Past and Present Glacial Sedimentary Environments in Krossfjorden, Western Svalbard: Glacier Front Evolution
Abstract
The Arctic will probably experience the most severe environmental change on Earth with an estimated annual average warming of 4 - 8°C degrees. The fjord systems of western Svalbard are highly sensitive to the present warming and are therefore very vulnerable to change. These `natural Arctic laboratories', are influenced by both temperate Atlantic water advected from the West Spitsbergen Current as well as atmospheric input from North America, Europe and Asia. Furthermore, marine terminating glaciers locally influence many Svalbard fjords. Thus, Svalbard is an important site for investigations of polar marine environmental and climate change. The distribution and movement of glacier fronts in the Krossfjorden-Kongsfjorden region has previously been mapped using surface vessels, yet the innermost part of these fjords and the glacier front environments have not been subject to detailed surveys. In this study, the seafloor from the inner part of a fjord in Krossfjorden, the Fjortendejulibuka, and the adjacent to the tide water Fjortendejulibreen glacial front, has been mapped using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with a swath sonar system, providing very high-resolution bathymetry, side-scan data and the seabed photography to document the seabed geomorphology, sediment type and benthic habitat. Preliminary bathymetric, photographic and side-scan data suggests sedimentation from subglacial meltwater dominates the ice-proximal zone whilst settling from suspension is more prevalent away from the glacier. Seabed photographs from the AUV reveal a fine-grained depositional environment with fine-grain sediments and intense bioturbation with a limited benthic species diversity. Glaciomarine systems are characterized by a dynamic climatically controlled environment and the use of autonomous and robotic vehicles can greatly aid in the monitoring of change by collecting high-resolution datasets where vessel based observations are lacking.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFMEP13C1041H
- Keywords:
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- 0704 Seasonally frozen ground;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0758 Remote sensing;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 4217 Coastal processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4546 Nearshore processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL