origins of the ice contact stratified ridges eskers of ireland abstract an extensive system of ridged landforms composed of ice contact stratified sediment was deposited in the central lowland of ireland during the most recent deglaciation 18 000 bp the ridges have been interpreted by others as deposits of an ice sheet drainage system i e eskers and as such have been used with other data to reconstruct the deglacial history the traditional deglaciation model shows systematic retreat of ice from south to north our study which involves an analysis of the ridged landforms using lithofacies sedimentary structures and paleocurrent data in conjunction with the geomorphology indicates that the pattern and nature of the ridges are not compatible with this model and support a new model of deglaciation warren 1991 in which the esker system fo med in an interlobate area during the simultaneous shrinking of two main glacial outflow centers an extensive lake system developed in the lowland between the two outflow centers ridges formed both perpendicular and parallel to ice margins involved both active and stagnating ice are both continuous and segmented beaded and were deposited in subaqueous and subaerial environments almost all of the ridges are associated with lacustrine sediments ice contact ridges are polygenetic and a genetic classification is proposed those that formed perpendicular to the ice margin are termed eskers those that formed parallel are termed moraines distinction between esker types continuous or beaded subglacial tunnel fills fluvial ice channel fills and subaqueous fans and moraine types s baqueous or subaerial is crucial to a reconstruction of the mode and pattern of deglaciation in the central irish lowlands

the development of polygonal fault systems by syneresis of colloidal sediments abstract polygonal fault systems occur in numerous sedimentary basins worldwide are generally located on passive margins in onlap fill units and tend to comprise the finest grained sediments in this geological setting these fault systems have been most thoroughly described in the central north sea basin and the detailed structure shows a significant correlation with lithological variations both vertically and laterally extension measured in stacked decoupled tiers of polygonal faults correlates positively with both clay fraction and smectite content lateral facies variations are also observed and indicate that time equivalent sequences upslope from the smectite rich polygonally faulted sediments are coarse grained clay poor and undeformed this leads us to believe that the structure and geometry of the fault system are controlled by the colloidal nature of the sediments and that the volumetric contraction measured on seismic sections can be accounted for by syneresis of colloidal smectitic gels during early compaction syneresis results from the spontaneous contraction of a sedimentary gel without evaporation of the constituent pore fluid this process occurs due to the domination of interparticle attractive forces in marine clays dependent on environment and is governed by the change of gel permeability and viscosity with progressive compaction the process of syneresis can account for a number of structural features observed within the fault systems such as tiers of faults the location of maximum fault throw and growth components at upper fault tips as such this paper represents the first attempt to correlate microscale properties of clay rich sediments to their macroscale seismic character

clastic dykes in over consolidated tills evidence for subglacial hydrofracturing at killiney bay eastern ireland abstract a swarm of vertical gravel filled dykes up to 6 m high and several decimetres wide cut through an over consolidated till at killiney bay the dykes are rooted in a gravel layer and many display plumes of clastic debris ejected into the overlying sediments burst out structures such features have not previously been described these clastic dykes are interpreted as the infillings of hydrofractures which formed when water pressures in the basal gravel layer exceeded the overburden pressure and tensile shear strength of the capping till the burst out structures extend up to 7 m from the tops of the dykes and provide strong evidence for forceful upward flow evidence suggests that the hydrofractures formed subglacially probably during a minor re advance their presence in late devensian 26 13 ka bp tills with an irish sea provenance irish sea till may have important implications for the subglacial hydrology of the last irish sea ice sheet these hydrofractures cannot form in unconsolidated glacimarine sediment and their presence precludes a glacimarine origin for these deposits they greatly affect the geotechnical properties of irish sea tills in particular providing very permeable routes through otherwise impermeable layers with important consequences in situations elsewhere in the irish sea basin where they have been used as aquicludes in landfill and low level nuclear waste disposal sites

groundwater flow beneath ice sheets part ii its impact on glacier tectonic structures and moraine formation abstract meltwater flowing as groundwater from beneath the margin of an ice sheet determines the distribution of sub surface heads and effective pressures a subglacial groundwater flow model is used together with an ice sheet loading model to compute the magnitudes and directions of the principal effective stresses in the subsurface from which the distribution of different types of sub surface failure in the subglacial and proglacial zones are deduced zones of hydrofracturing shear fracture and pervasive shear failure are distinguished beneath the ice sheet divide area intact rocks of high tensile strength may fail hydrofracturing and liquefaction are two coupled processes which lead to the formation of upward filled and downward filled sediment dykes and till wedges quicksand conditions are developed where strong vertical seepage pressures occur producing sediment diapirism it is suggested that subglacial permeability magnitude may be the product of a self organising process certain types of moraine extrusion moraines are suggested to be a consequence of upward movement and surface extrusion of sediment driven by rising groundwater it is suggested that groundwater over pressure associated with narrow proglacial permafrost plates are conductive to the formation of large push moraines and that many large ancient and modern examples are produced in this setting

pore water controlled grain fracturing as an indicator for subglacial shearing in tills genetic classification of glacial deposits still proves to be highly controversial in many cases it remains unclear whether a particular sediment has been sub glacially deformed in the present paper it is suggested that micromorphological research is helpful where current techniques fail to lead to unambiguous interpretations it is argued that the occurrence of fractured grains in glacial sediments is indicative of subglacial shearing and that such grains may be used as diagnostic evidence of glaciotectonism deformational mechanisms associated with the fracturing process are outlined and explained using a series of thin sections from wijnjewoude the netherlands

gravity induced soft sediment deformation in glaciomarine sequences of the upper proterozoic port askaig formation scotland large numbers of post depositional deformation structures in the form of downward penetrating sandstone bodies are identified on well exposed diamictite surfaces of the glaciogenic upper proterozoic port askaig formation scotland on the garvellach islands downfolds irregular dykes and a polygonal network of wedges are composed predominantly of massive fine to medium grained sandstone these structures occur towards the top of crude coarsening upward glaciomarine sequences of massive diamictite stratified diamictite variably cross stratified sandstone and conglomeratic lags massive diamictites record the dominance of pelagic sedimentation and ice rafting succeeding lithofacies indicate the increasing importance of marine traction currents these sequences are repeated in the port askaig formation and by comparison with late cenozoic glaciomarine sequences may have formed in response to changing water depths during basin subsidence downfolds dykes and a polygonal wedge network appear to be genetically related expressions of subaqueous gravitational loading and intrusion of sand into low strength diamict acting in response to reverse density gradients created by coarsening upward glaciomarine sedimentation analogues are provided by published laboratory investigations analysis of the regional tectonic setting of the formation suggests the importance of seismic shock as a triggering agent the subaqueous deformation model presented in this paper is of considerable significance for reconstruction of late proterozoic palaeoenvironments because the downward penetrating sandstone structures of the port askaig formation are widely reported to be indicative of the former presence of subaerial permafrost this paper stresses the importance of identifying the lithofacies sequence in which structures occur as a guide to deformational environment

calibrating the late ordovician glaciation and mass extinction by the eccentricity cycles of earth s orbit a process based sedimentological analysis of upper ordovician glacial marine rocks in africa suggests that full glaciation of the continental shelf started in the late extraordinarius zone of the hirnantian two cycles of ice sheet growth are represented during full glaciation initial terrestrial ice sheet growth in the early extraordinarius zone influenced the first event of the late ordovician mass extinction retreat of the ice sheet from the shelf ended by the persculptus zone when the second event of the late ordovician mass extinction began eccentricity controlled ice sheet growth is assumed periodicity 0 1 m y hence two cycles of full glaciation lasted 0 2 m y the duration of the extraordinarius zone is estimated as 0 5 m y therefore the minimum duration of the first extinction event was 0 3 m y

fissure fill and tunnel fill sediments expressions of permafrost and increased hydrostatic pressure a spectacular network of fissure fillings and pipes tunnels cuts quaternary gravelly delta deposits northeast of myvatn precisely on the spreading axis of the north icelandic rift zone the delta was formed in an ice contact lake during deglaciation towards the end of the last glaciation subsequently the lake was drained and permafrost conditions developed in these poorly sorted gravel deposits hydrostatic pressure was transmitted from the adjacent glacier to the non frozen core of the delta beneath the discontinuous permafrost crust and the seasonally frozen active layer owing to increased hydrostatic pressure a network of subhorizontal to vertical fissures was opened along the taliks in these fissures free ground water flow and sediment transport were established tunnel erosion and probably also seepage erosion were associated with these fissures subsequently the fissures and tunnels were filled by laminated fine sediments interbedded with poorly sorted material resulting in the formation of fissure fill sediments and tunnel fill sediments

origin of an esker like ridge erosion or channel fill sedimentology of the monington esker in southwest wales abstract a ridge of stratified gravel and sand near cardigan in southwest wales has previously been interpreted as an esker its sedimentology is exposed in sand pits and consists of cross bedded gravel and sand incised into a complex of climbing ripple cross laminated sand interbedded with silt and clay the succession records the progradation of fluvial channels across a former lake floor there is no clear sedimentological evidence that the sediments were deposited in an ice contact setting and therefore the feature should not be called an esker the interpretation favoured here is that the ridge is an erosional remnant either of a formerly more extensive outwash plain or of a kame terrace deposited when the adjacent valley was filled with dead ice recognition of an esker needs to be based on sedimentology and regional setting as well as on geomorphology

bathymetric and isotopic evidence for a short lived late ordovician glaciation in a greenhouse period the end ordovician glaciation is distinct among phanerozoic glaciations in that co 2 levels were generally high yet major continental ice sheets accumulated on the gondwana supercontinent new oxygen isotopic data indicate substantial changes in sea water temperatures and ice volume coinciding with glacio eustatic changes in sea level reflecting the growth and decay of the gondwana ice cap major glaciation was apparently confined to the hirnantian and was 0 5 1 m y long rather than the 35 m y of earlier estimates carbon isotope values indicate significant changes in carbon cycling as the oceans changed from a state with warm saline bottom waters to a state with cold deep water circulation and then back again we believe that the changes in the carbon cycle effected a reduction in p co 2 levels in the oceans and atmosphere and thus promoted glaciation but were unable to sustain icehouse conditions in a greenhouse world

the harricana glaciofluvial complex abitibi region quebec its genesis and implications for meltwater regime and ice sheet dynamics abstract interlobate moraines have been defined by their relationshio to adjacent landforms and sediments with minimal reference to any genesis suggested from their own geomorphology and sedimentology a case in point is the harricana interlobate moraine the harricana complex a relatively continuous linear accumulation of glaciofluvial sediments is investigated in terms of its geomorphology sedimentology stratigraphic context and landform associations for the portion between latitudes 48 n and 50 n the complex is narrower to the north than to the south in the narrower northern part better rounding and poorer preservation of less resistant clasts suggest more vigorous transport in a narrower conduit the inverse in the wider southern part favours less vigorous flows and higher deposition rates these inferences together with unidirectional paleoflows towards the ice margin and the relatively continuous upslope path of the southward widening complex favour synchronous formation of the harricana complex in a continuous closed conduit beneath an ice sheet which thinned southward subaqueous fans and grounding line deposits with fine gravel and sandy in phase wave structures in the south may have been deposited in subglacial cavities adjacent to the complex or later deposited in reentrants in calving ice fronts the basic building blocks of the harricana complex are gravel facies which indicate generally high energy but unsteady transport these facies are arranged into macroforms composite and oblique accretion avalanche bed oaab macroforms are attributed to deposition by unsteady and non uniform flows in conduit enlargements pseudoanticlinal macroforms were deposited in relatively narrow conduit segments of uniform width gravel sand couplets register flow unsteadiness perhaps related to variations in supraglacial metlwater supply the origin of the harricana complex as a mainly synchronous subglacial landform is linked to formation of adjacent streamlined bedforms and bedrock erosional marks by meltwater outburst floods the complex is located where the orientation of these subglacial bedforms indicate strong flow convergence post flood ice sheet collapse along this convergence zone initiated redirection of ice flow resulting in cross cutting striae later subglacial meltwater systems followed new hydraulic gradients toward this trough of thinner ice forming a major conduit and depositing the harricana glaciofluvial complex

human induced development of mollic and umbric horizons in drained and farmed swampy alluvial soils abstract river regulation since the 17th century large scale drainage and intensive farming have seriously transformed soils in the river valleys of poland flood suppression and groundwater lowering have created oxidizing conditions in topsoil and allowed biological activity and plant rooting which has retarded original stratification of the alluvial substratum however ploughing has led to the development of thick humus horizons in particular soils with organic topsoil horizons have been changed i e they have lost their initial swampy nature and have undergone an anthropogenic transformation to mineral soils despite the long term agricultural land use it is still possible to recognize the peaty character of organic matter in some soils and this allows reconstruction of their origin this study investigated a sequence of soils in the valley of the river barycz i occasionally flooded very moist fluvic histic gleysols with a murshic organic layer ii weakly drained soils with a high groundwater table deeply ploughed where the sandy plough layer contains easily recognizable peat derived organic material weakly bound to the mineral fraction fluvic anthromollic gleysols and iii deeply drained soils deeply ploughed where organic carbon content in the plough layer is below 10 but peat derived particles of organic matter are still recognizable and are weakly bound to the mineral fractions endogleyic phaeozems anthric or endogleyic umbrisols anthric none of the thick plough layers although intentionally created by humans by mixing the organic layer with underlying sandy material fulfill the requirements of the anthropogenic diagnostic horizons therefore two new qualifiers are proposed to the wrb classification in relation to the recent addition of the murshic qualifier namely anmooric and atric to allow accurately naming the postswampy soils at subsequent stages of their transformation

calcite e twins as markers of recent tectonics insights from quaternary karstic deposits from se spain abstract superficial pleistocene karstic coatings found in the boundary region between the iberian and betic chains spain are often offset by normal faults these travertines were sampled to investigate whether mechanical twins in calcite can develop at low paleodepths surprisingly twinned grains are very abundant in sparry grains which are found in the proximity of the fault planes mean twin densities 28 twins mm paleostress determinations based on the analysis of calcite e twinning yielded the same principal stress orientations as the fault population analysis i e a nw se extension tectonic regime therefore calcite e twin analysis is a useful method with which to establish the orientation of recent stress tensors calcite e twins develop under conditions of minimum overburden 300 m during fault slip the low differential stresses during the fault slip event suggest that the critical resolved shear stress on the twin plane must be lower than the expected mean value of 10 mpa or that local stresses experienced by rock in and near the fault zone exceed ambient stress conditions during fault slip

evidence for rapid sedimentation in a tunnel channel oak ridges moraine southern ontario canada abstract in south central ontario a late wisconsinan regional unconformity consisting of tunnel channels and drumlinized till crops out north of lake ontario the tunnel channels are locally infilled and the unconformity buried by sediment of the oak ridges moraine based on seismic reflection profiling and drillcore the tunnel channels are known to continue beneath the moraine detailed sedimentological analysis of 300 m of continuous core from two drillholes located 7 km apart in subparallel tunnel channels identified three facies the gravel facies is 17 m thick and occurs in only one of the cores it directly overlies the unconformity and may include a number of upward fining units seismic reflection data suggests the gravel forms stacked gravel mesoforms or quasi horizontal gravel layers bed load sheets deposited from fluidal flows along the deep channel axis the graded massive sand facies up to 37 m thick is the most common facies and consists of silty medium sand with minor coarse sand strata are reverse graded normal graded or massive with isolated silt intraclasts and evidence locally for dewatering this facies is interpreted to have been deposited from hyperconcentrated dispersions downflow of a hydraulic jump or major channel confluence the third facies consists of medium scale and small scale cross stratified sand medium scale cross stratification occurs predominantly in the lower 37 m of the core and is interbedded with the graded massive sand facies small scale cross stratified sand is progressively more common upward in core medium and small scale cross stratified sands was deposited respectively by subaqueous dunes and ripples formed in dilute fluid flows the complete succession is interpreted to have been deposited very rapidly within a subglacial tunnel channel before discharge ceased along the channel deposition followed closely and in part coincided with rapid expansion of the channel by erosion in a hydraulic jump or at a major channel confluence along the grounding line of a subglacial lake scour into unconsolidated sediment contributed to the sediment flux and quickly overloaded the flow with suspended sediment which in turn resulted in extremely high rates of sedimentation immediately downflow such depositional conditions support the notion that tunnel channels in the study area formed and or served as conduits for subglacial jokulhlaup discharges and that the laurentide ice sheet most probably did not generally drain by steady state processes but instead by short lived catastrophic events

subglacial water escape structures and till structures slettjokull iceland beyond slettjokull the north part of the ice cap m rdalsjokull south iceland an undulating till plain is dissected by meltwater streams throughout a transect from the ice margin to the 1900 ice marginal moraine a distance of about 1 2 km finely laminated wedge shaped water escape structures wes are present originating in the till and disappearing down ice into the underlying sands and fine gravels a second set of much smaller and deformed black wes occurring within the till has been produced by upward injection into the till as a response to stiffening of the till after dewatering by the downward developing wes at present the toe of the glacier is frozen to its bed and the frozen bed material is more than 2 m thick during the relatively cold period around the turn of the century and until the late 1920s a similar submarginal body of permafrost must have existed the sequence reveals that subglacial meltwater attributed to drainage following the 1918 katla eruption was blocked by a frozen glacier toe causing the formation of water escape structures subsequently glacier flow deformed the substratum and produced the threefold division of the till bed the study has important implications for theories envisaging subglacial floods because it demonstrates that it is very difficult for temperate glaciers with a temporary frozen bed in the toe region to retain subglacial meltwater copyright 1999 john wiley sons ltd

mechanisms and controls on the formation of sand intrusions sandstone intrusions are found in all sedimentary environments but have been reported most commonly from deep water settings they also appear to be more frequently developed in tectonically active settings where applied tectonic stresses facilitate development of high fluid pressures within the sediments a variety of mechanisms have been cited as triggers for clastic intrusions these include seismicity induced liquefaction application of tectonic stresses excess pore fluid pressures generated by deposition related processes and the influx of an overpressured fluid from deeper within the basin into a shallow sand body the formation of sandstone dykes and sills is investigated here by considering them as natural hydraulic fractures when the seal on an unconsolidated overpressured sand body fails the resulting steep hydraulic gradient may cause the sand to fluidize the fluidized slurry can then inject along pre existing or new fractures to form clastic intrusions the scale and the geometry of an intrusive complex is governed by the stress state depth and pre existing joints or faults within the sedimentary succession as well as the nature of the host sediments for the simplest tectonic setting where the maximum stress in a basin is vertical gravitational loading small irregular intrusions commonly result in the formation of sills at shallow depths within a few metres of the surface whereas at greater depth dykes and sills forming clastic intrusion networks are more typical a simple relationship is derived to calculate the maximum burial depth at which a dyke sill complex forms as a function of the source bed to sill height the bulk density of the surrounding sediments and the ratio of the vertical to horizontal effective stresses k 0 when applied to three examples of large scale dyke sill complexes developed within paleocene and eocene deep water reservoir sand bodies of the north sea maximum burial depths in a range of 375 to c 500 m 450 700 m and 550 850 m are estimated for intrusion of each of the three complexes

hummocky moraine sedimentary record of stagnant laurentide ice sheet lobes resting on soft beds abstract over large areas of the western interior plains of north america hummocky moraine hm formed at the margins of laurentide ice sheet lis lobes that flowed upslope against topographic highs current depositional models argue that hm was deposited supraglacially from stagnant debris rich ice disintegration moraine across southern alberta canada map and outcrop data show that hm is composed of fine grained till as much as 25 m thick containing rafts of soft glaciotectonized bedrock and sediment chaotic non oriented hm commonly passes downslope into weakly oriented hummocks washboard moraine that are transitional to drumlins in topographic lows the same subsurface stratigraphy and till facies is present throughout these landforms and others such as doughnut like rim ridges flat topped moraine plateaux and linear disintegration ridges are identified as belonging to subglacially deposited soft bed terrain this terrain is the record of ice lobes moving over deformation till derived from weakly lithified bentonite rich shale drumlins record continued active ice flow in topographic lows during deglaciation whereas hm was produced below the outer stagnant margins of ice lobes by gravitational loading pressing of remnant dead ice blocks into wet plastic till intervening zones of washboard moraine mark the former boundary of active and stagnant ice and show hybrid drumlins whose streamlined form has been altered by subglacial pressing humdrums below dead ice the presence of hummocky moraine over a very large area of interior north america provides additional support for glaciological models of a soft bedded laurentide ice sheet

ice fracturing during jokulhlaups implications for englacial floodwater routing and outlet development theoretical studies of glacial outburst floods jokulhlaups assume that i intraglacial floodwater is transported efficiently in isolated conduits ii intraglacial conduit enlargement operates proportionally to increasing discharge iii floodwater exits glaciers through pre existing ice marginal outlets and iv the morphology and positioning of outlets remains fixed during flooding direct field observations together with historical jokulhlaup accounts confirm that these theoretical assumptions are not always correct this paper presents new evidence for spatial and temporal changes in intraglacial floodwater routing during jokulhlaups secondly it identifies and explains the mechanisms controlling the position and morphology of supraglacial jokulhlaup outlets and finally it presents a conceptual model of the controls on supraglacial outbursts field observations are presented from two icelandic glaciers skei ararjokull and solheimajokull video footage and aerial photographs taken before during and after the skei ararjokull jokulhlaup and immediately after the solheimajokull jokulhlaup reveal changes in floodwater routing and the positioning and morphology of outlets field observations confirm that glaciers cannot transmit floodwater as efficiently as previously assumed rapid increases in jokulhlaup discharge generate basal hydraulic pressures in excess of ice overburden under these circumstances floodwater can be forced through the surface of glaciers leading to the development of a range of supraglacial outlets the rate of increase in hydraulic pressure strongly influences the type of supraglacial outlet that can develop steady increases in basal hydraulic pressure can retro feed pre existing englacial drainage whereas transient increases in pressure can generate hydraulic fracturing the position and morphology of supraglacial outlets provide important controls on the spatial and temporal impact of flooding the development of supraglacial jokulhlaup outlets provides a new mechanism for rapid englacial debris entrainment

a complex subglacial clastic dyke swarm solheimajokull southern iceland abstract a complex network of clastic dykes dissects loosely consolidated holocene sediments along the east flank of the proglacial braid plain of solheimajokull southern iceland the dykes comprise downward bifurcating intrusions up to 0 5 m thick and several metres in length and are intruded into glaciogenic deposits sandy gravel gravelly sand interlaminated silt and sand and diamicton the dykes were sourced from a clast poor sandy diamicton interpreted as a subglacial till and were intruded downwards beneath solheimajokull glacier during a previous phase of advance as the glacier advanced southwards it loaded the sediment column resulting in the intrusion of dykes with a consistent south southwest dip with rare northward dipping examples the dyke fills are characterised by laminated sediment with laminae oriented parallel to the dyke margins and comprise interlaminated clay silty clay silt sand sandy gravel and diamicton in some dykes high concentrations of pebble to boulder sized clasts occur in association with rotated pods of the laminated sediment the laminae are thought to have evolved by a slow long lived intrusion process that involved the repeated fracture and expansion of the host sediments followed by viscous smearing on of subglacial material onto the dyke walls rather than rapid injection of fluidised sediment

the formation of a geometrical ridge network by the surge type glacier kongsvegen svalbard traditionally geometrical ridge networks are interpreted as the product of the flow of subglacial sediment into open basal crevasses at the cessation of a glacier surge crevasse fill ridges they are widely regarded as a characteristic landform of glacier surges understanding the range of processes by which these ridge networks form is therefore of importance in the recognition of palaeosurges within the landform record the geometrical ridge network at the surge type glacier kongsvegen in svalbard does not form by crevasse filling the networks consist of transverse and longitudinal ridges that can be seen forming at the current ice margin the transverse ridges form as a result of the incorporation of basal debris along thrust planes within the ice the thrusts were apparently formed during a glacier surge in 1948 longitudinal ridges form through the meltout of elongated pods of debris which on the glacier surface are subparallel to the ice foliation and pre date the surge this work adds to the range of landforms associated with glacier surges

sea floor morphology outside a grounded surging glacier brasvellbreen svalbard abstract acoustical profiling and bottom photography reveal several different sea floor morphological features adjacent to the grounded brasvellbreen glacier on svalbard northwestern barents sea some of the features and their distribution may be closely related to a major glacial surge in 1936 1938 and as such are valuable in identifying former surges in other locations a continuous wide ridge with a characteristic asymmetrical cross section running subparallel to the glacier is the end moraine defining the maximum extent of the surge a large part of the material forming this ridge is most likely rapidly deposited from meltwater during the surge a rhombohedral pattern of smaller mounds inside the ridge is probably an expression of relief in the glacier sole during the surge discontinuous arcuate ridges define local minor oscillations during retreat of the ice at a later stage iceberg plough marks are most frequent seaward of the end moraine their orientation is controlled by the combination of a coastal current offshore katabatic winds and topography superimposed on plough marks are secondary features such as a washboard pattern and striae most likely caused by push up of overconsolidated material during gouging and multi keel icebergs respectively bottom sediments observed in photographs and cores are loose pebbly muds with high variability in clast content resting on overconsolidated material probably basal till mud deposition presently prevails close to the glacier

macroforms large bedforms and rhythmic sedimentary sequences in subglacial eskers south central ontario implications for esker genesis and meltwater regime abstract eskers of south central ontario were deposited in closed subglacial conduits which were continuous main conduits this interpretation is supported by the intimate association of eskers with an anastomosing network of tunnel channels relatively continuous esker ridges minimal post formational disturbance of esker sediments intercalation of till and stratified sand and gravel diapiric folding at an esker core low variability in palaeocurrent direction and upslope flow paths down esker trends in clast lithology roundness and sphericity indicate continuous conduits with sediment supply by subglacial deformation of adjacent material into the conduits melt out of sediment from the conduit walls and fluvial resedimentation esker ridge morphology is attributed to synchronous erosion transportation and deposition along the main conduits such that ridge discontinuities are primarily explained as zones of non deposition during esker formation composite pseudoanticlinal and oblique accretion avalanche bed macroforms are identified gravel facies within these macroforms were deposited from fluidal flows or hyperconcentrated dispersions progradation of macroforms or migration of constituent large bedforms through the main conduits may have temporarily blocked constricted portions of those conduits and acted as possible internal autogenic controls on sediment availability and flow resistance the location of macroforms within conduits was primarily controlled by conduit geometry and sediment availability and later by feedback between macroform and conduit geometries sand and gravel units alternate rhythmically in vertical section rhythmicity is interpreted as a response to episodic flood flows controlled by seasonal changes in water supply but not necessarily representing annual events fans beads anabranched reaches and extended hummocky deposits are intimately associated with the main esker ridges they are interpreted in terms of subglacial cavities and localized flotation zones connected to the main conduits during flood events in phase wave structures are the products of hydraulic jumps in hyperconcentrated flood flows at flow expansions into swells within the main conduits into cavities connected to the main conduits or at a grounding line esker ridges record only the most powerful flood events whereas fans and beads record flow events in finer detail being primarily depositional reservoirs laterally fining deposits record the waning stages of conduit operation

late ordovician glaciation in southern turkey abstract we present a new survey of several palaeozoic sections in both the taurus range and the border folds that documents typical glacial features including a glacial pavement and striated dropstones halevikdere formation and demonstrates the former presence of an ice sheet in southern and south eastern turkey evidence for the late ashgill hirnantian age of this episode is provided by macro and microfossils found within the glacial formation the extension of ice related deposits into the northernmost part of the arabian platform mardin region implies a much wider distribution of the ordovician ice sheet than was previously believed and strongly suggests that southern turkey lay close to egypt during the lower palaeozoic

early silurian glaciations in brazil abstract the opening of the brazilian paleozoic basins during the late ordovician was followed by a tectonic stabilization in the silurian at the time of the early silurian glaciations deposition of continental sandstones prevailed in the basins offshore environments were present in the amazonas basin and to a smaller extent in the parana basin the ice sheets advanced over fluviatile and littoral sediments except for the south margin of the amazonas basin where the glacial diamictites immediately overlie marine facies the ice produced much meltwater even when advancing and this was probably climatically controlled the ice movements were from the northwest at the northern margin of the amazonas basin and towards the northeast at the southern margin in the parnaiba basin and its outliers the jatoba basin and cariri valley the ice came from southeast and probably also from east further to the south in the parana basin it came from the north and northeast four glaciations have been dated to the early silurian the oldest is dated as latest ashgill and or earliest llandovery in the parana basin as evidenced from tillites in the upper rio ivai and lower vila maria formations including the former iapo formation it is contemporaneous with a glaciation in the cape basin south africa the next glaciation is dated as early middle llandovery gregarius graptolite zone and is present in the amazonas basin and the andean belt and probably also in the parnaiba basin and its outliers the two youngest tillites were widespread in the northern brazilian basins amazonas parnaiba and jatoba basins and cariri valley as well as in the andean belt and are dated as early late llandovery possibly starting already in the late middle llandovery and latest llandovery to earliest wenlock the latter tillite is the most widespread one assuming these glaciations are related to polar positions the apparent migration of the south pole ice cap must have been quite rapid from central north africa in late ashgill towards central brazil in the middle late llandovery the glaciation in the parana basin took place up to 45 from the late ashgillian south pole the cool climate continued during the silurian but no new glaciations are known before latest devonian

esker characteristics in terms of glacier physics katahdin esker system maine the characteristics of large subglacially formed eskers such as the katahdin system are closely related to two special peculiarities of water filled tunnels along the beds of ice sheets 1 the water pressure approximates the weight of the overlying ice and 2 in tunnels that descend and those that ascend less steeply than 1 7 times the ice surface gradient the walls melt producing a sharply arched tunnel cross section whereas in those that ascend more steeply they freeze producing a wide low one the first peculiarity primarily governs the paths of these eskers it causes the tunnels to follow the paths ordinary rivers would follow were the land tipped downglacier 11 times the local ice surface gradient the paths therefore trend in the general direction of the former ice flow but tend to deviate so as to follow valleys and to cross divides at the lowest passes as observed ice surface gradients calculated from path deviations at two localities on the katahdin esker system indicate relatively thin sluggish ice the surface of which lay 200 m below the summit of mount katahdin in agreement with independent geologic evidence the second peculiarity primarily governs the form composition and structure of these eskers strong melting causes a large inflow of basal ice and entrained debris to the tunnel and produces sharp crested eskers of poorly sorted poorly bedded sand gravel and boulders with lithologies like the adjacent till whereas weaker melting produces multiple crested ones of similar composition freezing precludes inflow and produces broad crested eskers of fairly well sorted well bedded more water worn coarse sand with few large clasts ice surface gradients calculated from transitions from the multiple crested type to small areas of broad crested type on the katahdin system agree closely with those computed from the paths at nearby localities an anomalously low gradient calculated from a transition to an area of broad crested type approximately twice as wide and long as the probable ice depth apparently confirms that as expected the basal ice was supported by water pressure over most if not all of the width of the esker

controls on englacial sediment deposition during the november 1996 jokulhlaup skeiđararjokull iceland this paper presents sedimentary evidence for rapid englacial debris entrainment during jokulhlaups previous studies of jokulhlaup sedimentology have focused predominantly on proglacial impact rather than depositional processes within glaciers however observations of supraglacial floodwater outbursts suggest that englacial sediment emplacement is possible during jokulhlaups the november 1996 jokulhlaup from skei ararjokull iceland presented one of the first opportunities to examine englacial flood deposits in relation to former supraglacial outlets using observations from skei ararjokull this paper identifies and explains controls on the deposition of englacial flood sediments and presents a qualitative model for englacial jokulhlaup deposition englacial jokulhlaup deposits were contained within complex networks of upglacier dipping fractures simultaneous englacial deposition of fines and boulder sized sediment demonstrates that englacial fracture discharge had a high transport capacity fracture geometry was an important control on the architecture of englacial jokulhlaup deposits the occurrence of pervasively frozen flood deposits within skei ararjokull is attributed to freeze on by glaciohydraulic supercooling floodwater flowing subglacially or through upglacier dipping fractures would have supercooled as it was raised to the surface faster than its pressure melting point could increase as glaciostatic pressure decreased evidence for floodwater contact with the glacier bed is supported by the ubiquitous occurrence of sheared diamict rip ups and intra clasts of basal ice within jokulhlaup fractures deposited englacially some 200 350 m above the bed of skei ararjokull evidence for fluidal supercooled sediment accretion is apparent within stratified sands deposited englacially at exceptionally high angles of rest in the absence of post depositional disturbance such primary sediment structures cannot be explained unless sediment is progressively accreted to opposing fracture walls ice retreat from areas of former supraglacial outbursts revealed distinct ridges characterized by localized upwellings of sediment rich floodwater these deposits are an important addition to current models of englacial sedimentation and demonstrate the potential for post jokulhlaup landform development copyright 2001 john wiley sons ltd keywords jokulhlaup englacial debris entrainment glaciofluvial sediment hydrofracturing iceland

saginaw lobe tunnel channels laurentide ice sheet and their significance in south central michigan usa abstract a network of tunnel channels in southern michigan records substantial subglacial meltwater activity beneath the saginaw lobe of the laurentide ice sheet the channels are incompletely filled with outwash contain eskers and in many places crosscut and continue beyond upland ridges previously mapped as recessional moraines the presence of the tunnel channels and drumlins on these upland ridges indicate that the ridges are not recessional moraines instead outwash fans and minor ridges record deglaciation in the area a palimpsest relationship between buried bedrock valleys and tunnel channels records the presence of multiple generations of tunnel channels evidence for a subglacial meltwater sheetflow consists of sheets of boulder gravel in upland 15 km wide with a hummocky upper surface the hummocks transform down flow into erosional remnant drumlins possibly the result of flow acceleration on a negative slope tunnel channels at the distal end of the drumlin swarm suggest collapse of the sheetflow into a channelized flow the tunnel channels then end at the sturgis moraine at the heads of large outwash fans the observed geomorphic relationships between tunnel channels moraines and drumlins in south central michigan are applicable to glacial landform studies elsewhere and indicate the important role of meltwater in landscape evolution

periglacial polygonal structures and sand wedges in the late precambrian glacial formations of the taoudeni basin in adrar of mauretania west africa abstract large scale polygonal structures and sand wedges are found over a large area on top of late precambrian continental glacial deposits the exceptionally good preservation of the structures allows comparison with modern periglacial frost wedges filled by wind transported clastic material in a permafrost environment

incipient tunnel channels abstract glaciated terrains in east central alberta and south central michigan contain channels that have hummocks and transverse ridges separating depressions along their floors this association imparts a linked pothole appearance similar channels are often interpreted as tunnel channels or subaerial channels partly filled with sediment from a subsequent glacial advance a stagnating ice roof or slumped sediment from the channel margins however the truncation of sedimentary packages in the channel walls and intrachannel hummocks indicates that they are erosional landforms cut into glacial sediments till bedrock or gravel eskers overlie and are found within a few channels indicating that these channels formed before the final stagnation that produced the eskers these two characteristics combined with the observation that many channels have convex up long profiles indicate that the channels were eroded by pressurized subglacial water because the formative mechanisms for this type of channel are not clear and modern environments that could produce this type of landform are inaccessible we draw on several morphologic analogues to propose mechanisms for channel erosion we conclude that the erosion of these linked pothole channels incipient tunnel channels was the product of the complex interaction between complex turbulent flow structures and various scales of roughness elements

water flow through temperate glaciers understanding water movement through a glacier is fundamental to several critical issues in glaci ology including glacier dynamics glacier induced floods and the prediction of runoff from glacierized drainage basins to this end we have synthesized a conceptual model of water movement through a temper ate glacier from the surface to the outlet stream pro cesses that regulate the rate and distribution of water input at the glacier surface and that regulate water movement from the surface to the bed play important but commonly neglected roles in glacier hydrology where a glacier is covered by a layer of porous perme able firn the accumulation zone the flux of water to the glacier interior varies slowly because the firn tempo rarily stores water and thereby smooths out variations in the supply rate in the firn free ablation zone in con trast the flux of water into the glacier depends directly on the rate of surface melt or rainfall and therefore varies greatly in time water moves from the surface to the bed through an upward branching arborescent net work consisting of both steeply inclined conduits formed by the enlargement of intergranular veins and gently inclined conduits spawned by water flow along the bottoms of near surface fractures crevasses engla cial drainage conduits deliver water to the glacier bed at a limited number of points probably a long distance downglacier of where water enters the glacier englacial conduits supplied from the accumulation zone are quasi steady state features that convey the slowly varying water flux delivered via the firn their size adjusts so that they are usually full of water and flow is pressurized in contrast water flow in englacial conduits supplied from the ablation area is pressurized only near times of peak daily flow or during rainstorms flow is otherwise in an open channel configuration the subglacial drainage system typically consists of several elements that are distinct both morphologically and hydrologically an up glacier branching arborescent network of channels in cised into the basal ice conveys water rapidly much of the water flux to the bed probably enters directly into the arborescent channel network which covers only a small fraction of the glacier bed more extensive spatially is a nonarborescent network which commonly includes cav ities gaps between the glacier sole and bed channels incised into the bed and a layer of permeable sediment the nonarborescent network conveys water slowly and is usually poorly connected to the arborescent system the arborescent channel network largely collapses during winter but reforms in the spring as the first flush of meltwater to the bed destabilizes the cavities within the nonarborescent network the volume of water stored by a glacier varies diurnally and seasonally small temper ate alpine glaciers seem to attain a maximum seasonal water storage of 200 mm of water averaged over the area of the glacier bed with daily fluctuations of as much as 20 30 mm the likely storage capacity of subglacial cavities is insufficient to account for estimated stored water volumes so most water storage may actually occur englacially stored water may also be released abruptly and catastrophically in the form of outburst floods

deglacial meltwater drainage and glaciodynamics inferences from laurentide eskers canada abstract this paper evaluates current knowledge of laurentide eskers in canada in the light of developments in glacier hydrology and glacial sedimentology questions regarding the morpho sedimentary relations of eskers the synchroneity and operation of r channel systems the role of supraglacial meltwater input and proglacial water bodies the controls on esker pattern and the glaciodynamic condition of the ice sheet at the time of esker formation are discussed a morphologic classification of eskers is proposed five types of eskers are identified and investigated type i eskers likely formed in extensive synchronous dendritic r channel networks under regionally stagnant ice that terminated in standing water type ii eskers likely formed in short subaqueously terminating r channels or reentrants close to an ice front or grounding line that may have actively retreated during esker sedimentation type iii eskers plausibly formed in short r channels that drained either to interior lakes in or tunnel channels under regionally stagnant ice type iv eskers may have formed as time transgressive segments in short subaerially terminating r channels or reentrants that developed close to the ice margin as the ice front underwent stagnation zone retreat or downwasted and backwasted regionally stagnant ice however formation in synchronous r channels cannot be discounted on the basis of reported observations type v eskers may have formed in h channels that terminated subaerially the spatial distribution of these esker types is discussed the factors that determined laurentide r channel pattern and operation were likely a complex combination of i supraglacial meltwater discharge ii the number and location of sink holes iii the ice surface slope thickness and velocity and iv the permeability topography and rigidity of the bed these factors cause and respond to changes in ice dynamics and thermal regime over the glacial cycle

long lived glaciation in the late ordovician isotopic and sequence stratigraphic evidence from western laurentia the timing and causes of the transition to an icehouse climate in the late ordovician are controversial results of an integrated 13c and sequence stratigraphic analysis in nevada show that in the late ordovician chatfieldian stage mid caradoc a positive 13c excursion in the upper part of the copenhagen formation was closely followed by a regressive event evidenced within the prominent eureka quartzite the chatfieldian 13c excursion is known globally and interpreted to record enhanced organic carbon burial which lowered atmospheric p co2 to levels near the threshold for ice buildup in the ordovician greenhouse climate the subsequent regressive event in central nevada previously interpreted as part of a regional tectonic adjustment is here attributed in part to sea level drawdown from the initiation of continental glaciation on gondwana this drop in sea level which may have contributed to further cooling through a reduction in poleward heat transport and a lowering of p co2 by suppressing shelf carbonate production signals the transition to a late ordovician icehouse climate 10 m y before the widespread hirnantian glacial maximum at the end of the ordovician

the origin and glaciodynamic significance of sandstone ridge networks from the hirnantian glaciation of the djado basin niger the djado basin niger was located beneath the inner part of the late ordovician ice sheet the felar felar formation consists mainly of glaciomarine deposits associated with the major ice sheet recession within the glaciation and is bounded by two glacial unconformities structures corresponding to sandstone ridges are found within the felar felar formation sandstone ridges are several metres high about 10 m wide and hundreds of metres long these structures are organized in extensive anastomosed to subpolygonal networks the association of sandstone ridge networks with the later glacial unconformity and with other glacial evidence suggests sub glacial conditions for their origin sandstone ridge sedimentological characteristics indicate that sandstone ridges result from the scouring of the felar felar formation by sub glacial turbulent and pressurized meltwater then subglacial cavities were infilled with sand derived from glacial abrasion sandstone ridge networks are comparable with tunnel channels and document unusual drainage structures of the inner part of the palaeo ice sheet

till and moraine emplacement in a deforming bed surge an example from a marine environment the glacier sefstrombreen in spitsbergen surged across an arm of the sea between qsr 1882 and 1886 and rode up onto the island coraholmen marine and terrestrial geological observations and archive records show that the glacier advanced on a deforming carpet of marine mud which was eroded from its original location transported and smeared over the sea bed and coraholmen as a deformation till the glacier emplaced about 210sm 0 2 km 3 of drift in the terminal 2 km of its advance in a maximum of 14 years leaving a thickness of up to 20 m on coraholmen which was doubled in size as a result during the surge subglacial muds were characterised by high water pressures low effective pressures and low frictional resistance to glacier movement original sedimentary inhomogenities permit fold structures to be identified but repeated refolding and progressive remoulding produce mixing and homogenisation of deformation tills the surge was probably shortlived and as the heavily crevassed glacier stagnated underlying water saturated muds were intruded into crevasses and then extruded on the glacier surface reticulate crevasse intrusion ridges on coraholmen and the sea floor reflect the orientation of surge generated crevasses water and sediment was also extruded beyond the glacier at its maximum extent to form extensive flows producing till tongues both on coraholmen and the sea floor extending over 1 3 km from the glacier it is argued that subglacial deformation of pre existing sediment will almost invariably be associated with glaciation of marine areas and that this process will not only produce deformation tills through remoulding of pre existing sediments but will also play a fundamental role in glacier dynamics criteria which perrait glacial tills produced by such events from marine and glaciomarine muds are discussed copyright 1996 elsevier science ltd