Reconstructing the last Irish Ice Sheet 1: changing flow geometries and ice flow dynamics deciphered from the glacial landform record

The glacial geomorphological record provides an effective means to reconstruct former ice sheets at ice sheet scale. In this paper we document our approach and methods for synthesising and interpreting a glacial landform record for its palaeo-ice flow information, applied to landforms of Ireland. New, countrywide glacial geomorphological maps of Ireland comprising >39,000 glacial landforms are interpreted for the spatial, glaciodynamic and relative chronological information they reveal. Seventy one ‘flowsets’ comprising glacial lineations, and 19 ribbed moraine flowsets are identified based on the spatial properties of these landforms, yielding information on palaeo-ice flow geometry. Flowset cross-cutting is prevalent and reveals a highly complex flow geometry; major ice divide migrations are interpreted with commensurate changes in the flow configuration of the ice sheet. Landform superimposition is the key to deciphering the chronology of such changes, and documenting superimposition relationships yields a relative ‘age-stack’ of all Irish flowsets. We use and develop existing templates for interpreting the glaciodynamic context of each flowset – its palaeo-glaciology. Landform patterns consistent with interior ice sheet flow, ice stream flow, and with time-transgressive bedform generation behind a retreating margin, under a thinning ice sheet, and under migrating palaeo-flowlines are each identified. Fast ice flow is found to have evacuated ice from central and northern Ireland into Donegal Bay, and across County Clare towards the south-west. Ice-marginal landform assemblages form a coherent system across southern Ireland marking stages of ice sheet retreat. Time-transgressive, ‘smudged’ landform imprints are particularly abundant; in several ice sheet sectors ice flow geometry was rapidly varying at timescales close to the timescale of bedform generation. The methods and approach we document herein could be useful for interpreting other ice sheet histories. The flowsets and their palaeo-glaciological significance that we derive for Ireland provide a regional framework and context for interpreting results from local scale fieldwork, provide major flow events for testing numerical ice sheet models, and underpin a data-driven reconstruction of the Irish Ice Sheet that we present in an accompanying paper – Part 2.     

Using isotopes to understand the evolution of water ages in disturbed mixed land-use catchments

Tracer studies have been key to unravelling catchment hydrological processes, yet most insights have been gained in environments with relatively low human impact. We investigated the spatial variability of stream isotopes and water ages to infer dominant flow paths in a ~10-km² nested catchment in a disturbed, predominantly agricultural environment in Scotland. We collected long-term (>5 years) stable isotope data of precipitation, artificial drainage, and four streams with varying soil and land use types in their catchment areas. Using a gamma model, Mean Transit Times (MTTs) were then estimated in order to understand the spatial variability of controls on water ages. Despite contrasting catchment characteristics, we found that MTTs in the streams were generally very similar and short (<1 year). MTTs of water in artificial drains were even shorter, ranging between 1 to 10 months for a typical field drain and <0.5 to 1 month for a country road drain. At the catchment scale, lack of heterogeneity in the response could be explained by the extensive artificial surface and subsurface drainage, “short-circuiting” younger water to the streams during storms. Under such conditions, additional intense disturbance associated with highway construction during the study period had no major effect on the stream isotope dynamics. Supplementary short-term (~14 months) sampling of mobile soil water in dominant soil-land use units also revealed that agricultural practices (ploughing of poorly draining soils and soil compaction due to grazing on freely draining soils) resulted in subtle MTT variations in soil water in the upper profile. Overall, the isotope dynamics and inferred MTTs suggest that the evolution of stream water ages in such a complex human-influenced environment are largely related to near-surface soil processes and the dominant soil management practices. This has direct implications for understanding and managing flood risk and contaminant transport in such environments.     

Multiple P–T–d–t paths reveal the evolution of the final Nuna assembly in northeast Australia

The final assembly of the Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Nuna was marked by the collision of Laurentia and Australia at 1.60 Ga, which is recorded in the Georgetown Inlier of NE Australia. Here, we decipher the metamorphic evolution of this final Nuna collisional event using petrostructural analysis, major and trace element compositions of key minerals, thermodynamic modelling, and multi-method geochronology. The Georgetown Inlier is characterised by deformed and metamorphosed 1.70–1.62 Ga sedimentary and mafic rocks, which were intruded by c. 1.56 Ga old S-type granites. Garnet Lu–Hf and monazite U–Pb isotopic analyses distinguish two major metamorphic events (M1 at c. 1.60 Ga and M2 at c. 1.55 Ga), which allows at least two composite fabrics to be identified at the regional scale—c. 1.60 Ga S1 (consisting in fabrics S1a and S1b) and c. 1.55 Ga S2 (including fabrics S2a and S2b). Also, three tectono-metamorphic domains are distinguished: (a) the western domain, with S1 defined by low-P (LP) greenschist facies assemblages; (b) the central domain, where S1 fabric is preserved as medium-P (MP) amphibolite facies relicts, and locally as inclusion trails in garnet wrapped by the regionally dominant low-P amphibolite facies S2 fabric; and (c) the eastern domain dominated by upper amphibolite to granulite facies S2 foliation. In the central domain, 1.60 Ga MP–medium-T (MT) metamorphism (M1) developed within the staurolite–garnet stability field, with conditions ranging from 530–550°C at 6–7 kbar (garnet cores) to 620–650°C at 8–9 kbar (garnet rims), and it is associated with S1 fabric. The onset of 1.55 Ga LP–high-T (HT) metamorphism (M2) is marked by replacement of staurolite by andalusite (M2a/D2a), which was subsequently pseudomorphed by sillimanite (M2b/D2b) where granite and migmatite are abundant. P–T conditions ranged from 600 to 680°C and 4–6 kbar for the M2b sillimanite stage. 1.60 Ga garnet relicts within the S2 foliation highlight the progressive obliteration of the S1 fabric by regional S2 in the central zone during peak M2 metamorphism. In the eastern migmatitic complex, partial melting of paragneiss and amphibolite occurred syn- to post- S2, at 730–770°C and 6–8 kbar, and at 750–790°C and 6 kbar, respectively. The pressure–temperature–deformation–time paths reconstructed for the Georgetown Inlier suggest a c. 1.60 Ga M1/D1 event recorded under greenschist facies conditions in the western domain and under medium-P and medium-T conditions in the central domain. This event was followed by the regional 1.56–1.54 Ga low-P and high-T phase (M2/D2), extensively recorded in the central and eastern domains. Decompression between these two metamorphic events is ascribed to an episode of exhumation. The two-stage evolution supports the previous hypothesis that the Georgetown Inlier preserves continental collisional and subsequent thermal perturbation associated with granite emplacement.     

Snowmelt variability in Polar Bear Pass,Nunavut, Canada,from QuikSCAT: 2000–2009

Snowmelt onset and end date estimates are made from QuikSCAT scatterometer measurements in the Canadian High Arctic wetland of Polar Bear Pass (PBP) and the surrounding region of Bathurst Island, Nunavut. In situ data within PBP is used to validate QuikSCAT snowmelt onset/end date estimates. Results indicate that within PBP from 2000 to 2009, the mean snowmelt onset date was Year Day (YD) 162, the mean snowmelt end date was YD179, and the mean snowmelt duration was 17 days. More interannual variability was apparent in snowmelt end date and duration compared with onset, and only snowmelt end date was significantly correlated with mean June air temperature at ?0.78. Cooler air temperatures in 2004 contributed to a long snowmelt duration of 24 days, and the very short snowmelt duration in 2007 of just 11 days was caused by rapid and sustained increases in air temperature. For snowmelt end date and duration the mean spatial pattern revealed two centres of later snowmelt end date/longer snowmelt duration over Bathurst Island. They were separated by early snowmelt end date/short snowmelt duration in PBP. These patterns are in agreement with the spatial distribution of mean May to July air temperature over Bathurst Island and are likely influenced by the local‐scale topography of Bathurst Island. Given the correlation between air temperature and snowmelt end date, we might expect quicker snowmelt under increased warming. The latter process may have implications for the sustainability of the PBP wetland under a warmer climate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for rapid ice flow and proglacial lake evolution around the central Strait of Magellan region,southernmost Patagonia

This paper presents a detailed palaeoglaciological reconstruction of ice sheet dynamics in the Seno Skyring, Seno Otway and Strait of Magellan region of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet, with a particular focus on previously hypothesised zones of rapid ice flow and the evolution of proglacial lakes. Geomorphological mapping from a combination of satellite imagery and oblique and vertical aerial photographs reveals a variety of glacial landforms that are grouped into several discrete flow‐sets and associated ice margin positions. The most distinct features are represented by flow‐sets of highly elongate streamlined glacial lineations on both sides of the Strait of Magellan. Based on the shape and dimensions of the flow‐sets and their abrupt lateral margins, a transverse and longitudinal variation in glacial lineation length and elongation ratio, and the reported presence of a potentially deformable bed and thrust moraines, the flow‐sets are interpreted as zones of rapid ice flow within the Otway and Magellan lobes. We hypothesise that this provides evidence for contemporaneous surge‐like advances within the lobes, which may explain the asymmetry in the lobate margin positions on either side of the strait. The mechanisms that initiated rapid flow are unclear, but are likely to have been influenced by internal factors such as a change in thermal/hydrological conditions at the bed. The topography of the region suggests ice‐dammed lakes would have formed as the ice lobes retreated. The westernmost of the former lakes, Lake Skyring, is delimited by a series of palaeo‐shorelines surrounding the present‐day lake Laguna Blanca and we reconstruct lake evolution based on manipulation of a digital elevation model. The size and orientation of meltwater channels and a large outwash plain indicate that Lake Skyring drained eastwards towards the Strait of Magellan, probably quite rapidly. We conclude that the potential for quasi‐independent surge‐like behaviour within adjacent lobes raises the possibility that, during climate‐driven ice expansion, some advances in this region may have been partly controlled by secondary internal feedback mechanisms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Timing,pace and controls on ice sheet retreat: an introduction to the BRITICE-CHRONO transect reconstructions of the British–Irish Ice Sheet

Motivated to help improve the robustness of predictions of sea level rise, the BRITICE-CHRONO project advanced knowledge of the former British–Irish Ice Sheet, from 31 to 15 ka, so that it can be used as a data-rich environment to improve ice sheet modelling. The project comprised over 40 palaeoglaciologists, covering expertise in terrestrial and marine geology and geomorphology, geochronometric dating and the modelling of ice sheets and oceans. A systematic and directed campaign, organised across eight transects from the continental shelf edge to a short distance (10s of kilometres) onshore, was used to collect 914 samples which yielded 639 new ages, tripling the number of dated sites constraining the timing and rates of change of the collapsing ice sheet. This special issue synthesises these findings of ice advancing to the maximum extent and its subsequent retreat for each of the eight transects to produce definitive palaeogeographic reconstructions of ice margin positions across the marine to terrestrial transition. These results are used to understand the controls that drove or modulated ice sheet retreat. A further paper reports on how ice sheet modelling experiments and empirical data can be used in combination, and another probes the glaciological meaning of ice-rafted debris.     

Exploring the extent to which fluctuations in ice-rafted debris reflect mass changes in the source ice sheet: a model–observation comparison using the last British–Irish Ice Sheet

The British and Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) was highly dynamic during the Late Quaternary, with considerable regional differences in the timing and extent of its change. This was reflected in equally variable offshore ice-rafted debris (IRD) records. Here we reconcile these two records using the FRUGAL intermediate complexity iceberg–climate model, with varying BIIS catchment-level iceberg fluxes, to simulate change in IRD origin and magnitude along the western European margin at 1000-year time steps during the height of the last BIIS glaciation (31–6 ka bp ). This modelled IRD variability is compared with existing IRD records from the deep ocean at five cores along this margin. There is general agreement of the temporal and spatial IRD variability between observations and model through this period. The Porcupine Bank off northwestern Ireland was confirmed by the modelling as a major dividing line between sites possessing exclusively northern or southern source regions for offshore IRD. During Heinrich events 1 and 2, the cores show evidence of a proportion of North American IRD, more particularly to the south of the British Isles. Modelling supports this southern bias for likely Heinrich impact, but also suggests North American IRD will only reach the British margin in unusual circumstances.     

Timing and pace of ice-sheet withdrawal across the marine–terrestrial transition west of Ireland during the last glaciation

Understanding the pace and drivers of marine-based ice-sheet retreat relies upon the integration of numerical ice-sheet models with observations from contemporary polar ice sheets and well-constrained palaeo-glaciological reconstructions. This paper provides a reconstruction of the retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) from the Atlantic shelf west of Ireland during and following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). It uses marine-geophysical data and sediment cores dated by radiocarbon, combined with terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide and optically stimulated luminescence dating of onshore ice-marginal landforms, to reconstruct the timing and rate of ice-sheet retreat from the continental shelf and across the adjoining coastline of Ireland, thus including the switch from a marine- to a terrestrially-based ice-sheet margin. Seafloor bathymetric data in the form of moraines and grounding-zone wedges on the continental shelf record an extensive ice sheet west of Ireland during the LGM which advanced to the outer shelf. This interpretation is supported by the presence of dated subglacial tills and overridden glacimarine sediments from across the Porcupine Bank, a westwards extension of the Irish continental shelf. The ice sheet was grounded on the outer shelf at ~26.8 ka cal bp with initial retreat underway by 25.9 ka cal bp. Retreat was not a continuous process but was punctuated by marginal oscillations until ~24.3 ka cal bp. The ice sheet thereafter retreated to the mid-shelf where it formed a large grounding-zone complex at ~23.7 ka cal bp. This retreat occurred in a glacimarine environment. The Aran Islands on the inner continental shelf were ice-free by ~19.5 ka bp and the ice sheet had become largely terrestrially based by 17.3 ka bp. This suggests that the Aran Islands acted to stabilize and slow overall ice-sheet retreat once the BIIS margin had reached the inner shelf. Our results constrain the timing of initial retreat of the BIIS from the outer shelf west of Ireland to the period of minimum global eustatic sea level. Initial retreat was driven, at least in part, by glacio-isostatically induced, high relative sea level. Net rates of ice-sheet retreat across the shelf were slow (62–19 m a⁻¹) and reduced (8 m a⁻¹) as the ice sheet vacated the inner shelf and moved onshore. A picture therefore emerges of an extensive BIIS on the Atlantic shelf west of Ireland, in which early, oscillatory retreat was followed by slow episodic retreat which decelerated further as the ice margin became terrestrially based. More broadly, this demonstrates the importance of localized controls, in particular bed topography, on modulating the retreat of marine-based sectors of ice sheets.