Sediment source analysis in the Korabelny Stream catchment, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica: Geomorphological survey, fingerprinting and sediment delivery rate assessmentстатьяИсследовательская статья
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Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 31 июля 2024 г.
Аннотация:Research into sediment provenance identification in Antarctica is emerging as a relevant field of study, providing a unique insight into understanding geomorphological processes in extreme climatic environments. This studyfocusses on the mechanisms of sediment redistribution in the catchment of the Korabelny Stream, located at the western end of the Bellingshausen Ice Dome on King George Island (Shetland Islands). The catchment area of thestream covers 2.83 km2, with 1.17 km2 under the glacier. Two main sediment sources have been identified: a) the glacierized part, extending along the glacier edge and represented by a complex of moraine deposits lackingprotective vegetation cover, along with part of the catchment under the glacier; b) the periglacial part, occupying territory with permafrost and a thin loose cover unevenly protected by early successional vegetation. Wecombine a tracer-based fingerprinting technique, sediment delivery estimates based on sediment flow connectivity index and geomorphological mapping to quantify the sources contribution to sediment yield. The proportional contribution of the glacierized part was 60–66 % of the total sediment yield based on two independent methods, suggesting the reliability of the results. It is noteworthy that sediment transport from the glacierizedpart exceeds that from the periglacial part. However, a significant portion of the sediment is redeposited in temporary reservoirs formed along the glacier edge and Lake Mesyats, located in the central part of the Korabelny Stream catchment. The main factor determining sediment yield in the catchment is the water reserves in snow at the beginning of the ablation season. In years when water reserves in snow significantly exceed longterm average values, such as observed in the austral summer of 2014–2015 when study was conducted, sediment yield was low. This is attributed to the faster melting of ice on the glacier compared to snow, due to differences in albedo.