Beryllium-10 dating of the Foothills Erratics Train in Alberta, Canada, indicates detachment of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Rocky Mountains at ~15 ka
Abstract
The Foothills Erratics Train consists of large quartzite blocks of Rocky Mountains origin deposited on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain Foothills in Alberta between ~53.5°N and 49°N. The blocks were deposited in their present locations when the western margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) detached from the local ice masses of the Rocky Mountains, which initiated the opening of the southern end of the ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and the LIS. In this study, we use 10Be exposure dating to constrain the beginning of this decoupling. Based on a group of 12 samples well-clustered in time, we date the detachment of the western LIS margin from the Rocky Mountain front to ~14.9 ± 0.9 ka. This is ~1000 years later than previously assumed, but a lack of a latitudinal trend in the ages over a distance of ~500 km is consistent with the rapid opening of a long wedge of unglaciated terrain portrayed in existing ice-retreat reconstructions. Finally, a later separation of the western LIS margin from the mountain front implies higher ice margin–retreat rates in order to meet the Younger Dryas ice margin position near the boundary of the Canadian Shield ~2000 yearsmore »
- Authors:
-
[1];
- Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Charles Univ. in Prague (Czech Republic)
- Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada)
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1558872
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-735369
Journal ID: ISSN 0033-5894; applab; 887619
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Quaternary Research
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 92; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0033-5894
- Publisher:
- University of Washington - Cambridge University Press
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; Laurentide Ice Sheet; Cordilleran Ice Sheet; Rocky Mountains; 10Be exposure dating; deglaciation
Citation Formats
Margold, Martin, Gosse, John C., Hidy, Alan J., Woywitka, Robin J., Young, Joseph M., and Froese, Duane. Beryllium-10 dating of the Foothills Erratics Train in Alberta, Canada, indicates detachment of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Rocky Mountains at ~15 ka. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1017/qua.2019.10.
Margold, Martin, Gosse, John C., Hidy, Alan J., Woywitka, Robin J., Young, Joseph M., & Froese, Duane. Beryllium-10 dating of the Foothills Erratics Train in Alberta, Canada, indicates detachment of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Rocky Mountains at ~15 ka. United States. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.10
Margold, Martin, Gosse, John C., Hidy, Alan J., Woywitka, Robin J., Young, Joseph M., and Froese, Duane. Wed .
"Beryllium-10 dating of the Foothills Erratics Train in Alberta, Canada, indicates detachment of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Rocky Mountains at ~15 ka". United States. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.10. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1558872.
@article{osti_1558872,
title = {Beryllium-10 dating of the Foothills Erratics Train in Alberta, Canada, indicates detachment of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Rocky Mountains at ~15 ka},
author = {Margold, Martin and Gosse, John C. and Hidy, Alan J. and Woywitka, Robin J. and Young, Joseph M. and Froese, Duane},
abstractNote = {The Foothills Erratics Train consists of large quartzite blocks of Rocky Mountains origin deposited on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain Foothills in Alberta between ~53.5°N and 49°N. The blocks were deposited in their present locations when the western margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) detached from the local ice masses of the Rocky Mountains, which initiated the opening of the southern end of the ice-free corridor between the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and the LIS. In this study, we use 10Be exposure dating to constrain the beginning of this decoupling. Based on a group of 12 samples well-clustered in time, we date the detachment of the western LIS margin from the Rocky Mountain front to ~14.9 ± 0.9 ka. This is ~1000 years later than previously assumed, but a lack of a latitudinal trend in the ages over a distance of ~500 km is consistent with the rapid opening of a long wedge of unglaciated terrain portrayed in existing ice-retreat reconstructions. Finally, a later separation of the western LIS margin from the mountain front implies higher ice margin–retreat rates in order to meet the Younger Dryas ice margin position near the boundary of the Canadian Shield ~2000 years later.},
doi = {10.1017/qua.2019.10},
journal = {Quaternary Research},
number = 2,
volume = 92,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Wed Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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