Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T17:52:59.040Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

New observations on the relative sea level and deglacial history of Greenland from Innaarsuit, Disko Bugt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Antony J. Long ,
David H. Roberts  and
Morten Rasch
Antony J. Long*
Affiliation:
Environmental Research Center, Department of Geography, University of Durham, Science Site, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
David H. Roberts
Affiliation:
Environmental Research Center, Department of Geography, University of Durham, Science Site, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Morten Rasch
Affiliation:
Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author.Email Address:[email protected] (A. J. Long).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Relative sea level (RSL) data derived from isolation basins at Innaarsuit, a site on the south shores of the large marine embayment of Disko Bugt, West Greenland, record rapid RSL fall from the marine limit (ca. 108 m) at 10,300–9900 cal yr B.P. to reach the present sea level at 3500 cal yr B.P. Since 2000 cal yr B.P., RSL rose ca. 3 m to the present. When compared with data from elsewhere in Disko Bugt, our results suggest that the embayment was deglaciated later and more quickly than previously thought, at or slightly before 10,300 cal yr B.P. The northern part of Disko Bugt experienced less rebound (ca. 10 m at 6000 cal yr B.P.) compared with areas to the south. Submergence during the late Holocene supports a model of crustal down-warping as a result of renewed ice-sheet growth during the neoglacial. There is little evidence for west to east differences in crustal rebound across the southern shores of Disko Bugt.

Keywords

GreenlandIsolation basinGlacio-isostasyNeoglacial
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , September 2003 , pp. 162 - 171
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, M.B., and Stafford, T.W., (1996). Radiocarbon geochemistry of modern and ancient Arctic lake systems, Baffin Island, Canada. Quaternary Research 45, 300 311.Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., and Miller, G.H., (1985). Holocene sea level variations within Frobisher Bay. Andrews, J.T. Quaternary Environments in Eastern Canadian Arctic, Baffin Bay and Western Greenland. Allen and Unwin, Boston. 585 607.Google Scholar
Bennike, O., (2000). Palaeoecological studies of Holocene lake sediments from west Greenland. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 155, 285 304.Google Scholar
Bennike, O., Hansen, K.B., Knudsen, K.L., Penney, D.N., and Rasmussen, K.L., (1994). Quaternary marine stratigraphy and geochronology of central West Greenland. Boreas 23, 194 215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Björck, S., Bennike, O., Ingólfsson, O., Barnekow, L., and Wohlfarth, B., (1998). A high resolution 14C dated sediment sequence from southwest Sweden: age comparsions between different components of the sediment. Journal of Quaternary Science 13, 85 89.3.0.CO;2-S>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donner, J., and Jungner, H., (1975). Radiocarbon dating of shells from marine deposits in the Disko Bugt area, West Greenland. Boreas 4, 25 45.Google Scholar
Funder, S., (1989). Quaternary geology of the ice-free areas and adjacent shelves of Greenland. in: Fulton, R.J. (Ed.), Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland: Geological Survey of Canada, pp. 743–792.Google Scholar
Funder, S., and Hansen, L., (1996). The Greenland ice sheet—a model for its culmination and decay during and after the last glacial maximum. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark 42, 137 152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hustedt, F., (1957). Diatoméenflora der Fluss-Systems der Weser im Gebeit der Hansestadt Bremen. Abh. naturw. Ver. Bremen 34, 181 440.Google Scholar
Ingólfsson, O., Frich, P., Funder, S., and Humlum, O., (1990). Palaeoclimatic implications of an early Holocene glacier advance on Disko Island, West Greenland. Boreas 19, 297 311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, M., (1979). Comments on the implications of new radiocarbon dates from the Helsteinsborg region, central West Greenland. Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse 95, 35 42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, M., (1980). The status of the Neoglacial in western Greenland. Rapport Greenlands Geologiske Undersøgelse 96, 1 24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, M., (1985). A review of the Quaternary geology of western Greenland. Andrews, J.T. Quaternary Environments in Eastern Canadian Arctic, Baffin Bay and Western Greenland. Allen and Unwin, Boston. 461 501.Google Scholar
Kjemperud, A., (1986). Late Weichselian and Holocene shoreline displacement in the Trondheimsfjord area, central Norway. Boreas 15, 61 82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, A.J., and Roberts, D.H., (2002). A revised chronology for the ‘Fjord Stage’ moraine in Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science 17, 561 579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, A.J., and Roberts, D.H. (2003). Late Weichselian deglacial history of Disko Bugt, West Greenland, and the dynamics of the Jakobshavns Isbrae ice stream. Boreas 32, 208–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, A.J., Roberts, D.H., and Wright, M.R., (1999). Isolation basin stratigraphy and Holocene relative sea-level change on Arevprinsen Eijland, Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science 14, 323 345.Google Scholar
Lowe, J.J., and Walker, M.J.C., (2000). Radiocarbon dating the last glacial-interglacial transition (Ca, 14-9 14C ka BP) in terrestrial and marine records. the need for new quality assurance protocols. Radiocarbon 42, 53 68.Google Scholar
Milne, G., Mitrovica, J.X., and Davis, J.L., (1999). Near-field hydro-isostasy. the implementation of a revised sea-level equation. Geophysical Journal International 139, 464 482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, A.J.M., and Abbott, W.H., (1986). Diatoms as indicators of sea-level change. Van de Plassche, O. Sea-Level Research. A Manual for the Collection and Evaluation of Data. Geo Books, Norwich. 457 488.Google Scholar
Peltier, R.W., (1998). “Implicit ice” in the global theory of glacial isostatic adjustment. Geophysical Research Letters 25, 3955 3958.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelto, M.S., Hughes, T.J., and Brecher, H.H., (1989). Equilibrium state of Jakobshavn Isbrae, West Greenland. Journal of Glaciology 12, 127 131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinlan, G., and Beaumont, C., (1981). A comparison of observed and theoretical postglacial relative sea level in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 18, 1146 1163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasch, M., (1997). A compilation of radiocarbon dates from Disko Bugt, Central West Greenland. Danish Journal of Geography 97, 143 151.Google Scholar
Rasch, M., (2000). Holocene relative sea level changes in Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Journal of Coastal Research 16, 306 315.Google Scholar
Rasch, M., and Jensen, J.F., (1997). Ancient Eskimo dwelling sites and Holocene relative sea-level changes in southern Disko Bugt, Central West Greenland. Polar Research 16, 101 115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, K.L., Rahbek, U., (1996). The 14C reservoir effect in Greenland. in: Grønnow, B. (Ed.), The Palaeo-Eskimo Cultures of Greenland: New Perspectives in Greenlandic Archaeology, Danish Polar Center, Copenhagen., pp. 237–242.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J., (1993). Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 14C age calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, 215 230.Google Scholar
Tasarov, L., and Peltier, W.R., (2002). Greenland glacial history and local geodynamic consequences. Geophysical Journal International 150, 198 229.Google Scholar
Wahr, J., van Dam, T., Larson, K., and Francis, O., (2001). GPS measurements of vertical crustal motion in Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 106, D24 33755 33759.Google Scholar
Wahr, J., van Dam, T., Larson, K., and Francis, O., (2001). Geodetic measurements in Greenland and their implications. Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 106, 16567 16581.Google Scholar
Weidick, A., (1968). Observations on some Holocene glacier fluctuations in West Greenland. Meddelelsser om Grønland 165, 1 202.Google Scholar
Weidick, A., (1993). Neoglacial change of ice cover and the related response of the Earth’s crust in West Greenland. Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse 159, 121 126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weidick, A., (1996). Neoglacial changes of ice cover and sea level in Greenland—a classical enigma. Grønnow, B. The Palaeo-Eskimo Cultures of Greenland: New Perspectives in Greenlandic Archaeology. Danish Polar Center, Copenhagen. 257 270.Google Scholar