Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T16:50:25.390Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Maximum Ice Extent on Island Groups in the Scotia Sea, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Abstract

Evidence is presented for a more extensive ice cover over South Georgia, the South Orkney Islands, the South Shetland Islands, and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Ice extended across the adjacent submarine shelves to a depth of 200 m below present sea level. Troughs cut into the submarine shelves by ice streams or outlet glaciers and ice-scoured features on the shelf areas suggest that the ice caps were warm-based. The South Shetland Islands appear not to have been overrun by continental ice. Geomorphological evidence in two island groups suggests that the maximum ice cover, which was responsible for the bulk of glacial erosion, predates at least one full glaciation. Subsequently there was a marine interval and then a glaciation which overran all of the lowlying peninsulas. The Falkland Islands, only 2° of latitude north of South Georgia, were never covered by an ice cap and supported only a few slightly enlarged cirque glaciers. This suggests that the major oceanographic and atmospheric boundary represented by the Antarctic Convergence, which is presently situated between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, has remained in a similar position throughout the glacial age. Its position is probably bathymetrically controlled.

Type
Research Article
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

Brochie, J.F. Silvester, R. (1969). On crustal flexure Journal of Geophysical Research 74 5240-5252 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. (1971). Geomorphology of the Stromness Bay-Cumberland Bay area, South GeorgiaBritish Antarctic Survey Scientific Reports No. 70Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. Sugden, D.E. (1976). The maximum extent of glaciers in part of West Falkland Journal of Glaciology 17 73-77 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dury, G.H. (1953). A glacial breach in the northwestern Highlands Scottish Geographical Magazine 69 106-117 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, W.L.S. (1940). Relic glacial forms on the western seaboard of Graham Land Geographical Journal 96 93-100 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodell, H.G. (1973). The sediments Marine Sediments of the Southern Oceans Goodell, H.G. Antarctic Map Folio Series, No. 17 American Geographical Society 1-9 Google Scholar
Harrington, P.K. (1968). A Geophysical Survey Near the South Orkney Islands Unpublished Ph.D. ThesisUniversity of Birmingham Google Scholar
Hays, J.D. Lozano, J.A. Shackleton, N. Irving, G. (1976). Reconstruction of the Atlantic and western Indian Ocean sectors of the 18,000 BP Antarctic ocean Geological Society of America, Memoir 145 337-372 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holtedahl (1929). On the Geology and Physiography of Some Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic IslandsScientific Results of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition, No. 3Google Scholar
Hughes, T. (1975). The West Antarctic ice sheet: Instability, disintegration and initiation of Ice Ages Review of Geophysics and Space Physics 13 502-526 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
John, B.S. (1972). Evidence from the South Shetland Islands towards a glacial history of West Antarctica Polar Geomorphology Price, R.J. Sugden, D.E. Institute of British Geographers Special Publication No. 4 75-92 Google Scholar
John, B.S. Sugden, D.E. (1971). Raised marine features and phases of glaciation in the South Shetland Islands British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 24 45-111 Google Scholar
Ives, J.D. (1957). Glaciation of the Torngat Mountains, Northern Labrador Arctic 10 67-87 Google Scholar
Linton, D.L. (1949). Watershed breaching by ice in Scotland Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 15 1-16 Google Scholar
Linton, D.L. (1963). The forms of glacial erosion Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 33 1-28 Google Scholar
Linton, D.L. (1964). Landscape evolution Priestley, R.E. Adie, R.J. Robin, G.de Q. Antarctic Research Butterworth London 85-99 Google Scholar
Mercer, J.H. (1968). Antarctic Ice and Sangamon Sea Level International Association of Scientific Hydrology 217-225Publication 79Google Scholar
Nye, J.F. (1952). A method of calculating the thickness of ice sheets Nature (London) 169 529-530 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paterson, W.S.B. (1972). Laurentide ice sheet: Estimated volumes during late Wisconsin Review of Geophysics and Space Physics 10 885-917 Google Scholar
Reichelt, G. (1961). Über Schotterformen and Rundungsgradanalyse als Feldmethode Petermanns Geografische Mitteilungen 106 15-24 Google Scholar
Robin, G.de Q. Adie, R.J. (1964). The ice cover Priestley, R.E. Adie, R.J. Robin, G.de Q. Antarctic Research Butterworth London 100-117 Google Scholar
Sugden, D.E. (1974). Landscapes of Glacial Erosion in Greenland and Their Relationship to Ice, Topographic and Bedrock Conditions 177-195Institute of British Geographers Special Publication No. 7Google Scholar
Sugden, D.E. John, B.S. (1973). The ages of glacier fluctuations in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica Van-Zinderen Bakker, E.M. Palaeoecology of Africa, the Surrounding Islands and Antarctica, 8 Balkema Cape Town 141-159 Google Scholar
Sugden, D.E. John, B.S. (1976). Glaciers and Landscape: A Geomorphological Approach Edward Arnold London Google Scholar
Trendall, A.F. (1953). The Geology of South Georgia: I.Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey Scientific Reports, No. 7Google Scholar
Weertman, J. (1974). Stability of the junction of an ice sheet and an ice shelf Journal of Glaciology 13 3-11 CrossRefGoogle Scholar