Paraglacial gullying of sediment-mantled slopes: a case study of Colletthøgda, Kongsfjorden area, West Spitsbergen (Svalbard)

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
This paper evaluates the paraglacial evolution of a sediment-mantled slope in a polar maritime environment. The intensity of paraglacial processes is estimated through quantification of erosion and dating of field sectors with the help of photographic archives. Gully erosion has been estimated using morphometric parameters and by surveys of vegetation cover. The rapid melting of dead-ice cores controls gully formation. This leads to slope form modification. Vegetation colonization is a response to stabilization of the ground surface and the drying up of the ground surface due to dead-ice melting. The full sequence of paraglacial slope adjustment (gully incision-stabilization) may occur rapidly at the study site, (two decades). Finally, a lateral morphogenic sequence is proposed showing the importance of paraglacial processes at the onset of the deglaciation.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 2009, vol. 34, n°. 13, p. 1772-1789, nombre de pages : 18, Références bibliographiques : 1,5 P.

Date :
2009

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley