Polar Research (E-Journal)
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Late glacial and Holocene marine records from the Independence Fjord and Wandel Sea regions, North Greenland
No full textThe first marine sediment cores from the unexplored Independence Fjord system and theWandel Sea, North Greenland, have been investigated to reveal the glacial marine history of the region. Two key sites in the Independence Fjord system, and an earlier analysed site from the Wandel Sea continental slope, off the mouth of Independence Fjord, are presented. The Independence Fjord sites reveal an early Holocene record (10.0–8.9 Kya) of fine-grained reddish muds with calcareous microfossils, dominated by the benthic foraminifera Cassidulina neoteretis. We suggest that a semi-permanent fast ice cover characterized the region in the early Holocene, and that the deeper troughs in the mouth region of the Independence Fjord system were intruded by subsurface Atlantic water. A stiff diamicton, at least 1.3 m thick, with coal and sandstone clasts of mainly local origin, and a 0.5-m-thick Holocene cover, are found in one of the sites. The diamicton is assumed to represent a subglacial till predating the early Holocene sediments (>10 Kya). Shallow seismic records off the mouth of Independence Fjord reveal kilometre-sized troughs with signs of glacial erosion, till deposition and a Holocene glaciomarine deposition. These features could indicate that glacial ice debouching from the Independence Fjord system at some time during the last glacial period extended to the mid-outer Wandel Sea shelf. Data from a high-resolution sediment core previously retrieved from the adjacent Wandel Sea slope indicate that the maximum ice sheet advance in this area culminated about 25–20 Kya
Geographical extremes in the glacial history of northern Eurasia: post-QUEEN considerations
No full textThis paper summarizes the principal results produced by the European Science Foundation’s programme, Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North (QUEEN). These results concern the distribution of late Quaternary glaciers of different ages across northern Eurasia. The pattern of glaciation is compared with the west–east climatic gradient of the continent. Of particular significance is the coincidence of the Late Weichselian ice margin with the modern 30°C difference between the July and January mean air temperatures. The difference between west and east in the annual amplitude of air temperature did not decrease during the Pleniglacial. The asymmetry of the glacial history suggests a progressive aridification of the Eurasian North, with the result that by marine isotope stage 2 significant ice volumes could only accumulate along the Atlantic seaboard. The different climatic signals of thermochrons and cryochrons of the extreme west and east of the continent are discussed. The growth of continentality eastwards restrains the applicability of pollen proxies for climatic reconstructions
Ichnology of a marine regressive systems tract: the Middle Triassic of Svalbard
No full textThe Middle Triassic succession of Svalbard forms a pronounced second-order transgressive–regressive sequence. This is represented by deltaic sediments in western Spitsbergen, grading to deep restricted shelf deposits in central and eastern parts of the archipelago. Nine ichnogenera have been recognized, which form three local ichnofacies or trace fossil assemblages: a Thalassinoides assemblage that is dominant in low-energy shelf settings, a Taenidium– Rhizocorallium assemblage that occurs in intermediate-energy deltaic and shelf environments, and a Polykladichnus assemblage that dominates high-energy deltaic environments. These three trace fossil assemblages overlap, both as a result of fluctuations in energy level with time and because of differential preservation of the different tiers. The main control of the distribution of the assemblages is an upwards increase in energy regime during progradation of the deltaic sediments along western Spitsbergen, and a contemporaneous decrease in energy regime more distally. The succession has also experienced fluctuating oxygen levels during deposition, as evidenced by very high organic matter contents and mass mortality of juvenile bivalves. These anoxic periods have been interrupted by periods of bioturbation, with the development of extensive tiered ichnocoenoses. Phosphatization of Thalassinoides fills and subsequent modification of the phosphatic fill by compaction has brought about the formation of phosphate nodules. The typical Thalassinoides framework may be recognized on well-exposed bedding surfaces. The phosphate nodules also occur as conglomeratic lag deposits, commonly occurring at the base of siltstone beds, as a result of episodic heavy storms
From the editor: halfway through the IPY—halfway for an Antarctic traverse
No full textApril is here and we have just passed the midpoint of the International Polar Year (IPY), which began on 1 March 2007 and will conclude on 1 March 2009. The “year” stretches over 24 months to accommodate two summer field seasons in both polar regions. The northern summer is fast approaching, and scientists who will undertake a second IPY summer season in the Arctic are making their final preparations. At the opposite end of the planet, summer is over and scientists have wrapped up the first IPY field season. Those whose projects will carry on for a second summer season will have to wait until late this year to resume work in Antarctica
Review of Into the ice: the history of Norway and the polar regions, by Einar-Arne Drivenes & Harald Dag Jølle
No full textHow timely for a deep and engaging analysis of Norway’s polar history to be available in English, as climate change, global warming and competition for scarce resources are pressing issues among academics, in global society and in the far north
The post-Caledonian development of Svalbard and the western Barents Sea
No full textThe Barents Shelf, stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the coasts of northern Norway and Russia, and from the Norwegian–Greenland Sea to Novaya Zemlya, covers two major geological provinces. This review concentrates on the western province, with its complex mosaic of basins and platforms. A growing net of coverage by seismic data, almost 70 deep hydrocarbon exploration wells and a series of shallow coring programmes, have contributed greatly to our understanding of this province, supplementing information from neighbouring land areas. The late Paleozoic to present-day development of the region can be described in terms of five major depositional phases. These partly reflect the continuing northwards movement of this segment of the Eurasian plate from the equatorial zone in the mid-Devonian–early Carboniferous up to its present-day High Arctic latitudes, resulting in significant climatic changes through time. Important controls on sedimentation have involved varying tectonic processes along the eastern, northern and western margins of the shelf, whereas short- and long-term local and regional sea-level variations have further determined the depositional history of the province
Review of Peer review and manuscript management in scientific journals. Guidelines for good practice, by Irene Hames
No full textTo say that Peer review and manuscript management in scientific journals is comprehensive is an understatement. Drawing on many years’ experience as managing editor of The Plant Journal, Irene Hames has written a highly informative book: detailed, yet readable. It takes the reader through the peer review process, laying out clearly the roles and responsibilities of each of the people involved
Review of Footsteps on the ice: the Antarctic diaries of Stuart D. Paine, Second Byrd Expedition, by M.L. Paine
No full textIf the reader is looking for another rehashing of one of the adventures of the “Heroic Era” of Antarctic exploration, or another reshaping of the same old material about the three or four explorers from that period who get all the attention, M.L. Paine’s Footsteps on the ice: the Antarctic diaries of Stuart D. Paine, Second Byrd Expedition is not the book for you. But if you are a serious Antarctic buff who wants to learn something new, and really get inside one of the early expeditions of the 20th century, Paine’s volume will be a compelling read
Review of On site with Maurice Haycock, artist of the Arctic: painting and drawing of historical sites in the Canadain Arctic, by Kathy Haycock
No full textIt’s not surprising that Maurice Haycock’s art project combines aspects of a geological survey with characteristics of the practice of the dominant Canadian landscape painters of the early 20th century. His father was a professor of geology at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and Maurice chose to follow in his footsteps, graduating from Acadia in 1926, and then going on to Princeton University where he received a PhD in Economic Geology in 1931. He then joined the Bureau of Mines in the Canadian Department of Resources and Development in Ottawa, where he worked until his retirement in 1965. Young Haycock took summer jobs every year between 1918 and 1931 with the Geological Survey of Canada, which gave him invaluable field experience, and in 1926, as a break before undertaking graduate work, he accepted a 15-month assignment with the Survey in the eastern Arctic. Returning near the end of August 1927, he boarded the government supply ship The Beothic in Pangnirtung, which was that summer carrying the well-known “Group of Seven” artist A.Y. Jackson and his friend, the famous scientist and amateur painter, Dr Frederick Banting. It was a chance encounter that ultimately would bring a significant new dimension to Haycock’s life