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Landscape analysis and deglaciation patterns (Geopatterns)
Call year: 2022
Status: active
IADC_id: 209
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The high Arctic region is among the most sensitive areas where the ongoing and past climate change deeply interact with geomorphological processes, landscape features and ecosystems. rnThe landscape of the Svalbard archipelago is affected by repeated Pleistocene glacial advances and retreat, which sculpted this region. The last major glaciation on Svalbard occurred during the Late Pleistocene (Late Weichselian, 30 -12/13 ka BP) which terminated with a fast degalciation. Marine transgression following the deglaciation left several marine terraces and Holocene raised beaches up to about 45-50 m asl. rnIn the Ny Alesund area (Kongsfjorden), glacial, periglacial and coastal environments retain geomorphological evidence associated with the deglaciation that followed the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, when the Svalbard were completely covered by an ice sheet) and the late glacial and Holocene fluctuations associated with progressive sea level rise and isostatic uplift. In addition, pre-LGM glacial and marine deposits, preserved presumably below cold-base LGM glaciers, document a complex Pleistocene history, with landforms and deposits that have experienced sub-glacial burial conditions and deformations.rnThis Arctic key site retains relevant paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic archives, which are exposed to warming-induced degradation and dismantling processes. It is also well-known that this region is exposed to the amplification effects of global warming, whose consequences are also impacting on the processes of CO2 absorption and release, as indicated for example by the flux measurements at the Eddy Covariance Station at CCT and by the measurements with portable flux chambers of the CZO@Bayelva project.rnOur aim is to determine the landscape evolution through the reconstruction of the main events that followed the deglaciation of the area to the northwest of Ny Alesund. The area to the northwest of Ny Alesund is connected with the Kvadehuksletta area, located on the northern tip of the Brogger peninsula near Ny Ålesund, where we are conducting a PhD project (Cynthia Sassenroth, University of Pisa) in collaboration with Ernst Hauber (Institute of Planetary Science, German Aerospace Center, DLR). The PhD research is aimed to understand and characterize the potential site for cryopegs development on Mars on the basis of landscape analysis in key areas and comparison with terrestrial analogues, such as the Svalbard region. In this area, raised beaches can potentially retain marine water and, as effect of the top-down freezing brine water, could eventually host cryopegs. We intend to apply geomorphological surveys and mapping based on field measurements and remote sensing data, as well as radiometric methods, to define a scenario for the main events characterizing the study area during the Lateglacial and the Holocene and for characterizing landscape features potentially retaining cryopegs also in relationship with CO2 fluxes. Statistical analysis of the data and mathematical modelling of the geomorphological patterns will provide an quantitative representation of the ongoing processes.rn
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International: Ernst Hauber (Institute of Planetary Science, German Aerospace Center (DLR)
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