Late Wisconsinan glacial, lacustrine and marine stratigraphy in the Champlain Valley, New York and Vermont
- Stat Univ. of New York, Plattsburgh, NY (United States). Center for Earth and Environmental Science
- Univ. of Vermont, Burlington, VT (United States). Dept. of Geology
The stratigraphy of late-glacial, and postglacial deposits and landforms in the Champlain Lowland is interpreted from high-resolution (3.5 khz transducer) acoustical profiling and piston core analysis of sediments beneath Lake Champlain in conjunction with detailed morphologic sequence mapping of surficial deposits. The sediments of Lake Champlain have been grouped by acoustic, lithologic, and biostratigraphic criteria into three stratigraphic units that were deposited successively into Lake Vermont, the Champlain Sea, and Lake Champlain. The maximum thickness of unconsolidated sediment is known to exceed 200 meters locally. Biostratigraphic subdivision of these units using pollen, diatoms, ostracodes, and foraminifera provides further definition of late-glacial and postglacial events in the region and indicates that transitional environments occurred as conditions changed from proglacial lake to marine estuary to freshwater lake. The stratigraphy of surficial deposits records proglacial lake sequences in the Champlain Valley and its tributaries. Interbasinal correlation of the tributary proglacial lake sequences and reconstructed ice marginal positions, is consistent with a model of generally synchronous, northward recession controlled primarily by backwasting of active continental ice lobes. Minor asynchroneity of retreat rates may be attributed to local differences in subglacial topography and changes in proglacial lake level, both of which may affect calving rates. Northward ice recession of the Champlain Lobe allowed successive inundation of tributary valleys by Lake Vermont. Elevations of deltaic sandplains reveal at least three distinct lake levels in the northwestern Champlain Valley. The highest level corresponds to the Coveville Stage while the lower two represent levels of the Fort Ann Stage.
- OSTI ID:
- 5768962
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9303211-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:2; Conference: 28. annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Northeastern Section meeting, Burlington, VT (United States), 22-24 Mar 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SONIC LOGGING
STRATIGRAPHY
NEW YORK
VERMONT
FORAMINIFERA
FOSSILS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GLACIERS
LAKES
MAPPING
MORAINES
OFFSHORE SITES
PALEONTOLOGY
PALYNOLOGY
POLLEN
ANIMALS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GAMETES
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GERM CELLS
INVERTEBRATES
MICROORGANISMS
NORTH AMERICA
PROTOZOA
SARCODINA
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
USA
WELL LOGGING
580000* - Geosciences