Three depth-converted and geologically interpreted seismic profiles provide a clear image of the offshore outer accretionary wedge associated with oblique subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the central Hikurangi margin. Plio-Quaternary turbidites deposited over the pelagic cover sequence of the Hikurangi Plateau have been accreted to the margin by imbrication along E-verging thrust faults that ...

The shallow subsurface hydrography in the southern Norwegian Sea during the past 135,000 years was investigated using parallel measurements of Mg/Ca and δ18O in shells of the planktic foraminiferal species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma. Two cleaning methods were applied prior to Mg/Ca analysis, “Mg cleaning” and “full cleaning” methods. Different results were obtained, which are most likely due to a ...

The Eurasian ice-sheet complex (EISC) was the third largest ice mass during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), after the Antarctic and North American ice sheets. Despite its global significance, a comprehensive account of its evolution from independent nucleation centres to its maximum extent is conspicuously lacking. Here, a first-order, thermomechanical model, robustly constrained by empirical evidence, ...

Glacier bed overdeepenings are ubiquitous in glacier systems and likely exert significant influence on ice dynamics, subglacial hydrology, and ice stability. Understanding of overdeepening formation and evolution has been hampered by an absence of quantitative empirical studies of their distribution and morphology, with process insights having been drawn largely from theoretical or numerical studies. ...

We analyze group size, swimming direction and the orientation of fin whales relative to a fast ferry in the Bay of Biscay. Fin whale groups (≥3 individuals) were on average closer to the vessel than single individuals and pairs (F1,114 = 4.94, p = 0.028) and were more often observed within a high-risk angle ahead of the ferry (binomial probability: p = 7.60 × 10−11). Also, small groups tend to swim ...

It has been argued that the infiltration and retention of meltwater within firn across the percolation zone of the Greenland ice sheet has the potential to buffer up to  ∼  3.6 mm of global sea-level rise (Harper et al., 2012). Despite evidence confirming active refreezing processes above the equilibrium line, their impact on runoff and proglacial discharge has yet to be assessed. Here, we compare ...

We find that summer methane (CH4) release from seabed sediments west of Svalbard substantially increases CH4 concentrations in the ocean but has limited influence on the atmospheric CH4 levels. Our conclusion stems from complementary measurements at the seafloor, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere from land-based, ship and aircraft platforms during a summer campaign in 2014. We detected high ...

High-resolution swath-bathymetry data from inner Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, reveal characteristic landform assemblages formed during and after surges of tidewater glaciers, and provide new insights into the dynamics of surging glaciers. Glacier front oscillations and overriding related to surge activity lead to the formation of overridden moraines, glacial lineations of two types, terminal moraines, ...

While today the SW Barents Sea is a relatively un-impacted and uncontaminated area, industrial activities related to the petroleum industry are projected to increase in the coming decades. This makes the area a valuable natural laboratory to establish pre-impacted baselines as a precursor for future seabed monitoring programs. Here we present benthic foraminiferal assemblages and metal concentrations ...