Till and moraine emplacement in a deforming bed surge—an example from a marine environment

• Published in: Developments in Quaternary Science Vol. 4; pp. 122 - 148
• Main Authors: Boulton, G.S., Van Der Meer, J.J.M., Hart, J., Beets, D., Ruegg, G.H.J., Van Der Wateren, F.M., Jarvis, J.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: The Netherlands Elsevier Science & Technology 2004
• Subjects: Geological surface processes (geomorphology); Geology & the lithosphere
• ISBN: 0444515445; 9780444515445
• ISSN: 1571-0866
• DOI: 10.1016/S1571-0866(04)80102-7

The glacier Sefströmbreen in Spitsbergen surged across an arm of the sea between 1882 and 1886 and rode up onto the island Coraholmen. Marine and terrestrial geological observations and archive records show that the glacier advanced on a deforming carpet of marine mud which was eroded from its original location, transported, and smeared over the sea bed and Coraholmen as a deformation till. The glacier emplaced about 2108 m3 (0.2 km3) of drift in the terminal 2 km of its advance in a maximum of 14 yrs, leaving a thickness of up to 20 m on Coraholmen, which was doubled in size as a result. During the surge, subglacial muds were characterised by high water pressures, low effective pressures and low frictional resistance to glacier movement. Original sedimentary inhomogenities permit fold structures to be identified, but repeated refolding and progressive remoulding produce mixing and homogenisation of deformation tills. The surge was probably shortlived, and as the heavily creavased glacier stagnated, underlying water-saturated muds were intruded into crevasses and then extruded on the glacier surface. Reticulate “crevasse-intrusion” ridges on Coraholmen and the sea floor reflect the orientation of surge generated crevasses. Water and sediment was also extruded beyond the glacier at its maximum extent, to form extensive flows producing “till tongues” both on Coraholmen and the sea floor extending over 1.3 km from the glacier. It is argued that subglacial deformation of pre-existing sediment will almost invariably be associated with glaciation of marine areas and that this process will not only produce deformation tills through remoulding of pre-existing sediments, but will also play a fundamental role in glacier dynamics. Criteria, which permit glacial tills produced by such events from marine and glaciomarine muds are discussed.