Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

This research program focuses on two themes: 1) the history and dynamics of the Newfoundland Ice Cap during the last glaciation, from retreat across the continental shelf to final melting in the interior of the island; and 2) the history of sea-level fluctuations around Newfoundland in response to ice cap retreat and melting. Ice retreat history will be investigated through examination and field mapping of landforms and landscapes preserved from ice cap advance and retreat. A new focus in this proposal is to combine glacial landform data from the inner continental shelf, mapped using sonar surveys, with landform data onshore, mapped from aerial photographs and satellite imagery. Topics of particular research interest are the evidence for former ice streams (fast-flowing glacier ice) in the Newfoundland Ice Cap and the timing and pattern of ice-marginal retreat. Results should provide new potential for understanding the behaviour of a small maritime ice cap during an overall period of climate warming and will have immediate application to the mineral exploration industry in Newfoundland because ice transport distances under rapid flow in an ice stream may be greater than originally thought. Relative sea-level studies have gained increased attention as we attempt to forecast global sea-level responses to climate warming over the next century. Past sea-level records suggest strong regional variability in this response, primarily due to residual effects from the last glaciation. The proposed research addresses the spatial and temporal variation in postglacial relative sea-level change in Newfoundland, a region that may experience moderate to significant impacts even under the most conservative scenarios of future sea-level rise. A major focus of this research will be the collection of precise sea-level data to improve our understanding of sea-level processes, and to provide quantitative information for the modelling community.