Submarine Landforms and Late Quaternary Ice Flow in Hinlopen Strait, Northern Svalbard Margin
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Submarine Landforms and Late Quaternary Ice Flow in Hinlopen Strait, Northern Svalbard Margin By Christine Batchelor Girton College Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1ER 10th June 2010 Supervisor: Professor Julian Dowdeswell This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy 2 Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text. My dissertation is not substantially the same as any I have submitted for a degree or any other qualification at any other university. This dissertation is no more than 20,000 words in length excluding the acknowledgements, declaration, list of references, tables, captions and appendices. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Julian Dowdeswell for his guidance, helpful discussions and comments about this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Kelly Hogan for providing an introduction into post-acquisition data processing techniques and the MB-SystemTM software. Many thanks go to Dr. Suzanne MacLachlan for her assistance with sediment core preparations and the GEOTEK multi-sensor core scanner at BOSCORF, Southampton. I would like to thank the staff and students at the Scott Polar Research Institute for an enjoyable year, and my family, friends, and Sami Husa for putting up with many conversations about ‘troughs’. Finally, I would like to thank Phoebe Robinson, my swath-raging and white van-driving partner in crime, for helping me to get to grips with Linux and for keeping an eye on the kerb. 4 Contents Chapter Page 1. Introduction 10 1.1 Introduction and Aims 10 1.2 Location and Study Area 11 1.3 Tectonic and Glacial Development of Svalbard’s Northern Margin 14 1.3.1 Pre-Quaternary Evolution of Svalbard’s Northern Margin 14 1.3.2 Quaternary Development of Svalbard’s Northern Margin 15 1.3.3 The Last Glacial-Interglacial Cycle 16 1.4 Modern Oceanography 21 1.5 Thesis Structure 22 2. Methodology 24 2.1 Introduction 24 2.2 Multi-Beam Swath-Bathymetry Data 24 2.2.1 EM120 System 24 2.2.2 Swath Data Processing 26 2.2.3 Swath Data Interpretation 29 2.2.4 Swath Bathymetry and Submarine Landforms 30 2.3 TOPAS (TOpographical PArametric Sonar) Profiler Data 32 2.3.1 TOPAS PS 018 System 32 2.3.2 TOPAS Data Visualisation and Interpretation 32 2.4 Geological Data 33 2.4.1 Core Lithostratigraphy and Gravity Cores 33 2.4.2 Core Preparation and Interpretation 35 3. Submarine Landforms 38 3.1 Regional Bathymetry 38 3.2 Submarine Landforms in Hinlopen Trough 40 3.2.1 Description of Sedimentary Elongate Streamlined Landforms 41 3.2.2 Interpretation of Sedimentary Elongate Streamlined Landforms 45 3.2.3 Description of Bedrock Streamlined Landforms 48 3.2.4 Interpretation Bedrock Streamlined Landforms 50 3.2.5 Description of Large and Small Linear to Curvilinear Features 50 3.2.6 Interpretation of Large and Small Linear to Curvilinear Features 51 3.2.7 Other Morphological Elements 54 4. Acoustic Stratigraphy 56 4.1 Description of Acoustic Facies 57 4.2 Description of Acoustic Reflectors 58 4.3 Acoustic Type Sections 59 5 4.4 Distribution of Acoustic Facies in Hinlopen Trough 61 4.5 Correlation of Submarine Landforms and Acoustic Facies in Hinlopen 63 Trough 4.6 Interpretation of Acoustic Facies 64 4.7 Interpretation of Acoustic Reflectors 67 5. Lithostratigraphy 70 5.1 Sediment Facies: Description 70 5.1.1 Diamict 70 5.1.2. Fine-Grained Mud 71 5.2 Sediment Facies: Distribution 73 5.2.1 GC16 73 5.2.2 GC15 74 5.2.3 GC14 83 5.2.4 GC17 83 5.3 Correlation of Sediment Cores, Submarine Landforms and Acoustic 84 Stratigraphy 5.3.1 GC16 84 5.3.2 GC15 84 5.3.3 GC14 84 5.3.4 GC17 86 5.4 Sediment Facies: Interpretation 86 5.4.1 Diamict 86 5.4.2 Fine-Grained Mud 89 6. Synthesis 94 6.1 Synthesis and Identification of Glacial Landsystems 94 6.2 Interpretation of Past Ice Stream Behaviour 97 6.2.1 The Hinlopen Trough Ice Stream 97 6.2.2 Landform Progression within Hinlopen Trough 99 6.2.3 Evolution of the Hinlopen Trough Ice Sheet 100 6.2.4 Basal Conditions 100 6.2.5 Rates of Sediment Delivery 102 6.3 Implications for Late Quaternary Ice Sheet Dynamics 104 6.3.1 Submarine Landforms and Ice Sheet Dynamics 104 6.3.2 Style of Deglaciation 105 7. Conclusions 107 7.1 Project Aims 107 7.2 Summary of Results 107 7.3 Recommendations for Further Investigation 109 8. Bibliography 110 6 List of Figures Figure Page 1.1 An idealised high-latitude continental margin (from Dowdeswell and 10 Ó Cofaigh, 2002) 1.2 The location of Svalbard and Hinlopen Trough 12 1.3 Bathymetry data showing the location of Hinlopen Trough and the 13 Hinlopen Slide scar area (from Cherkis et al., 1992) 1.4 The geology of Svalbard 14 1.5 Time-distance diagrams showing the growth and decay of the Eurasian 17 Ice Sheet (from Svendsen et al., 2004) 1.6 Reconstruction of the Eurasian Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum 18 (from Svendsen et al., 2004) 1.7 Map showing the regional bathymetry of Svalbard’s northern fjord and 20 shelf area (from Ottesen et al., 2007) 1.8 Regional map depicting the present oceanographic conditions around 22 Svalbard (from Koç et al., 2002) 2.1 Schematic diagram of a multi-beam echo sounding system (from Hogan, 25 2008) 2.2 A) Shaded relief map of the swath bathymetry of Hinlopen Trough, 27 overlain by the ship tracks B) Shaded relief map of the swath bathymetry of Hinlopen Trough 2.3 A) Colour swath bathymetry image constructed from raw data 28 B) Colour swath bathymetry image constructed from processed data 2.4 Map of the location of the four sediment cores obtained from the trough 34 3.1 Regional bathymetry of Hinlopen Trough (adapted from Dowdeswell 38 et al., In Press A) 3.2 A) Swath bathymetry greyscale image of Hinlopen Trough 39 B) Contoured colour swath bathymetry image of Hinlopen Trough 3.3 Swath bathymetry colour image depicting the three main regions with 42 the trough 3.4 Colour swath bathymetry image of the mid-shelf area, showing the 43 location of elongate and drumlinised sedimentary bedforms 3.5 Greyscale swath bathymetry image of the crude elongate landforms 44 3.6 Greyscale swath bathymetry image of the drumlinised landforms 45 3.7 Greyscale swath bathymetry image of the ice-sculpted inner-shelf 49 3.8 Greyscale swath bathymetry image of the heavily-scoured outer shelf 52 3.9 A) Greyscale swath bathymetry image a heavily-scoured region 53 B) Colour swath bathymetry image of a large iceberg ploughmark 3.10 Greyscale swath bathymetry image of a large ploughmark cross-cutting 54 a prominent ridge in the middle-shelf 4.1 3.5kHz profile of the sea floor with corresponding schematic illustration 60 4.2 3.5kHz profile of facies L with corresponding schematic illustration 60 4.3 3.5kHz profile of a common type section with corresponding illustration 61 4.4 Map illustrating the different acoustic type sections in Hinlopen Trough 62 7 5.1 A) X-radiograph of the matrix-supported diamict in GC15 71 B) X-radiograph of the clast-supported diamict in GC16 5.2 A) X-radiograph of outsized clasts in GC14 72 B) X-radiograph of clast-rich lenses in GC17 5.3 Core log of GC16 with Munsell soil colour and particle size data 75 5.4 Core log of GC16 with magnetic susceptibility, lightness, reflectance, 76 a* and b* data 5.5 Core log of GC15 with Munsell soil colour and particle size data 77 5.6 Core log of GC15 with magnetic susceptibility, lightness, reflectance, 78 a* and b* data 5.7 Core log of GC14 with Munsell soil colour and particle size data 79 5.8 Core log of GC14 with magnetic susceptibility, lightness, reflectance, 80 a* and b* data 5.9 Core log of GC17 with Munsell soil colour and particle size data 81 5.10 Core log of GC17 with magnetic susceptibility, lightness, reflectance, 82 a* and b* data 5.11 Correlation between sub-bottom profiler data and sediment cores 85 5.12 Sediment logs of the four cores collected from Hinlopen Trough 87 6.1 Schematic model of the distribution of submarine landforms in the trough 94 6.2 An ice stream glacial landsystem assemblage model for Svalbard fjords 98 and troughs (from Ottesen and Dowdeswell, 2009) 6.3 Down-slope seismic profile across the Hinlopen headwall, depicting 103 evidence of post-slide sediment infill (from Vanneste et al., 2006) 8 List of Tables Table Page 2.1 Table of XBT information used to calculate SVPs in Hinlopen Trough 28 2.2 Simplified glacial landsystem model (adapted from Hogan, 2008) 29 2.3 Table of landforms previously identified in the glacimarine record 31 2.4 Details of the four sediment cores collected from Hinlopen Trough 35 2.5 Table of the lithofacies identified from Hinlopen Trough 36 4.1 Table describing the four acoustic facies and three acoustic reflectors 58-59 identified from Hinlopen Trough 6.1 Table of the five landform assemblages and two landform systems 95 identified from Hinlopen Trough 6.2 Sediment volume and rate of delivery to the continental slope beyond 104 Hinlopen Trough 9 Abstract The Hinlopen Trough is a 70km long cross-shelf trough on the Northern Svalbard margin.