The Mallik Anticline is a geologic structure in the Mackenzie Delta in the Canadian Arctic. Tectonics throughout the Cenozoic, with compressional phases in the early Eocene to the late Miocene, formed this large, domed structure that is today an important source of hydrocarbons. Gas hydrates occur in the clastic sedimentary rocks of the Oligocene to Pleistocene Kugmallite, Mackenzie Bay, and Iperk sequences, which were essentially formed by deltaic processes. The presence of hydrocarbon gases within the permafrost zone in the Canadian Arctic has led to extensive exploration and production activities in the region since the mid-1960s, and the investigations by geologists and geophysicists have already been published in numerous scientific articles to date.
The associated report (Chabab and Kempka, 2023) describes the implementation of the first field-scale 3D static geologic model of the Mallik site, which was created using data from well logs and 2D seismic reflection profiles. The dataset presented here provides elevation depths and thickness data of the three distinct sequence boundaries Kugmallit-Richards, Mackenzie Bay-Kugmallit and Iperk-Mackenzie Bay as well as fault data from the Mallik site.
The overarching goal of the Drilling Overdeepened Alpine Valleys (DOVE) project will be to date the age and extent of past glaciations. Formerly-glaciated areas are often characterized by deeply incised structures, often filled by Quaternary deposits. These buried troughs and valleys were formed by glacial overdeepening, likely caused by pressurized subglacial meltwater below warm-based glaciers. Results of this drilling campaign, supported by new dating technologies, will further provide critical data on 'how' and 'at which rate' glacial erosion affects such mountain ranges and their foreland. These processes are also of fundamental importance for evaluating the safety of radioactive waste disposal sites, which are planned in areas of former glaciations. Moreover, results of this project will fill gaps in the knowledge of paleoclimate and atmospheric circulation patterns during past glacial epochs and how these patterns affected ice build-up.
The operational data sets include the drill core documentation from the mobile Drilling Information System (mDIS), full round core scans, MSCL data sets, a preliminary core description and the geophysical downhole logging data that were acquired during and subsequent to the drilling operations. All downhole logs and core depth were subject to depth correction to a common depth master (cf. operational report for detailed information). The data are described by two scientific reports, the Operational Report (https://doi.org/10.48440/ICDP.5068.001) and the Explanatory Remarks on the Operational Datasets (https://doi.org/10.48440/ICDP.5068.002).
Continuous sediment profiles were taken from ravine slopes at the Nesseltalgraben site in the Northern Calcareous Alps (SE Germany, 47.6567°N 13.0467°E, 560-582 m a.s.l.) in October 2016. The profile consists of fine-grained lacustrine-palustrine sediments overlain by several metres of glacifluvial gravels and lodgement tills of the Last Glacial Maximum and underlain by a diamicton. High-resolution (2 mm steps) element counts (Ca, S, Si, K, Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn, Rb, Sr, Zr) were obtained with an XRF core scanner (Itrax, Cox Analytical Systems, Sweden). Organic geochemistry (total organic and inorganic carbon, total nitrogen, total sulphur) was analysed with an elemental analyser (Euro EA, Eurovector, Germany), grain size with a laser diffractometer (Beckman-Coulter LS 200). The sediment profiles were compiled to a composite record of 21 m length. The age model bases on 29 radiocarbon analyses of macroscopic terrestrial plant remains (byrophytes, plant debris, monocots, wood, and twigs) and a previously discovered paleomagnetic anomaly assigned to the Laschamp event. The age model covers the period 59 to 29.6 ka cal BP and assigns the record to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The sediment record shows rapid changes in lithology, sedimentology, and geochemistry related to Dansgaard-Oeschger climatic events.