A quasi-annual record of time-transgressive esker formation: implications for ice-sheet reconstruction and subglacial hydrology

Livingstone, Stephen J.; Lewington, Emma L. M.; Clark, Chris D.; Storrar, Robert D.; Sole, Andrew J.; McMartin, Isabelle; Dewald, Nico; Ng, Felix

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1989-2020

Articles | Volume 14, issue 6

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1989-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1989-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 14, issue 6

Research article

|

18 Jun 2020

Research article |

| 18 Jun 2020

A quasi-annual record of time-transgressive esker formation: implications for ice-sheet reconstruction and subglacial hydrology

Stephen J. Livingstone, Emma L. M. Lewington, Chris D. Clark, Robert D. Storrar, Andrew J. Sole, Isabelle McMartin, Nico Dewald, and Felix Ng

Data sets

Mapping of meltwater features and De Geer moraines in central Nunavut, Canada from the high-resolution (2 m) ArcticDEM S. J. Livingstone, E. L.M. Lewington, C. D. Clark, R. D. Storrar, A. J. Sole, I. McMartin, N. Dewald, and F. Ng https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.12315221

Short summary

We map series of aligned mounds (esker beads) across central Nunavut, Canada. Mounds are interpreted to have formed roughly annually as sediment carried by subglacial rivers is deposited at the ice margin. Chains of mounds are formed as the ice retreats. This high-resolution (annual) record allows us to constrain the pace of ice retreat, sediment fluxes, and the style of drainage through time. In particular, we suggest that eskers in general record a composite signature of ice-marginal drainage.