Publikationsdatum:
2019-07-16
Beschreibung:
During the Pleistocene glaciations, Arctic ice sheets onwestern
Eurasia, Greenland and North America terminated at their
continental margins1–4. In contrast, the exposed continental
shelves in the Beringian region of Siberia are thought to have
been covered by a tundra landscape5–7. Evidence of grounded
ice on seafloor ridges and plateaux off the coast of the
Beringian margin, at depths of up to 1,000 m, have generally
been attributed to ice shelves or giant icebergs that spread
oceanwards during glacial maxima8–12. Here we identify marine
glaciogenic landforms visible in seismic profiles and detailed
bathymetric maps along the East Siberian continental margin.
We interpret these features, which occur in present water
depths of up to 1,200 m, as traces from grounding events
of ice sheets and ice shelves. We conclude that the Siberian
Shelf edge and parts of the Arctic Ocean were covered by ice
sheets of about 1 km in thickness during several Pleistocene
glaciations before the most recent glacial period, which must
have had a significant influence on albedo and oceanic and
atmospheric circulation.
Repository-Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Materialart:
Article
,
isiRev
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