Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T16:23:00.601Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The loess cover of northeastern Wisconsin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Randall J. Schaetzl  and
John W. Attig
Randall J. Schaetzl*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, 128 Geography Bldg, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1117, USA
John W. Attig
Affiliation:
Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705-5100, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: + 1 517 432 1671. E-mail address:[email protected] (R.J. Schaetzl).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We present the first study of the distribution, genesis and paleoenvironmental significance of late Pleistocene loess in northeastern Wisconsin and adjacent parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Loess here is commonly 25–70 cm thick. Upland areas that were deglaciated early and remained geomorphically stable preferentially accumulated loess by providing sites that were efficient at trapping and retaining eolian sediment. Data from 419 such sites indicate that the loess was mainly derived from proglacial outwash plains and to a lesser extent, hummocky end moraines within and near the region, particularly those toward the east of the loess deposits. Most of the loess was transported on katabatic winds coming off the ice sheet, which entrained and transported both silt and fine sands. The loess fines markedly, and is better sorted, distal to these source regions. Only minimal amounts of loess were deposited in this area via westerly winds. This research (1) reinforces the observation that outwash plains and end moraines can be significant loess sources, (2) provides evidence for katabatic winds as significant eolian transport vectors, and (3) demonstrates that the loess record may be variously preserved across landscapes, depending on where and when geomorphically stable sites became available for loess accumulation.

Keywords

WisconsinMichiganOutwash plainsDrumlinsKatabatic windsGlacial anticyclone
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 2 , March 2013 , pp. 199 - 214
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aleinikoff, J.N., Muhs, D.R., Bettis, E.A., Johnson, W.C., Fanning, C.M., and Benton, R. Isotopic evidence for the diversity of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: glaciogenic and nonglaciogenic sources. Geological Society of America Bulletin 120, (2008). 1362–1377.Google Scholar
Attig, J.W. Pleistocene geology of Vilas County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Informational Circular 50, (1985). (32 pp.)Google Scholar
Attig, J.W. Pleistocene geology of Taylor County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Bulletin 90, (1994). 25 pp.Google Scholar
Attig, J.W., and Clayton, L. Stratigraphy and origin of an area of hummocky glacial topography, northern Wisconsin, U.S.A.. Quaternary International 18, (1993). 61–67.Google Scholar
Attig, J.W., and Ham, N.R. Quaternary geology of Northern Oconto County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Bull 97, (1999). (14 pp.)Google Scholar
Attig, J.W., Clayton, L., and Mickelson, D.M. Correlation of late Wisconsin glacial phases in the western Great Lakes area. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96, (1985). 1585–1593.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attig, J.W., Ham, N.R., and Mickelson, D.M. Environments and processes along the margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in north-central Wisconsin. Guidebook for the Midwest Friends of the Pleistocene Annual Meeting. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Open-File Report 1998-01. (1998). (62 pp.)Google Scholar
Attig, J.W., Bricknell, M., Carson, E.C., Clayton, L., Johnson, M.D., Mickelson, D.M., Syverson, K.M. 4th ed. Glaciation of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Educational Series Publication 36, (2011). (4 pp.)Google Scholar
Attig, J.W., Hanson, P.R., Rawling, J.E. III, Young, A.R., and Carson, E.C. Optical ages indicate the southwestern margin of the Green Bay Lobe in Wisconsin, USA, was at its maximum extent until about 18,500 years ago. Geomorphology 130, (2011). 384–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnhisel, R.I., Bailey, H.H., and Matondang, S. Loess distribution in central and eastern Kentucky. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 35, (1971). 483–487.Google Scholar
Bartlein, P.J., Anderson, K.H., Anderson, P.M., Edwards, M.E., Mock, C.J., Thompson, R.S., Webb, R.S., Webb, T. III, and Whitlock, C. Paleoclimate simulations for North America over the past 21,000 years: features of the simulated climate and comparisons with paleoenvironmental data. Quaternary Science Reviews 17, (1998). 494–585.Google Scholar
Bettis, E.A. III, Muhs, D.R., Roberts, H.M., and Wintle, A.G. Last glacial loess in the conterminous USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 1907–1946.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boelter, J.M., and Elg, A.M. Soil Survey of Florence County, Wisconsin. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2004). US Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Boelter, J.M., Elg, A.M., and Barnes, J.R. Soil Survey of Forest County, Wisconsin. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2005). US Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Bromwich, D.H. An extraordinary katabatic wind regime at Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. Monthly Weather Review 117, (1989). 688–695.Google Scholar
Caldwell, R.E., and White, J.L. A study of the origin and distribution of loess in southern Indiana. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 20, (1956). 258–263.Google Scholar
Chamberlin, T.C. Supplementary hypothesis respecting the origin of the loess of the Mississippi Valley. Journal of Geology 5, (1897). 796–802.Google Scholar
Clayton, L. Pleistocene geology of Florence County, Wisconsin. Wisc. Geol. Nat. Hist. Survey Info. Circular 51, (1986). (13 pp.)Google Scholar
Clayton, L., and Moran, S.R. Chronology of late Wisconsinan glaciation in middle North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 1, (1982). 55–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L., Attig, J.W., and Mickelson, D.M. Effects of late Pleistocene permafrost on the landscape of Wisconsin. Boreas 30, (2001). 173–188.Google Scholar
Clayton, L., Attig, J.W., Mickelson, D.M., Johnson, M.D., and Syverson, K.M. Glaciation of Wisconsin. 3rd ed. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Educational Series 36, (2006). (4 pp.)Google Scholar
Clayton, L., Attig, J.W., Ham, N.R., Johnson, M.D., Jennings, C.E., and Syverson, K.M. Ice-walled lake plains: implications for the origin of hummocky glacial topography in middle North America. Geomorphology 97, (2008). 237–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelman, C.H., and Maarleveld, G.C. Pleistozän-geologische Ergebnisse der Bodenkartierung in den Niederlanden. Geologisches Jahrbuch 73, (1958). 639–684.Google Scholar
Fehrenbacher, J.B., White, J.L., Ulrich, H.P., and Odell, R.T. Loess distribution in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 29, (1965). 566–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehrenbacher, J.B., Olson, K.R., and Jansen, I.J. Loess thickness in Illinois. Soil Science 141, (1986). 423–431.Google Scholar
Flint, R.F. Glacial and Pleistocene Geology. (1971). John Wiley and Sons, New York. (553 pp.)Google Scholar
Follmer, L.R. Loess studies in central United States: evolution of concepts. Engineering Geology 45, (1996). 287–304.Google Scholar
Grimley, D.A. Glacial and nonglacial sediment contributions to Wisconsin Episode loess in the central United States. Geological Society of America Bulletin 112, (2000). 1475–1495.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haase, D., Fink, J., Haase, G., Ruske, R., Pecsi, M., Richter, H., Altermann, M., and Jaeger, K.-D. Loess in Europe — its spatial distribution based on a European Loess Map, scale 1:2,500,000. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 1301–1312.Google Scholar
Habecker, M.A., McSweeney, K., and Madison, F.W. Identification and genesis of fragipans in Ochrepts of North Central Wisconsin. Soil Science Society of America Journal 54, (1990). 139–146.Google Scholar
Hallberg, G.R., Fenton, T.E., Miller, G.A., and Luteneggar, A.J. The Iowan Erosion Surface: an old story, an important lesson, and some new wrinkles. Guidebook, 42nd Annual Tri-State Geology Field Conference, Geology of East-Central Iowa. (1978). Iowa Geol. Survey, Iowa City. 2-1-2-94 Google Scholar
Heinemann, G. The KABEG'97 field experiment: an aircraft-based study of katabatic wind dynamics over the Greenland Ice Sheet. Boundary Layer Meteorology 93, (1999). 75–116.Google Scholar
Hobbs, W.H. The glacial anticyclone and the continental glaciers of North America. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 86, (1943). 368–402.Google Scholar
Hole, F.D. Aeolian sand and silt deposits of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Map, Madison, WI. (1950 reprinted, 1968). Google Scholar
Hole, F.D. Soils of Wisconsin. (1976). Univ. of Wis. Press, Madison. (223 pp.)Google Scholar
Kabrick, J.M., Clayton, M.K., and McSweeney, K. Spatial patterns of carbon and texture on drumlins in northeastern Wisconsin. Soil Science Society of America Journal 61, (1997). 541–548.Google Scholar
Kabrick, J.M., Clayton, M.K., McBratney, A.B., and McSweeney, K. Cradle-knoll patterns and characteristics on drumlins in northeastern Wisconsin. Soil Science Society of America Journal 61, (1997). 595–603.Google Scholar
Kasse, C. Sandy aeolian deposits and environments and their relation to climate during the Last Glacial Maximum and Lateglacial in northwest and central Europe. Progress in Physical Geography 26, (2002). 507–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krist, F., and Schaetzl, R.J. Paleowind (11,000 BP) directions derived from lake spits in northern Michigan. Geomorphology 38, (2001). 1–18.Google Scholar
Kutzbach, J.E., Gallimore, R., Harrison, S.P., Behling, P., Selin, R., and Laarif, F. Climate and biome simulations for the past 21,000 years. Quaternary Science Reviews 17, (1998). 473–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehmkuhl, F., Klinge, M., Rees-Jones, J., and Rhodes, E.J. Late Quaternary aeolian sedimentation in central and south-eastern Tibet. Quaternary International 68, (2000). 117–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leigh, D.L., and Knox, J.C. Loess of the upper Mississippi Valley driftless area. Quaternary Research 42, (1994). 30–40.Google Scholar
Leighton, M.M., and Willman, H.B. Loess formations of the Mississippi Valley. Journal of Geology 58, (1950). 599–623.Google Scholar
Linsemier, L.H. Soil Survey of Iron County, Michigan. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. (1997). US Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Luehmann, M.D., Schaetzl, R.J., Miller, B.A., and Bigsby, M. Thin, pedoturbated and locally sourced loess in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Aeolian Research 6, (2013). Google Scholar
Mason, J.A. Transport direction of Peoria loess in Nebraska and implications for loess source areas on the central Great Plains. Quaternary Research 56, (2001). 79–86.Google Scholar
Mason, J.A., Nater, E.A., and Hobbs, H.C. Transport direction of Wisconsinan loess in Southeastern Minnesota. Quaternary Research 41, (1994). 44–51.Google Scholar
Mason, J.A., Nater, E.A., Zanner, C.W., and Bell, J.C. A new model of topographic effects on the distribution of loess. Geomorphology 28, (1999). 223–236.Google Scholar
Matheron, G. Principles of geostatistics. Economic Geology 58, (1963). 1246–1266.Google Scholar
Members, C.O.H.M.A.P. Climatic changes of the last 18,000 years: observations and model simulations. Science 241, (1988). 1043–1052.Google Scholar
Mickelson, D.M. Glacial and related deposits of Langlade County, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Informational Circular 52, (1986). (30 pp.)Google Scholar
Millar, S.W.S., and Nelson, F.E. Clast fabric in relict periglacial colluvium, Salamanca Re-entrant, southwestern New York, USA. Geografiska Annaler 83, (2001). 145–156.Google Scholar
Miller, B.A., and Schaetzl, R.J. Precision of soil particle size analysis using laser diffractometry. Soil Science Society of America Journal 76, (2012). 1719–1727.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., Bettis, E.A. III Geochemical variations in Peoria loess of western Iowa indicate paleowinds of midcontinental North America during last glaciation. Quaternary Research 53, (2000). 49–61.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., and Budahn, J.R. Geochemical evidence for the origin of late Quaternary loess in central Alaska. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 43, (2006). 323–337.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., Bettis, E.A., Aleinikoff, J.N., McGeehin, J.P., Beann, J., Skipp, G., Marshall, B.D., Roberts, H.M., Johnson, W.C., and Benton, R. Origin and paleoclimatic signifi cance of late Quaternary loess in Nebraska: evidence from stratigraphy, chronology, sedimentology, and geochemistry. Geological Society of America Bulletin 120, (2008). 1378–1407.Google Scholar
Natzke, L.L., and Hvizdak, D.J. Soil Survey of Vilas County, Wisconsin. (1988). USDA Soil Conservation Service, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Peterson, W.L. Preliminary surficial geologic map of the Iron River 1° x 2° quadrangle, Michigan and Wisconsin. United States Geological Survey Open File Rept. 82-301. (1985). Google Scholar
Peterson, W.L. Late Wisconsinan glacial history of northeastern Wisconsin and western upper Michigan. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1652, (1986). (14 pp.)Google Scholar
Phillips, J.D., and Marion, D.A. Biomechanical effects of trees on soil and regolith: beyond treethrow. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96, (2006). 233–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pongpattananurak, N., Reich, R.M., Khosla, R., and Aguirre-Bravo, C. Modeling the spatial distribution of soil texture in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Soil Science Society of America Journal 76, (2012). 199–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putman, B.R., Jansen, I.J., and Follmer, L.R. Loessial soils: their relationship to width of the source valley in Illinois. Soil Science 146, (1989). 241–247.Google Scholar
Pye, K. The nature, origin and accumulation of loess. Quaternary Science Reviews 14, (1995). 653–667.Google Scholar
Renssen, H., Kasse, C., Vandenberghe, J., and Lorenz, S.J. Weichselian Late Pleniglacial surface winds over northwest and central Europe: a model–data comparison. Journal of Quaternary Science 22, (2007). 281–293.Google Scholar
Roberts, H.M., Muhs, D.R., Wintle, A.G., Duller, G.A.T., Bettis, E.A. III Unprecedented last-glacial mass accumulation rates determined by luminescence dating of loess from western Nebraska. Quaternary Research 59, (2003). 411–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruhe, R.V. Quaternary Landscapes in Iowa. (1969). Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames. (255 pp.)Google Scholar
Ruhe, R.V. Loess derived soils, Mississippi valley region: I. Soil sedimentation system. Soil Science Society of America Journal 48, (1984). 859–867.Google Scholar
Ruhe, R.V., Miller, G.A., and Vreeken, W.J. Paleosols, loess sedimentation and soil stratigraphy. Yaalon, D.H. Paloepedology: Origin, Nature and Dating of Paleosols. (1971). Israel Univ. Press, Jerusalem. 41–60.Google Scholar
Rutledge, E.M., Holowaychuk, N., Hall, G.F., and Wilding, L.P. Loess in Ohio in relation to several possible source areas: I. Physical and chemical properties. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 39, (1975). 1125–1132.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J. Lithologic discontinuities in some soils on drumlins: theory, detection, and application. Soil Science 163, (1998). 570–590.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J. The distribution of silty soils in the Grayling Fingers region of Michigan: evidence for loess deposition onto frozen ground. Geomorphology 102, (2008). 287–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., and Hook, J. Characterizing the silty sediments of the Buckley Flats outwash plain: evidence for loess in NW Lower Michigan. Physical Geography 29, (2008). 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., and Loope, W.L. Evidence for an eolian origin for the silt-enriched soil mantles on the glaciated uplands of eastern Upper Michigan, USA. Geomorphology 100, (2008). 285–295.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., and Luehmann, M.D. Coarse-textured basal zones in thin loess deposits: products of sediment mixing and/or paleoenvironmental change?. Geoderma 192, (2013). 277–285.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., Burns, S.F., Small, T.W., and Johnson, D.L. Tree uprooting: review of types and patterns of soil disturbance. Physical Geography 11, (1990). 277–291.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., Enander, H., Luehmann, M.D., Lusch, D.P., Fish, C., Bigsby, M., Steigmeyer, M., Powers, J., Forgacs, C., and Pollyea, A. Mapping the physiography of Michigan with GIS. Physical Geography 34, (2013). Google Scholar
Scull, P., and Schaetzl, R.J. Using PCA to characterize and differentiate the character of loess deposits in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, USA. Geomorphology 127, (2011). 143–155.Google Scholar
Semmel, A., and Terhorst, B. The concept of the Pleistocene periglacial cover beds in central Europe: a review. Quaternary International 222, (2010). 120–128.Google Scholar
Simpkins, W.W., McCartney, M.D., and Mickelson, D.M. Pleistocene geology of Forest County, Wisconsin. (1987). Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Madison, WI. Circular, 61 Google Scholar
Smalley, I.J. The interaction of Great Rivers and large deposits of primary loess. Transactions of the New York Academy of Science 34, (1972). 534–542.Google Scholar
Smith, G.D. Illinois Loess: Variations in Its Properties and Distribution 490, (1942). University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, Google Scholar
Stanley, K.E., and Schaetzl, R.J. Characteristics and paleoenvironmental significance of a thin, dual-sourced loess sheet, North-Central Wisconsin. Aeolian Research 2, (2011). 241–251.Google Scholar
Sweeney, M.R., Gaylord, D.R., and Busacca, A.J. Evolution of Eureka Flat: a dust-producing engine of the Palouse loess, USA. Quaternary International 162, (2007). 76–96.Google Scholar
Syverson, K.M., and Colgan, P.M. The Quaternary of Wisconsin: a review of stratigraphy and glaciation history. Ehlers, J., and Gibbard, P.L. Quaternary Glaciations — Extent and Chronology. (2004). Elsevier B.V., 295–311.Google Scholar
Thorp, J., and Smith, H.T.U. Pleistocene Eolian Deposits of the United States, Alaska, and Parts of Canada. Map. 1:2,500,000. (1952). Geological Society of America, New York.Google Scholar
Thwaites, F.T. Pleistocene of part of northeastern Wisconsin. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 54, (1943). 87–144.Google Scholar
Trainer, F.W. Eolian deposits of the Matanuska Valley agricultural area, Alaska. United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1121C, (1961). 1–35.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H., and Pye, K. Dust transport and the question of desert loess formation. Sedimentology 34, (1987). 139–153.Google Scholar
United States Geological Survey Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for Michigan from the National Elevation Dataset (NED). 10 m raster dataset. 1:24,000 scale. http://ned.usgs.gov/ (2009). Google Scholar
Vader, M.J., Zeman, B.K., Schaetzl, R.J., Anderson, K.L., Walquist, R.W., Freiberger, K.M., Emmendorfer, J.A., and Wang, H. Proxy evidence for easterly winds in Glacial Lake Algonquin, from the Black River Delta in northern Lower Michigan. Physical Geography 33, (2012). 252–268.Google Scholar
Vanmaercke-Gottigny, M.C. Some geomorphological implications of the cryo-aeolian deposits in western Belgium. Biuletyn Peryglacjalny 28, (1981). 103–114.Google Scholar
West, L.T., Rutledge, E.M., and Barber, D.M. Sources and properties of loess deposits on Crowley's Ridge in Arkansas. Soil Science Society of America Journal 44, (1980). 353–358.Google Scholar