Physical and chemical characteristics of the Subglacial Lake Whillans sediment cores, Whillans Ice Stream, West Antarctica

Sediment recovered from Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) is well-homogenized, structureless diamict; typical subglacial till. Based on theoretical estimates, the basal ice above SLW should be below the pressure melting point preventing melt-out of debris from basal ice. Therefore, the lake floor diamict likely formed through deformation while the ice stream was grounded at the drill site. Using satellite altimetry, Fricker, et al. (2007) inferred that SLW experiences short (~7 month) discharge events, lowering the ice surface and lake water level by between 1 and 4 m. The lake 'lowstands' are separated by longer periods of gradual recharge, but over the period of a lowstand the ice stream is suspected to touch down and couple with the lake floor, potentially shearing new till into the lake. The lack of sorted sediment or erosional lags indicates water flow during discharge/recharge events has had a low current velocity with quiescent conditions in the lake. The most notable variability in the cores is a uniformly weak, critical porosity horizon extending to ~50 cm depth above more consolidated till. We interpret the weak upper horizon as the product of shear deformation and decreasing effective pressure experienced during the final stages of grounding prior to a lake recharge event (see generally, the undrained plastic bed model of Tulaczyk et al. (2000)). The presence of this weak layer illustrates the importance of hydrology in modulating till rheology and is an example of how subglacial sediments can preserve archives of hydrologic conditions at the glacial bed. Fricker, H.A., T. Scambos, R. Bindschadler and L. Padman. 2007. An active subglacial water system in West Antarctica mapped from space. Science, 315(5818), 1544-1548. Tulaczyk S, Kamb WB, Engelhardt HF. 2000. Basal mechanics of Ice Stream B, West Antarctica. 2. Undrained plastic bed model. J. Geophys. Res. 105:483-94.