HOLOCENE GLACIAL ADVANCES AND MORAINE FORMATION AT ALBRECHTBREEN, EDGEOYA, SVALBARD

Terrace remnants close to the marine limit as well as two separate mor aine ridges are observed in front of the glacier Albrechtbreen. The st acking of marine sediments from an original elevation of ca. 60-80 m a .s.l. into the Little Ice Age Moraine gives evidence for a considerabl y smaller glacier following the early Holocene deglaciation compared t o that of the present. The outer moraine is composed of glacial diamic ton. Radiocarbon datings of whale ribs, shell fragments and a log take n from sediment in front of Albrechtbreen indicate that the initial de glaciation occurred before 9,400 B. P. and that the outer moraine was formed during a younger Holocene glacial advance. Lithological differe nces between the two moraine ridges suggest that the first ice advance occurred during a period with limited permafrost, whereas permafrost was more extensive during the Little Ice Age.