Linear to curvilinear depressions on high-latitude continental shelves have long been regarded as the signature of the ploughing action of iceberg keels impinging on the sedimentary seafloor (e.g. Woodworth-Lynas et al. 1991). These depressions vary in dimensions and pattern with the size of calved icebergs and their drift tracks through the polar seas. Two different sizes of iceberg have affected the shelf north of Svalbard, producing distinctive sets of ploughmarks (Dowdeswell et al. 2010).
Description
Large numbers of linear and curvilinear depressions are present on the seafloor of the northern Svalbard margin at water depths of <615 m (Fig. 1). The depressions are of two types. The first are large quasi-linear features up to 23 km long, 1 km wide and 80 m deep (Fig. 1a, d). These features are clustered within a fairly well-defined band of water depths (from 400 to 615 m over an area of c. 800 km2), above and below which few are present. At first sight many features appear linear; detailed inspection shows that some are slightly curvilinear, whereas others are composed of several straight sections interspersed with directional shifts of sometimes just a few degrees. In addition, individual linear features often appear to …
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Huge iceberg ploughmarks and associated corrugation ridges on the northern Svalbard shelf
