The interglacial-glacial record at the mouth of Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

TY - JOUR

T1 - The interglacial-glacial record at the mouth of Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

AU - Mangerud, Jan

AU - Funder, Svend Visby

PY - 1994

Y1 - 1994

N2 - The sedimentary record around outer Scoresby Sund begins with the Scoresby Sund glaciation ( "" isotope stage 6), but is incomplete. Both at Kap Hope, seadward of the fjord mouth, and at Kikiakajik on the outer coast, there are shallow marine sediments, correlated with the Langelandselv interglaciation ( "" isotope substage Se) on the basis of mollusc assemblages and luminescence dates. Abundant Balal/lls Crel/atlls, and several bivalves, show that the advection of warm Atlantic water to the East Greenland coast was higher during that interglacial than during the Holocene. Glacial striae at Kap Brewster (facing the open ocean) and till on top of the interglacial beds at Kikiakajik show that both an outlet from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and more local glaciers reached the continental shelf during the Weichselian. This glacial event is poorly dated, but tentatively correlated with the Flakkerhuk stade ( "" 19-15 ka BP) when, from marine geological data, it is suggested that the Scoresby Sund glacier terminated c. 30 km east of Kap Brewster. During the Milne Land stade (c. 10 ka BP) there was a resurgence of local ice caps in the mountains both north and south of the fjord mouth, but Scoresby Sund and Hall Bredning probably remained free of glaciers. Dating of these events was achieved through luminescence- (TL and OSL) and the 14C-method, and biostratigraphical and amino acid correlation. Interglacial shells on the outer coast show much lower amino acid D/L ratios than shells of the same age within the Scoresby Sund area. This may indicate that the outer coast remained free of ice cover and marine inundation much longer, and suffered colder temperatures than areas along the fjord.

AB - The sedimentary record around outer Scoresby Sund begins with the Scoresby Sund glaciation ( "" isotope stage 6), but is incomplete. Both at Kap Hope, seadward of the fjord mouth, and at Kikiakajik on the outer coast, there are shallow marine sediments, correlated with the Langelandselv interglaciation ( "" isotope substage Se) on the basis of mollusc assemblages and luminescence dates. Abundant Balal/lls Crel/atlls, and several bivalves, show that the advection of warm Atlantic water to the East Greenland coast was higher during that interglacial than during the Holocene. Glacial striae at Kap Brewster (facing the open ocean) and till on top of the interglacial beds at Kikiakajik show that both an outlet from the Greenland Ice Sheet, and more local glaciers reached the continental shelf during the Weichselian. This glacial event is poorly dated, but tentatively correlated with the Flakkerhuk stade ( "" 19-15 ka BP) when, from marine geological data, it is suggested that the Scoresby Sund glacier terminated c. 30 km east of Kap Brewster. During the Milne Land stade (c. 10 ka BP) there was a resurgence of local ice caps in the mountains both north and south of the fjord mouth, but Scoresby Sund and Hall Bredning probably remained free of glaciers. Dating of these events was achieved through luminescence- (TL and OSL) and the 14C-method, and biostratigraphical and amino acid correlation. Interglacial shells on the outer coast show much lower amino acid D/L ratios than shells of the same age within the Scoresby Sund area. This may indicate that the outer coast remained free of ice cover and marine inundation much longer, and suffered colder temperatures than areas along the fjord.

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0300-9483

VL - 23

SP - 349

EP - 358

JO - Boreas

JF - Boreas

ER -