A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Sedimentology of an ice lobe margin esker with implications for the deglacial dynamics of the Finnish Lake District lobe trunk
Authors: Ahokangas E, Makinen J
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL
Publication year: 2014
Journal: Boreas
Journal name in source: BOREAS
Journal acronym: BOREAS
Volume: 43
Issue: 1
First page : 90
Last page: 106
Number of pages: 17
ISSN: 0300-9483
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12023
Abstract
We provide evidence for the subglacial to ice-marginal successive deposition of the Lohtaja-Kivijarvi ice lobe margin esker influenced by the changes in the meltwater delivery and proglacial water depth within the Finnish Lake District lobe trunk during the last deglaciation in Finland. The study is mostly based on the sedimentological data from the 100km long esker chain with 15 logged sites. The long breaks in the lobe margin esker and the re-emerged deposition along the stable position of the subglacial meltwater route were related to the discontinuities and reappearances of the neighbouring eskers. This considerable variability in the meltwater discharge and debris transport under the described deglacial conditions cannot be explained by markedly decreased meltwater production due to palaeoclimatic factors or lack of debris within the trunk region. The primary control on the changes in meltwater availability and related esker deposition was thus due to the spatial and temporal changes in ice mass properties and shifting of the meltwater flow paths within the trunk. These changes were initiated by the topographically higher and partly supra-aquatic Suomenselka watershed area with subsequent deepening of the proglacial water during the deglaciation. The understanding of the long-lived esker deposition along the former ice-stream trunk margin adds to the evaluation of palaeoglaciological reconstructions and geomorphologically based spatial models for ice-stream landscapes.
We provide evidence for the subglacial to ice-marginal successive deposition of the Lohtaja-Kivijarvi ice lobe margin esker influenced by the changes in the meltwater delivery and proglacial water depth within the Finnish Lake District lobe trunk during the last deglaciation in Finland. The study is mostly based on the sedimentological data from the 100km long esker chain with 15 logged sites. The long breaks in the lobe margin esker and the re-emerged deposition along the stable position of the subglacial meltwater route were related to the discontinuities and reappearances of the neighbouring eskers. This considerable variability in the meltwater discharge and debris transport under the described deglacial conditions cannot be explained by markedly decreased meltwater production due to palaeoclimatic factors or lack of debris within the trunk region. The primary control on the changes in meltwater availability and related esker deposition was thus due to the spatial and temporal changes in ice mass properties and shifting of the meltwater flow paths within the trunk. These changes were initiated by the topographically higher and partly supra-aquatic Suomenselka watershed area with subsequent deepening of the proglacial water during the deglaciation. The understanding of the long-lived esker deposition along the former ice-stream trunk margin adds to the evaluation of palaeoglaciological reconstructions and geomorphologically based spatial models for ice-stream landscapes.
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