Articles | Volume 72, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-189-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-189-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Aug 2023
Research article |
| 21 Aug 2023
| 21 Aug 2023
Subglacial hydrology from high-resolution ice-flow simulations of the Rhine Glacier during the Last Glacial Maximum: a proxy for glacial erosion
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico, USA
CoSci LLC, Orlando, Florida, USA
Guillaume Jouvet
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Thomas Zwinger
CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd., Espoo, Finland
Angela Landgraf
Nagra, Wettingen, Switzerland
Urs H. Fischer
Nagra, Wettingen, Switzerland
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Rupert Gladstone, Benjamin Galton-Fenzi, David Gwyther, Qin Zhou, Tore Hattermann, Chen Zhao, Lenneke Jong, Yuwei Xia, Xiaoran Guo, Konstantinos Petrakopoulos, Thomas Zwinger, Daniel Shapero, and John Moore
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 889–905, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-889-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-889-2021, 2021
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Retreat of the Antarctic ice sheet, and hence its contribution to sea level rise, is highly sensitive to melting of its floating ice shelves. This melt is caused by warm ocean currents coming into contact with the ice. Computer models used for future ice sheet projections are not able to realistically evolve these melt rates. We describe a new coupling framework to enable ice sheet and ocean computer models to interact, allowing projection of the evolution of melt and its impact on sea level.
Eef C. H. van Dongen, Guillaume Jouvet, Shin Sugiyama, Evgeny A. Podolskiy, Martin Funk, Douglas I. Benn, Fabian Lindner, Andreas Bauder, Julien Seguinot, Silvan Leinss, and Fabian Walter
The Cryosphere, 15, 485–500, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, 2021
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The dynamic mass loss of tidewater glaciers is strongly linked to glacier calving. We study calving mechanisms under a thinning regime, based on 5 years of field and remote-sensing data of Bowdoin Glacier. Our data suggest that Bowdoin Glacier ungrounded recently, and its calving behaviour changed from calving due to surface crevasses to buoyancy-induced calving resulting from basal crevasses. This change may be a precursor to glacier retreat.
Aaron Micallef, Remus Marchis, Nader Saadatkhah, Potpreecha Pondthai, Mark E. Everett, Anca Avram, Alida Timar-Gabor, Denis Cohen, Rachel Preca Trapani, Bradley A. Weymer, and Phillipe Wernette
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1-2021, 2021
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We study coastal gullies along the Canterbury coast of New Zealand using field observations, sample analyses, drones, satellites, geophysical instruments and modelling. We show that these coastal gullies form when rainfall intensity is higher than 40 mm per day. The coastal gullies are formed by landslides where buried channels or sand lenses are located. This information allows us to predict where coastal gullies may form in the future.
Guillaume Jouvet, Stefan Röllin, Hans Sahli, José Corcho, Lars Gnägi, Loris Compagno, Dominik Sidler, Margit Schwikowski, Andreas Bauder, and Martin Funk
The Cryosphere, 14, 4233–4251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4233-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4233-2020, 2020
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We show that plutonium is an effective tracer to identify ice originating from the early 1960s at the surface of a mountain glacier after a long time within the ice flow, giving unique information on the long-term former ice motion. Combined with ice flow modelling, the dating can be extended to the entire glacier, and we show that an airplane which crash-landed on the Gauligletscher in 1946 will likely soon be released from the ice close to the place where pieces have emerged in recent years.
Hélène Seroussi, Sophie Nowicki, Antony J. Payne, Heiko Goelzer, William H. Lipscomb, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Cécile Agosta, Torsten Albrecht, Xylar Asay-Davis, Alice Barthel, Reinhard Calov, Richard Cullather, Christophe Dumas, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Rupert Gladstone, Nicholas R. Golledge, Jonathan M. Gregory, Ralf Greve, Tore Hattermann, Matthew J. Hoffman, Angelika Humbert, Philippe Huybrechts, Nicolas C. Jourdain, Thomas Kleiner, Eric Larour, Gunter R. Leguy, Daniel P. Lowry, Chistopher M. Little, Mathieu Morlighem, Frank Pattyn, Tyler Pelle, Stephen F. Price, Aurélien Quiquet, Ronja Reese, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Andrew Shepherd, Erika Simon, Robin S. Smith, Fiammetta Straneo, Sainan Sun, Luke D. Trusel, Jonas Van Breedam, Roderik S. W. van de Wal, Ricarda Winkelmann, Chen Zhao, Tong Zhang, and Thomas Zwinger
The Cryosphere, 14, 3033–3070, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3033-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3033-2020, 2020
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The Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass over at least the past 3 decades in response to changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions. This study presents an ensemble of model simulations of the Antarctic evolution over the 2015–2100 period based on various ice sheet models, climate forcings and emission scenarios. Results suggest that the West Antarctic ice sheet will continue losing a large amount of ice, while the East Antarctic ice sheet could experience increased snow accumulation.
Thomas Zwinger, Grace A. Nield, Juha Ruokolainen, and Matt A. King
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 1155–1164, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-1155-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-1155-2020, 2020
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We present a newly developed flat-earth model, Elmer/Earth, for viscoelastic treatment of solid earth deformation under ice loads. Unlike many previous approaches with proprietary software, this model is based on the open-source FEM code Elmer, with the advantage for scientists to apply and alter the model without license constraints. The new-generation full-stress ice-sheet model Elmer/Ice shares the same code base, enabling future coupled ice-sheet–glacial-isostatic-adjustment simulations.
Guillaume Jouvet, Eef van Dongen, Martin P. Lüthi, and Andreas Vieli
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-1-2020, 2020
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We report the first-ever in situ measurements of ice flow motion using a remotely controlled drone. We used a quadcopter to land on a highly crevassed area of Eqip Sermia Glacier, Greenland. The drone measured 70 cm of ice displacement over more than 4 h thanks to an accurate onboard GPS. Our study demonstrates that drones have great potential for geoscientists, especially to deploy sensors in hostile environments such as glaciers.
Shahbaz Memon, Dorothée Vallot, Thomas Zwinger, Jan Åström, Helmut Neukirchen, Morris Riedel, and Matthias Book
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3001–3015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3001-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3001-2019, 2019
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Scientific workflows enable complex scientific computational scenarios, which include data intensive scenarios, parametric executions, and interactive simulations. In this article, we applied the UNICORE workflow management system to automate a formerly hard-coded coupling of a glacier flow model and a calving model, which contain many tasks and dependencies, ranging from pre-processing and data management to repetitive executions on heterogeneous high-performance computing (HPC) resources.
Joe Todd, Poul Christoffersen, Thomas Zwinger, Peter Råback, and Douglas I. Benn
The Cryosphere, 13, 1681–1694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1681-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1681-2019, 2019
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The Greenland Ice Sheet loses 30 %–60 % of its ice due to iceberg calving. Calving processes and their links to climate are not well understood or incorporated into numerical models of glaciers. Here we use a new 3-D calving model to investigate calving at Store Glacier, West Greenland, and test its sensitivity to increased submarine melting and reduced support from ice mélange (sea ice and icebergs). We find Store remains fairly stable despite these changes, but less so in the southern side.
Eef C. H. van Dongen, Nina Kirchner, Martin B. van Gijzen, Roderik S. W. van de Wal, Thomas Zwinger, Gong Cheng, Per Lötstedt, and Lina von Sydow
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 4563–4576, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4563-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4563-2018, 2018
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Ice flow forced by gravity is governed by the full Stokes (FS) equations, which are computationally expensive to solve. Therefore, approximations to the FS equations are used, especially when modeling an ice sheet on long time spans. Here, we report a combination of an approximation with the FS equations that allows simulating the dynamics of ice sheets over long time spans without introducing artifacts caused by application of approximations in parts of the domain where they are not valid.
Julien Seguinot, Susan Ivy-Ochs, Guillaume Jouvet, Matthias Huss, Martin Funk, and Frank Preusser
The Cryosphere, 12, 3265–3285, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3265-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3265-2018, 2018
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About 25 000 years ago, Alpine glaciers filled most of the valleys and even extended onto the plains. In this study, with help from traces left by glaciers on the landscape, we use a computer model that contains knowledge of glacier physics based on modern observations of Greenland and Antarctica and laboratory experiments on ice, and one of the fastest computers in the world, to attempt a reconstruction of the evolution of Alpine glaciers through time from 120 000 years ago to today.
Chen Zhao, Rupert M. Gladstone, Roland C. Warner, Matt A. King, Thomas Zwinger, and Mathieu Morlighem
The Cryosphere, 12, 2637–2652, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2637-2018, 2018
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A combination of computer modelling and observational data were used to infer the resistance to ice flow at the bed of the Fleming Glacier on the Antarctic Peninsula. The model was also used to simulate the distribution of temperature within the ice, which governs the rate at which the ice can deform. This is especially important for glaciers like the Fleming Glacier, which has both regions of rapid deformation and regions of rapid sliding at the bed.
Chen Zhao, Rupert M. Gladstone, Roland C. Warner, Matt A. King, Thomas Zwinger, and Mathieu Morlighem
The Cryosphere, 12, 2653–2666, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2653-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2653-2018, 2018
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A combination of computer modelling and observational data were used to infer the resistance to ice flow at the bed of the Fleming Glacier on the Antarctic Peninsula in both 2008 and 2015. The comparison suggests the grounding line retreated by ~ 9 km from 2008 to 2015. The retreat may be enhanced by a positive feedback between friction, melting and sliding at the glacier bed.
Denis Cohen, Fabien Gillet-Chaulet, Wilfried Haeberli, Horst Machguth, and Urs H. Fischer
The Cryosphere, 12, 2515–2544, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2515-2018, 2018
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As part of an integrative study about the safety of repositories for radioactive waste under ice age conditions in Switzerland, we modeled the flow of ice of the Rhine glacier at the Last Glacial Maximum to determine conditions at the ice–bed interface. Results indicate that portions of the ice lobes were at the melting temperature and ice was sliding, two conditions necessary for erosion by glacier. Conditions at the bed of the ice lobes were affected by climate and also by topography.
Sue Cook, Jan Åström, Thomas Zwinger, Benjamin Keith Galton-Fenzi, Jamin Stevens Greenbaum, and Richard Coleman
The Cryosphere, 12, 2401–2411, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2401-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2401-2018, 2018
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The growth of fractures on Antarctic ice shelves is important because it controls the amount of ice lost as icebergs. We use a model constructed of multiple interconnected blocks to predict the locations where fractures will form on the Totten Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. The results show that iceberg calving is controlled not only by fractures forming near the front of the ice shelf but also by fractures which formed many kilometres upstream.
Yongmei Gong, Thomas Zwinger, Jan Åström, Bas Altena, Thomas Schellenberger, Rupert Gladstone, and John C. Moore
The Cryosphere, 12, 1563–1577, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1563-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1563-2018, 2018
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In this study we apply a discrete element model capable of simulating ice fracturing. A microscopic-scale discrete process is applied in addition to a continuum ice dynamics model to investigate the mechanisms facilitated by basal meltwater production, surface meltwater and ice crack opening, for the surge in Basin 3, Austfonna ice cap. The discrete element model is used to locate the ice cracks that can penetrate though the full thickness of the glacier and deliver surface water to the bed.
Dorothée Vallot, Jan Åström, Thomas Zwinger, Rickard Pettersson, Alistair Everett, Douglas I. Benn, Adrian Luckman, Ward J. J. van Pelt, Faezeh Nick, and Jack Kohler
The Cryosphere, 12, 609–625, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-609-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-609-2018, 2018
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This paper presents a new perspective on the role of ice dynamics and ocean interaction in glacier calving processes applied to Kronebreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard. A global modelling approach includes ice flow modelling, undercutting estimation by a combination of glacier energy balance and plume modelling as well as calving by a discrete particle model. We show that modelling undercutting is necessary and calving is influenced by basal friction velocity and geometry.
Hakime Seddik, Ralf Greve, Thomas Zwinger, and Shin Sugiyama
The Cryosphere, 11, 2213–2229, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2213-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2213-2017, 2017
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The Shirase Glacier in Antarctica is studied by means of a computer model. This model implements two physical approaches to represent the glacier flow dynamics. This study finds that it is important to use the more precise and sophisticated method in order to better understand and predict the evolution of fast flowing glaciers. This may be important to more accurately predict the sea level change due to global warming.
Denis Cohen and Massimiliano Schwarz
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 451–477, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-451-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-451-2017, 2017
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Tree roots reinforce soils on slopes. A new slope stability model is presented that computes root reinforcement including the effects of root heterogeneities and dependence of root strength on tensile and compressive strain. Our results show that roots stabilize slopes that would otherwise fail under a rainfall event. Tension in roots is more effective than compression. Redistribution of forces in roots across the hillslope plays a key role in the stability of the slope during rainfall events.
Guillaume Jouvet, Yvo Weidmann, Julien Seguinot, Martin Funk, Takahiro Abe, Daiki Sakakibara, Hakime Seddik, and Shin Sugiyama
The Cryosphere, 11, 911–921, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-911-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-911-2017, 2017
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In this study, we combine UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) images taken over the Bowdoin Glacier, north-western Greenland, and a model describing the viscous motion of ice to track the propagation of crevasses responsible for the collapse of large icebergs at the glacier-ocean front (calving). This new technique allows us to explain the systematic calving pattern observed in spring and summer of 2015 and anticipate a possible rapid retreat in the future.
Rupert Michael Gladstone, Roland Charles Warner, Benjamin Keith Galton-Fenzi, Olivier Gagliardini, Thomas Zwinger, and Ralf Greve
The Cryosphere, 11, 319–329, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-319-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-319-2017, 2017
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Computer models are used to simulate the behaviour of glaciers and ice sheets. It has been found that such models are required to be run at very high resolution (which means high computational expense) in order to accurately represent the evolution of marine ice sheets (ice sheets resting on bedrock below sea level), in certain situations which depend on sub-glacial physical processes.
Patrick Becker, Julien Seguinot, Guillaume Jouvet, and Martin Funk
Geogr. Helv., 71, 173–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-71-173-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-71-173-2016, 2016
T. Zwinger, T. Malm, M. Schäfer, R. Stenberg, and J. C. Moore
The Cryosphere, 9, 1415–1426, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1415-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1415-2015, 2015
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By deploying a large-scale high-resolution turbulent CFD simulation using the present-day topography of the Scharffenbergbotnen (SBB) valley, we show how the surrounding topography redirects incoming easterly katabatic storm fronts to impact the blue ice areas (BIA) inside the valley, where the snow cover frequently is removed. A further simulation of a reconstructed topography at the Late Glacial Maximum further reveals that the BIA at SBB must have formed after this period.
F. Giadrossich, M. Niedda, D. Cohen, and M. Pirastru
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2451–2468, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2451-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2451-2015, 2015
M. Schäfer, F. Gillet-Chaulet, R. Gladstone, R. Pettersson, V. A. Pohjola, T. Strozzi, and T. Zwinger
The Cryosphere, 8, 1951–1973, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1951-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1951-2014, 2014
R. Gladstone, M. Schäfer, T. Zwinger, Y. Gong, T. Strozzi, R. Mottram, F. Boberg, and J. C. Moore
The Cryosphere, 8, 1393–1405, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1393-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1393-2014, 2014
B. Sun, J. C. Moore, T. Zwinger, L. Zhao, D. Steinhage, X. Tang, D. Zhang, X. Cui, and C. Martín
The Cryosphere, 8, 1121–1128, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1121-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1121-2014, 2014
S. Cook, I. C. Rutt, T. Murray, A. Luckman, T. Zwinger, N. Selmes, A. Goldsack, and T. D. James
The Cryosphere, 8, 827–841, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-827-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-827-2014, 2014
T. Zwinger, M. Schäfer, C. Martín, and J. C. Moore
The Cryosphere, 8, 607–621, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-607-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-607-2014, 2014
T. Sato, T. Shiraiwa, R. Greve, H. Seddik, E. Edelmann, and T. Zwinger
Clim. Past, 10, 393–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, 2014
B. de Fleurian, O. Gagliardini, T. Zwinger, G. Durand, E. Le Meur, D. Mair, and P. Råback
The Cryosphere, 8, 137–153, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-137-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-137-2014, 2014
J. A. Åström, T. I. Riikilä, T. Tallinen, T. Zwinger, D. Benn, J. C. Moore, and J. Timonen
The Cryosphere, 7, 1591–1602, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1591-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1591-2013, 2013
O. Gagliardini, T. Zwinger, F. Gillet-Chaulet, G. Durand, L. Favier, B. de Fleurian, R. Greve, M. Malinen, C. Martín, P. Råback, J. Ruokolainen, M. Sacchettini, M. Schäfer, H. Seddik, and J. Thies
Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 1299–1318, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-1299-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-1299-2013, 2013
A. S. Drouet, D. Docquier, G. Durand, R. Hindmarsh, F. Pattyn, O. Gagliardini, and T. Zwinger
The Cryosphere, 7, 395–406, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-395-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-395-2013, 2013
L. Zhao, L. Tian, T. Zwinger, R. Ding, J. Zong, Q. Ye, and J. C. Moore
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-7-145-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-7-145-2013, 2013
Revised manuscript not accepted
F. Gillet-Chaulet, O. Gagliardini, H. Seddik, M. Nodet, G. Durand, C. Ritz, T. Zwinger, R. Greve, and D. G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 6, 1561–1576, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1561-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1561-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Quaternary geology
The Mid-Pleistocene landscape history of the Lower Aare Valley with emphasis on subglacial overdeepening
Revisiting ice-marginal positions north-east of Feldberg, southern Black Forest, south-west Germany
Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben
The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region
Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany
Subglacial deformation and till formation in a stratigraphic complex Late Pleistocene sequence (Einödgraben/Aurach, Kitzbühel Alps, Austria)
Loess formation and chronology at the Palaeolithic key site Rheindahlen, Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany
The past is the key to the future – considering Pleistocene subglacial erosion for the minimum depth of a radioactive waste repository
Comparison of overdeepened structures in formerly glaciated areas of the northern Alpine foreland and northern central Europe
Tunnel valleys in the southeastern North Sea: more data, more complexity
The lithostratigraphic formations of the coastal Holocene in NE Germany – a synthesis
Morpho-sedimentary characteristics of Holocene paleochannels in the Upper Rhine alluvial plain, France
Two glaciers and one sedimentary sink: the competing role of the Aare and the Valais glaciers in filling an overdeepened trough inferred from provenance analysis
A tribute to Narr (1952): On the stratigraphy of Upper Palaeolithic types and type groups
A tribute to Fink (1956): On the correlation of terraces and loesses in Austria
A tribute to Schwarzbach (1968): Recent ice age hypotheses
A tribute to Boenigk (1978): The fluvial development of the Lower Rhine Basin during the late Tertiary and early Quaternary
A composite 10Be, IR-50 and 14C chronology of the pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) full ice extent of the western Patagonian Ice Sheet on the Isla de Chiloé, south Chile (42° S)
Der späteiszeitliche Tüttensee-Komplex als Ergebnis der Abschmelzgeschichte am Ostrand des Chiemsee-Gletschers und sein Bezug zum „Chiemgau Impakt“ (Landkreis Traunstein, Oberbayern)
The multistage structural development of the Upper Weichselian Jasmund Glacitectonic Complex (Rügen, NE Germany)
The formation of Middle and Upper Pleistocene terraces (Übergangsterrassen and Hochterrassen) in the Bavarian Alpine Foreland – new numeric dating results (ESR, OSL, 14C) and gastropod fauna analysis
Lukas Gegg
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 74, 125–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-125-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-125-2025, 2025
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Drillings, outcrops, and seismic data provide insights into a glacial basin and a former river channel in northern Switzerland. Both are infilled with diverse (glacial, lacustrine, fluvial, colluvial) sediments attributed to three separate glaciations. The depth of the glacial basin depends strongly on the underlying rock type, which together with (hydro)fractures provides evidence on the conditions and erosion processes at the ice–rock interface.
Felix Martin Hofmann and Frank Preusser
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 74, 1–35, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-1-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-1-2025, 2025
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Previous reconstructions conclude that the southern Black Forest, south-west Germany, temporarily hosted four ice caps during the Late Pleistocene (129 000–11 700 years before present). This work reviews existing studies on glacial landforms north-east of its highest summit, Feldberg (1493 m above sea level), in the light of new observations. Whilst this study largely confirms previous work, we reject and newly describe several glacial landforms.
Lukas Gegg, Felicitas A. Griebling, Nicole Jentz, and Ulrike Wielandt-Schuster
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 239–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-239-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-239-2024, 2024
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The subdivision and distinction of gravel units is an important tool in terrestrial Quaternary stratigraphy but can be challenging. Here, we investigate the glaciofluvial infill of the Upper Rhine Graben as an archive of recurring Alpine glaciations. With the help of statistical approaches, we identify differences in petrographic compositions, thereby differentiating two units that are likely representative of the last and penultimate glaciation, which have previously been difficult to pinpoint.
Philip Leonard Gibbard and Karen Luise Knudsen
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 217–237, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-217-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-217-2024, 2024
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This article presents an investigation of three sequences of marine and associated deposits in the south-west Baltic area. Pollen, foraminiferal and ostracod analyses indicate sea-level change. Chronology is based on the Bispingen lake deposits in Germany. Freshwater lakes occurred first in the basin followed by marine inundation. Linking the German sequences to those in the Baltic shows that the Eemian transgression passed through Germany and the Kattegat by connections to the North Sea.
Alexander Fülling, Hans Rudolf Graf, Felix Martin Hofmann, Daniela Mueller, and Frank Preusser
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 203–216, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-203-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-203-2024, 2024
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The Mühlbach series has been given as evidence for a Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene Aare–Rhine fluvial system in northern Switzerland and southwest Germany. We show that these deposits represent a variety of different units. At the type location, luminescence dating indicates an age of 55 ka, and we interpret the deposits as slope reworking. Beside methodological implications, our studies recommend caution regarding the interpretation of stratigraphic units for which limited data are available.
Jürgen M. Reitner and John Menzies
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 101–116, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-101-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-101-2024, 2024
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Knowledge of subglacial conditions is of great relevance for understanding glacier dynamics. A combination of micro- and macrosedimentological analysis of diamictons and deformation structures can form the basis for the reconstruction of past subglacial conditions. We present the results of such a study on subglacial tills in the Kitzbühel Alps (Tyrol, Austria). Our study demonstrates the need for a reinvestigation of deposits in respect of genesis and importance for the glacial record.
Martin Kehl, Katharina Seeger, Stephan Pötter, Philipp Schulte, Nicole Klasen, Mirijam Zickel, Andreas Pastoors, and Erich Claßen
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 73, 41–67, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-41-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-73-41-2024, 2024
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The loess–palaeosol sequence (LPS) at Rheindahlen provides a detailed sedimentary archive of past climate change. Furthermore, it contains Palaeolithic find horizons indicating repeated occupations by Neanderthals. The age of loess layers and the timing of human occupation are a matter of strong scientific debate. We present new data to shed light on formation processes and deposition ages. Previous chronostratigraphic estimates are revised providing a reliable chronostratigraphic framework .
Sonja Breuer, Anke Bebiolka, Vera Noack, and Jörg Lang
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 113–125, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-113-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-113-2023, 2023
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Our work presented here deals with the impact of deep glacial erosion forms and their effect on the safety of a possible repository for highly radioactive waste. In past ice ages, glaciers have formed deep tunnel valleys. We assume that similar depths of erosion can be reached in future ice ages. This must be taken into account in the safety assessment of radioactive waste repositories. We have calculated a new depth zone map from maps and data based on records from the Pleistocene.
Lukas Gegg and Frank Preusser
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 72, 23–36, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-23-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-72-23-2023, 2023
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Erosion processes below glacier ice have carved large and deep basins in the landscapes surrounding mountain ranges as well as polar regions. With our comparison, we show that these two groups of basins are very similar in their shapes and sizes. However, open questions still remain especially regarding the sediments that later fill up these basins. We aim to stimulate future research and promote exchange between researchers working around the Alps and the northern central European lowlands.
Arne Lohrberg, Jens Schneider von Deimling, Henrik Grob, Kai-Frederik Lenz, and Sebastian Krastel
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 267–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-267-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-267-2022, 2022
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We present an update on the distribution of tunnel valleys in the southeastern North Sea between Amrum and Heligoland based on active seismic data. Our results demonstrate that very dense grids of seismic profiles are needed to understand the distribution and the formation of tunnel valleys in a given region. We also demonstrate that acquiring offshore active seismic data is time- and cost-effective to learn more about the formation and filling of tunnel valleys in different geological settings.
Reinhard Lampe
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 249–265, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-249-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-249-2022, 2022
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The depositional sequences of all types of coastal sediments which accumulated during the Holocene sea-level rise along the NE German coast and in the inner coastal waters are comprehensively described and classified into four formations and two subformations. Their detailed characterisation and chronostratigraphic correlation are an important addition to the only brief definition given in the LithoLex database of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).
Mubarak Abdulkarim, Stoil Chapkanski, Damien Ertlen, Haider Mahmood, Edward Obioha, Frank Preusser, Claire Rambeau, Ferréol Salomon, Marco Schiemann, and Laurent Schmitt
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 191–212, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-191-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-191-2022, 2022
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We used a combination of remote sensing, field investigations, and laboratory analysis to map and characterize abandoned river channels within the French Upper Rhine alluvial plain. Our results show five major paleochannel groups with significant differences in their pattern, morphological characteristics, and sediment filling. The formation of these paleochannel groups is attributed to significant changes in environmental processes in the area during the last ~ 11 700 years.
Michael A. Schwenk, Laura Stutenbecker, Patrick Schläfli, Dimitri Bandou, and Fritz Schlunegger
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 163–190, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-163-2022, 2022
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We investigated the origin of glacial sediments in the Bern area to determine their route of transport either with the Aare Glacier or the Valais Glacier. These two ice streams are known to have joined in the Bern area during the last major glaciation (ca. 20 000 years ago). However, little is known about the ice streams prior to this last glaciation. Here we collected evidence that during a glaciation about 250 000 years ago the Aare Glacier dominated the area as documented in the deposits.
Nicholas J. Conard
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 213–216, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-213-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-213-2021, 2021
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Karl J. Narr's paper on the stratigraphy of Upper Palaeolithic artefact types and cultural groups from 1952 synthesized the state of research in the early 1950s. Narr's singular focus on cultural history is instructive in terms of both the history of research and as a reflection of what the goals of Palaeolithic archaeology could and should be today.
Tobias Sprafke
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 221–224, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-221-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-221-2021, 2021
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This work is an invited retrospective to the seminal paper of Fink (1956). Fink combined field evidence from geology, geomorphology, and soil science to provide a holistic framework of Quaternary stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental evolution in the Austrian Alpine foreland. This paper is an outstanding example of the relevance of interdisciplinary perspectives to understand landscape evolution. With a few exceptions in detail, the findings of Fink remain largely valid until today.
Jürgen Ehlers
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 235–237, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-235-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-235-2021, 2021
Philip L. Gibbard
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 251–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-251-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-251-2021, 2021
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This is an appraisal of the article by Wolfgang Boenigk published in Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart in 1978.
Juan-Luis García, Christopher Lüthgens, Rodrigo M. Vega, Ángel Rodés, Andrew S. Hein, and Steven A. Binnie
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 70, 105–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-105-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-70-105-2021, 2021
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The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) about 21 kyr ago is known to have been global in extent. Nonetheless, we have limited knowledge during the pre-LGM time in the southern middle latitudes. If we want to understand the causes of the ice ages, the complete glacial period must be addressed. In this paper, we show that the Patagonian Ice Sheet in southern South America reached its full glacial extent also by 57 kyr ago and defies a climate explanation.
Robert Huber, Robert Darga, and Hans Lauterbach
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 93–120, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-93-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-93-2020, 2020
Anna Gehrmann
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 59–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-59-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-59-2020, 2020
Gerhard Schellmann, Patrick Schielein, Wolfgang Rähle, and Christoph Burow
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 68, 141–164, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-141-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-141-2019, 2019
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This study presents ESR, OSL and C-14 data from Upper and Middle Pleistocene fluvial terraces (Übergangsterrassen, Hochterrassen) and its loess cover in the Bavarian Alpine Foreland. It will be illustrated that the ESR dating of embedded land-snail shells offers a new dating approach with an upper dating limit most probably much older than the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7). Furthermore, it shows that in some areas Hochterrassen gravels are underlain by older interglacial gravel deposits.
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Andrews, L. C., Catania, G. A., Hoffman, M. J., Gulley, J. D., Lüthi, M. P., Ryser, C., Hawley, R. L., and Neumann, T. A.: Direct observations of evolving subglacial drainage beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet, Nature, 514, 80–83, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13796, 2014. a
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Short summary
During glacial times in Switzerland, glaciers of the Alps excavated valleys in low-lying regions that were later filled with sediment or water. How glaciers eroded these valleys is not well understood because erosion occurred near ice margins where ice moved slowly and was present for short times. Erosion is linked to the speed of ice and to water flowing under it. Here we present a model that estimates the location of water channels beneath the ice and links these locations to zones of erosion.
During glacial times in Switzerland, glaciers of the Alps excavated valleys in low-lying regions...
