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Lake core record of Grinnell Glacier dynamics during the latest Pleistocene deglaciation and the Younger Dryas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Nathan S. Schachtman ,
Kelly R. MacGregor ,
Amy Myrbo ,
Nora Rose Hencir ,
Catherine A. Riihimaki ,
Jeffrey T. Thole  and
Louisa I. Bradtmiller
Nathan S. Schachtman*
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105, USA
Kelly R. MacGregor
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105, USA
Amy Myrbo
Affiliation:
LacCore, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Nora Rose Hencir
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105, USA
Catherine A. Riihimaki
Affiliation:
Council on Science and Technology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Jeffrey T. Thole
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105, USA
Louisa I. Bradtmiller
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Studies, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105, USA
*
*Corresponding author.E-mail address:[email protected] (N.S. Schachtman).
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Abstract

Few records in the alpine landscape of western North America document the geomorphic and glaciologic response to climate change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. While moraines can provide snapshots of glacier extent, high-resolution records of environmental response to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, Younger Dryas cooling, and subsequent warming into the stable Holocene are rare. We describe the transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene using a ~ 17,000-yr sediment record from Swiftcurrent Lake in eastern Glacier National Park, MT, with a focus on the period from ~ 17 to 11 ka. Total organic and inorganic carbon, grain size, and carbon/nitrogen data provide evidence for glacial retreat from the late Pleistocene into the Holocene, with the exception of a well-constrained advance during the Younger Dryas from 12.75 to 11.5 ka. Increased detrital carbonate concentration in Swiftcurrent Lake sediment reflects enhanced glacial erosion and sediment transport, likely a result of a more proximal ice terminus position and a reduction in the number of alpine lakes acting as sediment sinks in the valley.

Keywords

Glacier National ParkLake sediment coreLate PleistoceneHoloceneYounger DryasGrinnell GlacierTotal inorganic carbonLast Glacial MaximumGlacial erosionGeomorphic change
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 84 , Issue 1 , July 2015 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
University of Washington

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