The characteristics of ice-contact glaciomarine systems are reviewed,
based on a range of Weichselian and Holocene examples from the fjordal
basins in Norway and Svalbard. These depositional systems occur as la
rge morphological ridges, ''end-moraines'' (including ''push-moraines'
'), which are coarse grained and show large-scale foreset bedding. The
paper addresses some of the major problems with regard to the recogni
tion, classification and stratigraphic analysis of these systems. The
ice-proximal glaciomarine systems are classified here into three categ
ories: (1) ice-contact submarine fans, (2) ice-contact deltas and (3)
glaciofluvial deltas. This classification integrates morphological and
sedimentological criteria, and renders these glaciomarine systems not
only easier to recognize in the stratigraphic record but also possibl
e to compare with common, non-glacial deltaic systems. The emphasis is
on the criteria for the recognition of the ice-contact glaciomarine s
ystems (i.e., ice-contact fans and ice-contact deltas) and their discr
imination from common Gilbert-type deltas and fan deltas. The review f
urther focuses on ice-contact glaciomarine systems as highly sensitive
recorders of glacier dynamics and climatic fluctuations. It is shown
that both the periods of ice-front ''stability'' and changes in the ic
e-front position, as well as the magnitude and rate of those changes,
are all recorded in the ice-contact depositional system. The sedimenta
ry record further reflects glacio-isostatic sea-level changes and loca
l palaeogeography. A new conceptual model is suggested, which places t
hese ice-contact glaciomarine systems in a dynamic stratigraphic conte
xt. The model integrates sedimentary facies and their depositional arc
hitecture in an allostratigraphic framework, and is meant to be a guid
e for the analysis of the sedimentary record of ice-contact systems.