Abstract
Terminal‐moraine ridges up to 6 m high have been forming at the snout of Styggedalsbreen for two decades. Based on intermittent observations during this period, combined with a detailed study of ridge morphology, sedimentary structures and composition during the 1993 field season, a model of terminal‐moraine formation that involves the interaction of glacial and glacio‐fluvial processes at a seasonally oscillating ice margin is presented. In winter, subglacial debris is frozen‐on to the glacier sole; in summer, ice‐marginal and supraglacial streams deposit sediments on the wasting ice tongue. The ice tongue overrides an embryonic moraine ridge during a late‐winter advance and a double layer of sediment (diamicton overlain by sorted sands and gravels) is added to the moraine ridge during the subsequent ablation season. Particular ridges grow incrementally over many years and exert positive feedback by enhancing snout up‐arching during the winter advance and constraining the course of summer meltwater streams close to the ice margin. The double‐layer annual‐meltout model is related to moraine formation by the stacking of subglacial frozen‐on sediment slabs (Krüger 1993). Moraine ridges of this type have a complex origin. are not push moraines, and may be characteristic of dynamic high‐latitude and high‐altitude temperate glaciers.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
