THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM OF SVALBARD AND THE BARENTS-SEA AREA - ICE-SHEET EXTENT AND CONFIGURATION

The timing, extent and configuration of the Late Weichselian Barents i ce sheet has been debated for several decades. This debate has arisen largely because of the limited or conflicting held evidence on which m ost models have been based. In particular, reconstruction of the marin e parts of the former Barents ice sheet has been controversial. This p aper aims to review the geological observations and interpretations re garding the size and timing of the Late Weichselian ice sheet, combine d with numerical modelling of its formation in order to produce a reco nstruction of ice sheet extent and behaviour. Sub-glacial till with ov erlying glacimarine deposits dated to the Late Weichselian is found ov er most of the Barents Sea floor and the continental shelf west of Sva lbard. Glacially induced debris flow deposits on the large Bjonoya and Isfjorden trough mouth fans strongly support the idea of ice sheet ex tension to the shelf edge during maximum glaciation. Isobase maps show a centre of post-glacial uplift in the north-central Barents Sea, and glaciological and isostatic modelling suggest that the ice sheet was 2000-3000 m thick in this area. The ice sheet was confluent with ice o ver the Kara Sea, but the interaction between the Barents and Kara ice sheets is not yet fully understood. The deglaciation of the Barents i ce sheet started ca 15 ka, probably by calving within the deeper troug hs. By 12 ka, most of the central Barents Sea was ice free, and ice re mained over the Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and Novaja Zemlya archipela gos and adjacent shallow shelf areas. The coasts and fjords of these i slands were ice free by 10 ka. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.