Geohazard detection using 3D seismic data to enhance offshore scientific drilling site selection
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Williamson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Paul C. Knutz
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10,
1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
D. Calvin Campbell
Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Natural Resources Canada,
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 4A2, Canada
John R. Hopper
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10,
1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Andrew M. W. Newton
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Williamson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
School of Natural and Built Environment, Elmwood Building, Queen's
University Belfast, University Road, UK, BT7 1NN, UK
Mads Huuse
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Williamson Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Karsten Gohl
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
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Andrew M. W. Newton, Mads Huuse, Paul C. Knutz, and David R. Cox
The Cryosphere, 14, 2303–2312, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2303-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2303-2020, 2020
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Seismic reflection data offshore northwest Greenland reveal buried landforms that have been interpreted as mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs). These have been formed by ancient ice streams that advanced hundreds of kilometres across the continental shelf. The stratigraphy and available chronology show that the MSGLs are confined to separate stratigraphic units and were most likely formed during several glacial maxima after the onset of the Middle Pleistocene Transition at ~ 1.3 Ma.
Catherine M. Collins, Nicolas Perdrial, Pierre-Henri Blard, Nynke Keulen, William C. Mahaney, Halley Mastro, Juliana Souza, Donna M. Rizzo, Yves Marrocchi, Paul C. Knutz, and Paul R. Bierman
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
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The Camp Century sub-glacial core stores information about past climates, glacial and interglacial processes in northwest Greenland. In this study, we investigated the core archive making large scale observations using CT scans and micron scale observation observing physical and chemical characteristics of individual grains. We find evidence of past ice-free conditions, weathering processes during warmer periods, and past glaciations.
Lara F. Pérez, Paul C. Knutz, John R. Hopper, Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, Matt O'Regan, and Stephen Jones
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The Greenland ice sheet is highly sensitive to global warming and a major contributor to sea level rise. In Northeast Greenland, ice–ocean–tectonic interactions are readily observable today, but geological records that illuminate long-term trends are lacking. NorthGreen aims to promote scientific drilling proposals to resolve key scientific questions on past changes in the Northeast Greenland margin that further affected the broader Earth system.
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2209–2238, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2209-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2209-2022, 2022
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We assemble all available geothermal heat flow measurements collected in and around Greenland into a new database. We use this database of point measurements, in combination with other geophysical datasets, to model geothermal heat flow in and around Greenland. Our geothermal heat flow model is generally cooler than previous models of Greenland, especially in southern Greenland. It does not suggest any high geothermal heat flows resulting from Icelandic plume activity over 50 million years ago.
Andrew M. W. Newton and Donal J. Mullan
The Cryosphere, 15, 2211–2234, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2211-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2211-2021, 2021
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This paper investigates changes in the dates of ice freeze-up and breakup for 678 Northern Hemisphere lakes and rivers from 1931–2005. From 3510 time series, the results show that breakup dates have gradually occurred earlier through time, whilst freeze-up trends have tended to be significantly more variable. These data combined show that the number of annual open-water days has increased through time for most sites, with the magnitude of change at its largest in more recent years.
Kelly A. Hogan, Robert D. Larter, Alastair G. C. Graham, Robert Arthern, James D. Kirkham, Rebecca L. Totten, Tom A. Jordan, Rachel Clark, Victoria Fitzgerald, Anna K. Wåhlin, John B. Anderson, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Frank O. Nitsche, Lauren Simkins, James A. Smith, Karsten Gohl, Jan Erik Arndt, Jongkuk Hong, and Julia Wellner
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The sea-floor geometry around the rapidly changing Thwaites Glacier is a key control on warm ocean waters reaching the ice shelf and grounding zone beyond. This area was previously unsurveyed due to icebergs and sea-ice cover. The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration mapped this area for the first time in 2019. The data reveal troughs over 1200 m deep and, as this region is thought to have only ungrounded recently, provide key insights into the morphology beneath the grounded ice sheet.
Andrew M. W. Newton, Mads Huuse, Paul C. Knutz, and David R. Cox
The Cryosphere, 14, 2303–2312, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2303-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2303-2020, 2020
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Seismic reflection data offshore northwest Greenland reveal buried landforms that have been interpreted as mega-scale glacial lineations (MSGLs). These have been formed by ancient ice streams that advanced hundreds of kilometres across the continental shelf. The stratigraphy and available chronology show that the MSGLs are confined to separate stratigraphic units and were most likely formed during several glacial maxima after the onset of the Middle Pleistocene Transition at ~ 1.3 Ma.
Robert McKay, Neville Exon, Dietmar Müller, Karsten Gohl, Michael Gurnis, Amelia Shevenell, Stuart Henrys, Fumio Inagaki, Dhananjai Pandey, Jessica Whiteside, Tina van de Flierdt, Tim Naish, Verena Heuer, Yuki Morono, Millard Coffin, Marguerite Godard, Laura Wallace, Shuichi Kodaira, Peter Bijl, Julien Collot, Gerald Dickens, Brandon Dugan, Ann G. Dunlea, Ron Hackney, Minoru Ikehara, Martin Jutzeler, Lisa McNeill, Sushant Naik, Taryn Noble, Bradley Opdyke, Ingo Pecher, Lowell Stott, Gabriele Uenzelmann-Neben, Yatheesh Vadakkeykath, and Ulrich G. Wortmann
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The Cryosphere, 12, 2039–2050, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018, 2018
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The calving line location of the Pine Island Glacier did not show any trend within the last 70 years until calving in 2015 led to unprecedented retreat. In February 2017 we accessed this previously ice-shelf-covered area with RV Polarstern and mapped the sea-floor topography for the first time. Satellite imagery of the last decades show how the newly mapped shoals affected the ice shelf development and highlights that sea-floor topography is an important factor in initiating calving events.
K. Hochmuth, K. Gohl, G. Uenzelmann-Neben, and R. Werner
Solid Earth Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/sed-6-1863-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/sed-6-1863-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript not accepted
F. O. Nitsche, K. Gohl, R. D. Larter, C.-D. Hillenbrand, G. Kuhn, J. A. Smith, S. Jacobs, J. B. Anderson, and M. Jakobsson
The Cryosphere, 7, 249–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-249-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-249-2013, 2013
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Short summary
A workflow is presented that uses 3D subsurface image (seismic) data to identify and avoid potential geological hazards, in order to increase safety and minimize the risk associated with selecting offshore scientific drilling locations. The workflow has been implemented for a scientific drilling expedition proposal within a challenging region offshore north-western Greenland and resulted in an improved understanding of subsurface hazards and a reduction of risk across all selected drill sites.
A workflow is presented that uses 3D subsurface image (seismic) data to identify and avoid...