Definition
Series of coalesced flat-topped, fan-shaped mounds, forming a continuous ridge at non-calving ice margins, where ice front remains stationary for a considerable period of time (Bennett and Glassner 2011)
Synonyms
Formation
They form by subglacial meltwater discharging into a proglacial lake or the sea (Huggett 2011), directly at the glacier margins, unlike glacier-fed proglacial deltas which receive sediments from proglacial meltwater streams. Ice-contact deltas exhibit Hjulstrom- and Gilbert-type morphologies (Benn and Evans 2003). Ice-contact deltas may evolve from grounding-line fans (Grounding-Line System) (Powell 1990).
Composition
Glaciofluvial and glacial debris (Hambrey 1994)
Prominent Examples
Salpausselkä moraines, Finland
References
Benn D, Evans D (2003) Glaciers and glaciation. Oxford University Press, New York
Bennett MM, Glassner NF (2011) Glacial geology: ice sheets and landforms. Wiley, Chichester
Di Achille G, Ori GG (2008) Complex intermontaine glacial systems in Arabia Terra, Mars: Evidence for an Amazonian proglacial lake with associated glaciolacustrine deposits. 39th Lunar Planet Sci Conf, abstract #2096, Houston
Hambrey MJ (1994) Glacial environments, UBC Press, Vancouver, Canada.
Huggett RJ (2011) Fundamentals of geomorphology. Routledge London/New York. p. 284
Powell RD (1990) Glacimarine processes at grounding-line fans and their growth to ice-contact deltas. In: Dowdeswell JA, Scourse JD (eds) Glacimarine environments: processes and sediments. Geological Society, London, Special Publication No. 53. 423 pp
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Hargitai, H. (2014). Ice-Contact Delta. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_206-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_206-1
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