New Constraints on the Timing and Pattern of Deglaciation in the Húnaflói Bay Region of Northwest Iceland Using Cosmogenic 36CA Dating and Geomorphic Mapping

Understanding the evolution and timing of changes in ice sheet geometry and extent in Iceland during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and subsequent deglaciation continues to stimulate much active research. Though many previous studies have advanced our knowledge of Icelandic ice sheet history preserved in marine and terrestrial settings (e.g., Andrews et al., 2000; Norðdahl et al., 2008), the timing of ice margin retreat remains largely unknown in several key regions. Recently published 36Cl surface exposure ages of bedrock surfaces and moraines in the West Fjords (Brynjólfsson et al., 2015) contribute important progress in establishing more precise age control of ice recession in northwest Iceland. In another recent study, the spatial pattern and style of deglaciation in northern Iceland have been revealed through geomorphic mapping and GIS analyses of glacial landforms (Principato et al., 2016). Additional insight comes from updated numerical modeling reconstructions, which now provide a series of glaciologically plausible Icelandic ice sheet configurations from the LGM through the last deglaciation (Patton et al., 2017). However, the optimization of ice sheet model simulations relies on critical comparisons with the available empirical record of glacial-geologic evidence and chronological control, which remains relatively limited and sparsely distributed throughout Iceland. Our investigation is motivated by the need for more accurate constraints on the deglacial history in northern Iceland, where dated terrestrial records of ice margin retreat are particularly scarce. (excerpt

Northeastern Atlantic benthic foraminifera during the last 45,000 years: Changes in productivity seen from the bottom up

We studied benthic foraminifera from the last 45 kyr in the >63 mu m size fraction in Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Studies (BOFS) cores 5K (50 degrees 41.3'N, 21 degrees 51.9'W, depth 3547 m) and 14K (58 degrees 37.2'N, 19 degrees 26.2'W, depth 1756 m), at a time resolution of several hundreds to a thousand years. The deepest site showed the largest fluctuations in faunal composition, species richness, and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates; the fluctuations resulted from changes in abundance of Epistominella exigua and Alabaminella weddellensis. In the present oceans, these species bloom opportunistically when a spring plankton bloom results in seasonal deposition of phytodetritus on the seafloor. The ''phytodetritus species'' had very low relative abundances and accumulation rates during the last glacial maximum. A strong increase in absolute and relative abundance of E. exigua and A weddellensis during deglaciation paralleled the decrease in abundance of the polar planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s), and the increase in abundance of warmer water planktonic species such as Globigerina bulloides. This strong increase in relative abundance of the ''phytodetritus species'' and the coeval increase in benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate were thus probably caused by an increase in the deposition of phytodetritus to the seafloor (and thus probably of surface productivity) when the polar front retreated to higher latitudes. The abundance of ''phytodetritus species'' decreased during the Younger Dryas, but not to the low levels of fully glacial conditions. During Heinrich events (periods of excessive melt-water formation and ice rafting) benthic accumulation rates were very low, as were the absolute and relative abundances of the ''phytodetritus species'', supporting suggestions that surface productivity was very low during these events. In both cores Pullenia and Cassidulina species were common during isotope stages 2, 3 and 4, as were bolivinid, buliminid and uvigerinid species. High relative abundances of these species have been interpreted as indicative either of sluggish deep water circulation or of high organic carbon fluxes to the seafloor. In our cores, relative abundances of these species are negatively correlated with benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates, and we can thus not interpret them as indicative of increased productivity during glacials. The percentage of these ''low oxygen'' species calculated on a ''phytodetritus species'' - free basis decreased slightly at deglaciation at 5K, but not at 14K. This suggests that decreased production of North Atlantic Deep Water during the last glacial might have slightly affected benthic foraminiferal faunas in the eastern North Atlantic at 3547 m depth, but not at 1756 m. In conclusion, major changes in deep-sea benthic foraminiferal faunas over the last 45,000 years in our cores from the northeastern Atlantic were the result of changes in surface water productivity, not of changes in deep water circulation; productivity was lower during the glacial, probably because of extensive ice cover

Abrupt climate changes of the last deglaciation detected in a Western Mediterranean forest record

Abrupt changes in Western Mediterranean climate during the last deglaciation (20 to 6 cal ka BP) are detected in marine core MD95-2043 (Alboran Sea) through the investigation of high-resolution pollen data and pollen-based climate reconstructions by the modern analogue technique (MAT) for annual precipitation (Pann) and mean temperatures of the coldest and warmest months (MTCO and MTWA). Changes in temperate Mediterranean forest development and composition and MAT reconstructions indicate major climatic shifts with parallel temperature and precipitation changes at the onsets of Heinrich stadial 1 (equivalent to the Oldest Dryas), the Bölling-Allerød (BA), and the Younger Dryas (YD). Multi-centennial-scale oscillations in forest development occurred throughout the BA, YD, and early Holocene. Shifts in vegetation composition and (Pann reconstructions indicate that forest declines occurred during dry, and generally cool, episodes centred at 14.0, 13.3, 12.9, 11.8, 10.7, 10.1, 9.2, 8.3 and 7.4 cal ka BP. The forest record also suggests multiple, low-amplitude Preboreal (PB) climate oscillations, and a marked increase in moisture availability for forest development at the end of the PB at 10.6 cal ka BP. Dry atmospheric conditions in the Western Mediterranean occurred in phase with Lateglacial events of high-latitude cooling including GI-1d (Older Dryas), GI-1b (Intra-Allerød Cold Period) and GS-1 (YD), and during Holocene events associated with high-latitude cooling, meltwater pulses and N. Atlantic ice-rafting. A possible climatic mechanism for the recurrence of dry intervals and an opposed regional precipitation pattern with respect to Western-central Europe relates to the dynamics of the westerlies and the prevalence of atmospheric blocking highs. Comparison of radiocarbon and ice-core ages for well-defined climatic transitions in the forest record suggests possible enhancement of marine reservoir ages in the Alboran Sea by 200 years (surface water age 600 years) during the Lateglacial

Widespread erosion on high plateaus during recent glaciations in Scandinavia

Glaciers create some of Earth’s steepest topography; yet, many areas that were repeatedly overridden by ice sheets in the last few million years include extensive plateaus. The distinct geomorphic contrast between plateaus and the glacial troughs that dissect them has sustained two long-held hypotheses: first, that ice sheets perform insignificant erosion beyond glacial troughs, and, second, that the plateaus represent ancient pre-glacial landforms bearing information of tectonic and geomorphic history prior to Pliocene–Pleistocene global cooling (~3.5 Myr ago). Here we show that the Fennoscandian ice sheets drove widespread erosion across plateaus far beyond glacial troughs. We apply inverse modelling to 118 new cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al measurements to quantify ice sheet erosion on the plateaus fringing the Sognefjorden glacial trough in western Norway. Our findings demonstrate substantial modification of the pre-glacial landscape during the Quaternary, and that glacial erosion of plateaus is important when estimating the global sediment flux to the oceans

Tahiti sea level : the last deglacial sea level rise in the South Pacific

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 to the reef terraces around Tahiti, French Polynesia, was the second expedition to utilize a mission-specific platform (MSP) and was conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) Science Operator (ESO). The objectives of Expedition 310 are to establish the course of postglacial sea level rise at Tahiti, to define sea-surface temperature (SST) variations for the region over the period 20–10 ka, and to analyze the impact of sea level changes on reef growth and geometry. To meet these objectives, the postglacial reef sequence, which consists of successive reef terraces seaward of the living barrier reef, was cored from a dynamically positioned vessel during October and November 2005. A total of 37 boreholes across 22 sites were cored in water depths ranging from 41.65 to 117.54 m. Borehole logging operations in 10 boreholes provided continuous geophysical information about the drilled strata. The cores were described during the Onshore Science Party at the IODP Bremen Core Repository during February and March 2006, where minimum and some standard measurements were made. Further postcruise research on samples taken during the Onshore Science Party are expected to fulfill the objectives of the expedition

Analysis of a Precambrian resonance-stabilized day length

During the Precambrian era, Earth's decelerating rotation would have passed a 21-hour period that would have been resonant with the semidiurnal atmospheric thermal tide. Near this point, the atmospheric torque would have been maximized, being comparable in magnitude but opposite in direction to the lunar torque, halting Earth's rotational deceleration, maintaining a constant day length, as detailed by Zahnle and Walker (1987). We develop a computational model to determine necessary conditions for formation and breakage of this resonant effect. Our simulations show the resonance to be resilient to atmospheric thermal noise but suggest a sudden atmospheric temperature increase like the deglaciation period following a possible "snowball Earth" near the end of the Precambrian would break this resonance; the Marinoan and Sturtian glaciations seem the most likely candidates for this event. Our model provides a simulated day length over time that resembles existing paleorotational data, though further data is needed to verify this hypothesis.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Geophysical Research Letters on 10 May 201

Will present day glacier retreat increase volcanic activity? Stress induced by recent glacier retreat and its effect on magmatism at the Vatnajokull ice cap, Iceland

Global warming causes retreat of ice caps and ice sheets. Can melting glaciers trigger increased volcanic activity? Since 1890 the largest ice cap of Iceland, Vatnajokull, with an area of similar to 8000 km(2), has been continuously retreating losing about 10% of its mass during last century. Present-day uplift around the ice cap is as high as 25 mm/yr. We evaluate interactions between ongoing glacio-isostasy and current changes to mantle melting and crustal stresses at volcanoes underneath Vatnajokull. The modeling indicates that a substantial volume of new magma, similar to 0.014 km(3)/yr, is produced under Vatnajokull in response to current ice thinning. Ice retreat also induces significant stress changes in the elastic crust that may contribute to high seismicity, unusual focal mechanisms, and unusual magma movements in NW-Vatnajokull