Grounding-zone wedges and mega-scale glacial lineations in the Mertz Trough, East Antarctica

Abstract

Glacial erosion and deposition have shaped the Mertz Trough, East Antarctica, where seafloor grounding-zone wedges (GZWs) are associated with mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs) (McMullen et al. 2006). GZWs form along grounded glacial margins constrained by ice shelves during stillstands and consist of wedge-shaped glacially transported sediment (Powell & Domack 2002). MSGLs are parallel elongate bedforms that typically form in soft sediments beneath rapidly flowing ice streams (Clark 1993; Canals et al. 2000; Clark et al. 2003). They are found in glacial troughs, usually parallel to trough margins. MSGLs are generally 6 to >100 km long, 200–1300 m wide and spaced 0.3–5 km apart, crest-to-crest (Clark et al. 2003; McMullen et al. 2006).