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Early growth of the last Cordilleran ice sheet deduced from glacio-isostatic depression in southwest British Columbia, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John J. Clague ,
Duane Froese ,
Ian Hutchinson ,
Thomas S. James  and
Karen M. Simon
John J. Clague*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada Geological Survey of Canada, Vancouver, BC V6B 5J3, Canada
Duane Froese
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Ian Hutchinson
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Thomas S. James
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
Karen M. Simon
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4J1, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. Fax: +1 604 291 4198.
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Abstract

Relative sea level at Vancouver, British Columbia rose from below the present datum about 30,000 cal yr B.P. to at least 18 m above sea level 28,000 cal yr B.P. In contrast, eustatic sea level in this interval was at least 85 m lower than at present. The difference in the local and eustatic sea-level positions is attributed to glacio-isostatic depression of the crust in the expanding forefield of the Cordilleran ice sheet during the initial phase of the Fraser Glaciation. Our findings suggest that about 1 km of ice was present in the northern Strait of Georgia 28,000 cal yr B.P., early during the Fraser Glaciation.

Keywords

Sea levelGlacio-isostasyQuadra SandBritish ColumbiaCanada
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 53 - 59
Copyright
University of Washington

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