Livingstone, S.J., Storrar, R.D., Hillier, J.K. et al. (3 more authors) (2015) An ice-sheet scale comparison of eskers with modelled subglacial drainage routes. Geomorphology, 246. 104 - 112. ISSN 1872-695X
Abstract
Eskers record the signature of channelised meltwater drainage during deglaciation providing vital information on the nature and evolution of subglacial drainage. In this paper, we compare the spatial pattern of eskers beneath the former Laurentide Ice Sheet with subglacial drainage routes diagnosed at discrete time intervals from the results of a numerical ice-sheet model. Perhaps surprisingly, we show that eskers predominantly occur in regions where modelled subglacial water flow is low. Eskers and modelled subglacial drainage routes were found to typically match over distances of < 10 km, and most eskers show a better agreement with the routes close to the ice margin just prior to deglaciation. This supports a time-transgressive esker pattern, with formation in short (< 10 km) segments of conduit close behind a retreating ice margin, and probably associated with thin, stagnant or sluggish ice. Esker-forming conduits were probably dominated by supraglacially fed meltwater inputs. We also show that modelled subglacial drainage routes containing the largest concentrations of meltwater show a close correlation with palaeo-ice stream locations. The paucity of eskers along the terrestrial portion of these palaeo-ice streams and meltwater routes is probably because of the prevalence of distributed drainage and the high erosion potential of fast-flowing ice.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Esker; Ice sheet; Numerical modelling; Subglacial drainage; Conduits |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2015 11:22 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2016 02:04 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.06.016 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.06.016 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:87138 |