Convergent flow of ice within the Astrolabe subglacial basin, Trre Adélie, East Antarctica: an hypothesis derived from nummerical modelling experiments

The existence of a large subglacial lake beneath the antarctic Ice Sheet at Terre Adélie indicates the presence of basal ice at its pressure-melting temperature. A numerical model of the ice-sheet thermal regime is employed using the balance velocity of the ice sheet as an initial model input in order to calculate ice-sheet basal temperatures. However, the results from this model show the Terre Adélie area to be characterised by basal freezing. Heat in addition to that accounted for in the model is thus required at the ice-sheet base in order for pressure melting temperatures to be attained. The sources for such heat are (1) an enhanced geothermal heat flux and (2) an increase in frictional heating caused by the flow of ice. In this paper the latter possibility is expanded by hypothesising that subglacial topography induces convergent ice flow around Terre Adélie, causing enhanced basal ice velocities. Model experiments indicate that an increase in ice velocity (from 7 to at least 42 m yr⁻¹) is required to raise the temperature of the basal ice to the pressure melting value. Increased ice velocity, and consequent frictional heat production due to convergent ice flow, may therefore be important in explaining the location of the subglacial lake in this region. These results allow the process of convergent ice flow within a contemporary ice sheet to be quantified. A verification (or otherwise) of the model results may be possible if ice surface velocity measurements from modem GPS methods are made.     

Exploring till bed kinematics using AMS magnetic fabrics and pebble fabrics: the Weedsport drumlin field,New York State,USA

Gentoso, M. J., Evenson, E. B., Kodama, K. P., Iverson, N. R., Alley, R. B., Berti, C. & Kozlowski, A. 2012 (January): Exploring till bed kinematics using AMS magnetic fabrics and pebble fabrics: the Weedsport drumlin field, New York State, USA. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 31–41. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00221.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Thick, relatively homogeneous basal tills exposed in the drumlins and flutes of the Weedsport drumlin and flute field in New York State exhibit anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and pebble fabrics that are consistently oriented parallel to the streamlined bedforms. The pebble fabrics and AMS fabrics are concordant. In this study, six drumlins and five flutes were sampled. Thermally induced, incremental reduction of isothermal remanent magnetization indicates that AMS is caused by primarily elongate maghaemite grains. The orientations of principal axes of maximum susceptibility (k₁) are generally parallel to pebble long‐axis orientations, and tend to plunge mildly up‐glacier. Fabric directions are generally parallel to drumlin long‐axis orientations, but deviate by 12°–23° from flute directions. Fabrics of the flutes are stronger and more unidirectional than those of the drumlins. These results support the use of AMS as a fast and objective method for characterizing fabrics in tills, and suggest hypotheses about basal processes linked to glacially streamlined landforms.     

Age and Geochemical Characteristics of a Mafic Dyke Swarm in the Archaean Vestfold Block, Antarctica: Inferences about Proterozoic Dyke Emplacement in Gondwana

Archaean gneisses in the Vestfold Block, Antarctica are cutby abundant tholeiite and rare alkaline dykes. At least fivegenerations of dykes have been recognized on the basis of intrusiverelationships, petrography and geochemistry. Rb-Sr isotopicdata indicate that intrusion of the tholeiites occurred overa period of c. 1000 Ma, during three clearly defined events(viz. c. 2400, 1800, and 1400 Ma). Dykes in the southwesternpart of the Vestfold Block were recrystallized during a lateProterozoic (c. 1000-1100 Ma) high-grade event. Mineral-wholerock Rb-Sr isotopic data show that the terrain was also variablyaffected by an even younger thermal event c. 500 Ma ago whichis correlated with the Pan-African Orogeny. Isotopic, major element and trace element data suggest thatthe tholeiite dyke suites were derived by varying degrees ofpartial melting of compositionally distinct, in some cases ratherheterogeneous subcontinental mantle source regions, combinedwith variations in the extent and nature of crystal fractionation.Extensive crustal contamination does not appear to have playeda significant role in determining compositional trends withinthe different suites, although minor contamination cannot bediscounted. The oldest dykes, a diverse group of high-Mg tholeiites,and the youngest, c. 1400 Ma tholeiites, appear to have beenderived from isotopically similar source regions, which werenevertheless characterized by quite different abundances ofhighly incompatible elements (Pb, Rb, Ba, Th, K, La, and Ce).1800 Ma tholeiites were derived from a more radiogenic mantlesource region, characterized by long-term enrichment in incompatibleelements. Such enrichment is interpreted to be a consequenceof metasomatism of their mantle source region. 2400 Ma high-Mg dykes in Enderby Land have virtually identicalchemical and isotopic compositions to those in the VestfoldBlock, indicating generation from a similar source region; however,1200 Ma tholeiites were apparently derived from a more radiogenicsource region like that of the c. 1800 Ma Vestfold Block dykes.Hence, both Sr isotopic and geochemical data indicate that theancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath Gondwanawas extremely heterogeneous.     

ARE ISLANDERS INSULAR? A PERSONAL VIEW*

ABSTRACT. I use my personal experience as an islander doing fieldwork among islanders in the West Indies to explore the meaning of “insularity.” I then expand on that personal experience by drawing on literary sources, particularly Homer's the Odyssey and Herman Melville's Moby Dick, both of which express an island worldview. The island worldview is contrasted and compared with the continental worldview on the basis of differing modes of navigation and cartography and differing modes of orientation as defined by cognitive psychologists.     

Depositional controls on Lower Carboniferous microbial buildups, eastern Midland Valley of Scotland

In the eastern Midland Valley of Scotland non-skeletal carbonate buildup complexes are present in the Charlestown Main Limestone (Brigantian), a thin marine carbonate unit within a lower Carboniferous basin fill otherwise dominated by fluvio-deltaic sediments and volcanics. The buildups are restricted geographically to West Lothian and Central Fife and correspond to an area of reduced subsidence, the Burntisland High. Buildup geometry and local facies mosaics reflect the relative water depth and position on the Burntisland High that, because of its slight topographical relief and more distal position with respect to the location of fluvio-deltaic systems, became an area of increased carbonate productivity and hence a locus for buildup development. Away from the Burntisland High, in the Fife-Midlothian Low, more monotonous argillaceous limestone facies, of low energy and somewhat deeper water aspect, accumulated. Buildup facies contain a diverse marine fauna and are characterized by peloidal, clotted and homogeneous micrites interpreted as predominantly microbial in origin. Two types of buildup complex occur. At Charlestown, vertically stacked, tabular banks (up to 2 m thick and 100 m wide) form the western margin of an asymmetric buildup accumulation. East of this margin a complex mosaic of isolated low relief buildups and inter-buildup sediments was deposited. Skeletal sand shoals present within these inter-buildup sediments indicate that high energy conditions prevailed during buildup growth. In contrast, at Roscobie, inter-buildup sediments are of low energy aspect and buildup geometry is domical rather than tabular. Initiated in slightly deeper and calmer water on the flank of the Burntisland High, the Roscobie buildups (up to 15 m thick and 46 m wide) accreted vertically, rather than laterally as at Charlestown, and coalesced to form an elongate ridge-shaped buildup complex.     

Origin of well-rounded gravels in glacial deposits from Brøggerhalvøya, northwest Spitsbergen: potential problems caused by sediment reworking in the glacial environment

Well-rounded gravels are described from moraine-mound complexes, diamicton forefields and modern englacial thrusts at the margins of four glaciers on the northern side of Brøggerhalvøya, northwest Spitsbergen. Their shape charcteristics are compared with modern and fossil glacigenic, modern beach and Early Weichselian beach gravels from this peninsula. The best discriminators of the well-rounded gravels have been found to be the percentage-frequency roundness histograms, the roundness mid-point and roundness range diagrams and the sphericity-roundness plots. It is concluded that the gravels have been derived by englacial thrusting from Early Weichselian or last interglacial beaches in the inner parts of the fjord and in the low level cirques when sea level reached at least 50m a.s.l. and deposited the beach gravels. The discrimination between gravel in basal diamictons, proglacial outwash and modern beaches is difficult as the reworking has resulted in little particle shape change. The potential major problem caused by reworking in the glacial environment is emphasised. especially when clast shape comparisons from modern environments to older sediments are used.     

Measurements of density underflows from Walensee,Switzerland*

Speed and direction of bottom currents induced by density underflow of two sediment-laden rivers were measured by oceanographic current meters in the Walensee (= Lake of Walenstadt), Switzerland. The apparently shooting flow of currents (up to 30 cm/s in this study) is suggested as an explanation for laminations in turbidite sequences. The current speed apparently stabilizes on slopes around 2°; this angle seems to correspond to the critical slope where the flow of the measured currents becomes steady. Current direction is controlled by bottom topography and direction of river inflow. Reversal of current direction observed at two sites is probably due to the underflow-induced backward motion of the overlying lake water. Underflow activity in Walensee is correlative with density peaks of the river water input. The currents are compared to Lake Mead (Southwestern U.S.) underflows and sporadic currents in some submarine canyons.     

The ice-dammed lakes of Ossian Sarsfjellet (Svalbard): their geomorphology and significance

The tidewater glacier complex of Kongsvegen/Kronebreen, at the head of Kongsfjorden in north-west Spitsbergen, has advanced rapidly several times since its Neoglacial maximum. Two such advances, 1869 and 1948, are well constrained in time and space and are widely interpreted as glacier surges. During the 1869 advance an ice-dammed lake formed on the western side of Ossian Sarsfjellet. This ice-dammed lake is associated with a thrust moraine complex. Four lake levels are identified, two of which are associated with rock-cut shorelines implying a degree of lake stability. The history of this lake, the nature of the ice dam and its relationship to the thrust moraine complex are discussed. The lake history spanning 28 to 35 years is used to assess the ice-marginal dynamics of the Kongsvegen/Kronebreen glacier. It is concluded that, contrary to previous suggestions, the rapid advance of this tidewater glacier may simply be an example of a non-climatic ice-marginal fluctuation, of the type common to tidewater glacier, as opposed to a glacier surge. A second ice-dammed lake, to the east of Ossian Sarsfjellet, formed sometime after 1869 as the ice retreated, and still exists today. This largely supraglacial lake is associated with a very different geomorphological assemblage, which has a poor long-term preservation potential. The geomorphological characteristics of the two lakes on Ossian Sarsfjellet are compared and used to discuss the problems associated with the recognition of ice-dammed lakes within the Pleistocene record. On the basis of the evidence presented here, ice-dammed lakes may be more common during deglaciation than currently suggested.     

Process length variation in cysts of the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum,from surface sediments of the Baltic–Kattegat–Skagerrak estuarine system: a regional salinity proxy

Mertens, K. N., Dale, B., Ellegaard, M., Jansson, I.‐M., Godhe, A., Kremp, A. & Louwye, S. 2010: Process length variation in cysts of the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum, from surface sediments of the Baltic–Kattegat–Skagerrak estuarine system: a regional salinity proxy. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00193.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Results are presented from a regional comparison of average process length variation in cysts of Protoceratium reticulatum and Lingulodinium polyedrum, extracted from surface sediments in the Skagerrak–Kattegat–Baltic estuarine system, with the environmental variables of seawater temperature and salinity. Although too few cysts of Lingulodinium polyedrum were recovered from the sediments to make reliable correlations, cysts of Protoceratium reticulatum were well represented, and average process length was correlated significantly with both salinity and temperature. Owing to dominant summer surface production, and regional covariation between salinity and density, we propose the use of the significant correlation with summer sea surface salinity (SSS_summer) by the equation SSS_summer=3.16 × average process length ?0.84 (R²=0.8). Application of this equation down‐core in Limfjord (northern Denmark) shows its usefulness as a regional palaeosalinity proxy.