The extension of the Late Weichselian/Late Devensian ice sheets in the North Sea Basin

The distribution of large channel-like features, comprising Weichselian/Devensian incisions, in the western North Sea provides evidence for a much larger extension of the last ice sheet than currently assumed. Morphological comparison of the incisions with those in North Germany and Poland reveals a striking similarity in shape and distribution. The features on the North Sea floor are interpreted as being formed by meltwater erosion within the margin of the ice sheet. The widespread absence of Weichselian/Devensian till in the area under consideration may be attributed to later erosion. Large-scale reworking and redistribution of sediments is indicated by the complete sediment infill of the majority of the incisions.     

Temporal changes in subglacial meltwater activity: field evidence from the late Devensian in the north of Ireland

Temporal changes in meltwater abundance, distribution and characteristics (controlling subglacial processes and ice sheet dynamics) can be inferred from subglacial sediment successions. Field evidence for changes in subglacial meltwater characteristics over time is presented from two sites (Doonan, Drummee) near a former late Weichselian (Devensian) ice centre in the north of Ireland. On a macroscale, both sites investigated show subglacial diamicton overlying glacially planated bedrock platforms. In more detail, primary sedimentary structures and facies variability show a complex relationship between depositional processes and meltwater characteristics at the ice/bed interface (IBI). Sedimentary evidence suggests sediment transport and deposition took place by low-viscosity subglacial slurries (mobile sediment–meltwater admixtures), which are part of a continuum between the processes of subglacial sediment deformation and subglacial meltwater flooding. Subtle changes in meltwater abundance and distribution at the IBI controlled slurry rheology, mechanisms of particle support and detailed sediment depositional processes.     

Luminescence dating of shoreline sediments indicates a late deglacial lake-level rise of Selin Co on the central Tibetan Plateau

The palaeo-shorelines around the lakes on the Tibetan Plateau can be used to reconstruct water level variations, which serve as sensitive indicators of hydroclimate change. Extensive studies have been carried out to constrain the Holocene lake level fluctuations by dating shorelines with a variety of methods (e.g., luminescence, ¹⁴C, ¹⁰Be and U–Th series). In comparison, the timing of the lake level variations during the last glacial and subsequent deglaciation periods has been rarely studied. The driving factors of such changes, therefore, remain elusive. In this study, we performed a detailed luminescence dating investigation on six samples taken from a nearshore sedimentary outcrop in the south of Selin Co basin. The post-IR IRSL signals measured at 225 °C (pIRIR₂₂₅) on sand-sized K-feldspar grains demonstrated a generally good behavior and yielded reliable chronologies, while the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals of quartz showed systematical age underestimation, which was attributed to anomalous fading. Six pIRIR₂₂₅ ages ranging from 15 to 10 ka suggested that the lake level of Selin Co during the last deglaciation reached up to 40–45 m high above the modern lake level. In view of the regional precipitation and temperature proxy records, we consider that the glacier meltwater supply has likely been the primary contributor to the lake highstands during the last deglaciation.     

Contemporary rates of chemical denudation and atmospheric CO2 sequestration in glacier basins: an Arctic perspective

This paper presents new estimates of solute fluxes from five high Arctic glacier basins in Svalbard. These estimates are combined with data from two other glacier basins to assess the effectiveness of chemical denudation on Svalbard and to estimate rates of temporary (or transient) CO₂ drawdown. We use a solute provenance model to partition solutes into marine, aerosol, atmospheric and crustal components and to estimate their annual fluxes. Crustally derived solute fluxes are equivalent to a mean chemical denudation rate of 350 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹ for Svalbard (range: 160–560 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹), which lies within the global range of 94–4200 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹ for 21 glacier basins in the northern hemisphere, and is close to the continental average of 390 Σmeq⁺ m⁻² a⁻¹. Specific annual discharge is the most significant control upon chemical denudation in the glacierized basins, and basin lithology is an important secondary control, with carbonate‐rich and basaltic lithologies currently showing the greatest chemical denudation rates. Estimates of transient CO₂ drawdown are also directly associated with specific annual discharge and rock type. On Svalbard transient CO₂ drawdown lies in the range 110–3000 kg C km⁻² a⁻¹, whilst the range is 110–13000 kg C km⁻² a⁻¹ for the northern hemisphere glacial data set. Transient CO₂ drawdown is therefore usually low in the Svalbard basins unless carbonate or basalt rocks are abundant. The analysis shows that a large area of uncertainty in the transient CO₂ drawdown estimates exists due to the non‐stoichiometric release of solute during silicate hydrolysis. Silicate hydrolysis is particularly non‐stoichiometric in basins where the extent of glacierization is high, which is most probably an artefact of high flushing rates through ice‐marginal and subglacial environments where K‐feldspars are undergoing mechanical comminution. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Global meltwater discharge and the deglacial sea-level record from northwest Scotland

Quantitative models of Earth–ice-sheet–ocean interactions predict that periods of rapid eustatic sea-level rise, indicating enhanced meltwater discharge to the oceans, should be manifest in the relative sea-level histories from sites within the limits of Late Devensian ice sheets. Analysis of a record of relative sea-level change for the last 16000 calendar years from Northwest Scotland constrains the magnitude and timing of two major pulses of meltwater, ca. 14000 and ca. 11300 cal. yr BP, inferred from coral records. The ca. 14000 cal. yr BP event saw a temporary doubling of the flux of meltwater, but existence of the second major event at ca. 11300 cal. yr BP is not supported by the data from northwest Scotland. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Routing of canopy drip in the snowpack below a spruce crown

Snow that is retained by a forest canopy may either sublimate or evaporate directly from the crown or drop as snow clumps or meltwater to the ground. Redistributed snow and meltwater affect the snow structure and prevent the formation of mechanically weak layers, which is the prerequisite for avalanche formation in forests. In this paper we describe the results of dye tracer experiments conducted in a subalpine forest near Davos, Switzerland. Before a snowfall event we stained snow‐free branches of a spruce with a dye tracer solution. After snowfall the coloured meltwater dripping from the branches down on to the snowpack stained the percolation pathways of the meltwater in the snowpack. Photographs of the snow profiles indicate that the meltwater seeped almost vertically through the isothermal snowpack to the soil surface not exceeding the projected crown edge. Meltwater of different events moves along different preferential flow channels in the snow suggesting that old channels are not non‐conducting and additional meltwater fronts create new channels. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An approach to hydrograph classification

The stream hydrograph is an integration of spatial and temporal variations in water input, storage and transfer processes within a catchment. For glacier basins in particular, inferences concerning catchment‐scale processes have been developed from the varying form and magnitude of the diurnal hydrograph in the proglacial river. To date, however, such classifications of proglacial diurnal hydrographs have developed in a relatively subjective manner. This paper develops an objective approach to the classification of diurnal discharge hydrograph ‘shape’ and ‘magnitude’ using a combination of principal components analysis and cluster analysis applied to proglacial discharge time‐series and to diurnal bulk flow indices. The procedure is applied to discharge time‐series from two different glacier basins and four separate ablation seasons representing a gradient of increasing hydrological perturbation as a result of (i) variable water inputs generated by rainstorm activity and (ii) variable location and response of hydrological stores through a systematic decrease in catchment glacierized area. The potential of the technique for application in non‐glacial hydrological contexts is discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

LINKS BETWEEN PROGLACIAL STREAM SUSPENDED SEDIMENT DYNAMICS,GLACIER HYDROLOGY AND GLACIER MOTION AT MIDTDALSBREEN,NORWAY

Two-hourly suspended sediment concentration variations observed during the summer of 1987 in the proglacial stream draining Midtdalsbreen, Norway are modelled using multiple regression and time series techniques. Suspended sediment fluctuations are influenced by stream discharge variations, diurnal hysteresis effects, medium-term sediment supply and transport variations and the recent suspended sediment concentration history of the stream. They do not appear to be influenced by seasonal exhaustion or rainfall variations. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Large positive residuals from the fitted models are major pulses of suspended sediment unrelated to discharge variations; these sediment flushes correlate with periods of enhanced glacier motion. They cannot be explained by enhanced sediment production by subglacial erosion, but are probably due to the tapping of subglacially stored sediment during sudden changes in the hydraulics and/or configuration of the subglacial hydrological system. Seasonal changes in the lag between glacier motion peaks and suspended sediment flushes suggest that the subglacial hydrological system evolves over the summer from a distributed to a more channelized configuration.     

Sedimentary processes at ice sheet grounding-zone wedges revealed by outcrops,Washington State (USA)

Grounding-zone wedges (GZWs) mark the grounding terminus of flowing marine-based ice streams and, in the presence of an ice shelf, the transition from grounded ice to floating ice. The morphology and stratigraphy of GZWs is predominantly constrained by seafloor bathymetry, seismic data, and sediment cores from deglaciated continental shelves; however, due to minimal constraints on GZW sedimentation processes, there remains a general lack of knowledge concerning the production of these landforms. Herein, outcrop observations are provided of GZWs from Whidbey Island in the Puget Lowlands (Washington State, USA). These features are characterized by prograded diamictons bounded by glacial unconformities, whereby the lower unconformity indicates glacial advance of the southern Cordilleran Ice Sheet and the upper unconformity indicates locally restricted ice advance during GZW growth; the consistent presence of an upper unconformity supports the hypothesis that GZWs facilitate ice advance during landform construction. Based on outcrop stratigraphy, GZW construction is dominated by sediment transport of deformation till and melt-out of entrained basal debris at the grounding line. This material may be subsequently remobilized by debris flows. Additionally, there is evidence for subglacial meltwater discharge at the grounding line, as well as rhythmically bedded silt and sand, indicating possible tidal pumping at the grounding line. A series of GZWs on Whidbey Island provides evidence of punctuated ice sheet movement during retreat, rather than a rapid ice sheet lift-off. The distance between adjacent GZWs of 10²–10³ m and the consistency in their size relative to modern ice stream grounding lines suggests that individual wedges formed over decades to centuries. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新疆冰川、积雪对气候变化的响应(Ⅰ):水文效应

新疆是我国冰川、积雪资源最为丰富的地区,冰川和积雪融水在水资源构成中占有重要的地位,其对气候变化的响应使得河流水文过程发生明显的变化,对新疆干旱区的水资源利用和管理产生重大影响.新疆高山流域产流占地表径流的80%以上,其中冰川和积雪融水径流在总径流中的比例可达45%以上,积雪和冰川融水是河流的主要补给来源.在新疆北部的阿尔泰山和天山北坡河流主要以融雪径流补给为主,而在天山南坡、昆仑山、喀喇昆仑山和天山北坡的伊犁河流域的河流以冰川融水补给为主;以融雪径流为主要的河流主汛期在春季到夏初,而冰川融水补给的河流夏季是主汛期.随着新疆气候向暖湿转变,高山流域的水文过程对气候变暖和积雪增加产生明显的响应:以积雪为主补给的河流,水文过程对气候变暖的响应表现为最大径流前移,夏季径流减少明显;以冰川融水补给的河流,径流响应表现为6-9月汛期径流量明显增大,汛期洪水增多,年流量增加.由于不同补给类型河流的水文过程发生变化,其相应对下游的水资源供给和洪水安全管理产生了重大影响,在水资源管理方面需要适应气候变化对水文过程的调整,减缓气候变化对水资源安全的影响.