Glacial geomorphology of terrestrial- terminating fast flow lobes/ice stream margins in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet

Glacial geomorphological mapping of southern Alberta, Canada, reveals landform assemblages that are diagnostic of terrestrial-terminating ice streams/fast flowing outlet glaciers with lobate snouts. Spatial variability in features that comprise the landform assemblages reflects changes in (a) palaeo-ice stream activity (switch on/off); and (b) snout basal thermal regimes associated with climate sensitive, steady state flow. Palaeo-ice stream tracks reveal distinct inset sequences of fan-shaped flowsets indicative of receding lobate ice stream margins. Former ice lobe margins are demarcated by (a) major, often glacially overridden transverse moraine ridges, commonly comprising glacitectonically thrust bedrock; and (b) minor, closely spaced recessional push moraines and hummocky moraine arcs. Details of these landform types are well exhibited around the former southern margins of the Central Alberta Ice Stream, where larger scale, more intensive mapping identifies a complex glacial geomorphology comprising minor transverse ridges (MTR types 1–3), hummocky terrain (HT types 1–3), flutings, and meltwater channels/spillways. The MTR type 1 constitute the summit corrugation patterns of glacitectonic thrust moraines or major transverse ridges and have been glacially overrun and moderately streamlined. The MTR type 2 sequences are recessional push moraines similar to those developing at modern active temperate glacier snouts. The MTR type 3 document moraine construction by incremental stagnation because they occur in association with hummocky terrain. The close association of hummocky terrain with push moraine assemblages indicates that they are the products of supraglacial controlled deposition on a polythermal ice sheet margin, where the HT type 3 hummocks represent former ice-walled lake plains. The ice sheet marginal thermal regime switches indicated by the spatially variable landform assemblages in southern Alberta are consistent with palaeoglaciological reconstructions proposed for other ice stream/fast flow lobes of the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet, where alternate cold, polythermal, and temperate marginal conditions associated with climate sensitive, steady state flow sequentially gave way to more dynamic streaming and surging activity

Submarine glacial-landform distribution along an Antarctic Peninsula palaeo-ice stream: A shelf-slope transect through the Marguerite Trough system (66-70° S)

The Antarctic Peninsula comprises a thin spine of mountains and islands presently covered by an ice sheet up to 500 m thick that drains eastwards and westwards via outlet glaciers (Davies et al. 2012). Recently, the Peninsula has undergone rapid warming, resulting in the collapse of fringing ice shelves and the retreat, thinning and acceleration of marine-terminating outlet glaciers (e.g. Pritchard & Vaughan 2007). At the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the ice sheet expanded to the continental-shelf break around the Peninsula, and was organised into a series of ice streams that drained along cross-shelf bathymetric troughs (Ó Cofaigh et al. 2014). Marguerite Bay is located on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, at about 66° to 70° S (Fig. 1). A 12–80 km wide and 370 km long trough extends across the bay from the northern terminus of George VI Ice Shelf to the continental shelf edge. Extensive marine-geophysical surveys of the trough reveal a suite of glacial landforms which record past flow of an ice stream, which extended to the shelf edge at, or shortly after, the LGM. Subsequent retreat of the ice stream was underway by ~14 kyr ago and proceeded rapidly to the mid-shelf, where it slowed before accelerating once again to the inner shelf at ~9 kyr (Kilfeather et al. 2011).This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Geological Society of London via https://doi.org/10.1144/M46.18

The sedimentary legacy of a palaeo-ice stream on the shelf of the southern Bellingshausen Sea: Clues to West Antarctic glacial history during the Late Quaternary

A major trough ("Belgica Trough") eroded by a palaeo-ice stream crosses the continental shelf of the southern Bellingshausen Sea (West Antarctica) and is associated with a trough mouth fan ("Belgica TMF") on the adjacent continental slope. Previous marine geophysical and geological studies investigated the bathymetry and geomorphology of Belgica Trough and Belgica TMF, erosional and depositional processes associated with bedform formation, and the temporal and spatial changes in clay mineral provenance of subglacial and glaciomarine sediments. Here, we present multi-proxy data from sediment cores recovered from the shelf and uppermost slope in the southern Bellingshausen Sea and reconstruct the ice-sheet history since the last glacial maximum (LGM) in this poorly studied area of West Antarctica. We combined new data (physical properties, sedimentary structures, geochemical and grain-size data) with published data (shear strength, clay mineral assemblages) to refine a previous facies classification for the sediments. The multi-proxy approach allowed us to distinguish four main facies types and to assign them to the following depositional settings: 1) subglacial, 2) proximal grounding-line, 3) distal sub-ice shelf/sub-sea ice, and 4) seasonal open-marine. In the seasonal open-marine fades we found evidence for episodic current-induced winnowing of near-seabed sediments on the middle to outer shelf and at the uppermost slope during the late Holocene. In addition, we obtained data on excess Pb-210 activity at three core sites and 44 AMS C-14 dates from the acid-insoluble fraction of organic matter (AIO) and calcareous (micro-) fossils, respectively, at 12 sites. These chronological data enabled us to reconstruct, for the first time, the timing of the last advance and retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) in the southern Bellingshausen Sea. We used the down-core variability in sediment provenance inferred from clay mineral changes to identify the most reliable AIO C-14 ages for ice-sheet retreat. The palaeo-ice stream advanced through Belgica Trough after similar to 36.0 corrected C-14 ka before present (B.P.). It retreated from the outer shelf at similar to 25.5 ka B.P, the middle shelf at similar to 19.8 ka B.P., the inner shelf in Eltanin Bay at similar to 12.3 ka B.P., and the inner shelf in Ronne Entrance at similar to 6.3 ka B.P. The retreat of the WAIS and APIS occurred slowly and stepwise, and may still be in progress. This dynamical ice-sheet behaviour has to be taken into account for the interpretation of recent and the prediction of future mass-balance changes in the study area. The glacial history of the southern Bellingshausen Sea is unique when compared to other regions in West Antarctica, but some open questions regarding its chronology need to be addressed by future work. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Flow and retreat of the Late Quaternary Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream, West Antarctica

Multibeam swath bathymetry and sub-bottom profiler data are used to establish constraints on the flow and retreat history of a major palaeo-ice stream that carried the combined discharge from the parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet now occupied by the Pine Island and Thwaites glacier basins. Sets of highly elongated bedforms show that, at the last glacial maximum, the route of the Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream arced north-northeast following a prominent cross-shelf trough. In this area, the grounding line advanced to within similar to 68 km of, and probably reached, the shelf edge. Minimum ice thickness is estimated at 715 m on the outer shelf, and we estimate a minimum ice discharge of similar to 108 km(3) yr(-1) assuming velocities similar to today's Pine Island glacier (similar to 2.5 km yr(-1)). Additional bed forms observed in a trough northwest of Pine Island Bay likely formed via diachronous ice flows across the outer shelf and demonstrate switching ice stream behavior. The "style" of ice retreat is also evident in five grounding zone wedges, which suggest episodic deglaciation characterized by halts in grounding line migration up-trough. Stillstands occurred in association with changes in ice bed gradient, and phases of inferred rapid retreat correlate to higher bed slopes, supporting theoretical studies that show bed geometry as a control on ice margin recession. However, estimates that individual wedges could have formed within several centuries still imply a relatively rapid overall retreat. Our findings show that the ice stream channeled a substantial fraction of West Antarctica's discharge in the past, just as the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers do today

Glacial landscape evolution in the Uummannaq region, West Greenland

The Uummannaq region is a mosaic of glacial landsystems, consistent with hypothesised landscape distribution resulting from variations in subglacial thermal regime. The region is dominated by selective linear erosion which has spatially and altitudinally partitioned the landscape. Low altitude areas are dominated by glacial scour, with higher elevations are dominated by plateaux or mountain valley and cirque glaciers. The appearance and nature of each landscape type varies locally with altitude and latitude, as a function of bedrock geology and average glacial conditions. Selective linear erosion has been a primary control on landscape distribution throughout Uummannaq, leading to plateau formation and the growth of a coalescent fjord system in the Uummannaq region. This has allowed the development of the Uummannaq ice stream’s (UIS) onset zone during glacial periods. Fjord development has been enhanced by a down-stream change in geology to less-resistant lithologies, increasing erosional efficiency and allowing a single glacial channel to develop, encouraging glacier convergence and the initiation of ice streaming. The landscape has been affected by several periods of regional uplift from 33 Ma to present, and has been subject to subsequent fluvial and glacial erosion. Uplift has removed surfaces from the impact of widespread warm-based glaciation, leaving them as relict landsurfaces. The result of this is a regional altitude-dependant continuum of glacial modification, with extreme differences in erosion between high and low elevation surfaces. This study indicates that processes of long-term uplift, glacial erosion/protection, and spatial variability in erosion intensity have produced a highly partitioned landscape

Controls upon the Last Glacial Maximum deglaciation of the northern Uummannaq Ice Stream System, West Greenland

The Uummannaq Ice Stream System (UISS) was a convergent cross-shelf ice stream system that operated in West Greenland during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This paper presents new evidence constraining the geometry and evolution of the northern sector of the UISS and considers the factors controlling its dynamic behaviour. Geomorphological mapping, 21 new terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure ages, and radiocarbon dating constrain LGM warm-based ice stream activity in the north of the system up to 1400 m a.s.l. Intervening plateaux areas either remained ice free, or were covered by cold-based icefields. Beyond the inner fjords, topography and bathymetry forced ice flow southwards into the Uummannaq Trough, where it coalesced with ice from the south, and formed the trunk zone of the UISS. Deglaciation of the UISS began at 14.9 cal. ka BP. Rapid retreat from the LGM limit was forced by an increase in air temperatures and rising sea level, enhanced by the bathymetric over-deepening of the Uummannaq and Igdlorssuit Sund troughs. Ice reached the inner fjord confines in the northern Uummannaq area by 11.6 ka and experienced an ice marginal stabilisation in Rink–Karrat Fjord for up to 5 ka. This was a function of topographic constriction and bathymetric shallowing, and occurred despite continued climatic forcing. In the neighbouring Ingia Fjord this did not occur. Following this period of stability, ice within Rink–Karrat Fjord retreated, reaching the present ice margin or beyond after 5 ka. The presence of a major ice stream within a mid-fjord setting, during the mid-Holocene and the Holocene Thermal Maximum (∼11–5 ka) is in direct contrast to records of other ice streams throughout West Greenland, which suggest ice had retreated beyond its present margin by 9–7 ka. This demonstrates the potential importance of topographic control on calving margin stability, and its ability to override climatic forcing

Subglacial processes on an Antarctic ice stream bed. 2: Can modelled ice dynamics explain the morphology of mega-scale glacial lineations?

Mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) are highly elongate subglacial bedforms associated with ice streaming. However, the link between MSGLs and rapid ice flow is largely qualitative, and there have been few attempts to quantitatively link their formation to ice flow characteristics (e.g. ice velocity, thickness, basal shear stress). We take measurements of MSGLs from a palaeo-ice stream that once occupied Marguerite Trough, Antarctic Peninsula and explore a range of possible correlations with ice dynamics generated from an ensemble of numerical modelling experiments that reproduce the deglaciation of the ice stream. Our results confirm that high mean ice velocities and a weak bed correlate with longer MSGLs. Furthermore, the height of MSGLs are low (2–3 m) where modelled basal shear stress is low, but their height tends to be higher and more variable where basal shear stress is larger. The mean density of MSGLs decreases as ice flux increases. Our analysis further suggests that the length of MSGLs is a function of basal ice velocity and time. Although our data/model correlations confirm the importance of ice velocity in MSGL formation, a significant challenge remains if we are to employ MSGLs as a quantifiable measure of past ice stream velocity

Subglacial Water Flow Over an Antarctic Palaeo‐Ice Stream Bed

The subglacial hydrological system exerts a critical control on the dynamic behavior of the overlying ice because its configuration affects the degree of basal lubrication between the ice and the bed. Yet, this component of the glaciological system is notoriously hard to access and observe, particularly over timescales longer than the satellite era. In Antarctica, abundant evidence for past subglacial water flow over former ice-sheet beds exists around the peripheries of the ice sheet including networks of huge channels carved into bedrock (now submarine) on the Pacific margin of West Antarctica. Here, we combine detailed bathymetric investigations of a channel system in Marguerite Trough, a major palaeo-ice stream bed, with numerical hydrological modeling to explore subglacial water accumulation, routing and potential for erosion over decadal-centennial timescales. Detailed channel morphologies from remotely operated vehicle surveys indicate multiple stages of localized incision, and the occurrence of potholes, some gigantic in scale, suggests incision by turbulent water carrying a significant bedload. Further, the modeling indicates that subglacial water is available during deglaciation and was likely released in episodic drainage events, from subglacial lakes, varying in magnitude over time. Our observations support previous assertions that these huge bedrock channel systems were incised over multiple glacial cycles through episodic subglacial lake drainage events; however, here we present a viable pattern for subglacial drainage at times when the ice sheet existed over the continental shelf and was capable of continuing to erode the bedrock substrate