Central southern Iceland is one of the main outlets of the Icelandic Ice Sheet where a MIS 5e sedimentary complex, the Rangá Formation, is extensively observed below the last deglaciation terminal moraines. Sedimentary facies demonstrate that the Rangá Formation is mostly tidal, up to 215 m (transgression I) and 168 m (transgression II) in altitude. The first highstand reworks a thick tephra from the Grimsvötn volcano, known in marine cores as 5e low/Bas-IV and positioned at ca. 127 Ka BP, the Eemian thermal optimum. This formation is related to a rapid deglaciation followed by two marine transgressions marked by the development of extended mud flats, which were separated by a complex regression phase, associated with loess deposition, ca. 9 Ka in duration. Palaeo jökulhlaups, basaltic flows, and tephra fallouts from the Hekla and Grimsvötn volcanoes affected the sedimentation. The Rangá Formation yields one of the first continuous and complete estuarine records of the Eemian interglacial in Iceland and probably for most of the northern terrestrial Atlantic. This estuarine infill records the distal signature of a complex glacial advance within the last interglacial, already well identified in northern and central Iceland. The glacial advance is attributed to the intra-Eemian cooling events (Greenland GS 26 or marine cold events M-C25-C26). It is followed by a warming and a glacial retreat corresponding to the Greenland GI 25 event. This formation allows, in connection with the timing of recognized volcanic periods, a better insight of the interconnections between sea-level, regional glacial extent, and Northern Hemisphere marine and ice core climatic records.
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Research Article|
February 01, 2018
Eemian estuarine record forced by glacio-isostasy (southern Iceland)—link with Greenland and deep sea records
Brigitte Van Vliet-Lanoë;
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Corresponding author: Brigitte Van Vliet-Lanoë (email: brigitte.vanvlietlanoe@univ-brest.fr).
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Jean-Luc Schneider;
Jean-Luc Schneider
Université de Bordeaux. CNRS-UMR 5805 “EPOC”. Allée G. St-Hilaire. 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
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Águst Guðmundsson;
Águst Guðmundsson
Jarðfræðistofan ehf, Hafnarfjorður, Iceland.
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Hervé Guillou;
Hervé Guillou
LSCE. Bât. 12. Av. de la terrasse, Domaines CNRS. 91198 Gif/Yvette, France.
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Sébastien Nomade;
Sébastien Nomade
LSCE. Bât. 12. Av. de la terrasse, Domaines CNRS. 91198 Gif/Yvette, France.
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Gilles Chazot;
Gilles Chazot
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
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Céline Liorzou;
Céline Liorzou
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
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Solène Guégan
Solène Guégan
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Service logistique, BCRMarine de Brest, CC50, 29240 Brest cedex 9, France.
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IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Jean-Luc Schneider
Université de Bordeaux. CNRS-UMR 5805 “EPOC”. Allée G. St-Hilaire. 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
Águst Guðmundsson
Jarðfræðistofan ehf, Hafnarfjorður, Iceland.
Hervé Guillou
LSCE. Bât. 12. Av. de la terrasse, Domaines CNRS. 91198 Gif/Yvette, France.
Sébastien Nomade
LSCE. Bât. 12. Av. de la terrasse, Domaines CNRS. 91198 Gif/Yvette, France.
Gilles Chazot
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Céline Liorzou
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Solène Guégan
IUEM-UBO. UMR 6538 “Géosciences Océan”. Place N. Copernic, 29280 Plouzané, France.
Service logistique, BCRMarine de Brest, CC50, 29240 Brest cedex 9, France.
Corresponding author: Brigitte Van Vliet-Lanoë (email: brigitte.vanvlietlanoe@univ-brest.fr).
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Received:
06 Jun 2017
Accepted:
24 Oct 2017
First Online:
13 Feb 2018
Online ISSN: 1480-3313
Print ISSN: 0008-4077
Published by NRC Research Press
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2018) 55 (2): 154–171.
Article history
Received:
06 Jun 2017
Accepted:
24 Oct 2017
First Online:
13 Feb 2018
Citation
Brigitte Van Vliet-Lanoë, Jean-Luc Schneider, Águst Guðmundsson, Hervé Guillou, Sébastien Nomade, Gilles Chazot, Céline Liorzou, Solène Guégan; Eemian estuarine record forced by glacio-isostasy (southern Iceland)—link with Greenland and deep sea records. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2018;; 55 (2): 154–171. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2017-0126
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Cenozoic
- chemical composition
- deglaciation
- Eemian
- estuarine environment
- Europe
- glaciation
- Holocene
- Iceland
- isostatic rebound
- lithostratigraphy
- paleoclimatology
- paleoenvironment
- Pleistocene
- Quaternary
- sea-level changes
- stratigraphic units
- upper Pleistocene
- Western Europe
- southern Iceland
- Ranga Formation
Latitude & Longitude
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