Cryostratigraphy, sedimentology, and the late Quaternary evolution of the Zackenberg River delta, northeast Greenland
Graham L. Gilbert1,2,Stefanie Cable1,3,Christine Thiel4,5,6,Hanne H. Christiansen1,and Bo Elberling3Graham L. Gilbert et al.Graham L. Gilbert1,2,Stefanie Cable1,3,Christine Thiel4,5,6,Hanne H. Christiansen1,and Bo Elberling3
1Arctic Geology Department, University Centre in Svalbard, PO Box
156, 9170 Longyearbyen, Norway
2Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Realfagbygget,
Allegt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
3Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural
Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350
Copenhagen, Denmark
4Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Earth
Sciences, Aarhus University, Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
5Centre for Nuclear Technologies (Nutech), Technical
University of Denmark, Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
6Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, Section S3: Geochronology
and Isotope Hydrology, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hanover, Germany
1Arctic Geology Department, University Centre in Svalbard, PO Box
156, 9170 Longyearbyen, Norway
2Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Realfagbygget,
Allegt. 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway
3Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural
Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350
Copenhagen, Denmark
4Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Earth
Sciences, Aarhus University, Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
5Centre for Nuclear Technologies (Nutech), Technical
University of Denmark, Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
6Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics, Section S3: Geochronology
and Isotope Hydrology, Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hanover, Germany
Correspondence: Graham L. Gilbert (graham.gilbert@unis.no)
Received: 31 Dec 2016 – Discussion started: 17 Jan 2017 – Revised: 07 Apr 2017 – Accepted: 01 May 2017 – Published: 30 May 2017
Abstract. The Zackenberg River delta is located in northeast Greenland (74°30′ N, 20°30′ E) at the outlet of the Zackenberg fjord valley. The fjord-valley fill consists of a series of terraced deltaic deposits (ca. 2 km2) formed during relative sea-level (RSL) fall. We investigated the deposits using sedimentological and cryostratigraphic techniques together with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. We identify four facies associations in sections (4 to 22 m in height) exposed along the modern Zackenberg River and coast. Facies associations relate to (I) overriding glaciers, (II) retreating glaciers and quiescent glaciomarine conditions, (III) delta progradation in a fjord valley, and (IV) fluvial activity and niveo-aeolian processes. Pore, layered, and suspended cryofacies are identified in two 20 m deep ice-bonded sediment cores. The cryofacies distribution, together with low overall ground-ice content, indicates that permafrost is predominately epigenetic in these deposits. Fourteen OSL ages constrain the deposition of the cored deposits to between approximately 13 and 11 ka, immediately following deglaciation. The timing of permafrost aggradation was closely related to delta progradation and began following the subaerial exposure of the delta plain (ca. 11 ka). Our results reveal information concerning the interplay between deglaciation, RSL change, sedimentation, permafrost aggradation, and the timing of these events. These findings have implications for the timing and mode of permafrost aggradation in other fjord valleys in northeast Greenland.
We reconstruct the Holocene development of the Zackenberg River delta (northeast Greenland) using a combination of sedimentology, cryostratigraphy, and geochronology. We distinguish four major depositional environments and identify three cryofacies. We apply the principles of cryostratigraphy to infer the aggradational history of permafrost. This paper contains an archive of ground ice in epigenetic permafrost in northeast Greenland.
We reconstruct the Holocene development of the Zackenberg River delta (northeast Greenland)...
