Landform zones and periglacial phenomena on Torell Land (Spitsbergen)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/BP/1957/5/5Keywords:
periglacial processes, tundra polygons, solifluction, congeliclastic materialAbstract
A synthetic overview of the zonal distribution of periglacial phenomena on Torell Land is presented, based on observations made during the Polish expedition to Spitsbergen in 1934. The author includes microrelief forms associated with the presence of sea ice among periglacial phenomena. Alongside permafrost, snow and perennial ice, persistent below the lower limit of perennial snow, play a significant role in shaping periglacial relief. They occur at the edges of valley slopes and in the depressions of corrosive niches. A little-known variety of snow and perennial ice is the ice covering the outwash plains of some glaciers. Contrary to popular belief, well-developed and currently developing Taymyr-type tundra polygons exist on Spitsbergen. Rocky polygons, however, are rare and subfossil in nature. This is one indicator of the ongoing climate change.
In the area not covered by glaciers, a distinct zonation is observed on Torell Land. At the bottom lies a belt of humid tundra with developed solifluction; above, there is rubble tundra covered with congeliclastic material. This zone transitions higher into a coarse-rubble area with boulder fields and scattered heaps of large, sharp-edged sandstone and shale fragments. This material appears in a belt corresponding to the lower limit of perpetual snow on the glaciers (370-420 m above sea level). Aeolian activity is observed here, evident in the occurrence of ventifacts and cryoconite.
On the slopes, above the perpetual snow line, coracial gullies are strongly developed; in their upper parts, snow niches are located, which gradually develop into slope glaciers. Above 700-750 m above sea level, the slopes are sculpted primarily by snow avalanches, creating a well-developed network of parallel furrows. On ridges and crags structural dissection occurs, mediated by gelivation. Active gelivation processes, primarily along macro-cleavage fissures, predominate here, leading to the separation of large sections of rock walls. In the central part of Torell Land, ice and snow cover reaches a high degree (97%), forming large ice plateaus.
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