Landform and sediment imprints of fast glacier flow in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet

Evidence for former fast glacier flow (ice streaming) in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet is identified on the basis of regional glacial geomorphology and sedimentology, highlighting the depositional processes associated with the margin of a terrestrial terminating ice stream. Preliminary mapping from a digital elevation model of Alberta identifies corridors of smoothed topography and corridor‐parallel streamlined landforms (megaflutes to mega‐lineations) that display high levels of spatial coherency. Ridges that lie transverse to the dominant streamlining patterns are interpreted as: (a) series of minor recessional push moraines; (b) thrust block moraines or composite ridges/hill–hole pairs constructed during readvances/surges; and (c) overridden moraines (cupola hills), apparently of thrust origin. Together these landforms demarcate the beds and margins of former fast ice flow trunks or ice streams that terminated as lobate forms. Localised cross‐cutting and/or misalignment of flow sets indicates temporal separation and the overprinting of ice streams/lobes. The fast‐flow tracks are separated by areas of interlobate or inter‐stream terrain in which moraines have been constructed at the margins of neighbouring (competing) ice streams/outlet glaciers; this inter‐stream terrain was covered by more sluggish, non‐streaming ice during full glacial conditions. Thin tills at the centres of the fast‐flow corridors, in many places unconformably overlying stratified sediments, suggest that widespread till deformation may have been subordinate to basal sliding in driving fast ice flow but the general thickening of tills towards the lobate terminal margins of ice streams/outlet glaciers is consistent with subglacial deformation theory. In this area of relatively low relief we speculate that fast glacier flow or streaming was highly dynamic and transitory, sometimes with fast‐flowing trunks topographically fixed in their onset zones and with the terminus migrating laterally. The occurrence of minor push moraines and flutings and associated landforms, because of their similarity to modern active temperate glacial landsystems, are interpreted as indicative of ice lobe marginal oscillations, possibly in response to seasonal climatic forcing, in locations where meltwater was more effectively drained from the glacier bed. Further north, the occurrence of surging glacier landsystems suggests that persistent fast glacier flow gave way to more transitory surging, possibly in response to the decreasing size of ice reservoir areas in dispersal centres and also locally facilitated by ice‐bed decoupling and drawdown initiated by the development of ice‐dammed lakes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

东喀喇昆仑山昆常冰川近期跃动特征

研究冰川跃动过程及特征是理解冰川跃动机理的重要途径,目前仍然缺乏详细的冰川跃动过程观测。利用Envisat-1/ASAR、Sentinel-1A、TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X等合成孔径雷达数据,获得了东喀喇昆仑山昆常冰川详细的表面流速与表面高程变化。结果表明：2000—2012年冰川中部隆起,平均增厚（10.19±1.79） m,冰川接收区以消融为主,平均减薄（39.71±1.79） m;2012—2014年冰川主干中部隆起向下迁移,平均增厚（8.21±1.37） m;2018年后积蓄区厚度平均减薄（9.77±3.38） m,接收区平均增厚（19.67±3.38） m。冰川主干表面流速从2007年起增加,并且在2017—2018年内经历过两次快速运动期,两个阶段的最高流速分别达到2.36 m·d^-1和2.12 m·d^-1。根据表面高程变化以及流速变化特征,认为昆常冰川在2007—2019年间发生跃动。时序流速表明,昆常冰川很可能是积蓄区发生微跃动/雪崩形成隆起（跃动前锋）,并且两次快速运动后突然减速发生在夏末,很可能是冰下水文通道打开排水使得冰下静水压力减弱从而导致跃动停止,属于阿拉斯加型跃动。结合ITS_LIVE流速数据分析,初步确定其近两次跃动的间隔约为30年。同时对比时间序列的Landsat图像发现,2004—2005年间昆常冰川南分支发生跃动,致使分支末端的小冰湖消失。     

Ice marginal dynamics during surge activity,Kuannersuit Glacier,Disko Island,West Greenland

The Kuannersuit Glacier surged 11 km between 1995 and 1998. The surge resulted in the formation of an ice cored thrust moraine complex constructed by subglacial and proglacial glaciotectonic processes. Four main thrust zones are evident in the glacier snout area with phases of compressional folding and thrusting followed by hydrofracture in response to the build-up of compressional stresses and the aquicludal nature of submarginal permafrost and naled. Various types of stratified debris-rich ice facies occur within the marginal zone: The first (Facies I) comprises laterally continuous strata of ice with sorted sediment accumulations, and is reworked and thrust naled ice. The second is laterally discontinuous stratified debris-rich ice with distinct tectonic structures, and is derived through subglacial extensional deformation and localised regelation (Facies II), whilst the third type is characterised by reworked and brecciated ice associated with the reworking and entrainment of meteoric ice (Facies III). Hydrofracture dykes and sills (Facies IV) cross-cut the marginal ice cored thrust moraines, with their sub-vertically frozen internal contact boundaries and sedimentary structures, suggesting supercooling operated as high-pressure evacuation of water occurred during thrusting, but this is not related to the formation of basal stratified debris-rich ice. Linear distributions of sorted fines transverse to ice flow, and small stratified sediment ridges that vertically cross-cut the ice surface up-ice of the thrust zone relate to sediment migration along crevasse traces and fluvial infilling of crevasses. From a palaeoglaciological viewpoint, marginal glacier tectonics, ice sediment content and sediment delivery mechanisms combine to control the development of this polythermal surge valley landsystem. The bulldozing of proglacial sediments and the folding and thrusting of naled leads to the initial development of the outer zone of the moraine complex. This becomes buried in bulldozed outwash sediment and well-sorted fines through surface ablation of naled. Up-ice of this, the heavily thrust margin becomes buried in sediment melted out from basal debris-rich ice and subglacial diamicts routed along thrusts. These mechanisms combine to deliver sediment to supraglacial localities, and promote the initial preservation of structurally controlled moraines through insulation, and the later development of kettled dead ice terrain.     

Structure and composition of a tidewater glacier push moraine, Svalbard, revealed by DC resistivity profiling

A push moraine deposited by the surging tidewater glacier Paulabreen (Svalbard) was investigated using 2D resistivity profiling. Six longitudinal and transverse profiles were obtained on the moraine and the resistivities were compared with data from three boreholes. Four profiles indicate that the inner part of the moraine is ice-cored and that the buried glacier ice is more than 30 m thick. A transverse profile shows evidence of basal crevasses near the former glacier margin. Three profiles cross the former glacier margin and onto a proglacial plain which dips slightly away from the former glacier margin. Low resistivities were encountered where borehole and field observations indicate that the plain consists of marine muds with a high salt content. This landform has previously been interpreted as a slab of seabed pushed up in front of the surging glacier, possibly facilitated by permafrost in the seabed. We suggest, alternatively, that the landform originated from sediments extruded from below (or pushed in front of) the glacier at the surge terminus and deposited as a debrisflow. Ground penetrating radar can reveal small-scale structures, but larger structures and overall composition are better imaged by resistivity measurements.     

帕米尔中部North Kyzkurgan冰川跃动变化遥感监测

跃动冰川作为一种特殊类型的冰川,蕴含着巨大的灾害风险,对其开展监测研究具有重要意义。本研究基于1973年以来的Landsat影像、ASTER立体像对和ITS_LIVE数据产品,监测分析了帕米尔中部North Kyzkurgan冰川在跃动前、跃动中、跃动后的面积、高程、流速变化,揭示了该冰川完整的跃动发生过程。结果表明：North Kyzkurgan冰川是一条典型的跃动冰川,在1973—2011年处于恢复阶;2011—2016年处于跃动阶;2016年之后重新进入恢复阶。North Kyzkurgan冰川所在地区气候寒冷,降雪量丰富,同时该冰川积累区面积比率超过0.8,冰川作用正差近1 000 m,因此冰川补给物质充足。在积蓄区物质积累、不断增厚的情况下,冰川底部达到压力熔点,融水不断增多,在融水的润滑和顶托作用下,最终导致冰川发生跃动。因此,North Kyzkurgan冰川跃动的发生主要与热力学因素有关。     

Sedimentation and stratigraphy at Eyjabakkajökull—An Icelandic surging glacier

A model for sedimentation by surging glaciers is developed from analysis of the debris load, sedimentary processes, and proglacial stratigraphy observed at the Icelandic surging glacier, Eyjabakkajökull. Three aspects of the behavior of surging glaciers explain the distinctive landformsediment associations which they may produce: (a) sudden loading of proglacial sediments during rapid glacier advances results in the buildup of excess pore pressures, failure, and glacitectonic deformation of the overridden sediments; (b) reactivation of stagnant marginal ice by the downglacier propagation of surges is associated with large longitudinal compressive stresses. These induce intense folding and thrusting during which basal debris-rich ice is elevated into an englacial position in a narrow marginal zone. As the terminal area of the glacier stagnates between surges, debris from this ice is released supraglacially and deposited by meltout and sediment flows; (c) local variations in overburden pressure beneath stagnant, crevassed ice cause subglacial lodgement tills, which are sheared during surges, to flow into open crevasses and form “crevasse-fill” ridges.     

The formation of a geometrical ridge network by the surge-type glacier Kongsvegen,Svalbard

Traditionally, geometrical ridge networks are interpreted as the product of the flow of subglacial sediment into open basal crevasses at the cessation of a glacier surge (‘crevasse-fill’ ridges). They are widely regarded as a characteristic landform of glacier surges. Understanding the range of processes by which these ridge networks form is therefore of importance in the recognition of palaeosurges within the landform record. The geometrical ridge network at the surge-type glacier Kongsvegen in Svalbard, does not form by crevasse filling. The networks consist of transverse and longitudinal ridges that can be seen forming at the current ice margin. The transverse ridges form as a result of the incorporation of basal debris along thrust planes within the ice. The thrusts were apparently formed during a glacier surge in 1948. Longitudinal ridges form through the meltout of elongated pods of debris, which on the glacier surface are subparallel to the ice foliation and pre-date the surge. This work adds to the range of landforms associated with glacier surges.     

天山托木尔峰科其喀尔巴西冰川表面运动速度特征分析

天山托木尔峰科其喀尔巴西冰川是典型的树枝状山谷冰川,利用3组(6期)ASTER遥感影像通过COSI-corr软件反演了该冰川表面运动速度.与花杆测量数据进行对比,反演冰川表面运动速度平均绝对误差为3.1 m·a-1,相对误差为11.9%,二者在空间上的分布基本一致,表明其反演精度符合要求.在此基础上,分析冰川表面运动速...     

Subglacial deformation at sub-freezing temperatures? Evidence from Hagafellsjökull-Eystri,Iceland

We report evidence of deformation at sub-freezing temperatures beneath Hagafellsjökull-Eystri, an Icelandic surge-type glacier. The bed of a piedmont lobe that advanced during the 1999 surge comprises deformed blocks of glacier ice set within frozen sediment. This material has also been injected through overlying ice to form a network of crevasse-squeeze ridges. This layer contains evidence for two phases of deformation under contrasting rheological conditions: (1) deformation under relatively warm conditions, when the blocks of glacier ice acted as competent clasts within an unfrozen deforming matrix and (2) subsequent deformation at sub-freezing temperatures when the ice blocks were attenuated into the surrounding frozen matrix along fractures and planar shears enriched with excess ice. This suggests that the basal thermal regime of the advancing ice margin changed from warm-based to cold-based during the surge event. The persistence and potential prevalence of subglacial sediment deformation at sub-freezing temperatures has fundamental implications for our understanding of the dynamic behaviour, sediment flux and geomorphic ability of cold-based glaciers.     

Formation of submarginal and proglacial end moraines: implications of ice‐flow mechanism during the 1963–64 surge of Brúarjökull,Iceland

The morphology, sedimentology and architecture of an end moraine formed by a ～9 km surge of Brúarjökull in 1963–64 are described and related to ice‐marginal conditions at surge termination. Field observations and accurate mapping using digital elevation models and high‐resolution aerial photographs recorded at surge termination and after the surge show that commonly the surge end moraine was positioned underneath the glacier snout by the termination of the surge. Ground‐penetrating radar profiles and sedimentological data reveal 4–5 m thick deformed sediments consisting of a top layer of till overlying gravel and fine‐grained sediments, and structural geological investigations show that the end moraine is dominated by thrust sheets. A sequential model explaining the formation of submarginal end moraines is proposed. The hydraulic conductivity of the bed had a major influence on the subglacial drainage efficiency and associated porewater pressure at the end of the surge, thereby affecting the rates of subglacial deformation. High porewater pressure in the till decreased its shear strength and raised its strain rate, while low porewater pressure in the underlying gravel had the opposite effect, such that the gravel deformed more slowly than the till. The principal velocity component was therefore located within the till, allowing the glacier to override the gravel thrust sheets that constitute the end moraine. The model suggests that the processes responsible for the formation of submarginal end moraines are different from those operating during the formation of proglacial end moraines.     

木孜塔格西北坡鱼鳞川冰川跃动遥感监测

基于Landsat卫星数据的遥感监测发现, 木孜塔格峰西北坡鱼鳞川冰川的中支在2007-2011年间发生了跃动, 冰川北侧末端在几年内前进距离达到了(548±34) m.进一步的监测发现, 该冰川的大幅跃动主要发生于2008年10月至2009年3月.跃动期间冰川表面约4.8 km长的范围经历了急剧的破碎化过程, 并呈现出最早由冰川中部积蓄区下段开始, 然后向上下游逐渐扩展的特征.对冰面裂隙及其他特征点的追踪发现, 冰川除积累区以外的部位都产生明显的位移, 其中冰川中部以下至冰舌部各点的位移都在1 km以上.同时, 冰面运动速度的计算结果也显示, 冰川各个部分都经历了急剧的运动速度变化过程, 其中冰川中部最大运动可视速率达到约(13.3±1.5)m·d^-1, 并且还揭示出该冰川的跃动具有北侧主末端最先开始快速运动, 然后向上游逐渐扩展的特征.     

新疆帕米尔跃动冰川遥感监测研究

2015年5月,新疆克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州阿克陶县公格尔九别峰北坡克拉牙依拉克冰川发生跃动,造成草场和部分房屋被冰体淹没,本文针对这一冰川跃动事件的发生过程进行研究.利用2013-2015年间ASTER立体像对数据监测了克拉牙依拉克冰川的冰川表面高程的变化,并利用2015年4月13日至2015年7月11日期间的LandsatOLI数据监测了冰川的表面运动速度变化.监测发现,克拉牙依拉克冰川从2015年4月13号开始活动强烈,表面运动速度呈加快趋势,2015年5月8-15日期间冰川表面运动速度达到最高水平,其最大运动速度在西支中部达到了(20.40±0.42)m·d^-1,冰川跃动达到顶峰.冰川跃动"积蓄区"位于西支冰川平衡线以下区域,跃动向下游接收区输送冰体体积约为2.4×10⁸m³,大量冰体堆积在东西支汇合口地段(海拔3100~3500m),造成了该处冰面隆起,其中最大隆起高度为(130.58±0.70)m.本文获得了西支冰川由静止期、跃动状态、恢复到稳定状态期间的冰面高程和表面运动速度变化,为本地区冰川跃动机理的研究奠定了基础.     

Formation of the Neoglacial surge moraines of the Klutlan Glacier,Yukon Territory,Canada

The Klutlan Glacier is a valley glacier 82-km long emerging from the Icefield Ranges of the St. Elias Mountains. It is one of at least 200 surging glaciers identified in western North America. During about the past 1200 yr, the glacier has deposited at its terminus a series of at least 7 surge-related Neoglacial ice-cored moraines. Lithologic characteristics of the Klutlan moraines suggest that they have resulted principally from the surging of the tributary Nesham Glacier, which periodically injects a lobe of medial and lateral moraines and the underlying ice into a more slowly moving Klutlan ice stream. Subsequent surges of the main ice carry the Nesham surge lobes to the Klutlan terminus as discrete geomorphic features. For the past 400 yr a Nesham lobe has reached the Klutlan terminus at approximately 80-yr intervals.     

Surge dynamics of Aavatsmarkbreen,Svalbard, inferred from the geomorphological record

This study investigated the surge dynamics of Aavatsmarkbreen, a glacier in Svalbard and its geomorphological impact based on remote sensing data and field observations. The main objective was to analyse and classify subglacial and supraglacial landforms in the context of glacial deformation and basal sliding over a thin layer of thawed, water‐saturated deposits. The study also focused on the geomorphological evidence of surge‐related sub‐ and supraglacial crevassing and glacier front fracturing. From 2006 to 2013, the average recession of Aavatsmarkbreen was 363 m (52 m a⁻¹). A subsequent surge during 2013–2015 resulted in a substantial advance of the glacier front of over 1 km and an increase in its surface area of more than 2 km². The surface of Aavatsmarkbreen was severely fractured. Significant ice‐flow acceleration was noted whereby the highest surface velocity reached 4.9 m day⁻¹. The ephemeral water‐escape structures and mini‐flutings on the fine‐grained till surface that formed during the surge are indicative of high subglacial pore‐water pressure and enhanced basal sliding. Two genetic types of clast pavements occur in the marginal zone of Aavatsmarkbreen. The results of this study will help to constrain glaciological and geomorphological processes involved in surge phenomena. Understanding the scale and effects of these processes provides insight into the behaviour of fast‐flowing glaciers and ice streams and reveals their relationships with external factors.     

Styles of ice-marginal deformation at Hagafellsjökull-Eystri, Iceland during the 1998/99 winter-spring surge

This paper describes the internal architecture of a push moraine formed by a winter-spring surge of Hagafellsjökull-Eystri (Iceland) in 1998/99. The sedimentary architecture of this push moraine consists of a multilayered slab of glaciofluvial sediments with a monoclinal structure that has been displaced laterally by the advancing ice margin. The crest and ice-distal face of the moraine consist of subhorizontal sediment sheets, while the ice-proximal face dips steeply (45° to 90°) towards the ice margin. The core of the moraine consists of frozen sediment and thin slabs of glacier ice are embedded in its proximal face. The sediment slabs are characterized by both brittle and ductile styles of deformation. We argue that the observed variation in deformation style is dependent on whether the glacial foreland was frozen or unfrozen at the time of displacement. Frozen foreland would behave in a brittle fashion, while unfrozen foreland is likely to have deformed in a more ductile manner. The associated spatial variations in the degree of foreland freezing could be explained by variation in ice-marginal snow cover. We conclude that the thermal regime of the foreland, and the timing of the ice advance, is of importance to the style of internal deformation found within ice-marginal push moraines.     

Climatic control of the surge periodicity of an Icelandic outlet glacier

Surging outlet glaciers are important in draining large ice caps, but the mechanisms controlling surge periodicities are poorly known. We investigated a sediment sequence from the glacier‐fed Lake Lögurinn in eastern Iceland, and our unique annually resolved data, based on sedimentary varves, imply that Eyjabakkajökull, an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, began surging about 2200 cal a BP (before 1950 AD). Approximately 1700 cal a BP, the glacier started to surge at a uniform 34‐ to 38‐year periodicity that prevailed until the coldest part of the Little Ice Age when the periodicity almost halved to 21–23 years. Since the late 1800 s the surge periodicity of Eyjabakkajökull has returned to a longer period of 35–40 years. We suggest that surge periodicities of Eyjabakkajökull are forced by climatically driven mass balance changes, which may be a common forcing factor for similar surge‐type outlet glaciers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Moraine-ridge formation along a stationary ice front in Iceland

At present the north margin of the temperate ice-cap Myrdalsjökull is stationary: the ice edge retreats slowly during summer and readvances during winter to much the same position as the previous winter. Although the ice margin in this way has been stationary since around 1984. a frontal moraine ridge. 1.5-2.5 m high. was under formation in 1986. and in 1989 it was 3–4 m high. The interior of the ridge appeared as imbricately stacked slabs of frozen, clast-paved lodgement till dipping up-glacier. At least five to seven slabs were identified in the 1989 ridge. The most proximal one was frozen to the up-arched glacier sole and dipped beneath the glacier at about 30. In 1989 the volume of lodgement till sediments within the ridge represented a horizontal shortening of the ground moraine of roughly 60–90 m. On the other hand. between 1984 and 1989 the lateral displacement of the ridge toe amounted to only 10 m. It is concluded that the frontal ridge is formed progressively. not like conventional push moraines by thrusting of contemporaneous proglacial or ice-contact sediments. but chiefly by a combination of basal freezing beneath the thin. clast-loaded glacier toe each winter and recurrent superposition of frozen lodgement till slabs during small winter readvances.     

音苏盖提冰川表面流速特征分析

跃动冰川的监测相对比较困难。本文采用Sentinel-1所携带的C波段合成孔径雷达特征匹配方法(Feature-Tracking)获得了喀喇昆仑北坡克勒青河谷音苏盖提冰川物质平衡年内比较详细的冰川表面流速。分析发现:选取的音苏盖提三条分支冰川中,南斯嘎姆里冰川(Skamri Glacier)流速整体大于其余两条,三条分支均存在快速运动区,斯嘎姆里冰川和北分支积累区流速突增,可能存在雪崩现象;两条南分支冰川整体流速夏季大于其他季节,而北分支冬季流速大于其他季节。虽然三条分支均存在快速运动区域,但是即使是流速最快的南斯嘎姆里冰川在物质平衡年内的运动速度也只有119 m·a-1,说明该物质平衡年内音苏盖提冰川并不处于跃动期。     

Influence of glacier hydrology on the dynamics of a large Quaternary ice sheet

The influence of glacier hydrology on the time-dependent morphology and flow behaviour of the late Weichselian Scandinavian ice sheet is explored using a simple one-dimensional ice sheet model. The model is driven by orbitally induced radiation variations, ice-albedo feedback and eustatic sea-level change. The influence of hydrology is most marked during deglaciation and on the southern side of the ice sheet, where a marginal zone of rapid sliding, thin ice and low surface slopes develops. Such a zone is absent when hydrology is omitted from the model, and its formation results in earlier and more rapid deglaciation than occurs in the no-hydrology model. The final advance to the glacial maximum position results from an increase in the rate of basal sliding as climate warms after 23000 yr BP. Channelised subglacial drainage develops only episodically, and is associated with relatively low meltwater discharges and high hydraulic gradients. The predominance of iceberg calving as an ablation mechanism on the northern side of the ice sheet restricts the occurrence of surface melting. Lack of meltwater penetration to the glacier bed in this area means that ice flow is predominantly by internal deformation and the ice sheet adopts a classical parabolic surface profile.