Abstract
Fjords, glacially over-deepened troughs, line the coastlines of all formerly glaciated regions and the margins of present-day ice sheets and glaciers. Great depths and high sedimentation rates provide exceptional conditions for the accumulation and preservation of sediments and consequently palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records. This Geological Society Special Publication arises from three international meetings held in Scotland and Norway between 2006 and 2009 and aims to synthesise current physical, oceanographic and sedimentological research on fjord environments. The compilation largely achieves this aim, providing both a digest of original research results and timely reviews on the state of the art of fjord research. As such, it is a fitting tribute to the late Harald Svendsen, a pioneer in Arctic fjord research to whom the book is dedicated.
The collection is organised into five interlinked themes: fjord physics and physical oceanography (three papers); biology and biological indicators (three papers including a discussion of the use of dinoflagellate cysts as a palaeoceanographic proxy); modern sediment dynamics and processes (two papers); sediments and depositional architecture (six papers); and depositional archives and palaeoenvironments (eight papers).
Introductory papers help to frame the book as an up-to-date reference for fjord studies; the aims and scope of the collection are described in a clear and concise introduction by the editors and a general review of the significance of fjord systems and their sedimentary archives is a useful overview of the discipline (Howe et al.). In addition, a comprehensive glossary of terms is provided online as supplementary material, although one wonders why this valuable addition for the non-expert reader and students is excluded from the printed volume. The value of the compilation as a reference tool is further enhanced by comprehensive review papers on fjord physics (Inall and Gillibrand) and Arctic fjord oceanographic processes (Cottier et al.), the understanding of both being essential to interpreting fjord palaeo-archives. The former is deliberately non-mathematical yet fully outlines the main physical processes and various numerical modelling approaches applied to mid-latitude fjord landscapes. The publication of an up-to-date synthesis of research into fjord oceanography and physics is extremely timely as the role of fjords in managing interactions between the ocean and tide-water outlet glaciers of the Greenland Ice Sheet is currently the subject of intense interest (Straneo et al., 2011).
The remainder of the volume is given over to short research papers on particular topics or geographic locations grouped by theme, the majority focusing on sedimentary and depositional processes and the role of fjord basins as archives of glacial geology and Holocene palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes. The use of fjord sediments to reconstruct climatic conditions on decadal (Paetzel and Dale) to millennial (Hass et al., Filipsson et al., Skirbekk et al.) scales and using a range of climatic proxies (e.g. Cundill and Austin, Mokeddem et al., Baltzer et al.) is represented. An excellent and comprehensive review by McIntyre and Howe details the contribution of fjords to understanding the post-LGM and Holocene history of Western Scotland. There is a notable geographical bias to the volume, the majority of papers presenting results from Svalbard, Scotland and Norway and only one paper describing results from outside the Northern Hemisphere (Antarctica). This likely reflects the research interests of attendees at the three symposia from which the book is derived, yet there is still much of relevance to those interested in fjords outside these geographic regions. In addition to being essential reading for those interested in the post-LGM and Holocene climatic history of the fjords of Scotland and Svalbard, this multidisciplinary compilation has much to entice those interested in gaining a deeper insight into the past and future of these spectacular landscape features.