Late Holocene glacier activity at inner Hornsund and Scottbreen, southern Svalbard

Philipps, W., Briner, J.P., Gislefoss, L., Linge, H., Koffman, T., Fabel, D. , Xu, S. and Hormes, A. (2017) Late Holocene glacier activity at inner Hornsund and Scottbreen, southern Svalbard. Journal of Quaternary Science, 32(4), pp. 501-515. (doi: 10.1002/jqs.2944)

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Abstract

New 10Be dating on two late Holocene maximum moraines on the Treskelen Peninsula and at Scottbreen, Svalbard, improve constraints on the timing and character of Holocene glacial activity in this region. Average moraine ages of 1.9 ± 0.3 ka (n = 4) on the Treskelen Peninsula and 1.7 ± 0.1 ka (n = 5) on Scottbreen indicate the timing of a glacial culmination. The age of moraine abandonment at Treskelen and Scottbreen correlates with snowline lowering and glacier expansion between ∼2.0 and 1.5 ka observed elsewhere on Svalbard. Both Scottbreen and the glaciers near Treskelen have surged in the instrumental record, like many glaciers across Svalbard. Yet, the age relation between our possible surge-related moraines and other glacier records leads us to hypothesize that on centennial and longer timescales, climate forcing outweighs surge dynamics, which exerts a stronger control on glacier length on centennial timescales at our study sites.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Fabel, Dr Derek and Xu, Dr Sheng
Authors: Philipps, W., Briner, J.P., Gislefoss, L., Linge, H., Koffman, T., Fabel, D., Xu, S., and Hormes, A.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Journal Name:Journal of Quaternary Science
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0267-8179
ISSN (Online):1099-1417
Published Online:12 May 2017

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