Glaciotectonics of the ltterbeck - Uelsen push moraines,Germany

The two Saalian push moraines of ltterbeck - Uelsen, formed during the Older Saalian glaciation, consist of Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. Locally, glaciofluvial deposits are prominent as a result of reworking of older deposits by meltwater. The push moraines are built up from a number of imbricated and folded structural units, which have moved laterally and, in part, frontally from two glacial basins. Dominant structures are large, shallow and flat-lying glaciotectonic nappes that have been displaced over distances of at lest 1 km in the direction of tectonic transport. Overprinting relations of two deformation phases give a relative age difference between the two push morianes.     

Comments on Jansson, K.N. and Glasser, N.F. (2008) “Modification of peripheral mountain ranges by former ice sheets: The Brecon Beacons, southern UK,” Geomorphology 97, 178–189

Jansson and Glasser (Jansson, K.N., Glasser, N.F., 2008. Modification of peripheral mountain ranges by former ice sheets: the Brecon Beacons, southern UK. Geomorphology 97, 178–189.) have recently provided unconventional interpretations of selected glacial erosional and depositional landforms in the Brecon Beacons, UK, based on remotely sensed imagery. These new interpretations contradict well-established and reliable evidence for the origins and ages of certain glacial landforms of this upland area and elsewhere. They suggest that during a post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice-sheet event ice flowed up supposed, essentially “fluvial” valleys producing “glacial lineations” and depositing marginal moraines at the valley heads and on cirque floors. We argue that their interpretations of some key landforms are incorrect and that they have ignored much of the previous dating and field geomorphological evidence. Sedimentary and morphological evidence (e.g., lack of erratic content; convex planform with respect to the headwall; relatively large height range of moraines; and close association with headwall extent, height, and steepness) all indicate that higher level cirque-floor and valley-head moraines in the Brecon Beacons (> c. 400 m) were formed by cirque glaciers. Available dating evidence indicates a Younger Dryas age. We demonstrate that the supposed “fluvial” valleys, comprising trough heads with steep headwalls, have more nearly parabolic than V-shaped cross profiles indicating substantial glacial modification. Field evidence shows that proposed key exemplar post-LGM glacial lineations are in fact debris flow deposits. We conclude that whilst the adoption of a macroscale approach can shed new light on large-scale, ice-sheet movements, this approach should not be undertaken without consideration of the associated field evidence.     

The Geomorphology of Valley-Floor Troughs Illustrated From Depositional Sequences in the Durance Valley,Southeast France

Three kinds of valley-floor troughs occur in the Durance catchment of southeast France. Details of widths and spatial variations of 10 different sedimentary forms are presented to show how these relate to the present types of troughs and their margins. Internal controls, such as geology, altitude, and available relief, provide a wide variety of conditions, which have been modified through time by external controls such as past and present climates and their hydrological regimes, as well as by anthropogenic activity over several millennia. The 10 sedimentary forms occupy more than 900 km² or 6.4% of the total catchment area, with the present enlarged floodplain having just over 50% of this area. The present channel occupies less than 10%, which is less than the Würm terrace (17.2%) but somewhat more than the marginal colluvia in the lower valley (8.6%). The other forms include older Pleistocene terraces, moraines from the last three glacial stages, and alluvial fans. It is the type of trough and its relative age that condition what, where, and how much of past and present sedimentary forms can survive.     

西藏波密米堆冰湖溃决浅议

1988年7月15日西藏波密米堆终碛湖发生溃决,最大洪峰流量1270立方米/秒,溃决水量540万立方米,形成了大规模的泥石流-洪水灾害。冰湖溃决的原因是;终碛堤存在渗漏薄弱环节,堤内有埋藏冰;持续高温和冰川融水的潜热使埋藏冰融化,由潜蚀而迅速发展成管涌导致溃决。     

The final phase of dead-ice moraine development: processes and sediment architecture, Kötlujökull, Iceland

Consecutive phases of de-icing of ice-cored moraines and the formation of dead-ice moraine were monitored over a 4-year period at the terminus of the Kötlujökull glacier, Iceland. Particularly, the transition from partially ice-cored moraine with isolated dead-ice blocks to the ice-free landscape receives attention in this paper in order to link the final melting processes to the architecture of the sedimentary end product. In the current humid sub-polar climate of south Iceland de-icing of partially ice-cored moraines results chiefly from melting along the bottom surface of ice-cores with an annual average rate of 25 cm. The final de-icing is associated with an interrelated group of re-sedimentation processes and surface features. Series of sinkholes evolve at the toe of dead-ice blocks, which initiate retrogressive rotational sliding or backslumping of the ice-cored slopes and the formation of distinct edges and fractures in the adjacent basins. Although backslumping is the dominant process in this phase of re-sedimentation, structures resulting from this process are rarely recognized in the ice-free landscape. As ice-cores gradually diminish the effect of the latest re-sedimentation events will overprint or destroy most existing sedimentary characteristics. Thus, in the ice-free landscape, structures mainly related to the formation of sinkholes and fractures remain imprinted on the sediment succession. Generally, no inversion of the topography occurs during the final phase of de-icing. The overall topography recognized in the late phase of the fully ice-cored terrain is merely lowered and the amplitude of the relief reduced as de-icing progresses. The sediment architecture of the ice-free landscape is characterized by heterogeneous and often slumped diamict sediments with variable thickness and lateral distribution; clast orientation is related to the direction of slopes, and boulders are found in isolated groups or in linear arrangements.     

白头山区冰川地貌航空卫星照片解译

通过解译,首次在吉林省白头山下发现了巨大的冰碛扇裙、冰水扇裙和叠加其上的冰碛垄、蛇形丘、中碛、侧碛等;在火山锥体上发现了若干冰斗、冰窖、冰蚀环谷、基岩鼓丘、葫芦谷等冰蚀冰碛地貌,同时对火口内前人已报导过的冰斗、冰窖,根据其相互叠加关系进行了划分和成生探讨。根据火山锥体表面及其外围若干冰蚀冰碛地貌的空间组合及其相互关系,并充分考虑到区内新构造运动的影响、流水侵蚀和重力崩塌等的协从作用,在此基础上分析探讨了区内冰川作用的若干规律性问题。     

海螺沟现代冰碛物中的宇生核素10Be浓度分析

尽管许多学者都意识到继承性宇生核素对冰碛物暴露年代测量可能会带来一定的误差,然而影响究竟有多大,还缺乏对现代冰碛物宇生核素浓度的研究。对采自贡嘎山海螺沟冰川现代冰碛物碎屑和冰碛砾石的本地生宇生核素 10 Be 浓度的分析表明,即使是海洋性冰川(暖底冰川),其冰碛物碎屑和冰碛砾石都残留一定量的本地生宇生核素; 即使是具有明显磨蚀痕迹的现代冰碛砾石表面,也残留一定量的本地生宇生核素。因此,进行宇生核素测年时要给予充分的重视。当然,其冰碛物基质和具有明显磨蚀痕迹的现代冰碛砾石表面的本地生宇生核素 10 Be 浓度比较低,一般不大于2×104atoms/g。对暴露年代的影响一般不大于0.61ka。尽管其适用范围还有待于更多的研究结果的进一步证实,但是却为残留影响的研究提供了一个研究的实例和一组可以参考的数据。     

祁连山摆浪河全新世冰量变化初探

采用祁连山老虎沟12号冰川2009年RTK测量生成的数字高程模型(DEM), 建立现代冰川表面横截面拟合的二次方程, 结合差分GPS测量的冰碛垄形态, 运用于祁连山摆浪河上游14号冰川和16号冰川全新世以来冰量变化的估算. 结果表明: 新冰期以来冰储量减少0.38 km³, 小冰期以来14号冰川和16号冰川的冰储量分别减少0.016 km³和0.047 km³; 根据祁连山全新世各个时期最大冰川范围的时间, 估计了全新世以来14号和16号冰川冰储量的减少速率, 新冰期以来为12.2×10^-5~15.0×10^-5 km³·a^-1, 小冰期以来分别为4.0×10^-5~5.3×10^-5 km³·a^-1, 11.75×10^-5~15.7×10^-5 km³·a^-1.