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Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland

Søndergaard, A.S.; Larsen, N.K.; Olsen, J.; Strunk, A.; Woodroffe, S.A.

Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland Thumbnail


Authors

A.S. Søndergaard

N.K. Larsen

J. Olsen

A. Strunk



Abstract

In this study, we present new information on the glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland. We use geomorphological mapping, 10Be exposure dating of boulders, analysis of lake cores, and 14C dating of reworked marine molluscs and subfossil plants to constrain the glacial history. Our 14C ages of reworked marine molluscs reveal that the ice extent in the area was at or behind its present‐day position from 42.2 ± 0.4 to 30.6 ± 0.3k cal a BP after which the GrIS expanded to its maximum position during the Last Glacial Maximum. We find evidence of early ice retreat in the deep fjord (Inglefield Bredning) at 11.9 ± 0.6 ka whereas the Taserssuit Valley was deglaciated ~4 ka later at 7.8 ± 0.1k cal a BP. A proglacial lake record suggests that the local ice cap survived the Holocene Thermal Maximum but moss kill‐dates reveal that it was smaller than present for a period of time before 3.3 ± 0.1k until 0.9 ± 0.1k cal a BP, following which the ice in the area expanded towards its Little Ice Age extent.

Citation

Søndergaard, A., Larsen, N., Olsen, J., Strunk, A., & Woodroffe, S. (2019). Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 34(7), 536-547. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3139

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 12, 2019
Online Publication Date Aug 31, 2019
Publication Date Oct 31, 2019
Deposit Date Aug 16, 2019
Publicly Available Date Aug 31, 2020
Journal Journal of Quaternary Science
Print ISSN 0267-8179
Electronic ISSN 1099-1417
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 34
Issue 7
Pages 536-547
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3139
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1295645

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Søndergaard, A.S. Larsen, N.K. Olsen, J. Strunk, A. & Woodroffe, S.A. (2019). Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science 34(7): 536-547 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3139. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.






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