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Glaciated Coasts

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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition

Glaciated coasts are dominated or closely affected by glaciers and glacier processes. They include: (1) modern systems in direct contact with glacial ice; (2) proglacial systems, in front of or adjacent to active glaciers; and (3) paraglacial coasts, formerly glaciated systems that are controlled by glacial geomorphology, sediment sources, and/or isostatic responses.

Introduction

There are a wide variety of glaciated coasts, usually with both erosional and depositional features. Coasts may be actively glaciated systems, such as Antarctica, southeastern Alaska, and Greenland, or formerly glaciated regions, such as Scandinavia, Scotland, northeastern Canada and New England, the Pacific Northwest, and southern Chile (Table 1). Formerly glaciated, or paraglacial coasts (FitzGerald and van Heteren 1999; Slaymaker 2009), are modified by modern coastal processes and by changes during deglaciation such as permafrost action, outwash, isostatic rebound, and proglacial lacustrine and...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Daniel F. Belknap

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  1. Daniel F. Belknap
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Correspondence to Daniel F. Belknap .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, Florida, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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Belknap, D.F. (2018). Glaciated Coasts. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_153-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_153-2

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