Abstract
AbstractChanges in the properties and dynamics of tidewater glacier systems are key indicators of the state of Arctic climate and environment. Calving of tidewater glacier fronts is currently the dominant form of ice mass loss and a major contributor to global sea‐level rise. An important yet under‐studied aspect of this process is transformation of Arctic landscapes, where new lands and coastal systems are revealed due to the recession of marine‐terminating ice masses. The evolution of those freshly exposed paraglacial coastal environments is controlled by nearshore marine, coastal and terrestrial geomorphic processes, which rework glacial‐derived sediments to create new coastal paraglacial landforms and landscapes. Here, we present the first study of the paraglacial coasts of Brepollen, one of the youngest bays of Svalbard revealed by ice retreat. We describe and classify coastal systems and the variety of landforms (deltas, cliffs, tidal flats, beaches) developed along the shores of Brepollen during the last 100 years. We further discuss the main modes of sediment supply to the coast in different parts of the new bay, highlighting the fast rate of coastal transformation as a paraglacial response to rapid deglaciation in the Arctic. This study provides an exemplar of likely coastal responses to be anticipated in similar tidewater settings under future climate change. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Highlights
The termination of the Little Ice Age (LIA), which in Svalbard occurred around the turn of the 19th and 20th century, brought a major shift in landscape evolution associated with the rapid retreat of glaciers from their Holocene maximum extents (e.g. Małecki, 2016; Martin-Moreno et al, 2017)
In order to address this deficiency, this study describes the geomorphology of coasts that were exposed over the last century along the shorelines of Brepollen, southern Svalbard (Figure 1)
During 2016– 2017 we have groundtruthed information derived from aerial images by field observations, and distinguished the following types of Brepollen coastlines: (1) ice cliffs, which correspond to the active ice fronts of tidewater glaciers as they undergo retreat, or as remnants of stagnant glacier ice left along the coast; (2) rocky coasts with rock shore platforms; (3) coasts formed along abandoned glacial landforms or ice cliffs; (4) fluvial deltas and intertidal flats (Figure 3A)
Summary
The termination of the Little Ice Age (LIA), which in Svalbard occurred around the turn of the 19th and 20th century, brought a major shift in landscape evolution associated with the rapid retreat of glaciers from their Holocene maximum extents (e.g. Małecki, 2016; Martin-Moreno et al, 2017). During 2016– 2017 we have groundtruthed information derived from aerial images by field observations, and distinguished the following types of Brepollen coastlines: (1) ice cliffs, which correspond to the active ice fronts of tidewater glaciers as they undergo retreat, or as remnants of stagnant glacier ice left along the coast; (2) rocky coasts with rock shore platforms; (3) coasts formed along abandoned glacial landforms or ice cliffs; (4) fluvial deltas and intertidal flats (Figure 3A).
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