Thickness and extent of the subglacial till layer beneath an Antarctic paleo-ice stream

Dowdeswell, Julian A.; Ó Cofaigh, Colm; Pudsey, Carol J.. 2004 Thickness and extent of the subglacial till layer beneath an Antarctic paleo-ice stream. Geology, 32 (1). 13-16. https://doi.org/10.1130/G19864.1

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Abstract/Summary

Fast-flowing ice streams and outlet glaciers currently account for as much as 90% of the discharge from the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. Although the deformation of subglacial material has been proposed as the mechanism for this rapid motion, such sediment is usually hidden under several kilometers of ice. Marine-geophysical records have allowed reconstruction of the three-dimensional thickness of the sedimentary bed beneath a large Antarctic paleo-ice stream for the first time. Fast flow is indicated by streamlined seafloor lineations that form the surface of a layer of low shear strength, unsorted sediment, averaging 4.6 m thick. Rapid motion of the paleo-ice stream was a result of subglacial deformation within this layer.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1130/G19864.1
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Antarctic Science in the Global Context (2000-2005) > Signals in Antarctica of Past Global Changes
ISSN:	0091-7613
Additional Keywords:	paleo-ice streams, subglacial environment, deformation till Antarctic Peninsula; Quaternary
NORA Subject Terms:	Glaciology Earth Sciences
Date made live:	13 Jan 2012 14:11 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/12151

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