H. P. Kleiber

The Late Weichselian glaciation of the Franz Victoria Trough, northern Barents Sea: ice sheet extent and timing

High resolution seismic profiles (PARASOUND, 4 kHz) and three sediment cores from the Franz Victoria Trough and the adjacent continental slope were studied in order to constrain the timing and extent of the northern Svalbard/Barents Sea ice sheet during the Late Weichselian glaciation. Stacked debris flow lobes and layers of glacimarine diamicton on the lower continental slope indicate that large quantities of glacially derived sediments were deposited by the northern Svalbard/Barents Sea ice sheet directly onto the upper continental slope at approximately 23 14 C ka. A grounding-line advance to the shelf break is supported by the identification of diamicton, interpreted as till, in the seismic profile near the shelf break. After several ice sheet instabilities marked by significant input of ice rafted detritus to the continental margin, the disintegration of the northern Svalbard/Barents Sea ice sheet (Termination Ia) is indicated by a distinct pulse of ice rafted detritus at 15.4 14 C ka and the transition to an isotopically defined meltwater signal. The drastic change in sedimentary pattern on the upper continental slope, dated to about 13.4 14 C ka, is interpreted as grounding-line retreat from the shelf edge. A further stepwise retreat of the northern Svalbard/Barents Sea ice sheet is indicated by pulses of ice rafted detritus which appear to be contemporaneous with the onset of distinct ice rafting events in adjacent areas and pulses of glacimarine sedimentation in the southwestern Barents Sea. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Late Pleistocene Paleoriver Channels on the Laptev Sea Shelf - Implications from Sub-Bottom Profiling

Bottom and sub-bottom reflection patterns received by the PARASOUND system (4 kHz) document 24 filled paleoriver channels in the uppermost sediments (l–13m) of the Laptev Sea shelf. The surfaces of the paleochannel fillings range from 32 to 97 m below the present sea level. The rivers are supposed to have been active during Weichselian time when the sea level was up to 120 m below that of today. They were probably filled during termination 1 until the transgression reached the present-day 30 m-isobath. The observed paleoriver channels are most likely related to the Olenek, Lena and Jana rivers and to local drainage systems on the Taymyr Peninsula and the New Siberian Islands. In the depth range of 2 to 20 m sub-bottom, a strong post-sedimentary reflector is commonly found, interpreted as the surface of submarine permafrost. The formation of paleoriver channels and permafrost is associated with subaerial exposure and suggest that most of the Laptev Sea shelf area was not covered by a large ice sheet during the last glacial maximum.

The Late Quaternary evolution of the western Laptev Sea continental margin, Arctic Siberia—implications from sub-bottom profiling

Abstract High-resolution seismic profiles (PARASOUND, 4 kHz) of the western Laptev Sea continental margin and the adjacent Vilkitsky Strait were studied in order to gain new evidence about the Weichselian glaciations in Central Siberia and to test reconstructions of maximum ice sheet extents. Four regionally correlatable seismic units, named I (youngest) to IV, were identified in the upper Quaternary sedimentary succession: (I) a thin drape; (II) prograding wedge-shaped deposits along the shelf edge; (III) layered sediments of draping and infilling character with increasing thickness towards the western Laptev Sea shelf edge and the Vilkitsky Strait; (IV) stacked debris-flow deposits. The thin drape of unit I is radiocarbon-dated to Holocene and mainly deposited during the transgression of the Laptev Sea. The wedge-shaped deposits of unit II are interpreted as river deltas, referring to point sources along the shelf edge during the Late Weichselian sea-level lowstand. This indicates that the river input across the Laptev Sea shelf was continuous during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2. The layered sediments of unit III suggest hemipelagic conditions indicative of a sea-level highstand. The pronounced thickening of unit III towards the shelf edge of the western Laptev Sea reflects the lowering of the global sea level during MIS 3. This is associated with increased riverine input due to the northward shift of the Siberian coastline. The stacked debris-flow deposits of unit IV extend continuously from the shelf edge in the Vilkitsky Strait to the continental rise of the western Laptev Sea continental margin. They indicate that large quantities of sediments were deposited directly on the upper continental slope during advances of the Kara Sea ice sheet to the shelf break. These ice-proximal conditions are presumably linked to the Middle Weichselian glaciation (MIS 4). Our evidence confirm earlier reconstructions, suggesting that in central Siberia, the Middle Weichselian glaciation (MIS 4) was of larger extent than the Late Weichselian glaciation (MIS 2).