lobal interactions rheologic superposition and implications for a pleistocene ice stream on the continental shelf of british columbia abstract data on structures stone striae clast pavements fabrics morphology provenance and matrix grain size of four pre late wisconsinan diamictons are presented from the lower accessible part of an 855 m long sea cliff at cape ball east coast of graham island queen charlotte archipelago british columbia the data indicate that an ice stream crossed the continental shelf from the british columbian mainland to the queen charlotte islands local queen charlotte piedmont ice coalesced with the western edge of the cordilleran ice sheet resulting in northward flow deflection along the east coast of graham island generally consistent structural and stone data indicate that diamictons were deposited as primary subglacial tills and that subglacial dynamics and rheologic conditions were complex two of the tills can be traced continuously over the cape ball section which provides a north south transect oblique to ice flow each of the two tills reveals five major changes in rheology and genesis ranging from a strong lodgement component to dominantly deformation mainly by subglacial squeeze flow true end member tills are rare and in almost all places the tills are hybrids that formed within a continuum of till forming processes commonly involving stone rotation and superposition of structures and rheologic states this could have occurred mainly in response to fluctuating till pore water content along the transect two dimensional stretches of contrasting till types probably represent a three dimensional patchwork of contrasting till rheologies and pore waters if patches of ductily deforming till were common and or widespread they could have accounted for much of the movement of cordilleran ice over glaciomarine mud on the continental shelf when sea level was much lower than present deforming probably saturated muddy till reconstituted glaciomarine would have possessed negligible shear strength resulting in a thin rapidly moving glacier most likely an ice stream that reached cape ball but failed to remove the record of previous glacial events the ice stream probably issued out of the mainland s skeena valley which is aligned with cape ball and is approximately the size of valleys in antarctica that today conduct small outlet glaciers and ice streams evidence for this and other ice streams on the northwestern continental shelf of north america imply that destabilization and rapid decay of the western edge of the cordilleran ice sheet may have been accomplished by a combination of ice streams sea level rise and extensive calving

the geomorphology and sedimentology of eskers in north central ireland abstract eskers are common glacial landforms in ireland and form regionally extensive networks that reflect stages of ice retreat of this sector of the late devensian weichselian british irish ice sheet however the sedimentary structures and composition of these eskers are poorly known despite being able to offer valuable insight into subglacial hydrological processes during deglaciation this study presents detailed morphological and sedimentary evidence from six esker systems in north central ireland where adjacent and interacting ice domes were characterized by changes in ice bed thermal and hydrological properties as well as significant ice dome centre migration morphologically esker ridges in this area vary in length size and continuity with some esker systems ascending over hills thus crossing watersheds whereas other systems are confined to basin settings esker systems commonly appear to feed terminal outwash and glaciolacustrine deltas but several systems do not show a clear terminus the internal sediments within eskers vary from concentrically bedded sands and gravels formed within enclosed tunnels to interbedded sands gravels and diamictons occasionally with water induced soft sediment deformations that are likely formed in interlobate settings in contrast with some previous glacier models that assume that esker systems are isochronous and were formed in solely subglacial settings the esker systems described here are interpreted as being of different ages formed in variously subglacial to ice marginal settings and thus cannot be used as a single snapshot of the disposition of ice domes during stages of late devensian ice retreat

subglacial processes from drumlins in clew bay western ireland interpretation of subglacial processes and environments can be usefully informed by the stratigraphy and structures of sediments preserved within drumlins and the down ice variability of these sediments drumlins in clew bay western ireland were formed by westward late pleistocene ice flow onto the atlantic shelf but the depositional processes and environments of these sediments remain uncertain this study describes and interprets the drumlin stratigraphy and sediment properties and structures from two drumlins on the south side of clew bay drumlin sediments are dominated by massive to stratified diamicton deposited subglacially by deformation of flows of varying rheology folds shears and clastic dikes within the sediments suggest active subglacial water flow related to variations in ice flow and ice bed coupling the distal ends of the drumlins are dominated by stratified diamicton and gravel units with sandy interbeds these sediments reflect deposition in a leeside subglacial cavity formed coevally with bedform development a model is proposed that can account for sediment stratigraphic patterns and drumlin formation copyright 2015 john wiley sons ltd

seismic measurements reveal a saturated porous layer beneath an active antarctic ice stream seismic reflection studies recently conducted on ice stream b part of the marine ice sheet of west antarctica show a metres thick layer immediately beneath the ice in which both compressional p and shear s wave speeds are very low these low wave speeds imply that the material in the layer is highly porous and is saturated with water at a high pore pressure from this and from arguments presented in an accompanying paper1 to the effect that the layer would be too weak to support the shear stress exerted by the overlying ice we conclude that the layer is deforming and that the ice stream probably moves principally by such deformation

geomorphic evidence for active and inactive phases of late devensian ice in north central ireland abstract in the clogher valley north central ireland subglacial and proglacial landforms provide evidence for phases of active and inactive subglacial and ice marginal processes during the late devensian weichselian glaciation 22 13 kyr bp patterns of subglacial rogen moraines and drumlins record east to west ice flow along the valley axis during maximal ice stages eskers superimposed upon the rogen moraines and drumlins record later west to east ice flow and mark the first stages of ice retreat areas of large ice marginal non aligned ridges and mounds are separated by more extensive areas in which no deglacial landforms or sediments are present the non aligned ridges and mounds do not show a dominant directional signature have intricate basal outlines steep slopes and high relief

rogen ribbed moraine identification and possible origin abstract it is emphasized that rogen moraine is a morphological term applied to a special kind of transverse moraine characteristically these ridges show transitions to drumlins it is inferred that this morphology is created in at least two steps including remoulding of pre existing landforms

glaciomarine deposition around the irish sea basin some problems and solutions reconstructing the depositional processes and setting marine or terrestrial depositional environment of late devensian age glacigenic sediments around the irish sea basin isb is critical for developing an all embracing and consistent glacial model that can account for all observed field evidence identifying episodes of marine and terrestrial glacial deposition from field data is considered the first step in achieving this goal criteria for distinguishing marine and terrestrial glacial environments in the isb include the geomorphology sedimentology and faunal content biofacies of the associated deposits exposures of glacigenic sediments around the isb are very diverse in terms of their morphosedimentary characteristics and associated biofacies and thus inferred depositional processes and setting possible reasons for the diverse geological record include the differing geometry of eastern and western isb coasts time transgressive ice retreat and differential land rebound effects as a result of forebulge collapse and neotectonics poor geochronometric control on ice sheet events has not helped the correlation of isb events with glacial and climatic events elsewhere future investigations of glacial sites around the isb should use an integrated methodological approach involving a range of geomorphological sedimentary and biofacies data and dating control where possible this will help in developing a more precise and holistic late devensian glacial model that is constrained rigorously by field geological evidence copyright 2001 john wiley sons ltd

sedimentology of a late pleistocene submarine moraine complex county down northern ireland the killard point moraine formed when late pleistocene ice grounded on the isostatically depressed coastal lowlands of county down northern ireland at a time of relatively high sea level the moraine consists of three major lithologic associations which prograded for about 1 km from the ice grounding zone into a glaciomarine environment at the base of the succession a diamicton association is characterized by massive and stratified diamictons that are mainly debris flows it contains a minor ice rafted debris component the overlying sand association was deposited from sediment gravity flows of low to intermediate viscosity the gravel association was deposited by high density sediment gravity flows massive mud beds or drapes occur throughout the sequence and are related to low density turbidity or contour currents sequences of this type are more common in the geological record than the literature suggests and are often explained in terms of terrestrial based deglacial models this calls for a sedimentological reappraisal of many glacigenic deposits which accumulated in areas subject to deep isostatic depression during the late pleistocene

radiocarbon constraints on the history of the western irish ice sheet prior to the last glacial maximum accelerator mass spectrometer c 14 dating of in situ monospecific marine microfaunas and reworked shells records high relative sea level on the western coast of ireland between ca 40 and 19 call calibrated ka requiring substantial isostatic loading by the irish ice sheet iis during that interval glacial and marine deposits also record a rapid fluctuation of the us margin onto the continental shelf ca 28 cal ka evidence that the coast was not subsequently overridden by the iis indicates that at least for this sector of the ice sheet the ice margin during the last glacial maximum lgm was less extensive than the 28 cal ka event our data from western ireland support c 14 and cl 36 chronologies from the irish sea basin in identifying an us that was as extensive and thick as the lgm iis for much of the 20 k y interval prior to the lgm

subglacial bedform geomorphology of the irish ice sheet reveals major configuration changes during growth and decay the belated realisation that ribbed rogen moraines form such an integral part of irish geomorphology and the piecemeal approach to previous drumlin mapping is probably responsible for the highly contrasting views of palaeoflow patterns of the irish ice sheet using a high resolution 25 m digital elevation model we present morphological maps of a large part 100 100 km of the so called drumlin belt of north central ireland the landforms comprise mostly ribbed moraine much larger than found elsewhere up to 16 km in length which in places are superimposed on each other contrary to most prior assessments we find the bedform record to contain numerous and overlapping episodes of bed formation ribbed moraine drumlins and crag and tails that provide a palimpsest record of changing flow geometries these demonstrate an ice sheet with a centre of mass and flow geometry that changed during growth and decay using distinctive flow patterns and relative age relationships between them we reconstruct ice sheet evolution into four phases during a single glacial cycle in phase 1 early in the glacial cycle scottish and local ice coalesced to form a northeast centred irish ice sheet as it grew its centre of mass migrated southwards culminating in a major n s divide positioned down the east of ireland phase 2 ca last glacial maximum during retreat the centre of mass migrated at least 120 km northwards and became established in northwest ireland and at this point a dramatic bedforming event produced one of the world s largest and most contiguous ribbed moraine fields phase 3 final deglaciation is thought to be by fragmentation into many topographically controlled minor ice caps phase 4 rather than any dramatic or unexpected behaviour the reconstructed phases indicate a relatively predictable pattern of ice sheet growth and decay with changes in centres of mass and does not require major readvances or ice stream events copyright 2001 john wiley sons ltd

ice sheet variability around the north atlantic ocean during the last deglaciation millennial scale variability in the flux of ice rafted detritus to north atlantic sediments during the last glacial period has been interpreted to reflect a climate forced increase in the discharge of icebergs from ice sheet margins surrounding the northern north atlantic ocean 1 but the relationship between ice sheet variability and climate change is not clear as both the sources of ice rafted detritus and the ice marginal processes are varied and complex 2 4 terrestrial records are helpful in unravelling this complexity because they can demonstrate the scale of ice sheet oscillations and whether the ice sheet or sector was advancing or retreating with respect to climate change here we constrain the age and anatomy of a prominent readvance of the british ice sheet in the northern irish sea region at similar to 14 14 c kyr bp similar to 16 4 calendar kyr bp the analysis indicates that the british ice sheet participated in an iceberg discharge episode known as heinrich event 1 comparison with other terrestrial and marine ice sheet records suggests that the dynamic collapse of the laurentide ice sheet beginning at 14 6 15 0 c 14 kyr bp1 4 similar to 17 2 17 6 calendar kyr bp 5 initiated varied responses from other ice sheet margins around the northern north atlantic region these observations support the argument that the release of icebergs and meltwater during heinrich event 1 disrupted the north atlantic thermohaline circulation 6 8 leading to a delay or reversal of deglaciation of the northern hemisphere and at least as far south as 40 degrees s for two to three thousand years 5 9 10 suggesting a climate forcing and response similar to that of the ensuing younger dryas cold snap 11 12

ice flow stages and glacial bedforms in north central ireland a record of rapid environmental change during the last glacial termination satellite imagery is a useful tool to assess large scale 10 3 km 2 geological patterns satellite imagery of north central ireland shows cross cut and overprinted subglacial bedform patterns bedform lineations supported by sedimentary evidence are used to reconstruct four ice flow stages named a d during the termination of the last devensian glaciation 22 000 13 000 radiocarbon 14 c years bp flow stage a relates to southwesterly flow of scottish ice across eastern ireland flow stage b during the last glacial maximum c 25 000 22 000 14 c years bp records southeasterly ice flow from dispersal centres in northern parts of ireland transverse subglacial ridges rogen moraines formed during stage b are the largest area of this ridge type in western europe flow stage c records erosional headcutting in the rogen moraine field and sediment streamlining drumlinization by ice streams drawn into the irish sea basin this flow stage is constrained by ams radiocarbon dates from marine microfaunas to around 14 500 14 c years bp flow stage d records drumlinization from an inland centre in the lough neagh basin overall bedform patterns can be used to reconstruct ice mass history and evaluate controls on ice activity including millennial scale changes in amphi north atlantic climate field evidence of bedform relationships also casts doubt on current concepts of drumlinization and the role of pervasive sediment deformation in glacial systems

sedimentation in a subglacial lake enniskerry eastern ireland abstract field relationships between a subglacial lake fill from the enniskerry basin eastern ireland provide evidence for dynamic links between the sedimentary fill regional subglacial meltwater flow and regional ice dynamics the basin fill 6 7 km2 forms an integral part of an extensive 30 km subglacial meltwater system which developed parallel to north south ice flow along the western marginal sector of the late pleistocene irish sea glacier high magnitude sediment fluxes were directed into the subglacial lake southwards across the northern basin rim from two nye type channels and westwards by a rothlisberger type channel the resulting subaqueous fans typically consist of cones of coarse boulder gravels deposited by jet effluxes overlain by cross bedded sands and foreset gravels in places these are eroded and overlain by multistorey dish shaped channels cut and filled by subglacial meltwaters driven by a high hydrostatic head a variety of gravelly and sandy bedforms indicate that sediment migrated over efflux cores towards deeper parts of the basin facies variability within the ice proximal fans and spreads record deposition from a wide range of high and low density turbulent flows traction currents density underflows suspension and sediment gravity flows a surficial drape of winnowed diamict is related to areal resedimentation as jet effluxes closed down at one site the gravelly sequence shows a largely conformable transition upwards into glaciotectonised gravel and basal till in the lee of the basin rim elsewhere the upper part of the sediment pile is occasionally deformed by the drag of the ice roof a series of sequential events is postulated for the evolution of the subglacial drainage system and subglacial lake development initially a rock ridge transverse to ice flow resulted in the development of a relatively low pressure lee zone along the northern margin of the basin ice sheet decoupling within the basin was enhanced by water migration into this low pressure lee zone which also melted an ice roof cavity closure and maintenance of the ice roof was prevented by a fast ice flux generated by intense marine downdraw in the main ice lobe centred in the irish sea basin regional ice directed meltwater pressure gradients and erosion enhanced subglacial lake development in the lowest topographic point of the system major inlet and outlet nye type channels incised transverse to the rims of the basin testify to the intensity of ice directed drainage along the marginal sector of the irish sea glacier in a wider context the concepts of high magnitude subglacial meltwater flow coupled with high rates of debris flux invoked for the subglacial basin fill are also necessary to explain the thick tidewater sequences present in adjacent sectors of the irish sea basin

rogen moraine an example of glacial reshaping of pre existing landforms abstract rogen moraine is widely distributed in the core areas of the former scandinavian and laurentide ice sheets it is generally agreed upon that these gently arched ice flow transverse ridges can be used in reconstructions of paleo ice flow patterns and that they indicate a melted bed or poly thermal basal ice regime however the processes of ridge generation have been contentious this study proposes a two stage formation of rogen moraine based on detailed sedimentological and structural investigations in excavated trenches in a rogen moraine landscape in the province of dalarna central sweden field data suggest that rogen moraine ridges are the reshaped remains of pre existing transverse moraine ridges originally deposited from ice cored moraines in an ice marginal zone due to back and down wasting of ice cores inter ridge troughs were filled with debris flow and fluvial deposits which after landscape inversion were transformed to areas of transverse and hummocky moraines it is proposed that this primary landscape formation occurred during an early weichselian deglaciation this relict landscape was later preserved beneath cold based mid to late weichselian ice sheet s which turned wet based during the preboreal deglaciation phase and re moulded the precursor landforms into rogen moraine

landform modification by palaeo ice streams in east central ireland in eastern ireland subglacial bedforms including drumlins and rogen moraines were modified by headward erosion along two ice streams which had over lapping flow tracks the ice streams which hadtidewater termini are dated by geochrono metric and morphostratigraphic methods to 5 15 0 14 ckyr bp castleblaney ice stream and 13 8 14 ckyr bp armagh ice stream bedforms along ice stream tracks show a morphological continuum which reflects a down ice increase in the degree of modification by ice stream activity i e resulting in unmodified remoulded overprinted cross cut streamlined bedforms the down ice changes inbedform types are inferred to relate to changes in subglacial drainage and sediment transport mechanisms bedform and sedi mentary evidence suggest that discrete subglacial meltwater channels which developed up ice changed in a down ice direction to unchannelized flows which deepened towards the ice margin meltwater release from subglacial cavities and produced by strain heating at sheared ice stream margins probably helped support ice stream flow which ended as the volume of subglacial meltwater discharge decreased dated millennial scale cycles of ice activity may be related to instability at tidewater margins followed by complex thermal and hydraulic responses within the ice mass

preservation of lipid hydrogen isotope ratios in miocene lacustrine sediments and plant fossils at clarkia northern idaho usa abstract we measured d h ratios of individual lipids isolated from plant fossils and water lain sediments from the miocene clarkia lacustrine deposit 15 20 ma in northern idaho usa in order to assess the preservation potential of lipid hydrogen isotope ratios distinct n alkyl lipid profiles in plant fossils platanus quercus salix and the sedimentary matrix demonstrate the high degree of lipid preservation as previously reported our data suggest that original hydrogen isotope ratios of carbon bound hydrogen in lipids may have been preserved after 15 20 million years of burial in the water lain lacustrine sediment because d values of individual lipids show large variations between different fossil genera and between fossils and sediments and hydrogen isotope values of fossil lipids differ by more than 123 from the associated sediment water these data are consistent with minimal isotopic exchange between carbon bound hydrogen in lipids and sediment water hydrogen our results validate the use of lipid hydrogen isotope ratios for paleoecological studies over an extended geological time period

abrupt early holocene 9 9 9 6 ka ice stream advance at the mouth of hudson strait arctic canada radiocarbon dated glacial geologic evidence documents an abrupt advance of the northern margin of the labrador sector of the laurentide ice sheet during the last deglaciation ice flow directional indicators together with ice marginal features found onshore and offshore delimit an ice stream that advanced north northeast 300 km crossed the mouth of hudson strait and outer frobisher bay and overran summits 400 m above sea level on outer hall peninsula southeast baffin island fifty eight 14 c ages including 27 accelerator mass spectrometry ages on single shells indicate that the advance was extremely rapid the entire advance retreat cycle took place in an 300 yr 14 c interval 9 9 9 6 ka at its maximum extent the ice stream supported a calving margin 200 km long terminating in open water 500 m deep implying a massive iceberg release marine evidence for the outflow is preserved along the labrador sea shelf as thick carbonate rich glacial marine drift but has not been recognized farther east in the north atlantic either the discharge of icebergs was insufficient to produce a trans north atlantic carbonate rich heinrich layer or the icebergs tracked southward where they encountered warming sea surface temperatures although the advance seems to have been coincident with a brief interval of minor regional cooling it failed to trigger a significant climate perturbation suggesting that the ocean atmosphere system had attained its stable interglacial condition by that time

late pleistocene tidewater glaciers and glaciomarine sequences from north county mayo republic of ireland late pleistocene deposits in north county mayo were deposited in three main glacigenic environments 1 drumlins and basal tills were formed when ice moved from the irish lowlands and local mountain catchments into donegal bay 2 gilbert type deltas accumulated up to 80m i o d on the lowlands and subaqueous moraines formed across minor valleys when marine based ice grounded inland 3 a thick drape of fossiliferous glaciomarine mud along the coastal fringe was deposited from meltwater plumes and by ice rafting immediately outside of these ice limits the muds contain an elphidium clavatum dominated low diversity microfauna which is characteristic of cold water conditions adjacent to glacier termini valves of macoma calcarea from the mud have been 14c dated at 16940 120 and 17300 100 bp the high level delta complex was deposited from tidewater glaciers in a peripheral depression adjacent to the drumlin ice limits of north county mayo although the field evidence cannot be used to determine former sea level history with any accuracy it poses general problems for sea level history and isostatic effects of the last major ice sheet in the west of ireland raised glaciomarine sequences commonly occur in close association with drumlin ice limits elsewhere in ireland and represent marine transgressions prior to glacial unloading it is suggested that the magnitudes and patterns of crustal depression are greater and geometrically more complex at the margins of ice sheets in ireland than hitherto realised

temporal changes in subglacial meltwater activity field evidence from the late devensian in the north of ireland abstract temporal changes in meltwater abundance distribution and characteristics controlling subglacial processes and ice sheet dynamics can be inferred from subglacial sediment successions field evidence for changes in subglacial meltwater characteristics over time is presented from two sites doonan drummee near a former late weichselian devensian ice centre in the north of ireland on a macroscale both sites investigated show subglacial diamicton overlying glacially planated bedrock platforms in more detail primary sedimentary structures and facies variability show a complex relationship between depositional processes and meltwater characteristics at the ice bed interface ibi sedimentary evidence suggests sediment transport and deposition took place by low viscosity subglacial slurries mobile sediment meltwater admixtures which are part of a continuum between the processes of subglacial sediment deformation and subglacial meltwater flooding subtle changes in meltwater abundance and distribution at the ibi controlled slurry rheology mechanisms of particle support and detailed sediment depositional processes

basin scale patterns of subglacial sediment mobility implications for glaciological inversion modelling abstract patterns of glacial bedforms and their internal sediments are described from the omagh basin north central ireland here drumlins and ribbed moraines were variously formed preserved and remoulded during several late devensian ice flow stages and their patterns can be used as input into glaciological inversion models more detailed examination of the morphology and internal sediments of these bedforms shows a complex pattern of reworking driven by local scale basal thermal and hydrological regime sediment lithofacies associations and patterns of erratic carriage can be used to better evaluate ice bed conditions and basal processes than bedforms alone the sedimentary evidence suggests that bedforms were unlikely to have been formed during a single glacial episode as is implicit in glaciological inversion models and more likely formed during several episodes that cannot be resolved by crosscutting or superimposed bedform relationships alone

glaciofluvial erosional morphology and sediments of the coronation spondin scabland east central alberta spatially discontinuous meltwater channel networks on the canadian prairies are usually interpreted as having formed subaerially in front of the retreating laurentide ice sheet evidence in the coronation spondin scabland east central alberta supports an alternative formation by progressive channelization of a subglacial sheetflow of water the scabland is an integrated channel network with varying degrees of anabranching the channels having highly variable sizes shapes and orientations enhanced scour at some channel confluences reflects contemporaneous channel utilization channels also display convex up concave up and undulatory along channel profiles with some junctions at the same elevations longitudinal grooves in large scale channels are associated with numerous boulder deposits residual hills demarcated by channels display composite and streamlined forms superimposed on residuals are erosional transverse bedforms longitudinal grooves and undulating surfaces that indicate submergence

dating and rhythmicity from the last deglacial cycle in the british isles in northern britain glaciotectonically thickened sediment piles represent the sediment flux transferred to ice margins by phases of fast ice flow and drumlin streamlining during the last deglacial cycle radiocarbon dating of marine faunas within deglacial muds age constrain phases of drumlinisation shaping to between 19 and 14 5 ka bp individual phases of drumlinization can be correlated with millennial time scale discharge events documented from the circum north atlantic which are probably climate driven the overall deglacial cycle records at least five major millennial time scale ice margin oscillations and phases of sediment sequence rhythmicity

structural and depositional evidence for repeated ice marginal oscillation along the eastern margin of the late devensian irish sea ice stream abstract late devensian glacigenic sediments and landforms along the north west coast of wales document the advance and subsequent retreat of the eastern margin of an irish sea ice stream that met coalesced and ultimately uncoupled from ice radiating outwards from the adjacent welsh ice cap centred over snowdonia across the boundary between the two former ice masses is a set of sediment landform assemblages that reflect rapidly changing erosional and depositional conditions during ice interaction from the inner part of the ice stream the assemblages range outwards from a subglacial depositional assemblage characterised by drumlin swarms through a subglacial erosional assemblage marked by prominent bedrock scours and large subglacial rock channels through an ice marginal assemblage identified by closely spaced glaciotectonised push moraines and intervening marginal sandur troughs into a freely expanding proglacial sandur and lacustrine delta assemblage the ice marginal assemblage provides evidence for numerous oscillatory episodes during retreat and at least 20 ice marginal limits can be identified at least 11 of these display multiple criteria for identifying readvance and in the ideal case is characterised by a moraine form built by localised tectonic stacking of diamict to the rear fronted by a clastic wedge of ice front alluvial fan gravel and intercalated flow till the distribution of sediment landform assemblages suggests a highly dynamic convergent ice stream flow pattern with high ice velocity a sharply delineated lateral shear margin pervasive ice marginal glaciotectonic deformation and a tightly focused ice marginal sediment delivery system all signature characteristics of contemporary ice streams

the jakobshanvs effect the jakobshavns effect may have been a significant factor in hastening the collapse of palaeo ice sheets with the advent of climatic warming after 18 000 years ago and may precipitate partial collapse of the present day greenland and antarctic ice sheets following co2 induced climatic warming in the decades ahead the jakobshavns effect is observed today on jakobshavns glacier which is located at 69 10 n on the west coast of greenland the jakobshavns effect is a group of positive feedback mechanisms which allow jakobshavns glacier to literally pull ice out of the greenland ice sheet at a rate exceeding 7 km a across a floating terminus 800 m thick and 6 km wide the pulling power results from an imbalance of horizontal hydrostatic forces in ice and water columns at the grounding line of the floating terminus positive feedback mechanisms that sustain the rapid ice discharge rate are ubiquitous surface crevassing high summer rates of surface melting extending creep flow progressive basal uncoupling progressive lateral uncoupling and rapid iceberg calving

converging ice streams a new paradigm for reconstructions of the laurentide ice sheet in southern ontario and deposition of the oak ridges moraine geomorphometric analyses of high resolution 5 m digital elevation datasets shows that the greater toronto area and its immediate environs is built across the former till beds of two fast flowing ice streams the newly named the simcoe ice stream sis and the halton ice stream ois within the last laurentide ice sheet lis these formed during regional deglaciation sometime around 13 000 ybp and are directly analogous to fast flowing 3 km yr 1 ice streams in today s antarctic and greenland ice sheets their subglacial footprint in southern ontario consists of flow sets of highly elongated flow parallel till ridges up to 4 km in length and 100 m in width megascale glacial lineations msgls that converge on the oak ridges moraine orm from the north sis and south his orm is southern ontario s largest glacial landform extending from the niagara escarpment to kingston over some 160 km and was deposited as a series of en echelon glaciolacustrine fan deltas in a complexly evolving glaciolacustr

characteristics and origins of lee side stratification sequences in late pleistocene drumlins northern ireland spindle and parabolic shaped drumlins examined at fifty five localities in northern ireland possess stratification sequences on their lee side flanks these forms lack the distinctive steep stoss and tapering lee ends of classical drumlins and tend to occur in linear zones transverse to late pleistocene ice flow in most cases 90 per cent the stratified deposits infill embayments excavated in the lee side of barkhanoid forms and in the remainder 10 per cent they are superimposed on the lee side of whaleback forms the stratification sequences developed as a result of sedimentation in interconnected subglacial water filled cavities and are unlike remanie proglacial sediments moulded by ice into drumlin form stratigraphic evidence indicates that the lee side sequences developed during drumlin streamlining which supports the view that subglacial hydraulic processes played an important role in drumlin formation

sedimentation at the margins of a late pleistocene ice lobe terminating in shallow marine environments dundalk bay eastern ireland late pleistocene morainic sequences around dundalk bay eastern ireland were deposited in a variety of shallow glaciomarine environments at the margins of a grounded ice lobe the deposits are essentially ice proximal delta fan and apron sequences and are divided into two lithofacies associations lithofacies association 1 occurs as a series of morainal banks formed at the southern margin of the ice lobe in a body of water open to influences from the irish sea the morainal banks consist mainly of diamictic muds deposited from turbid plumes and by ice rafting with minor occurrences of turbidites cross bedded gravels subaqueous outwash and massive boulder gravels high density debris flows lithofacies association 2 was deposited in a narrow arm of the sea at the north eastern margin of the ice lobe the deposits consist mainly of a series of coalescing ice proximal gilbert type fan deltas which are interbedded distally with tabular and lens shaped subaqueous deposits the latter are mainly ice rafted diamictons debris flow deposits and subaqueous sands and gravels both lithofacies associations are draped by diamictons formed by a combination of rain out debris flow and traction current activity at a few localities the upper parts of the sequence have been sheared by minor oscillations of the ice sheet margin these sequences form part of an extensive belt of glaciomarine deposits which border the drumlin swarms of east central ireland lithostratigraphic variability is partially related to the arrival of large volumes of debris at the ice lobe margin when the main lowland ice sheet surged during drumlin formation complex depositional continua of this type lack any major erosional breaks and should not be used either as climatic proxies or for stratigraphic correlations

geological constraints on geophysical models of relative sea level change during deglaciation of the western irish sea basin numerical model predictions of low late devensian sea levels around britain are inconsistent with dated sea level indicators contained in the geological record stratigraphies from the western irish sea basin record high sea levels throughout the last deglacial cycle 21 13 ka bp and onshore ice marginal glaciomarine and marine sedimentation sedimentary evidence emphasizes the role played by delayed isostatic uplift coupled with rapid tidewater evacuation of ice from the basin drumlinization and marine downdraw in the northern irish sea basin records subglacial sediment transfer towards tidewater ice margins and headward extension of ice streams deep into the ice sheet around 14 ka bp

identification and significance of ice flow transverse subglacial ridges rogen moraines in northern central ireland in the omagh basin north central ireland subglacial diamict ridges lie transverse to southwestward late devensian ca 23 13 ka ice flow these ridges 0 5 2 5 km long 100 450 m wide 15 35 m high are similar morphologically to rogen moraines which have not been described previously from the british isles the crests of some transverse ridges are streamlined cross cut or overprinted by drumlins whereas other ridges are unmodified and were not affected by later drumlinisation at kilskeery west east trending eskers overlying unmodified transverse ridges post date drumlinisation 17 14 14c ka esker formation shows that the subglacial thermal regime changed from cold based favouring bedform preservation to warm based with meltwater flowing through enclosed subglacial channels patterns of flow transverse ridges and spatial variations in the degree of bedform modification record dynamic changes in regional subglacial environments during the last deglacial cycle this ice mass variability cannot be reconciled with current irish glacial models which are based on immobile ice centres and ordered stages of ice retreat in a wider context these changes in bedform patterns and basal ice regimes have a similar signature to millennial scale ice mass oscillations recorded by dated proxy evidence elsewhere in the amphi north atlantic 1997 john wiley sons ltd

sedimentary and structural evolution of a relict subglacial to subaerial drainage system and its hydrogeological implications an example from anglesey north wales uk subglacial drainage systems exert a major control on basal sliding rates and glacier dynamics however comparatively few studies have examined the sedimentary record of subglacial drainage this is due to the paucity of modern analogues the limited recognition and preservation of upper flow regime deposits within the geological record and the difficulty of distinguishing subglacial meltwater deposits from other meltwater sediments e g glacier outburst flood deposits within this study the sedimentological and structural evolution of a subglacial to subaerial ice marginal proglacial drainage system is examined particular emphasis is placed upon the genetic development and preservation of upper flow regime bedforms and specifically recognising them within a subglacial meltwater context facies are attributed to subglacial meltwater activity and record sedimentation within a confined but progressively enlargening subglacial channel system produced under dune to upper flow regime conditions bedforms include rare large scale sinusoidal bedding with syn depositional deformation produced by current induced traction and shearing within the channel margins subglacial sedimentation culminated with the abrupt change to a more ephemeral drainage regime indicating channel abandonment or a seasonal drainage regime retreat of the ice margin led to the establishment of subaerial drainage with phases of sheet flow punctuated by channel incision and anastomosing channel development under diurnal ablation related seasonal discharge the presence of extensive hydrofracture networks demonstrate that proglacial groundwater levels fluctuated markedly and this may have influenced later overriding of the site by an ice stream

episodic slow slip events in the japan subduction zone before the 2011 tohoku oki earthquake abstract we describe two transient slow slip events that occurred before the 2011 tohoku oki earthquake the first transient crustal deformation which occurred over a period of a week in november 2008 was recorded simultaneously using ocean bottom pressure gauges and an on shore volumetric strainmeter this deformation has been interpreted as being an m6 8 episodic slow slip event the second had a duration exceeding 1 month and was observed in february 2011 just before the 2011 tohoku oki earthquake the moment magnitude of this event reached 7 0 the two events preceded interplate earthquakes of magnitudes m6 1 december 2008 and m7 3 march 9 2011 respectively the latter is the largest foreshock of the 2011 tohoku oki earthquake our findings indicate that these slow slip events induced increases in shear stress which in turn triggered the interplate earthquakes the slow slip event source area on the fault is also located within the downdip portion of the huge coseismic slip area of the 2011 earthquake this demonstrates episodic slow slip and seismic behavior occurring on the same portions of the megathrust fault suggesting that the faults undergo slip in slow slip events can also rupture seismically

a late pleistocene intertidal boulder pavement from an isostatically emergent coast dundalk bay eastern ireland late pleistocene sequences around dundalk bay eastern ireland record glaciomarine sedimentation near the margin of a grounded ice lobe around 15 ka sp a coastal exposure at cooley point consists of four major facies deposited outside this ice limit 1 a basal mud facies deposited from sediment plumes accumulated following the initial ice marginal retreat inland it contains a well preserved arctic microfauna dominated by the foram elphidium clavatum and the ostracod roundstonia globulifera 2 a flat to undulating boulder facies pavement mostly one clast thick is found pressed into the mud and is characterized by bevelled and striated upper clast surfaces pavement attributes are a result of intertidal activity in a cold climate the boulder source is due to rafting by ice flees from glacigenic debris deposited during an ice advance 3 laminated sand facies drape the pavement and are a result of variable current activity 4 the overlying gravel facies is separated from the sand facies by a marine erosion surface the gravel facies is subaqueous channelized and is overlain by late glacial raised beach ridges locally the gravels have been deformed by ice pressure from partially floating ice flees facies changes record terrestrial submergence and provide evidence for changes in relative sea level during part of the last deglacial cycle the boulder pavement and deformed gravel facies suggest that ice flees and sea ice effects may be more common within stratigraphies along emergent coasts than previously thought though they have a low preservation potential extreme conditions during the deglacial favoured opportunistic microfaunas during mud deposition this event may be related to a major meltwater event within the irish sea basin