Erosion Rate of a Younger Dryas Cirque Glacier at Kråkenes, Western Norway

An erosion rate of 0.5 to 0.6 mm a−1 is deduced for a Younger Dryas cirque glacier. The erosion period of 700 a was determined from the laminated glaciolacustrine sediments in a small lake just outside the end moraine of the cirque and radiocarbon dates obtained below and above these sediments. The volume of eroded bedrock was calculated from measurements of the deposited sediments, of which the end moraine, the glaciofluvial delta, and the glaciolacustrine sediments are most important. With a constant erosion rate, the cirque could have formed in 83 to 125 000 a.