Open AccessAge and extent of the Yermak Slide north of Spitsbergen, Arctic Ocean
Author(s) -
Winkelmann D.,
Jokat W.,
Niessen F.,
Stein R.,
Winkler A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.928
H-Index - 136
ISSN - 1525-2027
DOI - 10.1029/2005gc001130
Subject(s) - geology , submarine , glacial period , arctic , bathymetry , ice sheet , the arctic , oceanography , paleontology , geomorphology
The extent of the Yermak Slide has been revised on the basis of new acoustic and detailed bathymetric data. The true geometry, with an affected area of at least 10,000 km 2 and more than 2400 km 3 of involved sedimentary material, puts the Yermak Slide among the largest exposed submarine slides worldwide, comparable to the Storegga Slide off central Norway. Details from the side's internal structure give evidence for one main slide event during MIS 3 followed by repeated minor events. The timing coincides with the transition of the Kapp Ekholm Interstadial into Glaciation G of Svalbard (Mangerud et al., 1998) and the buildup phase of the Svalbard‐Barents Sea Ice Sheet. Thus the slide occurred during a period of falling sea level, increasing ice volume, and, presumably, increasing glaciotectonic activity. The side's geometry and internal physical appearance point to a tectonically induced partial shelf collapse.