Morphometric and sedimentological characteristics of Late Holocene earth hummocks in the Zackenberg Valley (NE Greenland).

A multi-approach characterization of three earth hummock fields has been conducted to understand the morphometrical characteristics and distribution pattern of these periglacial features in the Zackenberg Valley, NE Greenland. Earth hummocks develop in poorly-drained areas affected by intense cryogenic conditions. An accurate analysis of the morphometrical properties of hundreds of earth hummocks distributed between different Early Holocene moraine systems of the eastern slope of the Zackenberg Valley reveals an important control of microtopography on their distribution.

Modelling ground thermal regime in bordering (dis)continuous permafrost environments.

Permafrost controls geomorphological dynamics in maritime Antarctic ecosystems. Here, we analyze and model ground thermal regime in bordering conditions between continuous and discontinuous permafrost to better understand its relationship with the timing of glacial retreat. In February 2017, a transect including 10 sites for monitoring ground temperatures was installed in the eastern fringe of Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, northern Antarctic Peninsula), together with one station recording air temperatures and snow thickness.

Radionuclides and soil properties as indicators of glacier retreat in a recently deglaciated permafrost environment of the Maritime Antarctica.

Many ice-free environments in Maritime Antarctica are undergoing rapid and substantial environmental changes in response to recent climate trends. This is the case of Elephant Point (Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, SSI), where the glacier retreat recorded during the last six decades exposed 17% of this small peninsula, namely a moraine extending from the western to the eastern coastlines and a relatively flat proglacial surface. In the southern margin of the peninsula, a sequence of Holocene raised beaches and several bedrock plateaus are also distributed.

Topographic and geomorphologic controls on the distribution of vegetation formations in Elephant Point (Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica).

This article focuses on the spatial distribution of vegetation formations in Elephant Point, an ice-free area of 1.16km located in Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Fieldwork carried out in January 2014 consisted of floristic surveys and designation of a vegetation map.

Cryogenic processes and fire activity in a high Atlantic mountain area in NW Iberia (Picos de Europa) during the Mid-Late Holocene.

Mid-Late Holocene environmental changes in the Cantabrian Mountains are a consequence of both climate variability and human activity. A 182cm-long sedimentary sequence was collected from Belbín depression, Western Massif of Picos de Europa (Cantabrian Mountains, NW Spain), in order to reconstruct Holocene environmental dynamics and the factors triggering landscape changes in the area. Using multi-proxy analysis of the uppermost 60cm of the sediments (texture, organic matter content, quartz grains microstructures, charcoal deposition) together with three C AMS dates, a sequence of alternating warmer and colder phases has been inferred for the last ca.