Modeling ice sheets from the bottom up

Three facts should guide ice-sheet modeling. (1) Ice height above the bed is controlled by the strength of ice-bed coupling, reducing ice thickness by some 90 percent when coupling vanishes. (2) Ice-bed coupling vanishes along ice streams that end as floating ice shelves and drain up to 90 percent of an ice sheet. (3) Because of (1) and (2), ice sheets can rapidly collapse and disintegrate, thereby removing ice sheets from Earth's climate system and forcing abrupt climate change. The first model of ice-sheet dynamics was developed in Australia and applied to the present Antarctic Ice Sheet in 1970. It treated slow sheet flow, which prevails over some 90 percent of the ice sheet, but is the least dynamic component. The model made top-down calculations of ice velocities and temperatures, based on known surface conditions and an assumed basal geothermal heat flux. In 1972, Joseph Fletcher proposed a six-step research strategy for studying dynamic systems. The first step was identifying the most dynamic components, which for Antarctica are fast ice streams that discharge up to 90 percent of the ice. Ice-sheet models developed at the University of Maine in the 1970s were based on the Fletcher strategy and focused on ice streams, including calving dynamics when ice streams end in water. These models calculated the elevation of ice sheets based in the strength of ice-bed coupling. This was a bottom-up approach that lowered ice elevations some 90 percent when ice-bed coupling vanished. Top-down modeling is able to simulate changes in the size and shape of ice sheets through a whole glaciation cycle, provided the mass balance is treated correctly. Bottom-up modeling is able to produce accurate changes in ice elevations based on changes in ice-bed coupling, provided the force balance is treated correctly. Truly holistic ice-sheet models should synthesize top-down and bottom-up approaches by combining the mass balance with the force balance in ways that merge abrupt changes in stream flow with slow changes in sheet flow. Then discharging 90 percent of the ice by ice streams mobilizes 90 percent of the area so ice sheets can self-destruct, and thereby terminate a glaciation cycle.     

Drainage beneath ice sheets: groundwater–channel coupling,and the origin of esker systems from former ice sheets

The nature of the drainage system beneath ice sheets is crucial to their dynamic behaviour but remains problematic. An experimentally based theory of coupling between groundwater and major channel systems is applied to the esker systems in the area occupied the last ice sheet in Europe, which we regard as a fossil imprint of major longitudinal drainage channels. We conclude that the large-scale distribution and spacing of major eskers is consistent with the theory of groundwater control, in which esker spacing is partly controlled by the transmissivity of the bed.It is concluded that esker patterns reflect the large-scale organisation of the subglacial drainage pattern in which channel development is coupled to groundwater flow and to the ice sheet's dynamic regime. The theory is then used to deduce: basal meltwater recharge rates and their spatial variability from esker spacing in an area in which the ice sheet was actively streaming during its final retreat; patterns of palaeo-groundwater flow and head distribution; and the seasonally varying magnitude of discharge from stream tunnels at the retreating ice sheet margin. Major channel/esker systems appear to have been stable at least over several hundred of years during the retreat of the ice sheet, although major dynamic events are demonstrably associated with major shifts in the hydraulic regime.Modelling suggests: that glaciation can stimulate deep groundwater circulation cells that are spatially linked to channel locations, with groundwater flow predominantly transverse to ice flow; that the circulation pattern has the potential to create large-scale anomalies in groundwater chemistry; and that the spacing of channels will change through the glacial cycle, influencing water pressures in stream tunnels, subglacial hydraulic gradients and effective pressure. If the latter is reduced sufficiently, it could trigger enhanced bed deformation, thus coupling drainage to ice sheet movement. It suggests the possibility of distinctive phases of sediment deformation and drumlin mobilisation during a glacial cycle.     

Polar ice sheets: Developments since Wegener

Wegener's expeditions pioneered many measurements that are now essential for computer modelling of ice sheets. Advances in knowledge of accumulation, thickness, temperature, crystal fabric and surface mapping of ice sheets and of impurities, gas content and isotopic ratios of ice cores from these ice sheets are outlined before computer modelling work is discussed. The value of such studies in providing large scale tests of geophysical concepts is emphasized. The paper concludes by suggesting that the drag of continental ice sheets on the top of continental blocks might be of comparable magnitude and tend to balance forces on the base of these blocks by motion of the asthenosphere. Apart from providing a possible reason for the aseismic nature of the Antarctic and Greenland land masses, the hypothesis provides a suitable link for this volume between Wegener's interest in continental ice sheets and continental drift.

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Zusammenfassung Wegeners Expeditionen haben viele Messungen angeregt, die zu Ergebnissen geführt haben, die nunmehr reif sind für Computer-Modelle von Eisdecken. Es werden die Fortschritte in der Kenntnis von Akkumulationsraten, Mächtigkeit, Temperatur, Kristallstruktur, Oberflächenkartierung von Eisdecken und Verunreinigungen umrissen. Danach wird die Arbeit mit dem Computer-Modell diskutiert. Der Wert solcher Untersuchungen für großmaßstäbliche Tests geophysikalischer Konzepte wird betont. Die Ergebnisse lassen erwarten, daß die Schubkräfte der kontinentalen Eisdecken auf dem Top der kontinentalen Blöcke in derselben Größenordnung liegen könnten wie die aus der Bewegung der Asthenosphäre an der Basis dieser Blöcke. Letztere könnten damit kompensiert werden.Unabhängig davon, daß die aufgestellte Hypothese mögliche Argumente für die aseismische Natur der Antarktischen und Grönland-Massen aufzeigt, verbindet sie im Rahmen dieses Bandes Wegeners Interesse an kontinentalen Eisdecken mit der Kontinentaldrift.

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Résumé Les expéditions de Wegener ont suscité de nombreuses mesures qui ont fourni des données aujourd'hui mûres pour établir des modèles de couvertures glaciaires par la voie de calculatrices. Mais avant de discuter ce procédé, mention est faite des progrès accomplis dans la connaissance de l'accumulation, de l'épaisseur, de la température, de la structure cristalline et de la cartographie des couvertures glaciaires ainsi que de leurs impuretés, leur teneur en gas et les rapports d'isotopes dans les carottes qui y ont été prélevées, études dont il convient de souligner la valeur par les données à grande échelles qu'elles ont fourni à l'appui de concepts géophysiques. Le mémoire conclut sur la suggestion que les forces d'entrainement des couvertures glaciaires continentales sur la surface des blocs continentaux doit être d'un ordre comparable aux forces agissant à la base de ces blocs dans leur mouvement sur l'asthénosphère et qu'ils tendent à égaler. Outre qu'elle donne une raison possible de la nature asismique du continent antactique et du Groenland, cette hypothèse, dans ce volume, forme un trait d'union dans les intérêts que Wegener a portés aux couvertures glaciaires continentales et à la dérive des continents.

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On the reconstruction of pleistocene ice sheets: A review

Pleistocene ice sheets can be reconstructed through three separate approaches: (1) Evidence based on glacial geological studies, such as erratic trains, till composition, crossing striations and exposures of multiple tills/nonglacial sediments. (2) Reconstructions based on glaciological theory and observations. These can be either two- or three-dimensional models; they can be constrained by ‘known’ ice margins at specific times; or they can be ‘open-ended’ with the history of growth and retreat controlled by parameters resting entirely within the model. (3) Glacial isostatic rebound after deglaciation provides a measure of the distribution of mass (ice) across a region. A ‘best fit’ ice sheet model can be developed that closely approximates a series of relative sea level curves within an area of a former ice sheet; in addition, the model should also provide a reasonable sea level fit to relative sea level curves at sites well removed from glaciation.This paper reviews some of the results of a variety of ice sheet reconstructions and concentrates on the various attempts to reconstruct the ice sheets of the last (Wisconsin, Weischelian, Würm, Devensian) glaciation. Evidence from glacial geology suggests flow patterns at variance with simple, single-domed ice sheets over North America and Europe. In addition, reconstruction of ice sheets from glacial isostatic sea level data suggests that the ice sheets were significantly thinner than estimates based on 18 ka equilibrium ice sheets (cf. Denton and Hughes, 1981). The review indicates it is important to differentiate between ice divides, which control the directions of glacial flow, and areas of maximum ice thickness, which control the glacial isostatic rebound of the crust upon deglaciation. Recent studies from the Laurentide Ice Sheet region indicate that the center of mass was not over Hudson Bay; that a major ice divide lay east of Hudson Bay so that flow across the Hudson Bay and James Bay lowlands was from the northeast; that Hudson Bay was probably open to marine invasions two or three times during the Wisconsin Glaciation; and that the Laurentide Ice Sheet was thinner than an equilibrium reconstruction would suggest.     

A paleoclimate model of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets

A model for predicting the growth and decay of ice sheets based on the astronomical theory of climate change is presented. The purpose of the study in part is to isolate the role of the ice-sheet physics and earth response under varying ice load by simplifying to the extreme the role of the hydrosphere-atmosphere. Ice sheet physics and the response of the lithosphere-asthenosphere under the ice load are modeled explicitly. Insolation anomalies (taken at a fixed latitude) directly force latitudinal displacement of the snow line. Accumulation rate a, and ablation rate a′ evaluated at mean sea level are specificed as external constants; a,a′ decrease linearly with ice sheet elevation. Rough tuning of the model to the general shape of the ice-volume record of the last two major glacials determines the external constants. Model predictions of the ages of several events in the last major glaciation compare well with the radiological ages. The six glacial terminatios (I–VI) over the last 600,000 yr are identified and the predicted ages compare reasonably well with the δ¹⁸O record for two deep-sea cores. A direct comparison of model power spectra of ice volume as a function of period with spectra of the δ¹⁸O record shows apparent underprediction of power near 100,000 yr. When a quantitative but heuristic method for taking into account the “red noise” spectrum evident in the geological records is used, a much more favorable comparison is possible. The model prediction lends support to the hypothesis that the nonlinearity of the ice-sheet physics is responsible for the 100,000-yr periodicity in the geological record of the late Pleistocene.     

A simple holistic hypothesis for the self-destruction of ice sheets

Ice sheets are the only components of Earth’s climate system that can self-destruct. This paper presents the quantitative force balance for bottom-up modeling of ice sheets, as first presented qualitatively in this journal as a way to quantify ice-bed uncoupling leading to self-destruction of ice sheets (Hughes, 2009a). Rapid changes in sea level and climate can result if a large ice-sheet self-destructs quickly, as did the former Laurentide Ice Sheet of North America between 8100 and 7900 BP, thereby terminating the last cycle of Quaternary glaciation. Ice streams discharge up to 90 percent of ice from past and present ice sheets. A hypothesis is presented in which self-destruction of an ice sheet begins when ubiquitous ice-bed decoupling, quantified as a floating fraction of ice, proceeds along ice streams. This causes ice streams to surge and reduce thickness by some 90 percent, and height above sea level by up to 99 percent for floating ice, so the ice sheet undergoes gravitational collapse. Ice collapsing over marine embayments becomes floating ice shelves that may then disintegrate rapidly. This floods the world ocean with icebergs that reduce the ocean-to-atmosphere heat exchange, thereby triggering climate change. Calving bays migrate up low stagnating ice streams and carve out the accumulation zone of the collapsed ice sheet, which prevents its recovery, decreases Earth’s albedo, and terminates the glaciation cycle. This sequence of events may coincide with a proposed life cycle of ice streams that drain the ice sheet. A first-order treatment of these life cycles is presented that depends on the longitudinal force balance along the flowbands of ice streams and gives a first approximation to ice-bed uncoupling at snapshots during gravitational collapse into ice shelves that disintegrate, thereby removing the ice sheet. The stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is assessed using this bottom-up approach.     

Age and extent of the Barents and Kara ice sheets in Northern Russia

The youngest ice marginal zone between the White Sea and the Ural mountains is the W-E trending belt of moraines called the Varsh-Indiga-Markhida-Harbei-Halmer-Sopkay, here called the Markhida line. Glacial elements show that it was deposited by the Kara Ice Sheet, and in the west, by the Barents Ice Sheet. The Markhida moraine overlies Eemian marine sediments, and is therefore of Weichselian age. Distal to the moraine are Eemian marine sediments and three Palaeolithic sites with many C-14 dates in the range 16-37 ka not covered by till, proving that it represents the maximum ice sheet extension during the Weichselian. The Late Weichselian ice limit of M. G. Grosswald is about 400 km (near the Urals more than 700 km) too far south. Shorelines of ice dammed Lake Komi, probably dammed by the ice sheet ending at the Markhida line, predate 37 ka. We conclude that the Markhida line is of Middle/Early Weichselian age, implying that no ice sheet reached this part of Northern Russia during the Late Weichselian. This age is supported by a series of C-14 and OSL dates inside the Markhida line all of >45 ka. Two moraine loops protrude south of the Markhida line; the Laya-Adzva and Rogavaya moraines. These moraines are covered by Lake Komi sediments, and many C-14 dates on mammoth bones inside the moraines are 26-37 ka. The morphology indicates that the moraines are of Weichselian age, but a Saalian age cannot be excluded. No post-glacial emerged marine shorelines are found along the Barents Sea coast north of the Markhida line.     

Observation of the Earth's radiation budget from space

The planet's radiation budget includes practically all energy exchange between the Sun, the Earth, and space, and so is a fundamental factor of climate. The terms of this budget, observable only from space, are determined from sampled direct measurements of the solar and terrestrial radiation fields. On the contrary, however, it should be remembered that energy exchange between the Earth's surface and its atmosphere involves not only radiative but also non-radiative energy fluxes. Nevertheless, only observations from space can provide satisfactory global coverage of the different energy fluxes that determine climate at the Earth's surface, by way of indirect retrievals of radiative fluxes at the surface and at different heights in the atmosphere. We describe the methods, applied to measurements made with a variety of instruments on board different artificial satellites, that have led to our present knowledge of the Earth's radiation budget (ERB) at the “top of the atmosphere”: global annual mean values of the ERB terms, its annual cycle, its geographical structure, and its variations. We know that solar irradiance, averaged over the globe and the year, varies by only 0.1% with the solar activity cycle; we also know that planetary (Bond) albedo is close to 0.3, that the global annual mean emission of thermal infrared radiation to space is close to 240 Wm^?2, and that these terms exhibit a weak but well determined annual cycle. We also know that cloud cover plays a major role in the radiation budget, both in the “shortwave” domain (global SW “cloud radiative forcing” –50 Wm^?2) and in the “longwave” domain (+20 Wm^?2), thus a net forcing of –30 Wm^?2. Successive satellite missions give consistent results for the shape, the phase, and the amplitude of the annual cycle of the planetary radiation balance. However, the different estimates of its annual mean absolute value remain uncertain, not differing significantly from zero, although generally excessively positive. We also rapidly review the methods used to determine the surface radiation budget as well as that of the atmosphere. For the planetary (TOA) radiation budget, we examine to what extent interannual variations and interdecadal trends have been or could be detected. We conclude with a review of projects under way. We also discuss priorities for future efforts, considering in particular, on the one hand (Ringer, 1997), the need to better quantify the factors that govern climate sensitivity to modifications of the atmosphere's radiative properties, on the other hand, the importance of monitoring the evolution of the present disequilibrium situation.     

Preservation of Arctic landscapes overridden by cold-based ice sheets

For nearly 40 years, a massive, well-preserved glaciomarine delta more than 54,000 years old and ancillary landforms have formed the cornerstone of models positing limited ice-sheet extent in Arctic Canada during the late Wisconsinan. We present exposure ages for large boulders on the delta surface, which coupled with preservation of relict landforms demonstrate that the region was covered by minimally erosive, cold-based ice during the late Wisconsinan. Our data suggest that surficial features commonly used to define the pattern of late Wisconsinan ice movement cannot be used on their own to constrain late Wisconsinan ice-sheet margins in Arctic regions.     

The subglacial thermal organisation (STO) of ice sheets

This paper examines ice-sheet wide variations in subglacial thermal regime and ice dynamics using the landform record exposed on the beds of former mid-latitude ice sheets (the Laurentide, Cordilleran, Fennoscandian and British-Irish Ice Sheets). We compare the landform patterns beneath these former ice sheets to the flow organisation beneath parts of the contemporary Antarctic Ice Sheet inferred from RADARSAT-1 Antarctic Mapping Project (RAMP) data. The evidence preserved in the landform record and observed on contemporary ice masses can be grouped into four major ice-dynamical components that collectively define the subglacial thermal organisation (STO) of ice sheets. These ice-dynamical components are frozen-bed patches, ice streams, ice-stream tributaries and lateral shear zones. Frozen-bed patches appear at a wide range of spatial scales, spanning four orders of magnitude. In some areas, frozen-bed zones comprise large proportions of the bed (e.g. near the ice divide in continental areas), whilst in other areas they constitute isolated “islands” in areas dominated by thawed-bed conditions. Ice streams, narrow zones of fast flow in ice sheets that are otherwise dominated by slow sheet flow, are also common features of Quaternary ice sheets. Tributaries to ice streams flow at velocities intermediate between full ice-stream and sheet flow, and may divert ice drainage from one primary ice-stream corridor to an adjacent one. Sharp lateral boundaries between landforms indicate sliding and non-sliding conditions, respectively. These lateral boundaries represent important discontinuities in the glacial landscape and mark the location of shear zones between thawed-bed ice streams and intervening frozen-bed areas. We use the landform evidence in the area around Great Bear Lake, Canada to trace the evolution of an ice-stream web through time, demonstrating that frozen-bed patches are integral components of this complex system. We conclude that frozen-bed patches are important for the stability of ice sheets because they laterally constrain and isolate peripheral drainage basins and their ice streams.     

Basal temperatures in polar ice sheets: A qualitative review

In recent years glacial geologists have become increasingly interested in the thermal regime at the bases of polar ice sheets, and have attempted to interpret certain Pleistocene glacial features in terms of this thermal regime. This effort has suffered from a lack of a reasonably comprehensive but qualitative review of factors controlling the temperature at the base of a polar glacier; this paper attempts to fill this void. Using the Laurentide Ice Sheet as an example, it is shown that under cold climatic conditions basal melting is likely to occur only beneath the lower part of the ablation area. If the climate is somewhat warmer, or if the accumulation rate is sufficiently low, basal melting may also occur beneath the accumulation area. The zone of greatest basal melt-water production is probably beneath the lower part of the ablation area.     

中国极地冰盖数值模拟研究进展北大核心CSCD

冰盖数值模拟是一种基于多源观测数据,通过构建并求解冰流动力学方程组,理解冰流运动物理机制以及诊断和预估其演化过程的方法,目前已被广泛应用于冰盖变化研究。本文简要介绍了极地冰盖数值模拟方法,归纳综述了近十余年我国学者在极地冰盖数值模拟方面的研究进展,厘清我国在冰盖数值模拟领域遇到的瓶颈和关键问题。阐述了如何与我国的极地冰盖科考优势区域深度结合,协同多源强化观测和数值模拟,研发和改进冰盖模式,提高冰盖模拟能力,对定量估算极地冰盖的物质平衡及其对未来海平面上升的影响做出实质贡献。通过逐步发展冰盖模式的研究能力,有望将来在冰盖关键动力过程和机制的科学认识上有所突破。     

Marginal formations of the last Kara and Barents ice sheets in northern European Russia

Glacial landforms in northern Russia, from the Timan Ridge in the west to the east of the Urals, have been mapped by aerial photographs and satellite images supported by field observations. An east-west trending belt of fresh hummock-and-lake glaciokarst landscapes has been traced to the north of 67°N. The southern boundary of these landscapes is called the Markhida Line, which is interpreted as a nearly synchronous limit of the last ice sheet that affected this region. The hummocky landscapes are subdivided into three types according to the stage of postglacial modification: Markhida, Harbei and Halmer. The Halmer landscape on the Uralian piedmont in the east is the freshest, whereas the westernmost Markhida landscape is more eroded. The west-east gradient in morphology is considered to be a result of the time-transgressive melting of stagnant glacier ice and of the underlying permafrost. The pattern of ice-pushed ridges and other directional features reflects a dominant ice flow direction from the Kara Sea shelf. Traces of ice movement from the central Barents Sea are only discernible in the Pechora River left bank area west of 50°E. In the Polar Urals the horseshoe-shaped end moraines at altitudes of up to 560 m a.s.l. reflect ice movement up-valley from the Kara Ice Sheet, indicating the absence of a contemporaneous ice dome in the mountains. The Markhida moraines, superimposed onto the Eemian strata, represent the maximum ice sheet extent in the western part of the Pechora Basin during the Weichselian. The Markhida Line truncates the huge arcs of the Laya-Adzva and Rogovaya ice-pushed ridges protruding to the south. The latter moraines therefore reflect an older ice advance, probably also of Weichselian age. Still farther south, fluvially dissected morainic plateaus without lakes are of pre-Eemian age, because they plunge northwards under marine Eemian sediments. Shorelines of the large ice-dammed Lake Komi, identified between 90 and 110 m a.s.l. in the areas south of the Markhida Line, are radiocarbon dated to be older than 45 ka. The shorelines, incised into the Laya-Adzva moraines, morphologically interfinger with the Markhida moraines, indicating that the last ice advance onto the Russian mainland reached the Markhida Line during the Middle or Early Weichselian, before 45 ka ago.     

冈瓦纳大陆古生代冰盖分布研究

基于冈瓦纳大陆主要板块冰川沉积地层的对比,并结合古地磁方法对冈瓦纳大陆古生代主要冰期的冰盖分布范围进行再造,认为冈瓦纳大陆在古生代主要经历了3次较大的冰期,分别是:(1)晚奥陶世—早志留世冰期、(2)晚泥盆世—早石炭世冰期、(3)晚石炭世晚期—二叠纪冰期。晚奥陶世—早志留世冰期冰盖主要分布在西冈瓦纳大陆;晚泥盆世—早石炭世冰期冰盖主要分布在南美板块;晚石炭世晚期—二叠纪冰期冰盖在冈瓦纳大陆主要组成板块上均有分布,且冰盖存在时间最长,分布范围最广。3次主要冰期冰盖的中心点位置均靠近南极点,但并不完全重合,可认为气温是影响冈瓦纳大陆上冰盖分布的主要因素,但不是唯一的因素,冰盖的分布范围还受到盆地动力学、地形、冰川属性以及其他具体因素的影响。同时结合在保山地块的野外工作以及前人的研究成果,认为冈瓦纳大陆的3次冰期中,仅晚石炭世晚期—二叠纪冰期对中国的陆块产生了影响,且主要影响了中国的西南陆块群(包括保山地块、腾冲地块、拉萨地块、羌塘地块等)。     

Late Weichselian/Devensian ice sheets in the North Sea and adjacent land areas.

A considerable discussion concerning the extent of the last Scandinavian and Scottish ice sheets has continued for several years. In contrast to earlier models based on an ice sheet extending to the edge of the continental shelf, recent proposals favor a limited geographical and vertical extent and imply that the Scandinavian and British ice sheets did not coalesce in the North Sea. These models indicate an ice-free, open embayment in the northern North Sea and areas of dry land in the southern North Sea region during the Late Weichselian/Devensian glacial maximum. Late Weichselian ice-sheet profiles from the North Sea to the adjacent land areas of southern Norway have been tentatively reconstructed. Low-gradient profiles in the present shelf areas are explained by unconsolidated, deformable sediments on the continental shelf inducing subglacial water pressure and low basal shear stress beneath marginal parts of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Combined with higher basal shear stress conditions in the present mainland areas, this explains the slightly concave and convex shape of the reconstructed ice-sheet profiles in the present coastal and inland areas of western Norway, respectively.     

Thermo-mechanical facies representative of fast and slow flowing ice sheets: the Weichselian ice sheet,a central west Poland case study

This study deals with an issue of thermo-mechanical facies, reflecting specific thermal and mechanical properties of the subglacial environment. The main objective of this study was to develop a model of glacitectionic deformation and its sedimentary record beneath fast and slow flowing ice sheets, based on investigations conducted in Wielkopolska (west central Poland). Sedimentary structures, mainly at the contact between subglacial tills and glacifluvial sediments, were recognized to delineate typical facies associations in a Weichselian glacigenic succession. Each association was interpreted as a record of the different depositional environments related to different subglacial conditions. Those investigations suggest the substratum was composed of frozen and dry, and wet and mobile spots, and four thermo-mechanical facies were distinguished: A – is representative of slower ice flow, dry and cold subglacial conditions, where driving stresses and normal effective pressure were high; B – is also related to slow ice flow and occurrence of cold subglacial permafrost, but with little amount of unfrozen water (however, higher than in facies A), with similar physical characteristics of the ice sheet as facies A; thermo-mechanical facies C and D represent wet and warm ice sole, with low normal effective pressure and driving stresses, thus lowering sediments’ shear strength and enabling high ice-flow velocities. We suggest that these facies have specific and non-random location, thereby revealing the relationship between subglacial thermo-mechanical conditions and ice sheet dynamics. Slow moving, cold-based ice occurred along ice sheet margins and inter-stream areas, whereas fast-moving, warm-based, well-lubricated ice, was typical of the axial parts of ice streams.     

Maximum extent of the Eurasian ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Weichselian

Based on field investigations in northern Russia and interpretation of offshore seismic data, we have made a preliminary reconstruction of the maximum ice-sheet extent in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Early/Middle Weichselian and the Late Weichselian. Our investigations indicate that the Barents and Kara ice sheets attained their maximum Weichselian positions in northern Russia prior to 50 000 yr BP, whereas the northeastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet advanced to a maximum position shortly after 17 000 calendar years ago. During the Late Weichselian (25 000-10 000 yr BP), much of the Russian Arctic remained ice-free. According to our reconstruction, the extent of the ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum was less than half that of the maximum model which, up to now, has been widely used as a boundary condition for testing and refining General Circulation Models (GCMs). Preliminary numerical-modelling experiments predict Late Weichselian ice sheets which are larger than the ice extent implied for the Kara Sea region from dated geological evidence, suggesting very low precipitation.     

Pleistocene glacial deposits along the eastern periphery of the Scandinavian ice sheets - an overview

The Quaternary glacial sequences in the Baltic region in Estonia. Latvia and Lithuania are relatively complete and reasonably well studied. The maximum thickness of deposits (200 300 m) is found in the uplands and ancient valleys. Tills of several genetic types have been described and in this paper the present view on the structure of the Pleistocene cover is given. The ice movement and glacial sedimentation were controlled by climate. underlying topography and tectonic processes.     

Non-glacial paleoenvironments and the extent of Weichselian ice sheets on Severnaya Zemlya, Russian High Arctic

The extent of the Barents-Kara Sea ice sheet (northern Europe and Russia) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 is controversial, especially along the southern and northeastern (Russian High Arctic) margins. We conducted a multi-disciplinary study of various organic and mineral fractions, obtaining chronologies with ¹⁴C and luminescence dating methods on a 10.5 m long core from Changeable Lake (4 km from the Vavilov Ice Cap) on Severnaya Zemlya. The numeric ages indicate that the last glaciation at this site occurred during or prior to MIS 5d-4 (Early Middle Weichselian). Deglaciation was followed by a marine transgression which affected the Changeable Lake basin. After the regression the basin dried up. In late Middle Weichselian time (ca 25–40 ka), reworked marine sediments were deposited in a saline water body. During the Late Weichselian (MIS 2), the basin was not affected by glaciation, and lacustrine sediments were formed which reflect cold and arid climate conditions. During the termination of the Pleistocene and into the Holocene, warmer and wetter climate conditions than before led to a higher sediment input. Thus, our chronology demonstrates that the northeastern margin of the LGM Barents-Kara Sea ice sheet did not reach the Changeable Lake basin. This result supports a modest model of the LGM ice sheet in northern Europe determined from numeric ice sheet modelling and geological investigations.