| Title | The sedimentary architecture of outburst flood eskers; a comparison of ground- penetrating radar data from Bering Glacier, Alaska and Skeidararjokull, Iceland |
| Author | Burke, M.J.; Woodward, J.; Russell, A.J.; Fleisher, P.J.; Bailey, P.K. |
| Author Affil | Burke, M.J., Northumbria University, School of Applied Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Other: Newcastle University, United Kingdom; State University of New York at Oneonta; Kenai Peninsula College |
| Source | Geological Society of America Bulletin, 122(9-10), p.1637-1645, . Publisher: Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States. ISSN: 0016- 7606 |
| Publication Date | Sept. 2010 |
| Notes | In English. 51 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 300658 |
| Index Terms | geophysical surveys; glaciers; radar; sedimentation; sediments; surveys; United States--Alaska--Bering Glacier; Iceland-- Skeidararjokull; Alaska; Bering Glacier; eskers; Europe; fluvial features; fluvial sedimentation; glacial features; glacial sedimentation; glaciofluvial sedimentation; ground-penetrating radar; Iceland; jokulhlaups; radar methods; Skeidararjokull; Southern Alaska; subglacial environment; United States; Western Europe |
| Abstract | We present ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles that reveal the sedimentary architecture of an esker deposited during a surge-associated outburst flood at the Bering Glacier, Alaska. The wide, up-flow end of the esker contains a transition from large backset beds to large foreset beds interpreted to reflect composite macroform development in an enlarged part of the conduit. By contrast, the narrow, down-flow portion of the esker is dominated by plane beds interpreted to have been deposited where the conduit was constricted and the flow was faster. A previously studied outburst esker at Skeidararjokull, Iceland has a similar morphology and stratigraphic architecture. This suggests that outburst floods generate distinct depositional signatures in eskers, both in terms of morphology and sedimentary architecture. Identification of these distinct signatures in ancient eskers will help assess the paleohydraulic conditions under which ancient eskers formed and, by extension, the nature of meltwater drainage systems beneath the Laurentide and Eurasian ice sheets. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1130/B30008.1 |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 64005194 |