Eastern Lomonosov Ridge: Constraints for a variable ice mass thickness during former glaciations

Abstract

Here we present dense acoustic and swath bathymetry data sets as well as geological age constraints that allow a new view on past glacial processes at the Siberian termination of Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean between 81° and 84° 20′ N. Here, the seabed is marked by three sets of streamlined glacial lineations observed at present water depths of ~760 m to 1250 m. The shallower streamlined glacial lineations were likely formed during MIS 6 and the deeper ones during MIS 12. Other observations include recessional moraines and pockmarks on a flattened ridge crest. In the subsurface, an acoustically transparent unit above well stratified strata is interpreted as subglacial diamicton overlying pre-glacial sediments at an erosional contact. Furthermore, the diamicton is interpreted to have been deposited as lenses in glacially-eroded proximal settings. In contrast, some parts of the seafloor and subsurface show no glacial overprint in water depths as shallow as 819 m. To explain these findings, we propose that the Siberian termination of Lomonosov Ridge was covered by an ice mass of spatial and temporal variable thickness between ~780 to ~1250 m, that was likely composed of sea ice and thick icebergs calved from ice shelves.