The Movement of the Weichselian ice Sheet Over Northern Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

ABSTRACT

Observation of raised beaches, erratics and glacial striae made by the Stockholm University Svalbard expeditions—Nordaustlandet, Kong Karls Land. Hopen, Edgeöya, Barentsöya, Björnöya and Spitsbergen—have shown that large parts of the Barents Sea shelf were once covered by an inland ice sheet. Other earlier observations even led to the suggestion that the ice front once stood at a position far to the north of Nordaustlandet. No nunataks are believed to have existed during the maximum extent of the ice sheet. This was confirmed in 1966 from observations of glacially sculptured rock surfaces on the summits of the peninsulas in the northern part of Nordaustlandet.

In Nordaustlandet the late ice movement was in accordance with the topography, and the ice front retreated towards the position of the present ice caps. This retreat was controlled by the orientation of the fiords and the valleys. Beacause of the width and the depth of the fiord the ice broke up faster in Nordenskiöldbukta and in the northern part of Rijpfjorden than in the area west of the fiord. After the deglaciation of Nordenskiöldbukta ice moved from the southwest on Laponiahalvöya towards the ice free fiord. In the shallower Brennevinsfjorden there was not such a rapid break-up of the ice sheet. East of Nordenskiöldbukta and Rijpfjorden there is evidence of ice movement from Prins Oscars Land towards the fiord only in the southernmost part of the peninsula.

The area between Vestfonna and Austfonna became ice free by a retreat of the ice front in a southeasterly direction; i.e., towards Austfonna. Only in the immediate vicinity of Vestfonna are there indications of an ice movement from westerly directions.