A seismic study along the East Greenland margin from 72°N to 77°N

Around 4370 km of new seismic reflection data, collected along the East Greenland margin between 71°30'N and 77°N in 2003, provide a first detailed view of the sediment distribution and tectonic features along the East Greenland margin. After processing and converting the data to depth, we correlated ODP-Site 913 stratigraphy into the new seismic network. Unit GB-2 shows the greatest glacial sediment deposits beneath the East Greenland continental shelf. This unit is characterized by the beginning of prograding sequences and has, according to our stratigraphic correlation, a Middle Miocene age. It might have been caused by rapid changes in sea level and/or glacial erosion by an early ice sheet or glaciers along the coast. A basement high, presumably a 360 km long basement structure at 77°N–74°54'N, prevents continuous sediment transport from the shelf into the deep sea area in times before 15 Myr. The origin of this prominent structure remains speculative since no rock sample from this structure is available. Seaward dipping reflectors at the eastern flank of this structure strongly support that it is a volcanic construction and is most likely emplaced on continental or transitional crust. The compilation of sediment thickness provide an insight into the regional sediment distribution in the Greenland Basin. An average sediment thickness of 1 km is observed. The north bordering Boreas Basin has a sediment thickness of 1.8 km close to the Greenland fracture zone (GFZ).     

HYDROLOGY AND TRANSPORT OF MATERIAL IN THE SERMILIK AREA 1972

Hasholt, B., 1976; Hydrology and transport of material in the Sermilik area 1972. Geografisk Tidsskrift 75: 30–39 København june 1976.

Investigations of water discharge and transport of material have been carried out in the area around the Mitdluagkat glacier in East Greenland. Precipitation and snow-melt were measured and compared with the discharge. The relationship between stage, discharge and concentration of suspended sediments were found, and the results were used to calculate hourly values of suspended sediment transport. In a few cases bed-load and dissolved load were measured at the same time as suspended load. The ratio between the transport components has been used to estimate the total load into the sea.     

HOLOCENE CLIMATE VARIABILITY IN THE DENMARK STRAIT REGION - A LAND-SEA CORRELATION OF NEW AND EXISTING CLIMATE PROXY RECORDS

ABSTRACT. Two well dated Holocene sediment records bordering the Denmark Strait region have been used to reconstruct past climate variability. The content of biogenic silica, classic and organic material and moss in a lacustrine record from Lake N14 has been used to infer past variability in precipitation and temperature in southern Greenland. Sedimentologic and petrologic composition of sand in a shelf sediment record from the Djúpáll trough is used to infer past variability in the northwestern storm activity on northwestern Iceland, which probably also affected the inflow of polar waters from the East Greenland Current. Our evaluation of these records with a number of previous studies from the region documents Holocene climatic optimum conditions peaking between 8000 and 6500 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). Mid-Holocene climate deterioration set in around 5000 cal yr BP followed by a further marked setback around 3500 cal yr BP. A stacking of climate variability on a centennial timescale from previous studies in the area shows a fairly good correspondence to the timing of marked cold and warm events as evidenced from the Lake N14 and the Djúpáll trough records. Cooler periods are explained as the response to marked incursions of ice-laden polar water from the Arctic Ocean to the Denmark Strait region. Cool northerly and northwesterly winds along the East Greenland coast in relation to frequent strong atmospheric low pressure in the Barents Sea, coupled with strong high pressure over Greenland, would have favoured southward export of polar waters. A comparison with the proxy records of nuclide production (¹⁴C and ¹⁰Be) suggests that solar activity may have had some influence on the atmospheric pressure distribution in the Denmark Strait region.     

Post-collisional extension of the East Greenland Caledonides: a geophysical perspective

Crustal extension during and following continental collision is well documented in the Arctic Caledonian fold belt. However, models for the post-collisional extension of the Caledonides are mainly based on geoscientific data from Scandinavia. For a more complete understanding of the evolution of the Caledonides, knowledge of the crustal structure of East Greenland is vital. Seismic and gravity studies have revealed a pronounced Moho topography and a west-dipping lower crustal reflector beneath the fjord region of East Greenland. These deep crustal structures are related to Late Caledonian extensional structures at the surface. The observations can be satisfactorily explained by applying simple shear or eduction models proposed for upper crustal extension in Scandinavia to the complementing lower crustal structures in East Greenland. However, exhumation of the Caledonian Northeast Greenland eclogite province cannot be accomplished by these models. Instead, a synthesis of geoscientific data has shown marked differences in the crustal structure of East Greenland north and south of about 76°N, indicating a different crustal evolution of the northern and southern parts of the East Greenland Caledonides.     

Particle-laden Eurasian Arctic sea ice: observations from July and August 1987

During the summer 1987 expedition of the polar research vessel'Polarstern'in the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, sea ice at about 84-86°N and 20-30°E was found to have high concentrations of particulate material. The particle-laden ice occurred in patches which often darkened more than half the ice surface at our northernmost positions. Much of this ice appeared to be within the Siberian Branch of the Transpolar Drift stream, which transports deformed, multi-year ice from the Siberian shelves westward across the Eurasian Basin. Lithogenic sediment, which is the major component of the particulate material, may have been incorporated during ice formation on the shallow Siberian seas. Diatoms collected from the particle-rich ice surfaces support this conclusion, as assemblages were dominated by a marine benthic species similar to that reported from sea ice off the coast of northeast Siberia. Based on drift trajectories of buoys deployed on the ice it appears that much of the particle-laden ice exited the Arctic Ocean through the Fram Strait and joined the East Greenland Current.
Very different sea ice characteristics were found east of the Yermak Plateau and north of Svalbard and Frans Josef Land up to about 83-84°N. Here sea ice was thinner, less deformed, with lower amounts of lithogenic sediment and diatoms. The diatom assemblage was dominated by planktonic freshwater species. Trajectories of buoys deployed on sea ice in this region indicated a tendency for southward transport to the Yermak Plateau or into the Barents Sea.     

Meteorological Observations in 1999 at the Arctic Station,Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn), Central West Greenland/Evidence of a warmer climate around AD 600, Mittivakkat Glacier,South East Greenland

In october 1990 an automatic weather station was established at the Arctic Station (65° 15', 53°31'W), Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn), Central West Greenland. The Station register parameters each 20 minutes, and the paramters have been described in an earlier paper in this journal by Nielsen et al.(1995). The present paper summarizes meteorological parameters during 1999.

During a field campaign in 1999, woody remains from Salix glauca were found on a nunatak, 515 m. a.s.l. on the Mittivakkat Glacier, South East Greenland. Radio carbon dating determined the age of a wood sample to AD 640. Together with analyses of macroscopic botanical remains and insect rests in peaty material found nearby, these results indicate, that a warmer climate prevailed near the glacier around AD 600. These findings are in accordance with temperature records based on studies of ice cores from the Greenland Ice sheet.     

Role of landscape parameters in riverine run-off,and sediment and organic matter yield on Disko Island,West Greenland

Measurements of discharge and suspended sediment and organic matter yield from nine different drainage basins on the island Disko in central West Greenland were carried out in the period 19–30 July 1997. A series of landscape properties (glacier cover, altitude, slope, aspect and vegetation cover) were measured for each drainage basin from a digital elevation model and a satellite image. Principal Component Analysis and regression statistics have been used to examine which landscape parameters dominate the measured discharges and yields. It is concluded that differences in suspended sediment and organic matter yield between the drainage basins can be explained by the measured morphometric properties while differences in water run-off can not. Glacier cover percentage and percent area above 800 m a.s.l. were the most important parameters influencing suspended sediment and organic matter yield in the drainage basins on Disko during the study period.     

Direct measurements of volume transports through Fram Strait

Heat and freshwater transports through Fram Strait are understood to have a significant influence on the hydrographic conditions in the Arctic Ocean and on water mass modifications in the Nordic seas. To determine these transports and their variability reliable estimates of the volume transport through the strait are required. Current meter moorings were deployed in Fram Strait from September 1997 to September 1999 in the framework of the EU MAST III Variability of Exchanges in the Northern Seas programme. The monthly mean velocity fields reveal marked velocity variations over seasonal and annual time scales, and the spatial structure of the northward flowing West Spitsbergen Current and the southward East Greenland Current with a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer. The volume transport obtained by averaging the monthly means over two years amounts to 9.5 ± 1.4 Sv to the north and 11.1 ± 1.7 Sv to the south (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹). The West Spitsbergen Current has a strong barotropic and a weaker baroclinic component; in the East Greenland Current barotropic and baroclinic components are of similar magnitude. The net transport through the strait is 4.2 ± 2.3 Sv to the south. The obtained northward and southward transports are significantly larger than earlier estimates in the literature; however, within its range of uncertainty the balance obtained from a two year average is consistent with earlier estimates.     

Correlation of late Holocene terrestrial and marine tephra markers, north Iceland: implications for reservoir age changes

The tephrochronology of the last 3000 years has been investigated in soil sections in north Iceland and in a marine sediment core from the north Icelandic shelf, 50 km offshore. Tephra markers, identified with major element geochemical analysis of volcanic glass shards, serve to correlate the marine and terrestrial records. Hekla 3, the largest Holocene tephra marker from the volcano Hekla, in south Iceland, dated to 2980 years BP, is used as the basal unit in the tephra stratigraphy. AMS ¹⁴C dating of molluscs in the sediment core shows variable deviation from the tephrochronological age model, indicating that the reservoir age of the seawater mass at the coring site has varied with time. A standard marine reservoir correction of 400 ¹⁴C years appears to be reasonable at the present day in the coastal and shelf waters around Iceland, which are dominated by the Irminger Current. However, values over 500 years are observed during the last 3000 years. We suggest that the intervals with increased and variable marine reservoir correction reflect incursions of Arctic water masses derived from the East Greenland Current to the area north of Iceland.     

The most extensive Holocene advance in the Stauning Alper, East Greenland, occurred in the Little Ice Age

We present glacial geologic and chronologic data concerning the Holocene ice extent in the Stauning Alper of East Greenland. The retreat of ice from the late-glacial position back into the mountains was accomplished by at least 11 000 cal years B.P. The only recorded advance after this time occurred during the past few centuries (the Little Ice Age). Therefore, we postulate that the Little Ice Age event represents the maximum Holocene ice extent in this part of East Greenland.     

潮汐作用下的风沙运动过程研究进展

潮汐作用下的滩面干湿交替是影响风沙运动的重要过程之一。从潮汐作用干湿交替影响下的海滩表层湿度时空变化及其对滩面风沙运动的影响、潮汐作用干湿交替影响下的海滩风区长度变化及其对滩面风沙运动的影响等方面,较为系统地概括和总结了关于潮汐作用下海滩风沙运动过程的研究进展和主要成果。主要结论为：（1）表层湿度与潮汐水位变化之间的关系是非线性的,存在地下水和毛细作用双重的滞后效应;（2）海滩临界起沙风速随表层湿度的变化关系在低于临界表层湿度时正相关,超过临界表层湿度则滩面风沙活动近乎停滞;（3）海滩风沙输送量随风区长度的变化关系按达到平衡状态前、中、后,可分为正相关、不相关和负相关3个不同的阶段。最后,针对当前国内外潮汐-海滩风沙作用模式的研究现状,提出中国未来急需加强的研究方向。     

Preliminary Studies of Soils in North-East Greenland between 74° and 75° Northern Latitude

Jakobsen, Bjarne Holm: Preliminary Studies of Soils in North- East Greenland between 74° and 75° Northern Latitude. Geografisk Tidsskrift 92:111–115. Copenhagen 1992.

The geography of soils has been studied in north-east Greenland between latitudes 74° and 75° N. The study ranges from the outer coast to the interior of the ice-free land area. Well-drained soils show a characteristic sequence determined by the east-west climatic gradient. Fossil soil characteristics and secondary formed features supply information on the palaeoclimate.     

黄河下游断面形态与水沙输移关系及数学模拟方法

以前人对黄河下游的实测资料分析为基础,本文讨论断面形态与来水来沙关系、断面形态对输水输沙的影响,并根据实测资料,提出黄河下游弯段与直段断面冲淤变化的两种模式,建立了主流摆动及坍岸影响断面形态变化以及纵向冲淤量在断面的分布两种数学模拟方法。     

Tectonic control on the distribution of Palaeocene marine syn‐rift deposits in the Fenris Graben,northwestern Vøring Basin,offshore Norway

The location, shape and stacking pattern of deep‐marine clastic sediments on drifting stage passive continental margins are strongly influenced by the slope and basin floor topography. The tectonic control on sediment routes and dispersal patterns, however, is less understood on rift margins, particularly the impact of subaqueous transfer zones or relay ramps. In this study, an area of the Palaeocene marine syn‐rift succession in the Vøring Basin is mapped in detail to unravel the relationship between fault geometries and sedimentary infill patterns. Using root‐mean‐square (RMS) amplitudes and deposit thicknesses interpreted from seismic data, sedimentary elements in the Fenris Graben and the Gjallar Ridge are related to the fault patterns and the overall basin geometry. Older deposits are found to be aligned parallel to the basin axis, with the greatest sediment thicknesses on the hanging walls and adjacent to rotated faults. The main sediment supply is interpreted to be sourced from the Vøring Marginal High and Greenland, presumably containing a significant proportion of coarser grained material and comprising numerous local depocentres. With continued rifting and decreased fault activity, finer grained deposition draped the previous basin infill and smoothed the basin floor topography. Deposits close to the foot of relay ramps along the Gjallar Ridge, however, suggest that the high may have acted as a local sediment source leading to local depocentres. Transfer zones played a significant role in sediment transport during the early rifting phase, and were able to maintain some influence into the late rifting and early drifting stage. Identification of early‐ and late‐stage transfer zones may therefore help in locating coarser grained depocentres and potential hydrocarbon reservoirs.     

Holocene climate and environmental history of East Greenland inferred from lake sediments

Prediction of future Arctic climate and environmental changes, as well as associated ice-sheet behavior, requires placing present-day warming and reduced ice extent into a long-term context. Here we present a record of Holocene climate and glacier fluctuations inferred from the paleolimnology of small lakes near Istorvet ice cap in East Greenland. Calibrated radiocarbon dates of organic remains indicate deglaciation of the region before ~10,500 years BP, after which time the ice cap receded rapidly to a position similar to or less extensive than present, and lake sediments shifted from glacio-lacustrine clay to relatively organic-rich gyttja. The lack of glacio-lacustrine sediments throughout most of the record suggests that the ice cap was similar to or smaller than present throughout most of the Holocene. This restricted ice extent suggests that climate was similar to or warmer than present, in keeping with other records from Greenland that indicate a warm early and middle Holocene. Middle Holocene magnetic susceptibility oscillations, with a ~200-year frequency in one of the lakes, may relate to solar influence on local catchment processes. Following thousands of years of restricted extent, Istorvet ice cap advanced to within 365 m of its late Holocene limit at ~AD 1150. Variability in the timing of glacial and climate fluctuations, as well as of sediment organic content changes among East Greenland lacustrine records, may be a consequence of local factors, such as elevation, continentality, water depth, turbidity, and seabirds, and highlights the need for a detailed spatial array of datasets to address questions about Holocene climate change.     

A general framework for modeling sediment supply to coastal dunes including wind angle,beach geometry,and fetch effects

A series of spatially explicit equations are derived that form the foundation of a modeling framework that provides insight into how the interaction of the fetch effect and angle of wind approach leads to tradeoffs that govern the magnitude of aeolian sediment transport across beaches of different geometry. The spatial distribution of sediment transport rate per unit width at any point on the beach is shown to vary predictably as a function of wind angle, critical fetch, and beach geometry; and this has evident implications for the total volume and distribution of sediment transport into the dunes behind the beach as well as the proportion of sediment lost from the beach-dune system at the downwind margin. As the wind field shifts from onshore (shore perpendicular) to oblique (shore parallel) approach angle, total sediment transport rate across a dune line segment will reflect a tradeoff between transport reduction because of the cosine effect and transport enhancement because of potentially longer fetch distances traversed by the wind prior to encountering the dune line. This tradeoff is most evident on long, narrow beaches when beach width is less than the critical fetch. For such beaches and with onshore winds, the total sediment transport rate across the dune line will be less than that predicted for a wide beach because of the constraint imposed by the fetch effect. However, as the angle of wind approach becomes oblique, the available fetch becomes progressively longer, transport limitations imposed by the fetch effect are negated, and transport enhancement across the dune line is to be expected. With very large angles of wind approach, the cosine effect dominates the interaction and transport reductions across the dune line occur until the wind is shore parallel and sediment supply to the dunes ceases altogether. This sequence of adjustments and tradeoffs were only partially understood prior to this study, and yet they form the foundation of coastal dune modeling. The framework proposed in this paper serves to place future studies of process-form interaction in beach-dune systems on a robust theoretical foundation. It also facilitates the testing of various alternative hypotheses regarding the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of dune height and growth rate in coastal environments.     

海滩养护影响下的海岸风沙堆积——以福建平潭岛龙凤头海滩养护工程为例

海滩养护工程实施后,在保护海岸抵御侵蚀的同时往往还产生其他的环境问题。尤其在强风区海岸,海滩养护造成了滩面环境的改变,使滩面风沙搬运和沉积特征都发生了显著变化。对福建平潭岛龙凤头海滩养护工程实施前后的风沙沉积对比研究表明,养护后海滩的干滩宽度、滩面沉积物粒径、表层湿度、海滩高程等环境要素变化对滩面风沙搬运与沉积过程都产生了重要的影响。主要结论为:(1)养护海滩干滩滩肩高程的提高增加了滩面风速,增大了滩面风沙输沙率;(2)养护海滩干滩宽度的增加既扩大了风区长度也为风沙搬运提供了充足的物源,且不受潮汐过程影响,提供了持续的风沙物源供给,增加了风沙作用时间;(3)养护海滩剖面形态的变化使得海滩滩面沉积物含水率减小,降低风沙起动风速,增强了滩面风沙搬运。     

A REVIEW OF LICHEN GROWTH AND APPLIED LICHENOMETRY IN SOUTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST GREENLAND

This paper presents a critical review of previous lichenometric and lichen growth studies in southern parts of West and East Greenland. These studies include classic work from around Søndre Strømfjord, Sukkertoppen, Sermilik and Angmagssalik. Particular emphasis is placed on those studies examining the role played by climatic continentality on the growth rate of crustose lichens in Greenland. The latter part of the paper presents new data on lichen growth rates from Sermilik, between 2001 and 2006, in 22 different lichen species. Measurements show that different species grow at different rates and growth rates vary from site to site. In this study Rhizocarpon geographicum generally grows slowly (<0.2 mm a⁻¹) while other species such as Pseudephebe minuscula grow more rapidly (1.0 mm a⁻¹) in the same environment. Comparison with other studies shows that taxa-specific growth rates are slightly greater in West than in East Greenland – probably as a result of the slightly more favourable climate and higher precipitation levels. It is suggested that recent climate change, most marked in southern Greenland, will probably result in changed growth curves (over time) for species such as Rhizocarpon geographicum . However, only more precise growth curves and lichenometric dating curves can demonstrate such a phenomenon.     

潮滩围垦对海岸环境的影响研究进展

潮滩围垦是沿海国家拓展陆域, 缓解人地矛盾的最主要方式之一。潮滩围垦通过对潮滩高 程、水沙动力条件、沉积物特征等多种环境因子的改变, 促进生物演替, 并通过垦区土地的人为利 用, 对海岸环境演变产生重要影响。文章从围垦工程对水沙环境的影响、围垦对海岸带物质循环 的影响、围垦对潮滩生物生态学的影响和盐沼恢复与生态重建等4 方面探讨了不同学科学者对 围垦环境影响的主要研究进展及存在的问题, 并指出应加强多学科合作的综合研究, 探讨潮滩围 垦对海岸环境的影响机制, 以寻求兼顾围垦土地需求与海岸带生态保护的持续发展之路。     

A late Holocene varved sediment record of environmental change from northern Ellesmere Island, Canada

A composite record of varve sedimentation is presented from high arctic meromictic Lake C2. The combination of a short runoff and sediment transport season with the strong density stratification of the lake lead to the formation of annual sediment couplets. This conclusion was confirmed by ²¹⁰Pb determinations. High intra-lake correlation of the varves allowed the construction of a composite record of varve sedimentation from overlapping segments of multiple sediment cores. Cross-dating between core segments isolated counting errors in individual cores, that could be attributed to minor sediment disturbances and vague structures. Resolving counting errors by cross-dating reduced the chronological error of the composite series to an estimated ±57 years.The Lake C2 series is the first non-ice cap, high resolution late-Holocene environmental record from the Canadian high arctic. The composite varve series compares favorably with other high resolution proxies from the arctic, in particular with the ice core records from Devon Island and Camp Century, Greenland. A general correspondence between the varve record and other North American proxies for the little Ice Age period (1400–1900 AD) suggests that the Lake C2 record is sensitive to large-scale synoptic changes.This is the tenth in a series of papers published in this issue on the Taconite Inlet Lakes Project. These papers were collected by Dr R. S. Bradley.