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Title: Delayed deglaciation or extreme Arctic conditions 21-16 cal. kyr at southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet margin?

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051884· OSTI ID:1376012
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [3]
  1. NASA Goddard Inst. for Space Studies (GISS), New York, NY (United States); Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (United States)
  2. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (United States)
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
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The conventionally accepted ages of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) retreat of the southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) are 26–21 cal. kyr (derived from bulk-sediment radiocarbon ages) and 28–23 cal. kyr (varve estimates). By utilizing accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)14C dating of earliest macrofossils in 13 lake/bog inorganic clays, we find that vegetation first appeared on the landscape at 16–15 cal. kyr, suggesting ice had not retreated until that time. The gap between previous age estimates and ours is significant and has large implications for our understanding of ocean-atmosphere linkages. Older ages imply extreme Arctic conditions for 9–5 cal kyr; a landscape with no ice, yet no deposition in lakes. Also, our new AMS chronology of LIS retreat is consistent with marine evidence of deglaciation from the N. Atlantic, showing significant freshwater input and sea level rise only after 19 cal kyr with a cold meltwater lid, perhaps delaying ice melt.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; W-7405-Eng-48
OSTI ID:
1376012
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-557793
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 39, Issue 11; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 21 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Late glacial fluctuations of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the White Mountains of Maine and New Hampshire, U.S.A. journal May 2015
Rapid expansion of northern peatlands and doubled estimate of carbon storage journal October 2019
Pollen and macrofossil-inferred palaeoclimate at the Ridge Site, Hudson Bay Lowlands, Canada: evidence for a dry climate and significant recession of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during Marine Isotope Stage 3 journal December 2016

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Laurentide
deglaciation
macrofossils