We present a new time-slice reconstruction of the Eurasian ice sheets (British–Irish, Svalbard–Barents–Kara Seas and Scandinavian) documenting the spatial evolution of these interconnected ice sheets every 1000 years from 25 to 10 ka, and at four selected time periods back to 40 ka. The time-slice maps of ice-sheet extent are based on a new Geographical Information System (GIS) database, where we have collected published numerical dates constraining the timing of ice-sheet advance and retreat, and additionally geomorphological and geological evidence contained within the existing literature. We integrate all uncertainty estimates into three ice-margin lines for each time-slice; a most-credible line, derived from our assessment of all available evidence, with bounding maximum and minimum limits allowed by existing data. This approach was motivated by the demands of glaciological, isostatic and climate modelling and to clearly display limitations in knowledge. The timing of advance and retreat were both remarkably spatially variable across the ice-sheet area. According to our compilation the westernmost limit along the British–Irish and Norwegian continental shelf was reached up to 7000 years earlier (at c. 27–26 ka) than the eastern limit on the Russian Plain (at c. 20–19 ka). The Eurasian ice sheet complex as a whole attained its maximum extent (5.5 Mkm2) and volume (~24 m Sea Level Equivalent) at c. 21 ka. Our continental-scale approach highlights instances of conflicting evidence and gaps in the ice-sheet chronology where uncertainties remain large and should be a focus for future research. Largest uncertainties coincide with locations presently below sea level and where contradicting evidence exists. This first version of the database and time-slices (DATED-1) has a census date of 1 January 2013 and both are available to download via the Bjerknes Climate Data Centre and PANGAEA (www.bcdc.no; http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.848117).

The last Eurasian ice sheets - a chronological database and time-slice reconstruction, DATED-1

Deglaciation of Fennoscandia

The build-up, configuration, and dynamical sensitivity of the Eurasian ice-sheet complex to Late Weichselian climatic and oceanic forcing

. This is the first part of a two-paper series presenting the Global Streamflow Indices and Metadata archive (GSIM), a worldwide collection of metadata and indices derived from more than 35 000 daily streamflow time series. This paper focuses on the compilation of the daily streamflow time series based on 12 free-to-access streamflow databases (seven national databases and five international collections). It also describes the development of three metadata products (freely available at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.887477 ): (1) a GSIM catalogue collating basic metadata associated with each time series, (2) catchment boundaries for the contributing area of each gauge, and (3) catchment metadata extracted from 12 gridded global data products representing essential properties such as land cover type, soil type, and climate and topographic characteristics. The quality of the delineated catchment boundary is also made available and should be consulted in GSIM application. The second paper in the series then explores production and analysis of streamflow indices. Having collated an unprecedented number of stations and associated metadata, GSIM can be used to advance large-scale hydrological research and improve understanding of the global water cycle.

/pdf/the-global-streamflow-indices-and-metadata-archive-gsim-part-3vv1s5p3zb.pdf

The Global Streamflow Indices and Metadata Archive (GSIM) – Part 1: The production of a daily streamflow archive and metadata

https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wcc.710

Climate change impacts on cultural heritage: A literature review

/pdf/surface-morphology-of-fans-in-the-high-arctic-periglacial-tjg4q3mo95.pdf

Surface morphology of fans in the high-Arctic periglacial environment of Svalbard : controls and processes.

Snow cornices grow extensively on leeward edges of plateau mountains in central Svalbard. A dominant wind direction, a snowdrift source area and a sharp slope transition largely control the formation of snow cornices in a barren peri-glacial landscape. Seasonal snow cornice dynamics control bedrock weathering and erosion in sedimentary bedrock on the Gruvefjellet plateau edge in the valley Longyeardalen. Air, snow and ground temperature sensors, as well as automatic time-lapse cameras on a leeward facing plateau edge were used to study seasonal cornice dynamics. These techniques allowed for monitoring of cornice accretion, deformation and collapse/melting in great detail. The active layer of the top plateau edge is characterized by high moisture content due to rain before freeze-up in autumn and cornice meltdown during spring thaw. Thus frost weathering there can be very efficient in this otherwise cold and dry environment. Within the first autumn snowstorms, a vertical fully developed cornice was in place (190 cm thick). The backwall surface beneath the thickest part of the cornice remained in the ice segregation ‘frost cracking window’ for almost nine months. Highly weathered rock material from the plateau edge is thus incorporated into the cornice during cornice accretion. Brittle snow deformation leads to the opening of cornice tension cracks between the cornice mass and the snowpack on the plateau. These cracks are a prerequisite for cornice collapses, and often trigger cornice fall avalanches on the slope beneath. In these open cornice tension cracks, weathered rock debris, plucked from the plateau edge, can be visible, demonstrating the erosional property of the cornices. The cornice will either collapse or melt, resulting in suspended sediment transport downslope by cornice fall avalanche or release as rock fall respectively. Therefore, cornices both promote and trigger high weathering rates on Gruvefjellet, and thus control presently the development of the rockwall free faces and the talus cones. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Snow cornice dynamics as a control on plateau edge erosion in central Svalbard

Hiorthhamn is an abandoned Norwegian coal mining settlement with a loading dock and a lot of industrial infrastructure left in the coastal zone. In this study, changes in the position of 1.3 km of the Hiorthhamn shoreline, which affect cultural heritage, is described for a time-period spanning 92 years (1927–2019). The shoreline positions were established based on a map (1927), orthophotos (2009) and a topographic survey with differential Global Positioning System (GPS) (summer 2019). Detailed geomorphological and surface sediment mapping was conducted to form a framework for understanding shoreline-landscape interaction. The shoreline was divided into three sectors to calculate the erosion/stability/accretion rates by using the DSAS (Digital Shoreline Analysis System) extension of ArcGIS. The DSAS analysis showed very high erosion in Sector 1, while Sectors 2 and 3 showed moderate accretion and moderate erosion, respectively. Sector 1 is geologically composed of easily erodible sorted beach sediments and protected remains from the mining industry such as wrecks of heavy machines, loading carts, wagons and rusty tracks that are directly exposed to coastal erosion. The all-sector average shoreline erosion rate (EPR parameter) for the 92 years period was −0.21 m/year. The high shoreline erosion rates in Sector 1, together with the high potential damage to cultural heritage, supports the urgent need of continued coastal monitoring and sustainable management of cultural heritage in Hiorthhamn.

Coastal Erosion Affecting Cultural Heritage in Svalbard. A Case Study in Hiorthhamn (Adventfjorden)—An Abandoned Mining Settlement

Here we present results from a mapping project on the distribution of glacial end moraine zones in NW Russia, covering an area from the Baltics in the west (30°E) to Taymyr Peninsula and Byrranga mountains (120°E) in the East. Several previous studies have been made in the area, but none have mapped end moraine zones in a uniform way over the whole field area. We suggest that our mapping of moraine distribution in NW Russia, covering an area of about 7 million km2 is the most consistent to date. Much of the mapped area lies north of 60°N and is thus outside coverage of the high-quality Shuttle Radar Topography Mission digital elevation model. We have been using a new digital elevation data-set consisting of digitized Russian topographic maps (scales 1:100,000 and 1:200,000), combined with optical remote sensing data to map moraine zone distribution. The mapped moraines in this study are largely in agreement with recent reconstructions of former ice sheet extent in the area. However, several previously und...

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ola_Fredin/publication/230636208_Distribution_of_ice_marginal_moraines_in_NW_Russia/links/0912f5024154b3670b000000.pdf

Distribution of ice marginal moraines in NW Russia

Sedimentological, morphological and chronological studies of the Van Mijenfjorden region, Svalbard suggest numerous glacial advances seen in terrestrial and marine archives spanning from the Late Weichselian to the Little Ice Age. Only one ice-marginal deposit from the retreat phase of the fjord glacier is found along the entire fjord system. The deposit is located at a topographically controlled position near a bedrock threshold at the mouth of the fjord. Glacial records from tributary valleys and fjords correspond to varying sizes and styles of ice flow related to the deglaciation of the area during the Lateglacial and early Holocene as well as the regrowth of glacier systems during the early Holocene, the Neoglacial and the Little Ice Age. During the Younger Dryas, as the Van Mijen-fjord glacier retreated, a glacier advance took place in a southern tributary, probably as a dynamic response to the retreat in the fjord. Another glacier advance from a northern tributary valley took place during the early Holocene. This glacier advance extended to a position well outside the Little Ice Age (LIA) margins during a period in time when marine proxies suggest warm regional fjords. A Neoglacial glacier advance is identified in a third and inner tributary which also extends further than the subsequent LIA maximum. The Paula glacier system in the inner part of the fjord surged at least five times in the last 650 years, with each subsequent surge advance exhibiting less extensive maximum than the previous, resulting in an overall decrease in mass of the Paula glacier.

Lena Rubensdotter

Papers

Surface morphology of fans in the high-Arctic periglacial environment of Svalbard : controls and processes.

Snow cornice dynamics as a control on plateau edge erosion in central Svalbard

Coastal Erosion Affecting Cultural Heritage in Svalbard. A Case Study in Hiorthhamn (Adventfjorden)—An Abandoned Mining Settlement

Distribution of ice marginal moraines in NW Russia

Lateglacial and Holocene glacier activity in the Van Mijenfjorden area, western Svalbard