Recent glacially influenced sedimentary processes on the East Greenland continental slope and deep Greenland Basin

This paper presents the morpho-sedimentary characterization and interpretations of the assemblage of landforms of the East Greenland continental slope and Greenland Basin, based on swath bathymetry and sub-bottom TOPAS profiles. The interpretation of landforms reveals the glacial influence on recent sedimentary processes shaping the seafloor, including mass-wasting and turbidite flows. The timing of landform development points to a predominantly glacial origin of the sediment supplied to the continental margin, supporting the scenario of a Greenland Ice Sheet extending across the continental shelf, or even to the shelf-edge, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Major sedimentary processes along the central section of the eastern Greenland Continental Slope, the Norske margin, suggest a relatively high glacial sediment input during the LGM that, probably triggered by tectonic activity, led to the development of scarps and channels on the slope and debris flows on the continental rise. The more southerly Kejser Franz Josef margin has small-scale mass-wasting deposits and an extensive turbidite system that developed in relation to both channelised and unconfined turbidity flows which transferred sediments into the deep Greenland Basin.

► We present a morpho-sedimentary study of the East Greenland slope and basin.
► Landforms are interpreted based on swath bathymetry and sub-bottom TOPAS profiles.
► Glacially influenced sedimentary processes include mass-wasting and turbidite flows.
► Extensive sediment-wave fields on the basin are related to turbidite currents.
► The GIS extended across the shelf (maybe even to the shelf-edge) during the LGM.