Development of relief affected by contemporary geomor phological processes in NW part of Wedel Jarlsberg Land (Bellsund, Spitsbergen Svalbard)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/BP/1996/35/5Keywords:
permafrost, solifluction, physical disintegration, periglacial processesAbstract
Research into contemporary morphogenetic processes was carried out in the north-western part of the Wedel Jarlsberg area of Spitsbergen. The object observed and measured in our study was the terrain of the escarpments and coastal plains of the southern border of Bellsund (fig. 1), more specifically in the area of the Recherche fjord (Calypsostranda), and in the marginal zones of the Renard, Scott, Recherche and Antonia glaciers (fig. 2). The geological foundation of these areas is made up of metamorphic rocks from the Hecla Hoek formation, the most common form of which is tillite with inserts of limestones, quartzites and slate series; while the foundation of Calypsostranda is made up of marine terraces – a system created by Palaeogene sandstones and mudstones with coal inserts, covered by a thicker series of Quaternary deposits, formed by a series of marine, glacial and fluvio-glacial deposits of varying thickness and age. These are Pleistocene boulder clays, sands, gravels and marine loams with a series of colluvial and glacifluvial covers.
The elements that cause the intense development of a multitude of exogenous processes are: the lithological and tectonic differentiation of the base; the numerous differences in height and inclination of the slopes (fig. 3, 4); the presence of unstable covers; the lack of compact vegetation, permafrost; and great weather variability.
Active physical disintegration has been observed whose morphological effect takes the form of inselbergs and covers. Block covers, which are translocated by gravity and form zones of nival cones, are found all over the slopes. Their morphological characteristics, construction and the presence of tundra fossils bear witness to them having developed in several phases in the post-glacial period. The evidence of chemical denudation shows considerable intensity of chemical alteration.
Washing, piping and linear erosion shape the relief of the edge zones, which comprise cliffs of raised marine terraces and the gently sloping surface of the coastal plain attached to them.
The essential process is solifluction, which occurs at varying speeds (figs. 1, 2). Solifluction interacts with erosion and thermoerosion processes, nival phenomena and the concentration and movement of water in the active permafrost layer. This interaction has resulted in a wealth of forms.
Aeolian processes, deflation and accumulation are active in marginal areas of glaciers and on coastal beaches.
The presence of ground ice in particularly water-rich areas is linked to the existence of pingo-type forms (Greenland and Mackenzie type) and palsa-type hummocks.
The research carried out in the Bellsund region shows both static and dynamic landforms (fig. 5).
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