidity maximum are still to be elucidated. Areas of research include regional mesoscale oceanographic conditions and mud supply from the Amazon.The second theme is that of variations in rates of migration of mud banks, which influence patterns of coastal accretion. Research emphasis needs to be placed on the analysis of both regional meteorological-hydrodynamic forcing and distant Atlantic forcing, as well as on the hydrology of the large rivers draining the Guyana Shield. The rivers appear to generate significant offshore deflection of mud banks in transit alongshore, through a hydraulic-groyne effect. This may favour both muddy accretion on the updrift coast and downdrift mud liquefaction with probably lessened muddy deposition.The third theme concerns sand supply by the Guiana Shield rivers. The rare sand deposits are important in providing sites for human settlements and routes and for nesting by marine turtles. The limited presence of sand bodies on this coast may reflect ‘mud blanketing’, a hypothesis that requires verification through high-resolution seismic analyses of shelf deposits and coring operations. The large Guiana Shield rivers, especially in Surinam and Guyana, have supplied sand for the construction of significant bands of cheniers, probably enhanced by the afore-mentioned downdrift hydraulic-groyne effect on hindered mud deposition. In all the three themes of this future research agenda, two central elements are the sediment input of the rivers of the Amazon basin, starting with the massive mud supply from the Amazon catchment itself, followed by sand inputs by the Guiana Shield rivers and their river-mouth effects on mud banks.     

Late quaternary glacial history of the South Orkney Plateau, Antarctica

Piston cores from the South Orkney Plateau penetrated overcompacted diamictons in water depths of up to 250 m. Detailed textural and petrological analyses of these diamictons indicate that they are basal tills. Seismic records from the plateau show a widespread surface of glacial erosion and provide additional evidence of an ice cap grounded to a depth of 250 m. Piston cores from the slope of the plateau penetrated diatomaceous muds resting directly on poorly sorted muds with very little to no biogenic material. The ice-rafted debris in these glacial-marine sediments is composed almost exclusively of material derived from the South Orkney Islands. This implies deposition beneath an ice shelf as opposed to iceberg rafting. In contrast, diatomaceous muds contain relatively abundant exotic iceberg-rafted material and reflect a glacial-maritime setting similar to that of today. The sharp contact separating diatomaceous surface sediments from basal tills and sub-ice shelf deposits indicates that the ice cap and ice shelf retreated from the plateau rapidly. Radiocarbon dates for diatomaceous muds from a glacial trough on the plateau indicate that the ice cap and ice shelf retreated from the plateau prior to 6000 to 7000 years ago. The homogeneity of surficial diatomaceous sediments suggests that sea ice conditions over the plateau have not changed radically since that time.     

Seasonal uranium distributions in the coastal waters off the Amazon and Mississippi Rivers

The chemical reactivity of uranium was investigated across estuarine gradients from two of the world’s largest river systems: the Amazon and Mississippi. Concentrations of dissolved (<0.45 μm) uranium (U) were measured in surface waters of the Amazon shelf during rising (March 1990), flood (June 1990) and low (November 1991) discharge regimes. The dissolved U content was also examined in surface waters collected across estuarine gradients of the Mississippi outflow region during April 1992, August 1993, and November (1993). All water samples were analyzed for U by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In Amazon shelf surface waters uranium increased nonconservatively from about 0.01 μg I^?1 at the river’s mouth to over 3 μg I^?1 at the distal site, irrespective of river discharge stage. Observed large-scale U removal at salinities generally less than 15 implies a) that riverine dissolved U was extensively adsorbed by freshly-precipitated hydrous metal oxides (e.g., FeOOH, MnO₂) as a result of flocculation and aggregation, and b) that energetic resuspension and reworking of shelf sediments and fluid muds on the Amazon shelf released a chemically reactive particle/colloid to the water column which can further scavenge dissolved U across much of the estuarine gradient. In contrast, the estuarine chemistry of U is inconclusive within surface waters of the Mississippi shelf-break region. U behavior is most likely controlled less by traditional sorption and/or desorption reactions involving metal oxides or colloids than by the river’s variable discharge regime (e.g., water parcel residence time during estuarine mixing, nature of particulates, sediment storage and resuspension in, the confined lower river), and plume dispersal. Mixing of the thin freshwater lens into ambient seawater is largely defined by wind-driven rather than physical processes. As a consequence, in the Mississippi outflow region uranium predominantly displays conservative behavior; removal is evident only during anomalous river discharge regimes. ‘Products-approach’ mixing experiments conducted during the Flood of 1993 suggest the importance of small particles and/or colloids in defining a depleted U versus salinity distribution.     

Relict magnesian calcite oolite and subsidence of the Amazon shelf

Oolitic sediments occur over large portions of the outer continental shelf off northernmost Brazil and southern French Guiana. Carbon-14 dates, stable isotope values and analogies with similar deposits from other areas in the world indicate that the ooids were formed in shallow water (possibly protected hypersaline environments) during low stands of sea level. In contrast to both modern ooids and other relict ooids, however, the Amazon shelf ooids are composed entirely of magnesian calcite (12 mol % MgCO₃) and possess radial crystal microstructures. A comparison of water depths and ages of the Amazon ooids with the generally accepted eustatic sea level curve indicates that the Amazon shelf subsided more than 100 m 16-21 thousand years ago. Prior to and subsequent to the subsidence, however, the outer shelf remained relatively stable.     

南海西部浮游有孔虫含量与水深关系定量研究

南海西部4°～18°N,1085～115°E海域表层沉积物中有孔虫定量分析表明,从陆架至深海盆区,随着水深增加,底栖有孔虫丰度总体呈下降趋势;而浮游有孔虫在上陆坡区水深200～2 000 m处最丰富,向浅水和深水方向,其丰度均下降,浮游有孔虫百分含量（P）与水深（D）有明显的相关关系。但在陆架区和陆坡－深海盆区,两者关系完全不同：在陆架区随水深增加浮游有孔虫百分含量明显增大,而在陆坡－深海盆区,两者呈负相关关系。经定量拟合水深小于200 m的陆架区,浮游有孔虫含量与水深满足关系式：lnD＝0.021P＋3.208;而在水深大于200 m的陆坡－深海盆区,两者满足D＝－5263P＋52 105.2。这主要是由于陆架区随水深增加,浮游有孔虫增加,但水深大于200 m后,碳酸盐的溶解起主要作用,浮游有孔虫比底栖有孔虫更易于溶解,造成其含量随水深增加而下降。     

中国近海沿岸泥的地球化学特征及其指示意义

中国海域辽阔，分为渤海、黄海、东海和南海4个海区。各海区沿中国大陆均有呈斑块状或条带状的泥质沉积分布。选取各沿岸泥的代表性样品，采用先进的XRF和ICP－MS等方法，测定了K、Li、Rb、Cs、Mg、Ca、Sr、Ba、Al、Fe、Ti、Be、Nb、Ta、W、Sn、Bi、La、Ce、Th。元素的地球化学研究表明：渤海和黄海、东海、南海沿岸泥的地球化学特征分别与黄河、长江、珠江沉积物的地球化学特征一致，显示了元素的物源效应；从渤海到南海，由于气候的变化使沿岸泥中某些元素有所流失或富集，显示了元素的气候效应；中国沿岸泥元素的丰度相对接近中国大陆沉积物的丰度，而异于西太平洋褐色粘土和深海粘土的丰度，显示了元素的亲陆性。     

The Holocene non-tropical coastal and shelf carbonate province of southern Australia

Carbonate-dominant sediments are currently forming and accumulating over the extensive marine shelf of the passive margin of southern Australia. A dearth of continental detritus results from both a very low relief and a predominantly arid climate. The wide continental shelf is bathed by cold upwelling ocean waters that support luxuriant growths of bryozoans and coralline algae, together with sponges, molluscs, asteroids, benthic and some planktonic foraminifera. The open ocean coast is battered by a persistent southwest swell, resulting in erosion of calcrete-encrusted Pleistocene eolianites. Much sediment is reworked and overall shelf sedimentation rates are low. High-energy microtidal beach/dune systems occur between headlands and along the very long ocean beach in the Coorong region. The northern, more arid coastal areas also contain saline lakes that precipitate gypsum from infiltrated sea water, and display marginal facies of aragonite boxwork to fenestral carbonate crusts, with stromatolites and tepee structures. In contrast, the southern, seasonally humid Coorong region, has a predominantly continental groundwater regime where sulphate is rare, and the high summer evaporation precipitates dolomite, magnesite and aragonite muds. Fenestral crusts, breccias, tepees and some stromatolites are also present.

St. Vincent and Spencer gulfs both afford some protection from ocean swell, but tidal amplitude and currents increase, and a depth and inundation-related zonation of plants and animals is established. Muddy carbonate sand accumulates on the sea floor below 30 m, where filter-feeding bryozoans, bivalves and sponges dominate. In shallower regions, seagrass meadows contain a rich fauna that results in rapid accumulation of an unsorted muddy bioclastic sand. Mangrove woodlands backed by saline marsh with cyanobacterial mats are common, and accumulate mud-rich and gastropod-bearing sediment. As tidal amplitude and desiccation increase northward into both gulfs, a supratidal zone bare of vegetation (sabkha) becomes the site for deposition of gypsum-rich and fenestral calcitic mud.     

海绿石质凝缩层－克拉通盆地层序地层划分对比的关键──华北寒武系凝缩层的特征和含义

凝缩层（ＣＳ）是当代层序地层学和沉积学研究的热点之一。作者首次在华北地台寒武纪层序中发现了一系列海绿石质凝缩层（段）。文中重点论述了凝缩层的相带分布、地球化学及其特征自生海绿石的形成演化等，给出了一个克拉通盆地Ⅲ级海平面变化周期的层序地层、年代地层模型及其凝缩间断时间过程。富钾海绿石及其丰度是鉴定凝缩层、其时限和级别的最佳标准。本文从全球海平面变化观点给凝缩层赋予新定义。研究证明，海绿石质凝缩层是克拉通盆地识别最大海泛期和进行层序地层对比的关键。     

Basal Waitemata Group lithofacies: rapid subsidence in an early Miocene interarc basin, New Zealand

The abrupt transition from coastal and shallow shelf sediments to bathyal sediments provides a record of rapid subsidence and deepening of the early Miocene Waitemata basin. Basal shallow marine strata (Kawau Subgroup) accumulated upon a highly dissected surface that overlies deformed Mesozoic metagreywacke. The early Miocene coast was characterized by an embayed and cliffed shoreline with numerous sea stacks and islands. Kawau Subgroup lithofacies, which include pocket beach, shallow shelf and base-of-cliff talus deposits, reflect rapidly changing coastline configuration and water depths as the rugged bedrock surface was buried. The response to continued rapid subsidence and transgression in Waitemata basin was a decrease in the supply of coarse clastic sediment. Beach gravels were locally displaced to greater water depths by avalanching down steep bedrock slopes. The first bathyal turbidite facies, which abruptly overlie the shallow-water Kawau Subgroup, include locally derived sediment gravity flows commonly ponded by remnant bedrock submarine highs. When this local supply of sediment had been exhausted, coarse sediment starvation ensued and bathyal muds accumulated. With the resumption of sediment supply and gradual burial of submarine bedrock relief, submarine fans coalesced and increased in lateral extent. Subsidence of the Waitemata basin to bathyal depths is thought to have occurred in less than a million years. From the above hypothesis, a general model of sedimentation is proposed.     

北极沿岸地区水体中氢氧稳定同位素组成及水分转化过程研究

2010年7月参加第三届北京中学生北极科学考察活动,收集了北极沿岸地区的挪威斯瓦尔巴德群岛(Svalbard)、冰岛、格陵兰沿岸地区的海水、沿岸海水、海冰表面冰样、地表径流等水体样品,对样品进行了氢氧稳定同位素成分测定,分析了北极沿岸地区水体的水循环过程.结果表明,该地区不同水体中的稳定同位素具有不同特征.沿岸海水中δ...     

River tributaries as sediment sinks: Processes operating where the Tapajós and Xingu rivers meet the Amazon tidal river

The Amazon River is the largest fluvial source of fresh water and sediment to the global ocean and has the longest tidally influenced reach in the world. Two major rivers, the Tapajós and Xingu, enter the Amazon along its tidal reach. However, unlike most fluvial confluences, these are not one‐way conduits through which water and sediment flow downstream towards the sea. The drowned‐river valleys (rias) at the confluences of the Tapajós and Xingu with the Amazon River experience water‐level fluctuations associated not only with the seasonal rise and fall of the river network, but also with semidiurnal tides that propagate as far as 800 km up the Amazon River. Superimposed seasonal and tidal forcing, distinct sediment and temperature signatures of Amazon and tributary waters, and antecedent geomorphology combine to create mainstem–tributary confluences that act as sediment traps rather than sources of sediment. Hydrodynamic measurements are combined with data from sediment cores to determine the distribution of tributary‐derived and Amazon‐derived sediment within the ria basins, characterize the sediment‐transport mechanisms within the confluence areas and estimate rates of sediment accumulation within both rias. The Tapajós and Xingu ria basins trap the majority of the sediment carried by the tributaries themselves in addition to ca 20 Mt year^?1 of sediment sourced from the Amazon River. These findings have implications for the interpretation of stratigraphy associated with incised‐valley systems, such as those that dominated the transfer of sediment to the oceans during lowstands in sea level.     

南海西部表层沉积物碳酸盐分布特征及其溶解作用

碳酸盐是海洋沉积物的重要组成部分,在南海表层沉积物中含量最高可超过 70%,因此深入研究现代碳酸盐的分布特征具有十分重要的意义.对南海西部底质的大量取样分析表明,该区 CaCO3含量在上陆坡最高,其中在北部和中南部含量较高,中部和东南部含量较低,其分布特征主要受陆源物质供给量的控制,与陆架的宽度和陆坡的坡度密切相关.CaCO3最富集区出现在水深 400～600 m的上陆坡区,其中水深 500～600 m内的平均含量最高,达 44.37%,水深超过 1 300 m时含量开始明显下降,表明溶解作用增强.对 CaCO3含量与水深关系进行多项式拟合,结果表明,本区没有出现碳酸盐溶解作用突然增强的溶跃面;但在水深 3 500 m附近,拟合曲线出现转折点, CaCO3含量由随水深迅速下降变为相对稳定,因此该水深应为碳酸盐临界补偿深度.     

亚热带中小型山溪性河流—宽陆架系统“源—汇”过程

中小型山溪性河流易受极端事件和人类活动影响,且对环境变化响应敏感,在大陆边缘物质循环过程中发挥着十分重要的作用,但学术界对它们的重视程度不够。以闽江—东海陆架系统为例,通过资料收集、遥感解译、样品采集与分析等方法,系统研究了亚热带中小型山溪性河流—宽陆架系统的“源—汇”过程。研究结果表明,人类活动引起的土地利用变化使得闽江入海径流量和泥沙通量在波动中略有增加,但水库的建设显著减少了入海泥沙通量,并且减弱了水沙通量的季节差异,河流入海泥沙通量变化对流域人类活动敏感且响应迅速;河口水体环境、悬浮体浓度、沉积物粒度组成及陆源有机碳埋藏的空间分布格局均显示,闽江入海泥沙主要分布在闽江河口附近海域,其中粗颗粒泥沙在水动力的作用下主要堆积在河口水下三角洲平原及前缘,细颗粒泥沙主要堆积在水下三角洲前缘斜坡及前三角洲附近海域,仅有少量细颗粒泥沙沿岸向外输运并沿途沉积,与大河流—宽陆架系统及中小型山溪性河流—窄陆架系统显著不同。河口人类活动及极端事件通过改变沉积物组成、环境动力、入海泥沙通量等方式对河流—陆架系统的“源—汇”过程产生显著影响。在当前流域来沙量锐减、河口地区海砂开采等人类活动强度增大的情况下,有必要加强相关研究。     

Changed late Quaternary marine environments on Atlantic continental shelf and upper slope

About 2000 large sediment samples were collected during the early 1960s throughout the continental shelf off the Atlantic coast of the United States to establish and map sediment types including sediments relict from times of glacially low (and subsequently higher) sea levels. In about 510 of these samples we found fossil shells of mollusks remaining from environmental conditions different from those at present. Publications and collections by others contain about 70 additional samples having relict mollusks. Some of these shells indicate lower sea levels, others colder water, and still others warmer water than is now present. Radiocarbon measurements from earlier studies by us and others established the dates of colder water (late Pleistocene), and we made additional measurements to learn the dates of warmer water (about 1000 to 2000 yr B.P.). The results show reasonably enough that continental shelves are the sites of relict faunas as well as of sediments that indicate changed and complex environmental histories.     

Chronology of upper Quaternary offshore successions from the southeastern Mediterranean Sea,Israel

Pleistocene and Holocene transgressions advancing over the shelf that was exposed during glacial maxima drowned any continental and shallow marine sediments deposited during low sea level stands. To complement records from sequences exposed on land, core material from the shallow continental shelf is needed to reconstruct climatic and sea level fluctuations. Two cores drilled offshore Ashqelon off the southern Mediterranean coast of Israel, in a water depth of 10 and 25 m, were analyzed. Sedimentary facies and faunal analyses indicate that most of the sediments were deposited in nearshore environments, with only short intervals of continental episodes. Luminescence dating of alkali feldspar and quartz, as well as ¹⁴C ages of mollusks, date the cores to marine oxygen isotopic stages 6–1, between ∼140 and 5 ka. Comparison between the dating methods shows that most alkali feldspar ages agree with independent sea level and sedimentological constraints while quartz ages are overestimated.     

Marine geology of Port Phillip,Victoria

The marine geology of Port Phillip is described in detail, based on data from seismic profiling, vibrocoring and grab sampling. Three major unconsolidated facies can be distinguished: sands and muddy sands peripheral to the present coastline, muds covering the major central region, and channel fills of muds and sands. The first two facies units result from an increase in wave sorting towards the coast, reworking of Tertiary and Quaternary sandstone outcrops around the coast, and a dominant mud supply from river sources into the central area. The distribution and thicknesses of the unconsolidated facies have been augmented by a shallow‐seismic program that reveals the thicknesses of the modern sediments overlying an older surface comprised of consolidated clays and sandy clays of Pleistocene or older age. In central Port Phillip, muds and sands up to 27 m‐thick have infilled Pleistocene channels cut into underlying consolidated units. Sediments immediately above the channel bases show characteristic seismic patterns of fluvial deposition. The presence of peat deposits together with gas phenomena in the water column suggest organic breakdown of channel‐fill deposits is releasing methane into the bay waters. Outside the channel areas, carbon‐14 dating indicates that the unconsolidated sediments largely post‐date the last glaciation sea‐level rise (<6500 a BP), with an early Holocene period of rapid deposition, similar to other Australian estuaries. Stratigraphic and depositional considerations suggest that the undated channel‐fill sequences correlate with the formation of cemented quartz‐carbonate aeolianite and barrier sands on the Nepean Peninsula at the southern end of Port Phillip. Previous thermoluminescence dating of the aeolianites suggests that channel‐fill sequences B, C and D may have been deposited as fluvial and estuarine infills over the period between 57 and 8 ka. The eroded surface on the underlying consolidated sediments is probably the same 118 ka age as a disconformity within the Nepean aeolianites. Further estuarine and aeolianite facies extend below the disconformity to 60 m below sea‐level, and may extend the Quaternary depositional record to ca 810 ka. Pliocene and older Tertiary units progressively subcrop below the Quaternary northwards up the bay.     

Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the south-west coast of Namibia

Coastal sediment-filled depressions (pans) are one of the few areas that contain Quaternary records of sea-level and palaeoenvironmental change along the western margin of southern Africa. Anichab is a 128 km² salt-encrusted pan on the hyper-arid southern coast of Namibia with an emergent, well-preserved and in-place mid-Holocene mollusc assemblage. The molluscs are typical of subtidal sands on the sheltered side of offshore islands but include several warm-water species no longer found living along this coast. The Holocene evolution of the pan was largely influenced by changes in sea level and supply of sand along the coast. Calibrated radiocarbon ages of mollusc shells indicate a maximum Holocene sea level of ca 2 m above mean sea level (msl) from 7·0 to 6·3 ka and a return to near present-day sea level by 5·3 ka. The pan surface is 2 m below msl and has been emergent since 4·9 ka from the build up of sandy beaches and coastal dunes. A thin (1–4 cm) halite crust occurs over much of the pan surface but a layer of halite-cemented sand up to 40 cm thick is restricted to the central pan. Gypsum occurs near the subsurface brine interface and is limited by calcium to the edges of the pan. Nodules of calcite-cemented sand are forming in brackish, relatively high alkalinity subsurface waters in the south-east corner of the pan and nodules of aragonite-cemented sand are forming in brines 1 m below the central pan surface. Although modern dolomite has been reported from coastal lagoons of Brazil and Australia, carbonate cements are a minor feature of Anichab Pan and dolomite was restricted to a single reworked nodule most likely of Late Pleistocene age. Therefore, Anichab Pan does not appear to be a modern analogue to extensive, mixed-water dolomite cements found in Upper Pleistocene sediment-filled depressions on the Namibian shelf.     

Pore water fluoride in Peru continental margin sediments: Uptake from seawater

Fluoride analyses display downward decreasing pore water gradients in Peru shelf phosphatic muds that require diffusion from the overlying seawater into the sediment column and removal by reaction within the upper few tens of centimeters, presumably by incorporation into carbonate fluorapatite. The profiles can be modeled as first-order F-removal with rate constants of ~3 yr^?1 and asymptotic F-concentrations deep in the cores of 35–45 μM, almost one-half the seawater value. The integrated flux of fluoride from seawater into organic-rich shelf sediments in coastal-upwelling zones (phosphatic muds) yields a contemporaneous global F-burial of 0.54 × 10¹⁰ mol-F yr^?1, about one-fifth the burial in other sinks (mostly carbonates and opal). The associated burial flux of phosphorus in shelf phosphorites is about 1.6 × 10¹⁰ mol-P yr^?1, comparable to P-burial in the deep sea with organic matter (~1.4 × 10¹⁰ mol yr^?1) and biogenic carbonates (~1.4 × 10¹⁰ mol yr^?1). Thus phosphorite formation on the Peru shelf is a significant contemporaneous process.     

Radiocarbon dates from the East China sea and their geological implications

Radiocarbon analysis plays an important role in studying the Quaternary geologic history of the East China Sea. More than 200 ¹⁴C dates have been published in various Chinese publications. The continental shelf of the East China Sea is one of the few large continental shelves in the world. Many low-lying flats and deltaic plains lie along the coast making it a favorable site for sea-level studies. Radiocarbon data from Neolithic sites, chenier ramparts, peaty deposits, and submarine sediments converge to suggest that oscillations of sea level have occurred: they also suggest that the lowest glacial sea levels probably occurred between 22,000 and 19,000 yr B.P. Calculation of the volume of the Yangtze River Delta, together with ¹⁴C dates, indicates that more than 89% of the solid particles carried by the river were deposited in the delta. Due to the sedimentary load, the crust beneath the delta has subsided isostatically and tilted seaward. Marine shells provide many acceptable ¹⁴C dates, but because they are easily transported, most samples from the continental shelf cannot be directly related to the history of sea-level changes.     

Till and moraine emplacement in a deforming bed surge - an example from a marine environment

The glacier Sefstrombreen in Spitsbergen surged across an arm of the sea between 1882 and 1886 and rode up onto the island Coraholmen. Marine and terrestrial geological observations and archive records show that the glacier advanced on a deforming carpet of marine mud which was eroded from its original location, transported, and smeared over the sea bed and Coraholmen as a deformation till. The glacier emplaced about 210⁸M³ (0.2 km³) of drift in the terminal 2 km of its advance in a maximum of 14 years, leaving a thickness of up to 20 m on Coraholmen, which was doubled in size as a result.During the surge, subglacial muds were characterised by high water pressures, low effective pressures and low frictional resistance to glacier movement. Original sedimentary inhomogenities permit fold structures to be identified, but repeated refolding and progressive remoulding produce mixing and homogenisation of deformation tills.The surge was probably shortlived, and as the heavily crevassed glacier stagnated, underlying water saturated muds were intruded into crevasses and then extruded on the glacier surface. Reticulate “crevasse-intrusion” ridges on Coraholmen and the sea floor reflect the orientation of surge generated crevasses. Water and sediment was also extruded beyond the glacier at its maximum extent, to form extensive flows producing “till tongues” both on Coraholmen and the sea floor extending over 1.3 km from the glacier.It is argued that subglacial deformation of pre-existing sediment will almost invariably be associated with glaciation of marine areas and that this process will not only produce deformation tills through remoulding of pre-existing sediments, but will also play a fundamental role in glacier dynamics. Criteria which permit glacial tills produced by such events from marine and glaciomarine muds are discussed.