Chad's cabinet of icy curiosities: Sharpening the interpretation of subglacial and ice marginal environments during the LPIA glaciation of the Ennedi Plateau

Researchers have uncovered the first known evidence of soft-sediment striated surfaces and a fully preserved grounding zone wedge (GZW) in the Ennedi Massif, Chad, offering unprecedented insights into the behavior of a mid-latitude, marine-terminating ice sheet during the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (LPIA). These findings suggest the presence of a soft-deformable bed that could explain extensive mega-scale glacial lineations across the plateau. The study utilized satellite imagery and band-ratio techniques to analyze proglacial, ice-marginal, and subglacial structures, providing a detailed interpretation of this exceptional palaeo-ice stream landscape.

Wohlschlägl, R., Kettler, C., Le Heron, D. P., & Zboray, A. (2023). Chad’s cabinet of icy curiosities: Sharpening the interpretation of subglacial and ice marginal environments during the LPIA glaciation of the Ennedi Plateau. Sedimentary Geology, 455, 106483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106483