High-resolution Mapping of Offshore and Onshore Glaciogenic Features in Melville Bay, Northwestern Greenland

Abstract:

This study presents results from high resolution mapping in the northwestern part of Greenland’s continental shelf, offshore from the Greenland Ice Sheet. The study area is located at about 74^o30’N and 58 ^o40’W where high-resolution seafloor imagery were collected from ~200-500 m water depth. These data were analyzed and compared to existing high-resolution satellite imagery of exposed glacial landforms from the nearby coastal areas. Offshore geophysical mapping equipment consisted of a Kongsberg EM2040 multibeam that was bow-mounted on the sailing vessel Explorer of Sweden together with a Seatex MRU5+ motion sensor and GPS antennas. In addition, a GAVIA autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) from University of Iceland with installed Geoswath interfometric sonar and Marine Sonic side-scan was used. The data from these systems permitted the production of both 5-m (for the EM2040) and 2-m (for the Geoswath) resolution bathymetric grids for landform analyzes. Sediment characterization analysis was also undertaken using the co-registered backscatter data. The exposed onshore landforms were studied using data from the high-res QuickBird satellite images with a 2-m pixel resolution. Geomorphic analysis of the data shows that past tectonic and glacial scouring processes have shaped the present-day landscape in both the offshore and onshore study areas. The terrain consists of glacially eroded bedrock covered with very thin surficial sediments resembling a ‘cnoc-and-lochan’ terrain, although the degree of erosion varies spatially, probably as a result of local variations in the rock properties. Different glacially influenced features are identified and described in the study. These features have been used to understand and infer past ice-sheet processes, particularly ice-flow direction and the extent of ice-cover on the continental shelves from previous extreme glaciation events. The backscatter information from the high-resolution interferometric sonar show fine-scale sedimentation patterns which are used to infer bottom water circulation. The study highlights that the use of the high-resolution seafloor mapping systems significantly enhance the quality of geomorphologic landform assessment.