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High-resolution seismic imaging reveals infill history of a submerged Quaternary fjord system in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, New Zealand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 October 2019

Edward J. Perkins ,
Andrew R. Gorman Open the ORCID record for Andrew R. Gorman [Opens in a new window] ,
Emily J. Tidey ,
Gary S. Wilson ,
Christian Ohneiser ,
Christopher M. Moy ,
Christina R. Riesselman ,
Greer Gilmer  and
Ben S. Ross
Edward J. Perkins
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Andrew R. Gorman*
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Emily J. Tidey
Affiliation:
University of Otago, School of Surveying, PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Gary S. Wilson
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Marine Science, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Christian Ohneiser
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Christopher M. Moy
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Christina R. Riesselman
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. University of Otago, Department of Marine Science, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
Greer Gilmer
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Ben S. Ross
Affiliation:
University of Otago, Department of Geology, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
*
*Corresponding author e-mail address: andrew.gorman@otago.ac.nz
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Abstract

Quaternary processes and environmental changes are often difficult to assess in remote subantarctic islands due to high surface erosion rates and overprinting of sedimentary products in locations that can be a challenge to access. We present a set of high-resolution, multichannel seismic lines and complementary multibeam bathymetry collected off the eastern (leeward) side of the subantarctic Auckland Islands, about 465 km south of New Zealand's South Island. These data constrain the erosive and depositional history of the island group, and they reveal an extensive system of sediment-filled valleys that extend offshore to depths that exceed glacial low-stand sea level. Although shallow, marine, U-shaped valleys and moraines are imaged, the rugged offshore geomorphology of the paleovalley floors and the stratigraphy of infill sediments suggests that the valley floors were shaped by submarine fluvial erosion, and subsequently filled by lacustrine, fjord, and fluvial sedimentary processes.

Keywords

Glacial historyGlacial recordsPaleoclimateSubantarcticLast glacial maximumGeophysical investigationMarine seismologyMultibeam
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 93 , January 2020 , pp. 255 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019 

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