1. Persistence of Holocene ice cap in northeast Svalbard aided by glacio-isostatic rebound
- Author
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Farnsworth, Wesley R., Ingólfsson, Ólafur, Brynjólfsson, Skafti, Allaart, Lis, Kjellman, Sofia E., Kjær, Kurt H., Larsen, Nicolaj K., Macias-Fauria, Marc, Siggaard-Andersen, Marie-Louise, Schomacker, Anders, Farnsworth, Wesley R., Ingólfsson, Ólafur, Brynjólfsson, Skafti, Allaart, Lis, Kjellman, Sofia E., Kjær, Kurt H., Larsen, Nicolaj K., Macias-Fauria, Marc, Siggaard-Andersen, Marie-Louise, and Schomacker, Anders
- Abstract
The deglaciation of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet was driven by relative sea-level rise, the incursion of North Atlantic waters around Spitsbergen, and increasing summer insolation. However, ice retreat was interrupted by asynchronous re-advances that occurred into high relative seas, during a period associated with warm regional waters and elevated summer temperatures. Better understanding of this complex style of deglaciation and the dynamic response to a warming climate can serve as an important analogue for modern warming and today's ice sheets. We present evidence from northern Svalbard of glacier re-advances during the Late Glacial-Early Holocene in hand with relative sea-level history and the occurrence of thermophilous molluscs. We argue that glacio-isostatic adjustment during the transition into the Holocene influenced ice marginal dynamics and as a result, the southern region of the Åsgardfonna ice cap persisted through the Holocene Thermal Maximum.
- Published
- 2024