Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Ice shelves in the Pleistocene Arctic Ocean inferred from glaciogenic deep-sea bedforms

Nature volume 410, pages 453–457 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

It has been proposed that during Pleistocene glaciations, an ice cap of 1 kilometre or greater thickness covered the Arctic Ocean1,2,3. This notion contrasts with the prevailing view that the Arctic Ocean was covered only by perennial sea ice with scattered icebergs4,5,6. Detailed mapping of the ocean floor is the best means to resolve this issue. Although sea-floor imagery has been used to reconstruct the glacial history of the Antarctic shelf 7,8,9, little data have been collected in the Arctic Ocean because of operational constraints10,11. The use of a geophysical mapping system during the submarine SCICEX expedition in 199912 provided the opportunity to perform such an investigation over a large portion of the Arctic Ocean. Here we analyse backscatter images and sub-bottom profiler records obtained during this expedition from depths as great as 1 kilometre. These records show multiple bedforms indicative of glacial scouring and moulding of sea floor, combined with large-scale erosion of submarine ridge crests. These distinct glaciogenic features demonstrate that immense, Antarctic-type ice shelves up to 1 kilometre thick and hundreds of kilometres long existed in the Arctic Ocean during Pleistocene glaciations.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Map of the Arctic Ocean30.
Figure 2: Swath sonar images from Chukchi plateau with overlain depth contour lines.
Figure 3: Swath sonar images from the eastern part of Chukchi rise with overlain depth contour lines.
Figure 4: Swath sonar and chirp images from Lomonosov ridge.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mercer, J. H. A former ice sheet in the Arctic Ocean? Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 8, 19–27 (1970).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lindstrom, D. R. & MacAyeal, D. R. Scandinavian, Siberian, and Arctic Ocean glaciation: effect of Holocene atmospheric CO2 variations. Science 245, 628–631 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Grosswal, M. G. & Hughes, T. J. The case for an ice shelf in the Pleistocene Arctic Ocean. Polar Geogr. 23, 23–54 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Clark, D. L. Origin, nature, and world climate effect of Arctic Ocean ice cover. Nature 300, 321–325 (1980).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Phillips, R. L. & Grantz, A. Quaternary history of sea ice and paleoclimate in the Amerasia basin, Arctic Ocean, as recorded in the cyclical strata of Northwind Ridge. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 109, 1101–1115 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Spielhagen, R. F. et al. Arctic Ocean evidence for late Quaternary initiation of northern Eurasian ice sheets. Geology 25, 783–786 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Anderson, J. B. Antarctic Marine Geology (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1999).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  8. Shipp, S., Anderson, J. & Domack, E. Late Pleistocene-Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic Ice-Sheet system in the Ross Sea: Part 1—Geophysical results. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 111, 1486–1516 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Canals, M., Urgeles, R. & Calafat, A. M. Deep sea-floor evidence of past ice streams off the Antarctic Peninsula. Geology 28, 31–34 (2000).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Vogt, P. R., Crane, K. & Sundvor, E. Deep Pleistocene iceberg plowmarks on the Yermak Plateau: sidescan and 3.5 kHz evidence for thick calving ice fronts and a possible marine ice sheet in the Arctic Ocean. Geology 22, 403–406 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Jakobsson, M. First high-resolution chirp sonar profiles for the central Arctic Ocean reveal erosion of Lomonosov Ridge sediments. Mar. Geol. 158, 111–123 (1999).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Edwards, M. H. et al. Evidence of recent volcanic activity on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge. Nature 409, 808–812 (2001).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Davies, T. A. et al. (eds) Glaciated Continental Margins: an Atlas of Acoustic Images (Chapman and Hall, London, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  14. Robe, R. Q. in Dynamics of Snow and Ice Masses (ed. Colbeck, S. C.) 211–259 (Academic, New York, 1980).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Barnes, P. W. & Lien, R. Iceberg rework shelf sediments to 500 m off Antarctica. Geology 16, 1130–1133 (1988).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Dowdeswell, J. A., Villinger, H., Whittington, R. J. & Marienfeld, P. Iceberg scouring in Scoresby Sund and on the East Greenland continental shelf. Mar. Geol. 111, 37–53 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Josenhans, H. W. & Zevenhuizen, J. Dynamics of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the Hudson Bay, Canada. Mar. Geol. 92, 1–26 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Solheim, A., Russwurm, L., Elverhøi, A. & Nyland-Berg, M. Glacial geomorphic features in the northern Barents Sea: direct evidence for grounded ice and implications for the pattern of deglaciation and late glacial sedimentation. Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 53, 253–268 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Polyak, L., Forman, S. L., Herlihy, F. A., Ivanov, G. & Krinitsky, P. Late Weichselian deglacial history of the Svyataya (Saint) Anna Trough, northern Kara Sea, Arctic Russia. Mar. Geol. 143, 169–188 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Dyke, A. S., Morris, T. F., Green, D. E. C. & England, J. Quaternary geology of Prince of Wales Island, Arctic Canada. Geol. Surv. Can. Mem. 433 (1992).

  21. Clark, C. D. & Stokes, C. R. Extent and basal characteristics of the M'Clintock Channel ice stream. Quat. Int. (in the press).

  22. Bischof, J. F. & Darby, D. A. Mid- to Late Pleistocene ice drift in the Western Arctic Ocean: evidence for a different circulation in the past. Science 277, 74–78 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Vogt, P. R., Crane, K. & Sundvor, E. Deep Pleistocene iceberg plowmarks on the Yermak Plateau: sidescan and 3.5 kHz evidence for thick calving ice fronts and a possible marine ice sheet in the Arctic Ocean (reply). Geology 23, 477–478 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Jakobsson, M. et al. Pleistocene stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental variation from Lomonosov Ridge sediments, central Arctic Ocean. Global Planet. Change (in the press).

  25. Flower, B. P. Overconsolidated section on the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: ice sheet grounding prior to ca. 660 ka? Geology 25, 147–150 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Faleide, J. J. et al. Late Cenozoic evolution of the western Barents Sea-Svalbard continental margin. Glob. Planet. Change 12, 53–74 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Darby, D. A., Bischof, J. F. & Jones, G. A. Radiocarbon chronology of depositional regimes in the western Arctic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res. II 44, 1745–1757 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Poore, R. Z., Osterman, L., Curry, W. B. & Phillips, R. L. Late Pleistocene and Holocene meltwater events in the western Arctic Ocean. Geology 27, 759–762 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Oppenheimer, O. Global warming and the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Nature 393, 325–332 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Jakobsson, M., Cherkis, N., Woodward, J., Coakley, B. J. & Macnab, R. A new grid of Arctic bathymetry: a significant resource for scientists and mapmakers. Eos 81, 89, 93, 96 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank R. Perry (the captain), the officers and crew of the USS Hawkbill and the scientists and engineers who sailed during SCICEX-99; we also thank P. Johnson for assistance with figures. This work was supported by the US NSF.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Martin Jakobsson

    Present address: Center for Coastal Mapping, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Leonid Polyak

  2. Hawaii Mapping Research Group, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 96822, Hawaii, USA

    Margo H. Edwards

  3. Department of Geology, Tulane University, New Orleans, 70118, Louisiana, USA

    Bernard J. Coakley

  4. Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden

    Martin Jakobsson

Authors
  1. Leonid Polyak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Margo H. Edwards
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bernard J. Coakley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Martin Jakobsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leonid Polyak.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Polyak, L., Edwards, M., Coakley, B. et al. Ice shelves in the Pleistocene Arctic Ocean inferred from glaciogenic deep-sea bedforms. Nature 410, 453–457 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35068536

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35068536

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing