Nordvestfjord: a major East Greenland fjord system

Abstract

Fjords are deep valleys that have been flooded by encroaching seawater after ice retreat (Syvitski et al. 1987). They are produced mainly by glacial erosion, with the ice sometimes exploiting pre-existing river systems or structural weaknesses. Fjords are found in mountainous terrain in all areas affected by large glaciers and ice sheets, both today and during full-glacial periods. They are therefore a distinctive landform indicative of past glacial activity. Nordvestfjord is a 140 km long fjord that is typically about 5 km wide with very steep walls (Fig. 1a–g). The mountains surrounding Nordvestfjord rise to over 2000 m. Several small branches join the fjord before it enters the much wider and shallower Hall Bredning, part of the Scoresby Sund fjord system in East Greenland (Fig. 1b) (Dowdeswell et al. 1994 a ). The distance from the head of the fjord to the outer coast of Greenland is about 300 km (Fig. 1b), making Scoresby Sund the largest fjord system in the world at 13 700 km2. The whole fjord system was occupied by ice during the Last Glacial Maximum (Dowdeswell et al. 1994 a ). Deglaciation of Scoresby Sund began about 16 …