Publications
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.
Late Paleozoic glaciated landscape in northern Africa as an outstandingly well-preserved analogue to Quaternary deglaciated areas
The Ennedi Massif in Chad reveals an exceptionally well-preserved Paleozoic ice stream landscape, offering a unique analogue to Quaternary deglaciated regions. This study identifies a grounding zone wedge—a feature that reconstructs the former coastline—using large-scale glacial lineations and convex topography orthogonal to these structures. The absence of vegetation in the desert environment highlights subglacial, ice-marginal, and proglacial features, including inverted channel sediments that may record meltwater release phases during ice retreat. This landscape provides a rare opportunity to study the spatial relationships between components of an ancient ice sheet, enhancing our understanding of modern glaciated areas.
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