Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T11:52:56.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Proposed Diachronic Revision of Late Quaternary Time-Stratigraphic Classification in the Eastern and Northern Great Lakes Area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Paul F. Karrow ,
Aleksis Dreimanis  and
Peter J. Barnett
Paul F. Karrow
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences and Quaternary Sciences Institute, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada, E-mail: [email protected]
Aleksis Dreimanis
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7
Peter J. Barnett
Affiliation:
Ontario Geological Survey, 933 Ramsay Lake Road, Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 5B6, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A succession of stratigraphic codes (1933, 1961, 1983) has guided attempts to refine classifications and naming of stratigraphic units for Quaternary deposits of the Great Lakes region. The most recent classifications for the late Quaternary of the Lake Michigan lobe (1968) and the eastern Great Lakes (1972) have been widely used, but later work has created the need for revision. An attempt has been made to integrate the two previous classifications following the diachronic system of the 1983 Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature. A new nomenclature for the higher, more broadly recognized units was presented in 1997. We here present the diachronic nomenclature for finer subdivisions recognized in the eastern and northern Great Lakes. Following the interglacial Sangamon Episode, the three parts of the Wisconsin Episode are further subdivided as follows: the Ontario Subepisode (former Early Wisconsinan) comprises the Greenwood, Willowvale, and Guildwood phases; the Elgin Subepisode (former Middle Wisconsinan) comprises the Port Talbot, Brimley, and Farmdale phases; and the Michigan Subepisode (former Late Wisconsinan) consists of Nissouri, Erie, Port Bruce, Mackinaw, Port Huron, Two Creeks, Onaway, Gribben, Marquette, Abitibi, and Driftwood phases. Succeeding interglacial time to the present is the Hudson Episode.

Keywords

Quaternarydiachronic unitsstratigraphyGreat Lakes regionOntario
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , July 2000 , pp. 1 - 12
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

American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,45, (1961). 645–665., Google Scholar
Barnett, P. J. (1984). Glacial Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, Central North Shore Area, Lake Erie, Ontario. Field Trip Guidebook, Field Trip 12,Geological Association of Canada Meeting, London, Ontario.,42, pp.Google Scholar
Barnett, P.J. (1992). Quaternary geology of Ontario. Geology of Ontariop. 1011–1088., Google Scholar
Barnett, P.J., Bajc, A.F., Dreimanis, A., McAndrews, J.H., Warner, B.G. (1996). Nonglacial deposits at the Haight site, southern Ontario, and their implications to conditions during the early and middle Wisconsinan of North America. Geological Society of America Northeastern Section Abstracts with Programsp. 37 Google Scholar
Berger, G.W., Eyles, N. (1994). Thermoluminescence chronology of Toronto-area Quaternary sediments and implications for the extent of the midcontinent ice sheet(s). Geology,22, 31–34., 2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berti, A.A. (1975). Paleobotany of Wisconsinan interstadials, eastern Great Lakes region, North America. Quaternary Research,5, 591–619., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boissoneau, A.N. (1968). Glacial history of northeastern Ontario II. The Timiskaming–Algoma area. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,5, 97–109., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, D.D. (1996). The NW Pennsylvania Titusville peat site, a record of climate change near to but not within the Middle Wisconsin glacial limit. Geological Society of America Northeastern Section Abstracts with Programsp. 41 Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Farrand, W.R. (1963). Radiocarbon age of the Two Creeks forest bed, Wisconsin. Geological Society of America Bulletin,74, 795–802., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgis, W.A., Eschman, D.F. (1981). Late-Wisconsinan history of northeastern Lower Michigan. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.p. 110 Google Scholar
Chamberlin, T.C. (1895). The classification of American glacial deposits. Journal of Geology,3, 270–277., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clague, J.J. (1986). The Quaternary stratigraphic record of British Columbia—Evidence for episodic sedimentation and erosion controlled by glaciation. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,23, 885–894., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L., Moran, S.P. (1982). Chronology of Late Wisconsinan glaciation in middle North America. Quaternary Science Reviews,1, 55–82., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, A. P..(1909). Classification and Nomenclature of Ontario Drift, Ontario Bureau of Mines Eighteenth Annual Report. pp. 294–297., .Google Scholar
Coleman, A. P. (1933). The Pleistocene of the Toronto region. Ontario Department of Mines Annual Report 41, 69., pp.Google Scholar
Geological Society of America Bulletin,44, (1933). 423–459., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A. J. (1979). Quaternary Geology of the Grand Bend–Parkhill Area, Southern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey Report 188,70, pp.Google Scholar
de Vries, H., Dreimanis, A. (1960). Finite radiocarbon dates of the Port Talbot interstadial deposits in southern Ontario. Science,131, 1738–1739., CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dreimanis, A. (1957). Stratigraphy of the Wisconsin glacial stage along the northwestern shore of Lake Erie. Science,126, 166–168., CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dreimanis, A. (1982). Middle Wisconsin substage in its type region, the eastern Great Lakes, Ohio River basin, North America. Quaternary Studies in Poland,3, 21–28., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A.. The Port Talbot interstadial site, southwestern Ontario. Roy, D.C. (1987). Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America, Centennial Field Guide. 345–348., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A.. Early Wisconsinan in the north-central part of the Lake Erie basin: A new interpretation. Clark, P.U., Lea, P.D. (1992). The Last Interglacial–Glacial Transition in North America. 109–118., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A., Goldthwait, R.P.. Wisconsin glaciation in the Huron, Erie, and Ontario lobes. Black, R.F., Goldthwait, R.P., Willman, H.B. (1973). The Wisconsinan Stage. 71–106., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A., Karrow, P.F. (1972). Glacial history of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region, the classification of the Wisconsin(an) Stage, and its correlatives. 24th International Geological Congressp. 5–15., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A., Terasmae, J. (1958). Stratigraphy of Wisconsin glacial deposits of Toronto area, Ontario. Geological Association of Canada Proceedings,10, 119–135., Google Scholar
Dreimanis, A., Terasmae, J., McKenzie, G.C. (1966). The Port Talbot Interstade of the Wisconsin Glaciation. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,3, 305–325., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dredge, L.A., Cowan, W.R.. Quaternary geology of the southwestern Canadian Shield. Fulton, R.J. (1989). Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland. 214–249., Google Scholar
Drexler, C.W., Farrand, W.R., Hughes, J.D.. Correlation of glacial lakes in the Superior basin with eastward discharge events from Lake Agassiz. Teller, J.T., Clayton, L. (1983). Glacial Lake Agassiz. 309–330., Google Scholar
Eschman, D.F.. Pleistocene geology of the thumb area of Michigan. Kesling, R.V. (1978). Field Excursions from the University of Michigan. North-Central Section Geological Society of America, Ann Arbor.35–62., Google Scholar
Evenson, E.B., Farrand, W.R., Eschman, D.F., Mickelson, D.M., Maher, L.J. (1976). Greatlakean Substage: A replacement for Valderan Substage in the Lake Michigan Basin. Quaternary Research,6, 411–424., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eyles, N., Clark, B.M. (1988). Last interglacial sediments of the Don Valley Brickyard, Toronto, Canada, and their paleoenvironmental significance. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,25, 1108–1122., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrand, W.R., Zahner, R., Benninghof, W.S. (1969). Cary–Port Huron Interstade—Evidence from a buried bryophyte bed, Cheboygan County, Michigan. Schumm, S.A., Bradley, W.C. United States Contributions to Quaternary Research 249–262., Google Scholar
Flint, R.F. (1957). Glacial and Pleistocene Geology. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Frye, J. C. Willman, H. B. (1960). Classification of the Wisconsinan Stage in the Lake Michigan Glacial Lobe. Illinois State Geological Survey Circular 285,16, pp.Google Scholar
Frye, J. C., Willman, H. B., Rubin, M. Black, R. F. (1968). Definition of Wisconsinan Stage, United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1274-E. 22, pp.Google Scholar
Fulton, R.J., Karrow, P.F., LaSalle, P., Grant, D.R. (1984). Summary of Quaternary stratigraphy and history, eastern Canada. Quaternary Stratigraphy of Canada—A Canadian Contribution to IGCP Project 24p. 193–210., Google Scholar
Goldthwait, R.P. (1958). Wisconsin age forests in western Ohio I. Age and glacial events. Ohio Journal of Science,58, 209–230., Google Scholar
Gravenor, C.P., Stupavsky, M. (1976). Magnetic, physical, and lithologic properties and age of till exposed along the east coast of Lake Huron, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,13, 1655–1666., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
H. J. Q, Gwyn (1972). Quaternary Geology of the Alliston–Newmarket Area. Southern Ontario, Ontario Division of Mines Miscellaneous Paper 53,pp. 144–147., .Google Scholar
Hansel, A.K., Johnson, W.H. (1992). Fluctuations of the Lake Michigan lobe during the late Wisconsin subepisode. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning Ser. Ca,81, 133–144., Google Scholar
Hansel, A. K. Johnson, W. H. (1996). Wedron and Mason Groups: Lithostratigraphic Reclassification of Deposits of the Wisconsin Episode. Lake Michigan Lobe Area, Illinois Geological Survey Bulletin 104, 116., pp.Google Scholar
Hicock, S.R., Dreimanis, A.. Sunnybrook Drift in the Toronto area, Canada: Reinvestigation and reinterpretation. Clark, P.U., Lea, P.D. (1992). The Last Interglacial–Glacial Transition in North America. 139–161., Google Scholar
Hughes, O.L.. Surficial geology of part of the Cochrane district, Ontario, Canada. Wright, H.E., Frey, D.G. (1965). International Studies on the Quaternary. 535–565., Google Scholar
Johnson, W.H., Hansel, A.K., Bettis, E.A. III, Karrow, P.F., Larson, G.J., Lowell, T.V., Schneider, A.F. (1997). Late Quaternary temporal and event classifications, Great Lakes region, North America. Quaternary Research,47, 1–12., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karrow, P. F. (1963). Pleistocene Geology of the Hamilton–Galt Area. Ontario Department of Mines Geological Report 16,68, pp.Google Scholar
Karrow, P. F. (1967). Pleistocene Geology of the Scarborough Area. Ontario Department of Mines Geological Report 46,107, pp.Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1969). Stratigraphic studies in the Toronto Pleistocene. Geological Association of Canada Proceedings,20, 4–16., Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1974). Till stratigraphy in parts of southwestern Ontario. Geological Society of America Bulletin,85, 761–768., 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1978). Comment on “Greatlakean Substage: A Replacement for Valderan Substage in the Lake Michigan Basin”. Quaternary Research,7, 116–118., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1988). Catfish Creek Till: An important glacial deposit in southwestern Ontario. 41st Canadian Geotechnical Conference Preprintsp. 186–192., Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1989). Quaternary continental stratigraphy and neocatastrophism. Quaternary Science Reviews,8, 277–286., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karrow, P.F.. Quaternary geology of the Great Lakes subregion. Fulton, R.J. (1989). Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland. 326–350., Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F. (1990). Interglacial beds at Toronto. Géographie physique et Quaternaire,44, 289–297., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karrow, P. F. (1993). Quaternary Geology, Stratford-Conestogo Area. Ontario Geological Survey Report 283,104, pp.Google Scholar
Kelly, R.I., Martini, I.P. (1986). Pleistocene glacio-lacustrine deltaic deposits of the Scarborough Formation, Ontario, Canada. Sedimentary Geology,47, 27–52., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kempton, J.P., Gross, D.L. (1971). Rate of advance of the Woodfordian (Late Wisconsinan) glacial margin in Illinois: Stratigraphic and radiocarbon evidence. Geological Society of America Bulletin,82, 3245–3250., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamothe, M., Auclair, M., Balescu, S. (1996). Luminescence chronology of pre-classical Wisconsin sediments from the Great Lakes and southern Quebec. Geological Society of America Northeastern Section Abstracts with Programsp. A-74Google Scholar
Lamothe, M., Auclair, M., Balescu, S., Dreimanis, A., Hardy, F., Karrow, P.F., Occhietti, S. (1998). Dating Late Pleistocene events in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin using luminescence: The problem of age underestimation. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programsp. A-260Google Scholar
Lamothe, M, . Parent, M., Shilts, W.W.. Sangamonian and early Wisconsinan events in the St. Lawrence Lowland and Appalachians of southern Quebec, Canada. Clark, P.U., Lea, P.D. (1992). The Last Interglacial–Glacial Transition in North America. 171–184., Google Scholar
Larson, G.J., Lowell, T.V., Ostrum, N.E. (1994). Evidence for the Two Creeks interstade in the Lake Huron basin. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,31, 793–797., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leighton, M.M. (1933). The naming of the subdivisions of the Wisconsin glacial age. Science,77, 168 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leighton, M.M. (1958). Important elements in the classification of the Wisconsin glacial stage. Journal of Geology,66, 288–309., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leighton, M.M. (1960). The classification of the Wisconsin glacial stage of the north-central United States. Journal of Geology,68, 529–552., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sir, W. E, Logan, Murray, A., Hunt, T. S., Billings, E. (1863). Report of Progress from its Commencement to 1863. Geological Survey of Canada,983, pp.Google Scholar
Lowell, T.V., Larson, G.J., Hughes, J.D., Denton, G.H. (1999). Age verification of the Lake Gribben forest bed and the Younger Dryas advance of the Laurentide ice sheet. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,36, 383–393., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lüttig, G. (1965). Interglacial and interstadial periods. Journal of Geology,73, 579–591., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaghan, G.W., Hansell, A.K. (1990). Evidence for the intra-Glenwood (Mackinaw) low-water phase of glacial Lake Chicago. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences,27, 1236–1241., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mörner, N.-A., Dreimanis, A.. The Erie Interstade. Black, R.F., Goldthwait, R.P., Willman, H.B. (1973). The Wisconsinan Stage. 107–134., Google Scholar
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin,67, (1983). 841–875., Google Scholar
Prest, V.K. (1993). Cochrane Till. Karrow, P.F. Quaternary Stratotypes of North America, Volume 1 27–30., Google Scholar
Richmond, G.R., Fullerton, D.S.. Introduction to Quaternary glaciations in the United States of America. Šibrava, V., Bowen, D.Q., Richmond, G.M. (1984). Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere. 3–10., Google Scholar
Saarnisto, M. (1974). The deglaciation history of the Lake Superior region and its climatic implications. Quaternary Research,4, 316–339., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharpe, D.R., Barnett, P.J. (1985). Significance of sedimentology studies on the Wisconsinan stratigraphy of southern Ontario. Géographie physique et Quaternaire,39, 255–273., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skinner, R. G. (1973). Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Moose River Basin. Ontario, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 225,77, pp.Google Scholar
Terasmae, J. (1960). Palynological Study of the Pleistocene Interglacial Beds at Toronto. Ontario, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 56,pp. 23–41., .Google Scholar
Warner, B.G., Barnett, P.J. (1986). Transport, sorting, and reworking of late Wisconsin plant macrofossils from Lake Erie, Ontario. Boreas,15, 323–329., CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, G. W. (1960). Classification of Wisconsin Glacial Deposits in Northeastern Ohio. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1121A,12, pp.Google Scholar
Willman, H. B. Frye, J. C. (1970). Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Illinois. Illinois State Geological Survey Bulletin 94,204, pp.Google Scholar