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A relative sea-level history for Arviat, Nunavut, and implications for Laurentide Ice Sheet thickness west of Hudson Bay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Karen M. Simon ,
Thomas S. James ,
Donald L. Forbes ,
Alice M. Telka ,
Arthur S. Dyke  and
Joseph A. Henton
Karen M. Simon*
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada Geological Survey of Canada—Pacific, Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
Thomas S. James
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada Geological Survey of Canada—Pacific, Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
Donald L. Forbes
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Canada—Atlantic, Natural Resources Canada, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada Department of Geography, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1B 3X9, Canada
Alice M. Telka
Affiliation:
Paleotec Services, Ottawa, ON K1R 5K2, Canada
Arthur S. Dyke
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Canada—Northern, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0E8, Canada
Joseph A. Henton
Affiliation:
Canadian Geodetic Survey, Natural Resources Canada, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
*
*Corresponding author at: School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada.E-mail address:[email protected] (K.M. Simon).
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Abstract

Thirty-six new and previously published radiocarbon dates constrain the relative sea-level history of Arviat on the west coast of Hudson Bay. As a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) following deglaciation, sea level fell rapidly from a high-stand of nearly 170 m elevation just after 8000 cal yr BP to 60 m elevation by the mid Holocene (~ 5200 cal yr BP). The rate of sea-level fall decreased in the mid and late Holocene, with sea level falling 30 m since 3000 cal yr BP. Several late Holocene sea-level measurements are interpreted to originate from the upper end of the tidal range and place tight constraints on sea level. A preliminary measurement of present-day vertical land motion obtained by repeat Global Positioning System (GPS) occupations indicates ongoing crustal uplift at Arviat of 9.3 ± 1.5 mm/yr, in close agreement with the crustal uplift rate inferred from the inferred sea-level curve. Predictions of numerical GIA models indicate that the new sea-level curve is best fit by a Laurentide Ice Sheet reconstruction with a last glacial maximum peak thickness of ~ 3.4 km. This is a 30–35% thickness reduction of the ICE-5G ice-sheet history west of Hudson Bay.

Keywords

KivalliqRadiocarbon datingUplift rateGlacial isostatic adjustmentLaurentide Ice SheetTyrrell Sea
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 82 , Issue 1 , July 2014 , pp. 185 - 197
Copyright
University of Washington

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