skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The influence of ice marginal setting on early Holocene retreat rates in central West Greenland

Journal Article · · Journal of Quaternary Science
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2778· OSTI ID:1809155
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Buffalo, NY (United States). Geology Dept.; Univ. of Waterloo, ON (Canada). Earth and Environmental Sciences
  2. Univ. of Buffalo, NY (United States). Geology Dept.
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for AMS

Ice sheet reconstructions from diverse ice margin settings, spanning multiple millennia, are needed to assess the reaction of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to millennial-scale climatic forcing and to place historical records in a longer-term context. Here we present 18 new cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages and five new radiocarbon ages that constrain the early Holocene retreat of the GrIS in the Disko Bugt region in both a marine and a land-based setting. Results indicate similar rates of early Holocene retreat of ~ 40–50 m a-1 from transects in Torsukattak fjord (marine setting) and the Naternaq area (land-based setting). We compile seven previously published chronologies of deglaciation from West Greenland, which yield early Holocene retreat rates ranging from 10 to 65 m a-1, similar to those determined for our two study areas. This work demonstrates that when averaged on millennial timescales, retreat rates were remarkably similar along the western GrIS margin. Furthermore, the retreat rates calculated here demonstrate that terrestrial sectors of ice sheets can retreat at net rates comparable to their marine counterparts.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; NSF-1156361
OSTI ID:
1809155
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-665782; 787206
Journal Information:
Journal of Quaternary Science, Vol. 30, Issue 3; ISSN 0267-8179
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (54)

Late Wisconsinan and Holocene History of the Laurentide Ice Sheet* journal January 1987
Rapid response of Helheim Glacier, southeast Greenland, to early Holocene climate warming journal March 2012
Isolation basin stratigraphy and Holocene relative sea-level change on Arveprinsen Ejland, Disko Bugt, West Greenland journal July 1999
Age of the Fjord Stade moraines in the Disko Bugt region, western Greenland, and the 9.3 and 8.2 ka cooling events journal January 2013
Topographic and Glaciological Controls on Holocene Ice-Sheet Margin Dynamics. Central West Greenland journal January 1990
Surface Melt-Induced Acceleration of Greenland Ice-Sheet Flow journal June 2002
Early to middle Holocene valley glaciations on northernmost Greenland journal December 2010
Amino acid ratios in reworked marine bivalve shells constrain Greenland Ice Sheet history during the Holocene journal January 2014
An extensive and dynamic ice sheet on the West Greenland shelf during the last glacial cycle journal November 2012
Survey of Greenland instrumental temperature records: 1873-2001 journal January 2002
Evidence for the asynchronous retreat of large outlet glaciers in southeast Greenland at the end of the last glaciation journal September 2014
The Greenland Ice Sheet During the Past 300,000 Years: A Review book July 2011
The new North American Varve Chronology: A precise record of southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation and climate, 18.2-12.5 kyr BP, and correlations with Greenland ice core records journal September 2012
Paleoenvironments during Younger Dryas-Early Holocene retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet from outer Disko Trough, central west Greenland: YOUNGER DRYAS-EARLY HOLOCENE PALEOENVIRONMENTS, GREENLAND journal September 2013
Glacier acceleration and thinning after ice shelf collapse in the Larsen B embayment, Antarctica journal January 2004
A 100 yr record of ocean temperature control on the stability of Jakobshavn Isbrae, West Greenland journal August 2011
Greenland ice sheet response to external forcing journal December 2001
Age of the Ørkendalen moraines, Kangerlussuaq, Greenland: constraints on the extent of the southwestern margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Holocene journal October 2012
Maximum late Holocene extent of the western Greenland Ice Sheet during the late 20th century journal November 2012
Paleoclimatic implications of an early Holocene glacier advance on Disko Island, West Greenland journal December 1990
Glacimarine sedimentary processes and depositional environments in an embayment fed by West Greenland ice streams journal May 2012
Radiocarbon dating of shells from marine Holocene deposits in the Disko Bugt area, West Greenland journal March 1975
Holocene thinning of the Greenland ice sheet journal September 2009
A 10 Be production-rate calibration for the Arctic : A journal July 2013
Reconstruction of changes in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum journal September 2014
Ice flow in Greenland for the International Polar Year 2008-2009: ICE FLOW GREENLAND 2009 journal June 2012
Asynchronous response of marine-terminating outlet glaciers during deglaciation of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet journal May 2014
The Wisconsin Laurentide Ice Sheet: Dispersal Centers, Problems of Rates of Retreat, and Climatic Implications journal August 1973
A revised chronology for the ?Fjord Stade? moraine in Disko Bugt, west Greenland journal January 2002
Aerial Photographs Reveal Late-20th-Century Dynamic Ice Loss in Northwestern Greenland journal August 2012
Response of a marine-terminating Greenland outlet glacier to abrupt cooling 8200 and 9300 years ago: EARLY HOLOCENE GrIS EVOLUTION journal December 2011
Acceleration of Jakobshavn Isbræ triggered by warm subsurface ocean waters journal September 2008
Isolation basins, sea-level changes and the Holocene history of the Greenland Ice Sheet journal December 2011
Rapid early Holocene ice retreat in West Greenland journal May 2014
Rapid early Holocene retreat of a Laurentide outlet glacier through an Arctic fjord journal June 2009
Sustained mass loss of the northeast Greenland ice sheet triggered by regional warming journal March 2014
New observations on the relative sea level and deglacial history of Greenland from Innaarsuit, Disko Bugt journal September 2003
Variable North Atlantic climate seesaw patterns documented by a late Holocene marine record from Disko Bugt, West Greenland journal July 2008
Quaternary marine stratigraphy and geochronology in central West Greenland journal June 1994
Controls upon the Last Glacial Maximum deglaciation of the northern Uummannaq Ice Stream System, West Greenland journal May 2014
An aerial view of 80 years of climate-related glacier fluctuations in southeast Greenland journal May 2012
Early Holocene palaeoceanography and deglacial chronology of Disko Bugt, West Greenland journal August 2005
Early Holocene history of the west Greenland Ice Sheet and the GH-8.2 event journal May 2006
Rapid ice retreat in Disko Bugt supported by 10Be dating of the last recession of the western Greenland Ice Sheet journal December 2013
Recent progress in understanding marine-terminating Arctic outlet glacier response to climatic and oceanic forcing: Twenty years of rapid change journal April 2013
Collapse of marine-based outlet glaciers from the Scandinavian Ice Sheet journal May 2013
Rapid submarine melting of the calving faces of West Greenland glaciers journal February 2010
Unstable ice stream in Greenland during the Younger Dryas cold event journal September 2014
Sensitivity of 21st century sea level to ocean-induced thinning of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica: OCEAN-INDUCED THINNING OF PI GLACIER journal October 2010
Relative sea level changes during the Holocene in the Sisimiut area, south-western Greenland: HOLOCENE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES IN SW GREENLAND journal April 2011
Changes in ice front position on Greenland's outlet glaciers from 1992 to 2007 journal January 2008
Response of Jakobshavn Isbrae, Greenland, to Holocene climate change journal January 2011
New constraints on Greenland ice sheet dynamics during the last glacial cycle: Evidence from the Uummannaq ice stream system: LGM ICE STREAM DYNAMICS, GREENLAND journal May 2013
Historical fluctuations of calving glaciers in South and West Greenland journal January 1994

Cited By (2)


Similar Records

10Be dating reveals early-middle Holocene age of the Drygalski Moraines in central West Greenland
Journal Article · Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Quaternary Science Reviews · OSTI ID:1809155

Multiple independent records of local glacier variability on Nuussuaq, West Greenland, during the Holocene
Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Quaternary Science Reviews · OSTI ID:1809155

Late Holocene Cliff Retreat in Del Mar, CA, Revealed From Shore Platform 10Be Concentrations and Numerical Modeling
Journal Article · Mon Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface · OSTI ID:1809155