Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T03:45:48.016Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Moraines and late-glacial stratigraphy in central Lake Superior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2020

Steven M. Colman Open the ORCID record for Steven M. Colman [Opens in a new window] ,
Andy Breckenridge ,
Lucas K. Zoet ,
Nigel J. Wattrus  and
Thomas C. Johnson
Steven M. Colman*
Affiliation:
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2205 E. 5th St., Duluth, Minnesota55812, USA Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts02543, USA
Andy Breckenridge
Affiliation:
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2205 E. 5th St., Duluth, Minnesota55812, USA Natural Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Superior, Wisconsin54880, USA
Lucas K. Zoet
Affiliation:
Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin53706, USA
Nigel J. Wattrus
Affiliation:
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2205 E. 5th St., Duluth, Minnesota55812, USA Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota55812, USA
Thomas C. Johnson
Affiliation:
Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2205 E. 5th St., Duluth, Minnesota55812, USA Geosciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts01003, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: [email protected] (S. Colman)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seismic-reflection surveys of the Isle Royale sub-basin, central Lake Superior, reveal two large end moraines and associated glacial sediments deposited during the last cycle of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the basin. The Isle Royale moraines directly overlie bedrock and are cored with dense, acoustically massive till intercalated down-ice with acoustically stratified outwash. Till and outwash are overlain by glacial varves, a lower red unit and an upper gray unit.

The maximum extent of late Younger Dryas-age readvance into the western Lake Superior basin is uncertain, but it was probably controlled by both ice dynamics and climate. Our data indicate that during retreat from the maximum, the ice paused just long enough to construct the outer of the two moraines, >100 m high, and then retreated to the inner moraine, during which time most of the lower glacial-lacustrine sequence (red varves) was deposited. Retreat from the inner moraine coincided with a marked flux of icebergs at the calving margin and a change to gray varves. Rapid retreat may be related to both an influx of meltwater from Glacial Lake Agassiz about 10,500 cal yr BP and retreat of the calving margin down an adverse slope into the Isle Royale sub-basin.

Keywords

QuaternaryGlaciationNorth AmericaSeismic-reflection stratigraphyLaurentide Ice SheetMarquette readvanceSubaqueous moraines
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 98 , November 2020 , pp. 19 - 35
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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

REFERENCES

Alley, R.B., Anandakrishnan, S., Dupont, T.K., Parizek, B.R., Pollard, D. 2007. Effect of sedimentation on ice-sheet grounding-line stability. Science 315, 1838–1841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bart, P.J., Anderson, J.B., Nitsche, F. 2017. Post-LGM Grounding-Line Positions of the Bindschadler Paleo Ice Stream in the Ross Sea Embayment, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 122, 1827–1844.Google Scholar
Bart, P.J., Tulaczyk, S. 2020. A significant acceleration of ice volume discharge preceded a major retreat of a West Antarctic paleo–ice stream. Geology 48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkson, J.M., Clay, C.S. 1973. Microphysiography and possible iceberg grooves on the floor of western Lake Superior. Geological Society of America Bulletin 84, 1315–1328.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, R.F. 1976. Quaternary geology of Wisconsin and contiguous Upper Michigan. In Mahaney, W.C. (Ed.), Quaternary Stratigraphy of North America. Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross, Stroudesburg, Pennsylvania, pp. 93–117.Google Scholar
Boyd, M., Teller, J.T., Yang, Z., Kingsmill, L., Shultis, C. 2012. An 8900-year-old forest drowned by Lake Superior: Hydrological and paleoecological implications. Journal of Paleolimnology 47, 339–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A. 2007. The Lake Superior varve stratigraphy and implications for eastern Lake Agassiz outflow from 10,700 to 8900 cal ybp (9.5–8.0 C-14 ka). Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 246, 45–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A. 2013. An analysis of the late glacial lake levels within the western Lake Superior basin based on digital elevation models. Quaternary Research 80, 383–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A., Johnson, T.C. 2009. Paleohydrology of the upper Laurentian Great Lakes from the late glacial to early Holocene. Quaternary Research 71, 397–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A., Johnson, T.C., Beske-Diehl, S., Mothersill, J.S. 2004. The timing of regional lateglacial events and post-glacial sedimentation rates from Lake Superior. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 2355–2367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brinkerhoff, D., Truffer, M., Aschwanden, A. 2017. Sediment transport drives tidewater glacier periodicity. Nature Communications 8, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broecker, W.S., Kennett, J.P., Flower, B.P., Teller, J.T., Trumbore, S., Bonani, G., Wolfli, W. 1989. Routing of meltwater from the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Younger Dryas cold episode. Nature 341, 318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cannon, W.F., Green, A.G., Hutchinson, D.R., Lee, M., Milkereit, B., Behrendt, J.C., Halls, H.C., Green, J.C., Dickas, A.B., Morey, G.B., Sutcliffe, R., Spencer, C. 1989. The North-American Midcontinent Rift beneath Lake Superior from GLIPCE seismic-reflection profiling. Tectonics 8, 305–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cartwright, J., Wattrus, N., Rausch, D., Bolton, A. 2004. Recognition of an early Holocene polygonal fault system in Lake Superior: Implications for the compaction of fine-grained sediments. Geology 32, 253–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L. 1983. Chronology of Lake Agassiz drainage to Lake Superior. In Teller, J.T., Clayton, L. (Eds.), Glacial Lake Agassiz. Special Paper 26, Geological Association of Canada, pp. 291–307.Google Scholar
Clayton, L., Laird, W.M., Klassen, R.W., Kupsch, W.O. 1965. Intersecting Minor Lineations on Lake Agassiz Plain. Journal of Geology 73, 652–656.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L., Moran, S.R. 1982. Chronology of late Wisconsinan glaciation in middle North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 1, 55–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L., Teller, J.T., Attig, J.W. 1985. Surging of the southwestern part of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Boreas 14, 235–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, T.A., Bell, T., Cooper, A.K., Josenhans, H., Polyak, L., Solheim, A., Stoker, M.S., Stravers, J.A. 1997. Glaciated Continental Margins: An Atlas of Acoustic Images. Dordrecht, Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dell, C.I. 1972. The origin and characteristics of Lake Superior sediments. Proceedings, 15th Conference on Great Lakes Research. International Association for Great Lakes Research, 361–370.Google Scholar
Drexler, C.W., Farrand, W.R., Hughes, J.D., Clayton, L. 1983. Correlation of Glacial Lakes in the Superior Basin with eastward discharge events from Lake Agassiz. In Teller, J.T. (Ed.), Glacial Lake Agassiz, pp. 309–329.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R. 1969. The Quaternary history of Lake Superior. Proceedings, 12th Conference on Great Lakes Research, International Association of Great Lakes Research, pp. 181–197.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R., Drexler, C.W. 1985. Late Wisconsin and Holocene history of the Lake Superior basin. In Karrow, P.K., Calkin, P.E. (Eds.), Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 30, pp. 17–32.Google Scholar
Gary, J.L., Colman, S.M., Wattrus, N.J., Lewis, C.F.M. 2012. Post-Marquette discharge from Glacial Lake Agassiz into the Superior basin. Journal of Paleolimnology 47, 299–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geirsdóttir, Á., Miller, G.H., Wattrus, N.J., Björnsson, H., Thors, K. 2008. Stabilization of glaciers terminating in closed water bodies: Evidence and broader implications. Geophysical Research Letters 35, no. 17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hack, J.T. 1965. Postglacial drainage evolution and stream geometry in the Ontonagon area, Michigan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 504B, Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, B., Hooke, R.L. 2000. Glacier calving: a numerical model of forces in the calving-speed/water-depth relation. Journal of Glaciology 46, 188–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobbs, H.C. 2004. Late Wisconsinan Superior Lobe Deposits in the Lake Superior Basin northeast of Duluth. In Severson, M.J., Heinz, J. (Eds.), 50th Annual Meeting Proceedings, Field Trip Guidebook. Institute on Lake Superior Geology, Duluth.Google Scholar
Hobbs, H.C., Breckenridge, A. 2011. Ice advances and retreats, inlets and outlets, sediments and strandlines of the western Lake Superior basin. The Geological Society of America Field Guide 24, 299–315.Google Scholar
Hyodo, A., Longstaffe, F.J. 2011. The chronostratigraphy of Holocene sediments from four Lake Superior sub-basins. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 48, 1581–1599.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, T.C., Van Alstine, J.D., Rolfhus, K.R., Colman, S.M., Wattrus, N.J. 2012. A high resolution study of spatial and temporal variability of natural and anthropogenic compounds in offshore Lake Superior sediments. Journal of Great Lakes Research 38, 673–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, M.A., Fisher, T.G., Lowell, T.V., Barnett, P.J., Schwartz, R., Gajewski, K. 2016. 10Be ages of flood deposits west of Lake Nipigon, Ontario: evidence for eastward meltwater drainage during the early Holocene Epoch. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 53, 321–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landmesser, C.W., Johnson, T.C., Wold, R.S. 1982. Seismic reflection study of recessional moraines beneath Lake Superior and their relationship to regional deglaciation. Quaternary Research 17, 173–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leverington, D.W., Teller, J.T. 2003. Paleotopographic reconstructions of the eastern outlets of glacial Lake Agassiz. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40, 1259–1278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, C.F.M., Anderson, T.W. 1989. Oscillations of levels and cool phases of the Laurentian Great Lakes caused by inflows from glacial lakes Agassiz and Barlow-Ojibway. Journal of Paleolimnology 2, 99–146CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leydet, D.J., Carlson, A.E., Teller, J.T., Breckenridge, A., Barth, A.M., Ullman, D.J., Sinclair, G., Milne, G.A., Cuzzone, J.K., Caffee, M.W. 2018. Opening of glacial Lake Agassiz's eastern outlets by the start of the Younger Dryas cold period. Geology 46, 155–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonne, I., Nemec, W., Blikra, L.H., Lauritsen, T. 2001. Sedimentary architecture and dynamic stratigraphy of a marine ice-contact system. Journal of Sedimentary Research 71, 922–943.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowell, T.V., Larson, G.J., Hughes, J.D., Denton, G.H. 1999. Age verification of the Marquette Buried Forest and the Younger Dryas advance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 36, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGlannan, A.J., Bart, P.J., Chow, J.M., DeCesare, M. 2017. On the influence of post-LGM ice shelf loss and grounding zone sedimentation on West Antarctic ice sheet stability. Marine Geology 392, 151–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooers, H.D., Larson, P.C., Marlow, L.R. 2005. Ice advances in the western Lake Superior region: a reevaluation of the St. Louis sublobe and the Marquette phase of the Superior lobe. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 37, 92.Google Scholar
Morey, G.B., Sims, P.K., Cannon, W.F., Mudrey, M.G.J., Southwick, D.L. 1982. Geologic map of the Lake Superior region, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Michigan. Minnesota Geological Survey, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Mothersill, J.S. 1988. Paleomagnetic dating of late glacial and postglacial sediments in Lake Superior. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 25, 1791–1799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motyka, R.J., Truffer, M., Kuriger, E.M., Bucki, A.K. 2006. Rapid erosion of soft sediments by tidewater glacier advance: Taku Glacier, Alaska, USA. Geophysical Research Letters 33, no. 24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parizek, B.R., Christianson, K., Alley, R.B., Voytenko, D., Vaňková, I., Dixon, T.H., Walker, R.T., Holland, D.M. 2019. Ice-cliff failure via retrogressive slumping. Geology 47, 449–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, L.E., Anandakrishnan, S., Alley, R.B., Smith, A.M. 2007. Extensive storage of basal meltwater in the onset region of a major West Antarctic ice stream. Geology 35, 251–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rignot, E., Velicogna, I., van den Broeke, M.R., Monaghan, A., Lenaerts, J. 2011. Acceleration of the contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sea level rise. Geophysical Research Letters 38, no. 5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rust, B.R., Romanelli, R. 1975. Late Quaternary subaqueous outwash deposits near Ottawa, Canada. In Jopling, A.V., McDonald, B.C. (Eds.), Glaciofluvial and Glaciolacustrine Sedimentation. SEPM Special Publication No. 23, Tulsa, OK, pp. 177–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharpe, D.R., Pullan, S.E., Warman, T.A. 2007. A Basin Analysis of the Wabigoon Area of Lake Agassiz, a Quaternary Clay Basin in Northwerstern Ontario. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 46, 295–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoker, M.S., Pheasant, J.B., Josenhans, H. 1997. Seismic methods and interpretation. In Davies, T.A., Bell, T., Cooper, A.K., Josenhans, H., Polyak, L., Solheim, A., Stoker, M.S., Stravers, J.A. (Eds.), Glaciated Continental Margins: An Atlas of Acoustic Images. Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 9–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teller, J.T. 2013. Lake Agassiz during the Younger Dryas. Quaternary Research 80, 361–369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teller, J.T., Boyd, M., Yang, Z.R., Kor, P.S.G., Fard, A.M. 2005. Alternative routing of Lake Agassiz overflow during the Younger Dryas: new dates, paleotopography, and a re-evaluation. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 1890–1905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teller, J.T., Mahnic, P. 1988. History of sedimentation in the northwestern Lake Superior basin and its relation to Lake Agassiz overflow. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 25, 1660–1673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teller, J.T., Thorleifson, L.H. 1983. The Lake Agassiz-Lake Superior connection. In Teller, J.T., Clayton, L. (Eds.), Glacial Lake Agassiz. Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 26, pp. 261–290.Google Scholar
Thorleifson, L.H., Kristjansson, F.J. 1993. Quaternary geology and drift prospecting, Beardmore-Geraldton area, Ontario. Ottawa, Geological Survey Canada, Memoir 435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voytek, E.B. 2010. Seismic Stratigraphy of the Thunder Bay and the Isle Royale Region of Lake Superior. Master's thesis, University of Minnestoa Duluth.Google Scholar
Voytek, E.B., Colman, S.M., Wattrus, N.J., Gary, J.L., Lewis, C.F.M. 2012. Thunder Bay, Ontario, was not a pathway for catastrophic floods from glacial Lake Agassiz. Quaternary International 260, 98–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wattrus, N.J., Rausch, D.E., Cartwright, J. 2003. Soft-sediment deformation in Lake Superior: evidence for an immature polytonal fault system? Geological Society Special Publication, 216, 323–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wattrus, N.J., Sharpe, A.T., Cartwright, J.A. 2006. Imaging Paleo-Iceberg Scour in Western Lake Superior With a 28 kHz Echosounder. Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 87, Fall Meeting Supplement, Abstract OS31D-1661.Google Scholar
Wise, M.G., Dowdeswell, J.A., Jakobsson, M., Larter, R.D. 2017. Evidence of marine ice-cliff instability in Pine Island Bay from iceberg-keel plough marks. Nature 550, 506–510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wold, R.J., Hutchinson, D.R. 1979. Lake Superior Geological and Geophysical Data Sources. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies, Map MF 1085, Scale 1:600,000.Google Scholar
Wold, R.J., Hutchinson, D.R., Johnson, T.C. 1982. Topography and surficial structure of Lake Superior bedrock as based on seismic-reflection profiles. Geological Society of America Memoirs 156, 257–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodworth-Lynas, C.M.T., Guigne, J.Y. 1990. Iceberg scours in the geological record: examples from glacial Lake Agassiz. In Dowdeswell, J.A., Scourse, J.D. (Eds.), Glacimarine Environments: Processes and Sediments. Geological Society of London, Special Publication 53, pp. 217–233.Google Scholar
Wright, H.E. 1971. Retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from 14000 to 9000 years ago. Quaternary Research 1, 316–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zoltai, S.C. 1963. Glacial features of the Canadian lakehead area. Canadian Geographer 7, 101–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zumberge, J.H., Gast, P. 1961. Geological investigations in Lake Superior. Geotimes 6, 1–13.Google Scholar