Abstract:
[Objective] Glacial erosion forms serve as crucial bases for reconstructing the laws of glacial movement and transport-deposition processes in geological history. They are the most explicit diagnostic indicators of glacial thermal regimes and important tools for reconstructing the scale, morphology, dynamics, and evolutionary history of ancient ice sheets. After centuries of development, an internationally recognized classification system of glacial erosion mechanisms and forms has emerged, providing significant references for research on deep-time glaciation. Late Neoproterozoic glacial events have become a heated topic in international geoscience in recent years; however, there has been little systematic introduction to glacial erosion processes and the subglacial erosional forms associated with these events. [Methods] This study summarizes the current research status and previous achievements and combines them with our personal research experience. It categorizes the multi-scale glacial erosional forms created by glaciers (via abrasion, quarrying, and meltwater erosion) on the bedrock beneath the Ediacaran Luoquan Formation (southern North China Craton) and the Cryogenian Yuermeinak Formation (northwestern Tarim Craton). [Results] These forms are categorized into three scales: (1) striations, nailhead striae, crescentic gouges and fractures, and plastically moulded forms (microscale); (2) roche moutonnées, grooves, and ridges (mesoscale); and (3) giant glacial pavements (macroscale). Additionally, the study analyzes and discusses the significance of these forms in understanding the laws of glacial movement. Studies have shown that the heads of nailhead striae and the convex surfaces of the crescentic gouges indicate the ice flow direction, while the convex surfaces of chatter marks and crescentic fractures face away from the ice flow direction. For plastically moulded forms (p-forms) represented by Muschelbruch, the ice mass flows from the sharp convex edge to the transitional edge. The stoss side of roche moutonnée forms an acute angle with the bedrock, and the lee side is characterized by an abrupt fracture surface nearly perpendicular to the bedrock. [Conclusion] Glacial erosional forms are the most direct reflection of glacial thermal regimes and kinematic characteristics. Compared with the Yuermeinak Formation, the glacial erosion forms of the Luoquan Formation are more extensively developed and more diverse. This may be attributed to the gradually intensifying temperate glacial thermal regime from the Cryogenian to the Ediacaran, responding to the special tectonic setting during the final breakup of Rodinia and the gradual assembly of Gondwana. [Significance] Spatial analysis and qualitative and quantitative research on late Neoproterozoic glacial erosion forms, as well as comparison with Paleozoic glacial erosional forms, can provide key evidence for addressing critical scientific issues, such as the reconstruction of glacial paleogeography.