Near-constant retreat rate of a terrestrial margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation

Lowell, Thomas V.; Kelly, Meredith A.; Howley, Jennifer A.; Fisher, Timothy G.; Barnett, Peter J.; Schwart, Roseanne; Zimmerman, Susan R. H.; Norris, Nathaniel; Malone, Andrew G. O.

doi:10.1130/g49081.1

Near-constant retreat rate of a terrestrial margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation

Journal Article · Mon Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Geology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1130/g49081.1· OSTI ID:1905206

Lowell, Thomas V. ^[1]; Kelly, Meredith A. ^[2]; Howley, Jennifer A. ^[2]; Fisher, Timothy G. ^[3]; Barnett, Peter J. ^[4]; Schwart, Roseanne ^[5]; Zimmerman, Susan R. H. ^[6]; Norris, Nathaniel ^[1]; Malone, Andrew G. O. ^[7]

Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States)
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)
Univ. of Toledo, OH (United States)
Laurentian Univ., Sudbury, ON (Canada)
Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States)

The Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) was the largest ice sheet during the last glacial period. An accurate representation of its behavior during the last deglaciation is critical to understanding its influence on and response to a changing climate. Here we use ¹⁰Be dating and Bayesian modeling to track the recession of the southwest sector of the Labrador Dome of the LIS along an ~500-km-long transect west of Lake Superior during the last deglaciation. This transect reflects terrestrial ice-margin retreat and crosses multiple moraine sets, with the southwestern part of the transect deglaciated by ca. 19 ka and the northeastern part deglaciated by ca. 10 ka. The predominant behavior of the ice margin during this interval is near-constant retreat with retreat rates varying between ~59 m/a and 38 m/a. The moraine sets mark standstills and/or readvances that in total constitute only ~17% of the retreat interval. The spatial and temporal pattern of ice-margin retreat tracked here differs from existing reconstructions that are based on using isochrons to define ice-margin positions. Acknowledging the uncertainties associated with the modeled ages of ice-margin retreat, we suggest that the overall retreat pattern is consistent with forcing by a gradual increase in Northern Hemisphere, high-latitude summer insolation. The pattern of ice-margin retreat is inconsistent with Greenland ice-core temperature records, and thus these records may not be suitable to drive models of the LIS.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Comer Family Foundation; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1905206

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-820888; 1032615

Journal Information:: Geology, Journal Name: Geology Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 49; ISSN 0091-7613

Publisher:: Geological Society of AmericaCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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