Sukkertoppen Ice Cap Studies

"RF Project 1701, Report No. 1."During the summer of 1963, the Ohio State University’s Institute of Polar Studies with the Arctic Institute of North America conducted detailed scientific studies in the western part of the Tasersiaq area of southwestern Greenland. This expedition was the first of several planned as a result of a 1952 reconnaissance to evaluate the research potential of this area. This is a preliminary report submitted to the Arctic Institute of North America.Arctic Institute of North America, Inc. Project No. W-A2

Tasersiaq Area-Sukkertoppen Ice Cap Studies

"RF Project 1701, Report No. 2."In September, 1963, The Ohio State University prepared a preliminary report describing the scientific program undertaken by members of the Institute of Polar Studies in the Tasersiaq area of southwestern Greenland during the period June 21 – September 1, 1963. This final report submitted by R.P. Goldthwait discusses the results of the analysis of data during the post-field season to April 1, 1964. Some of the scientific programs need a second field season before the most significant results can be obtained as was pointed out in the preliminary report. Thus, the reports contained herein are final reports for the period of the contract, but some of the studies are not yet complete enough for publication in a scientific journal.Arctic Institute of North America, Inc. Project No. W-A2.Mershon Fund, The Ohio State University

Baffin Island Expedition, 1950: A Preliminary Report

Brief resume by the leader, of the personnel, itinerary, camps, transportation and program of an expedition sponsored by Arctic Institute of North America, Royal Canadian Air Force, Geological Survey of Canada, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research and the Canadian Geographical Society, to the east coast of Baffin Island at Clyde settlement, May-Aug. 1950; with short "initial reports on progress" of the scientific studies..

Schmidt-hammer exposure ages from periglacial patterned ground (sorted circles) in Jotunheimen, Norway, and their interpretative problems

© 2016 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography Periglacial patterned ground (sorted circles and polygons) along an altitudinal profile at Juvflya in central Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is investigated using Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD). The patterned ground surfaces exhibit R-value distributions with platycurtic modes, broad plateaus, narrow tails, and a negative skew. Sample sites located between 1500 and 1925 m a.s.l. indicate a distinct altitudinal gradient of increasing mean R-values towards higher altitudes interpreted as a chronological function. An established regional SHD calibration curve for Jotunheimen yielded mean boulder exposure ages in the range 6910 ± 510 to 8240 ± 495 years ago. These SHD ages are indicative of the timing of patterned ground formation, representing minimum ages for active boulder upfreezing and maximum ages for the stabilization of boulders in the encircling gutters. Despite uncertainties associated with the calibration curve and the age distribution of the boulders, the early-Holocene age of the patterned ground surfaces, the apparent cessation of major activity during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) and continuing lack of late-Holocene activity clarify existing understanding of the process dynamics and palaeoclimatic significance of large-scale sorted patterned ground as an indicator of a permafrost environment. The interpretation of SHD ages from patterned ground surfaces remains challenging, however, owing to their diachronous nature, the potential for a complex history of formation, and the influence of local, non-climatic factors