TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimates of South Greenland late-glacial ice limits from a new relative sea level curve
AU - Bennike, Ole
AU - Björck, Svante
AU - Lambeck, Kurt
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland and the Danish Natural Science Research Council. The paper is published with the permission of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. We thank Camilla Snowman Andresen, Allan Køtter Hansen and Jakob Qvortrup Christensen for help with the coring, the helicopter pilot Pelle Westlund for excellent flying during sometimes poor weather conditions, and Jørgen Neve who measured the heights of the lake basins. H.I. Griffiths, University of Hull, kindly identified the ostracode Sarscypridopsis aculeata, N.G. Miller, New York State Museum, confirmed the identification of Bryum sp., and Hui Jiang, University of Aarhus, conducted a series of diatom analyses. The AMS radiocarbon dates were performed under the supervision of Göran Possnert, Uppsala University. [AC]
PY - 2002/4/15
Y1 - 2002/4/15
N2 - Marine-lacustrine isolation contacts from seven basins in the Nanortalik area, South Greenland have been analysed and dated. The basins were isolated from the sea as a consequence of isostatic rebound following deglaciation. The isolation contacts were identified with litho- and biostratigraphical analyses, especially sedimentary changes, grey scale analyses and analyses of macroscopical remains of plants and animals. Dating was performed by analytical mass spectroscopy radiocarbon dating of macrofossils and bulk sediment samples. A slow initial relative sea level fall that begins at 13.8 cal ka BP changes to a rapid relative sea level fall before the sea level fell below the present-day sea level just prior to 10 cal ka BP. The emergence curve goes further back in time than any previous emergence curve constructed from Greenland, which reflects the early deglaciation of the studied region. The glacio-isostatic crustal rebound following deglaciation was around 110 m. The sea level history indicates that the margin of the Greenland ice sheet probably extended out to the shelf margin during the Last Glacial Maximum, and that the ice thickness must have been at least 1500 m over the outer coast. Thus the highest coastal mountains would have been ice-covered, which is surprising given their alpine character. In addition, the major part of the recession of the ice must have occured relatively late and quickly, maybe from 14 to 12 cal ka BP. The late Holocene transgression may, at least in part, be due to increased isostatic loading as a consequence of advancing glaciers during the Neoglaciation.
AB - Marine-lacustrine isolation contacts from seven basins in the Nanortalik area, South Greenland have been analysed and dated. The basins were isolated from the sea as a consequence of isostatic rebound following deglaciation. The isolation contacts were identified with litho- and biostratigraphical analyses, especially sedimentary changes, grey scale analyses and analyses of macroscopical remains of plants and animals. Dating was performed by analytical mass spectroscopy radiocarbon dating of macrofossils and bulk sediment samples. A slow initial relative sea level fall that begins at 13.8 cal ka BP changes to a rapid relative sea level fall before the sea level fell below the present-day sea level just prior to 10 cal ka BP. The emergence curve goes further back in time than any previous emergence curve constructed from Greenland, which reflects the early deglaciation of the studied region. The glacio-isostatic crustal rebound following deglaciation was around 110 m. The sea level history indicates that the margin of the Greenland ice sheet probably extended out to the shelf margin during the Last Glacial Maximum, and that the ice thickness must have been at least 1500 m over the outer coast. Thus the highest coastal mountains would have been ice-covered, which is surprising given their alpine character. In addition, the major part of the recession of the ice must have occured relatively late and quickly, maybe from 14 to 12 cal ka BP. The late Holocene transgression may, at least in part, be due to increased isostatic loading as a consequence of advancing glaciers during the Neoglaciation.
KW - Greenland
KW - Holocene
KW - Last glacial maximum
KW - Sea-level changes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036090801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00478-8
DO - 10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00478-8
M3 - Article
SN - 0012-821X
VL - 197
SP - 171
EP - 186
JO - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
JF - Earth and Planetary Science Letters
IS - 3-4
ER -