Widespread erosion on high plateaus during recent glaciations in Scandinavia

Jane L. Andersen (), David L. Egholm, Mads F. Knudsen, Henriette Linge, John D. Jansen, Vivi K. Pedersen, Søren B. Nielsen, Dmitry Tikhomirov, Jesper Olsen, Derek Fabel and Sheng Xu
Additional contact information
Jane L. Andersen: Aarhus University
David L. Egholm: Aarhus University
Mads F. Knudsen: Aarhus University
Henriette Linge: University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
John D. Jansen: Aarhus University
Vivi K. Pedersen: University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
Søren B. Nielsen: Aarhus University
Dmitry Tikhomirov: Aarhus University
Jesper Olsen: Aarhus University
Derek Fabel: Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center, AMS Laboratory
Sheng Xu: Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center, AMS Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Glaciers create some of Earth’s steepest topography; yet, many areas that were repeatedly overridden by ice sheets in the last few million years include extensive plateaus. The distinct geomorphic contrast between plateaus and the glacial troughs that dissect them has sustained two long-held hypotheses: first, that ice sheets perform insignificant erosion beyond glacial troughs, and, second, that the plateaus represent ancient pre-glacial landforms bearing information of tectonic and geomorphic history prior to Pliocene–Pleistocene global cooling (~3.5 Myr ago). Here we show that the Fennoscandian ice sheets drove widespread erosion across plateaus far beyond glacial troughs. We apply inverse modelling to 118 new cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al measurements to quantify ice sheet erosion on the plateaus fringing the Sognefjorden glacial trough in western Norway. Our findings demonstrate substantial modification of the pre-glacial landscape during the Quaternary, and that glacial erosion of plateaus is important when estimating the global sediment flux to the oceans.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03280-2

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