Drumlins in the Nordenskiöldbreen forefield, Svalbard

AbstractThe study of glacial landforms is important for understanding past subglacial processes and dynamics. The Nordenskioldbreen forefield hosts numerous streamlined landforms resulting from a late Holocene glacier advance. Here, we present a geomorphological map constructed from remotely sensed imagery of both the marine and terrestrial environments. Sixteen drumlin bedforms have been identified in the mapped forefield – ten terrestrial and six submarine. A sedimentological investigation of drumlins in the Nordenskioldbreen forefield shows that they are composed of pre-existing sediments draped by a thin layer of till which formed during the most recent advance of the glacier. Analysis of recent (2008–2012), high-resolution aerial imagery of all the glacier forelands in Svalbard suggests drumlin features are widespread. Here, we have identified 49 previously undocumented terrestrial glacier forefields, where subglacially streamlined landforms occur within the margins of the late Holocene glacier exten...