Articles | Volume 18, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1533-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1533-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Apr 2024
Research article |
| 05 Apr 2024
| 05 Apr 2024
Dynamical response of the southwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet to rapid Bølling–Allerød warming
Sophie L. Norris
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, University of Victoria, David Turpin Building, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V9P 5C2, Canada
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 1–26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Martin Margold
Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Charles University, Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague 2, Czech Republic
David J. A. Evans
Department of Geography, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
Nigel Atkinson
Alberta Geological Survey, Alberta Energy Regulator, 402 Twin Atria Building, 4 4999-98 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6B 2X3, Canada
Duane G. Froese
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 1–26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E3, Canada
Related authors
Benjamin J. Stoker, Helen E. Dulfer, Chris R. Stokes, Victoria H. Brown, Christopher D. Clark, Colm Ó Cofaigh, David J. A. Evans, Duane Froese, Sophie L. Norris, and Martin Margold
The Cryosphere, 19, 869–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-869-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-869-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The retreat of the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet allows us to investigate how the ice drainage network evolves over millennial timescales and understand the influence of climate forcing, glacial lakes and the underlying geology on the rate of deglaciation. We reconstruct the changes in ice flow at 500-year intervals and identify rapid reorganisations of the drainage network, including variations in ice streaming that we link to climatically driven changes in the ice sheet surface slope.
Patrick Neuberger, Alireza Saidi-Mehrabad, Duane Froese, and Brian Lanoil
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-224, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-224, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
Permafrost is at increased risk of thaw due to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. As permafrost thaws, the microbiomes within these systems may become more active and change in composition, releasing greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4. In this study, we determined that permafrost thaw caused by road construction caused permafrost microbiomes to become more similar to surface soils, which has implications for greenhouse gas modelling.
Benjamin J. Stoker, Helen E. Dulfer, Chris R. Stokes, Victoria H. Brown, Christopher D. Clark, Colm Ó Cofaigh, David J. A. Evans, Duane Froese, Sophie L. Norris, and Martin Margold
The Cryosphere, 19, 869–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-869-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-869-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The retreat of the northwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet allows us to investigate how the ice drainage network evolves over millennial timescales and understand the influence of climate forcing, glacial lakes and the underlying geology on the rate of deglaciation. We reconstruct the changes in ice flow at 500-year intervals and identify rapid reorganisations of the drainage network, including variations in ice streaming that we link to climatically driven changes in the ice sheet surface slope.
Mahya Roustaei, Joel Pumple, Jordan Harvey, and Duane Froese
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1353, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1353, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigated the application of CT scanning to tackle the limitations of traditional destructive methods in characterization of permafrost cores. Five different permafrost cores were scanned at resolutions of 65 and 25 μm with new calibration method. The identification of different materials from CT images showed air(gas), ice(excess and pore), and sediments using an Otsu segmentation method. The results were validated by a destructive method(cuboid) and also a non-destructive method.
Izabela Szuman, Jakub Z. Kalita, Christiaan R. Diemont, Stephen J. Livingstone, Chris D. Clark, and Martin Margold
The Cryosphere, 18, 2407–2428, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2407-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2407-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A Baltic-wide glacial landform-based map is presented, filling in a geographical gap in the record that has been speculated about by palaeoglaciologists for over a century. Here we used newly available bathymetric data and provide landform evidence of corridors of fast ice flow that we interpret as ice streams. Where previous ice-sheet-scale investigations inferred a single ice source, our mapping identifies flow and ice margin geometries from both Swedish and Bothnian sources.
Joel Pumple, Alistair Monteath, Jordan Harvey, Mahya Roustaei, Alejandro Alvarez, Casey Buchanan, and Duane Froese
The Cryosphere, 18, 489–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice content is a critical variable in the context of thawing permafrost, and permafrost cores provide a means to measure the characteristics of frozen ground; however, these measurements are typically destructive and time intensive. Multi-sensor core logging (MSCL) provides a fast, non-destructive method to image permafrost cores, measure bulk density, and estimate ice content. The use of MSCL will improve existing digital permafrost archives by adding high-quality and reproducible data.
Benjamin J. Stoker, Martin Margold, John C. Gosse, Alan J. Hidy, Alistair J. Monteath, Joseph M. Young, Niall Gandy, Lauren J. Gregoire, Sophie L. Norris, and Duane Froese
The Cryosphere, 16, 4865–4886, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4865-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4865-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was the largest ice sheet to grow and disappear in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glaciation. In northwestern Canada, it covered the Mackenzie Valley, blocking the migration of fauna and early humans between North America and Beringia and altering the drainage systems. We reconstruct the timing of ice sheet retreat in this region and the implications for the migration of early humans into North America, the drainage of glacial lakes, and past sea level rise.
Jean Vérité, Édouard Ravier, Olivier Bourgeois, Stéphane Pochat, Thomas Lelandais, Régis Mourgues, Christopher D. Clark, Paul Bessin, David Peigné, and Nigel Atkinson
The Cryosphere, 15, 2889–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2889-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2889-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Subglacial bedforms are commonly used to reconstruct past glacial dynamics and investigate processes occuring at the ice–bed interface. Using analogue modelling and geomorphological mapping, we demonstrate that ridges with undulating crests, known as subglacial ribbed bedforms, are ubiquitous features along ice stream corridors. These bedforms provide a tantalizing glimpse into (1) the former positions of ice stream margins, (2) the ice lobe dynamics and (3) the meltwater drainage efficiency.
Cited articles
Alley, R. B. and Bindschadler, R. A.: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet: behavior and environment, edited by: Alley, R. B. and Bindschadler, R. A., Antarctic Research Series volume 77, American Geophysical Union, Washington, 2001, 294 pp., Antarct. Sci., 13, 221–222, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102001220306, ISBN 0 87590957 4, 2001.
Alley, R. B., Clark, P. U., Huybrechts, P., and Joughin, I.: Ice-sheet and sea-level changes, Science, 310, 456–460, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1114613, 2005.
Anderson, T. W.: Evidence from Nipawin Bay in Frobisher Lake, Saskatchewan, for three highstand and three lowstand lake phases between 9 and 10 (10.1 and 11.5 cal) ka BP, Quaternary Int., 260, 66–75, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.09.021, 2012.
Andriashek, L. D. and Atkinson, N.: Buried channels and glacial-drift aquifers in the Fort McMurray region, Northeast Alberta, Earth Sciences Report 2007-01, Alberta Geological Survey, Alberta Energy Utilities Board, 160, 2007.
Atkinson, N.: Surficial Geology and Quaternary History of the High Prairie Area (NTS 83N/SE), Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, 2009.
Atkinson, N. and Utting, D. J.: Glacial flowlines of Alberta, Canada; Alberta Energy Regulator/Alberta Geological Survey, AER/AGS Map 622, scale 1:1 000 000, 2021.
Atkinson, N., Utting, D. J., and Pawley, S. M.: Glacial landforms of Alberta, Alberta Energy Regulator, AER/AGS Map 604, 2014.
Atkinson, N., Pawley, S., and Utting, D. J.: Flow-pattern evolution of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets across west-central Alberta, Canada: implications for ice sheet growth, retreat and dynamics during the last glacial cycle, J. Quaternary Sci., 31, 753–768, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2901, 2016.
Atkinson, N., Utting, D. J., and Pawley, S. M.: An update to the glacial landforms map of Alberta, Alberta Geological Survey, 735, 10.13140, 2018.
Banks, J. and Harris, N. B.: Geothermal potential of Foreland Basins: A case study from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Geothermics, 76, 74–92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2018.06.004, 2018.
Batchelor, C. L., Margold, M., Krapp, M., Murton, D. K., Dalton, A. S., Gibbard, P. L., Stokes, C. R., Murton, J. B., and Manica, A.: The configuration of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the Quaternary, Nat. Commun., 10, 3713, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11601-2, 2019.
Bednarski, J. M.: Surficial geology Trutch, British Columbia, Geological Survey of Canada Open File, 3885, 2000.
Bradwell, T., Small, D., Fabel, D., Smedley, R. K., Clark, C. D., Saher, M. H., Callard, S. L., Chiverrell, R. C., Dove, D., Moreton, S. G., Roberts, D. H., Duller, G. A. T., and Ó Cofaigh, C.: Ice-stream demise dynamically conditioned by trough shape and bed strength, Sci. Adv., 5, eaau1380, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau1380, 2019.
Breckenridge, A.: The Tintah-Campbell gap and implications for glacial Lake Agassiz drainage during the Younger Dryas cold interval, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 117, 124–134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.04.009, 2015.
Bretz, J. H.: Keewatin end moraines in Alberta, Canada, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 54, 31–52, https://doi.org/10.1130/gsab-54-31, 1943.
Carlson, A. E. and Clark, P. U.: Ice sheet sources of sea level rise and freshwater discharge during the last deglaciation, Rev. Geophys., 50, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011rg000371, 2012.
Carrivick, J. L. and Tweed, F. S.: Proglacial lakes: character, behaviour and geological importance, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 78, 34–52, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.07.028, 2013.
Christiansen, E. A.: The Wisconsinan deglaciation, of southern Saskatchewan and adjacent areas, Can. J. Earth Sci., 16, 913–938, https://doi.org/10.1139/e79-079, 1979.
Clark, C. D.: Glaciodynamic context of subglacial bedform generation and preservation, Ann. Glaciol., 28, 23–32, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756499781821832, 1999.
Clark, C. D., Ely, J. C., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., Bradley, S., Ignéczi, A., Fabel, D., Ó Cofaigh, C., Chiverrell, R. C., Scourse, J., Benetti, S., Bradwell, T., Evans, D. J. A., Roberts, D. H., Burke, M., Callard, S. L., Medialdea, A., Saher, M., Small, D., Smedley, R. K., Gasson, E., Gregoire, L., Gandy, N., Hughes, A. L. C., Ballantyne, C., Bateman, M. D., Bigg, G. R., Doole, J., Dove, D., Duller, G. A. T., Jenkins, G. T. H., Livingstone, S. L., McCarron, S., Moreton, S., Pollard, D., Praeg, D., Sejrup, H. P., Van Landeghem, K. J. J., and Wilson, P.: Growth and retreat of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet, 31 000 to 15 000 years ago: the BRITICE-CHRONO reconstruction, Boreas, 51, 699–758, https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12594, 2022.
Clark, J., Carlson, A. E., Reyes, A. V., Carlson, E. C. B., Guillaume, L., Milne, G. A., Tarasov, L., Caffee, M., Wilcken, K., and Rood, D. H.: The age of the opening of the Ice-Free Corridor and implications for the peopling of the Americas, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 119, e2118558119, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118558119, 2022.
Clark, P. U.: Unstable behavior of the Laurentide ice sheet over deforming sediment and its implications for climate change, Quaternary Res., 41, 19–25, https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1002, 1994.
Clark, P. U., Dyke, A. S., Shakun, J. D., Carlson, A. E., Clark, J., Wohlfarth, B., Mitrovica, J. X., Hostetler, S. W., and McCabe, A. M.: The Last Glacial Maximum, Science, 325, 710–714, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172873, 2009.
Clayton, L., Teller, J. T., and Attig, J. W.: Surging of the southwestern part of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Boreas, 14, 235–241, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1985.tb00726.x, 1985.
Cummings, D. I., Russell, H. A. J., and Sharpe, D. R.: Buried valleys and till in the Canadian Prairies: geology, hydrogeology, and origin, Geological Survey of Canada, 2012.
Dalton, A. S., Margold, M., Stokes, C. R., and Tarasov, L.: An updated radiocarbon-based ice margin chronology for the last deglaciation of the North American Ice Sheet Complex, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 234, 106223, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106223, 2020.
Dalton, A. S., Stokes, C. R., and Batchelor, C. L.: Evolution of the Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (115 ka to 25 ka), Earth-Sci. Rev., 224, 103875, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103875, 2022.
Davies, B. J., Livingstone, S. J., Roberts, D. H., Evans, D. J. A., Gheorghiu, D. M., and Ó Cofaigh, C.: Dynamic ice stream retreat in the central sector of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 225, 105989, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.105989, 2019.
De Angelis, H. and Kleman, J.: Palaeo-ice-stream onsets: examples from the north-eastern Laurentide Ice Sheet, Earth Surf. Process., 33, 560–572, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1663, 2008.
Dyke, A. S.: An outline of North American deglaciation with emphasis on central and northern Canada, in: Quaternary Glaciations-Extent and Chronology – Part II: North America, Elsevier, 373–424, https://doi.org/10.1016/s1571-0866(04)80209-4, 2004.
Dyke, A. S. and Prest, V. K.: Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Géogr. Phys. Quat., 41, 237–263, https://doi.org/10.7202/032681ar, 1987.
Dyke, A. S., Andrews, J. T., Clark, P. U., England, J. H., Miller, G. H., Shaw, J., and Veillette, J. J.: The Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 21, 9–31, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-3791(01)00095-6, 2002.
Emerson, D.: Late glacial molluscs from the Cooking Lake moraine, Alberta, Canada, Can. J. Earth Sci., 20, 160–162, https://doi.org/10.1139/e83-014, 1983.
EROS Centre: USGS EROS Archive – Digital Elevation – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 1 Arc-Second Global, EROS Centre [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PR7TFT, 2018.
Evans, D. J. A.: Quaternary geology and geomorphology of the Dinosaur Provincial Park area and surrounding plains, Alberta, Canada: the identification of former glacial lobes, drainage diversions and meltwater flood tracks, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 19, 931–958, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0277-3791(99)00029-3, 2000.
Evans, D. J. A.: Glacial Landsystems, in: Glacier Science and Environmental Change, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, USA, 83–88, https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470750636.ch18, 2007.
Evans, D. J. A.: GLACIAL LANDFORMS | Glacial Landsystems, in: Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Elsevier, 813–824, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-53643-3.00069-8, 2013.
Evans, D. J. A. and Campbell, I. A.: Quaternary stratigraphy of the buried valleys of the lower Red Deer River, Alberta, Canada, J. Quaternary Sci., 10, 123–148, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3390100204, 1995.
Evans, D. J. A., Lemmen, D. S., and Rea, B. R.: Glacial landsystems of the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet: modern Icelandic analogues, J. Quaternary Sci., 14, 673–691, https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(199912)14:7<673::aid-jqs467>3.0.co;2-#, 1999.
Evans, D. J. A., Clark, C. D., and Rea, B. R.: Landform and sediment imprints of fast glacier flow in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet, J. Quaternary Sci., 23, 249–272, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1141, 2008.
Evans, D. J. A., Hiemstra, J. F., Boston, C. M., Leighton, I., Cofaigh, C. Ó., and Rea, B. R.: Till stratigraphy and sedimentology at the margins of terrestrially terminating ice streams: case study of the western Canadian prairies and high plains, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 46, 80–125, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.04.028, 2012.
Evans, D. J. A., Young, N. J. P., and Ó Cofaigh, C.: Glacial geomorphology of terrestrial-terminating fast flow lobes/ice stream margins in the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet, Geomorphology, 204, 86–113, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.07.031, 2014.
Evans, D. J. A., Storrar, R. D., and Rea, B. R.: Crevasse-squeeze ridge corridors: Diagnostic features of late-stage palaeo-ice stream activity, Geomorphology, 258, 40–50, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.01.017, 2016.
Evans, D. J. A., Atkinson, N., and Phillips, E.: Glacial geomorphology of the Neutral Hills Uplands, southeast Alberta, Canada: The process-form imprints of dynamic ice streams and surging ice lobes, Geomorphology, 350, 106910, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.106910, 2020.
Evans, D. J. A., Phillips, E. R., and Atkinson, N.: Glacitectonic rafts and their role in the generation of Quaternary subglacial bedforms and deposits, Quaternary Res., 104, 101–135, https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2021.11, 2021.
Eyles, N., Boyce, J. I., and Barendregt, R. W.: Hummocky moraine: sedimentary record of stagnant Laurentide Ice Sheet lobes resting on soft beds, Sediment. Geol., 123, 163–174, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0037-0738(98)00129-8, 1999.
Fenton, M. M., Waters, E. J., Pawley, S. M., Atkinson, N., Utting, D. J., and McKay, K.: Surficial geology of Alberta, Alberta Geological Survey, Alberta Geological Survey, AER/AGS Map 601, scale 1:1 000 000, 2013.
Fisher, T. G. and Smith, D. G.: Glacial Lake Agassiz: Its northwest maximum extent and outlet in Saskatchewan (Emerson Phase), Quaternary Sci. Rev., 13, 845–858, https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(94)90005-1, 1994.
Fisher, T. G., Waterson, N., Lowell, T. V., and Hajdas, I.: Deglaciation ages and meltwater routing in the Fort McMurray region, northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 28, 1608–1624, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.02.003, 2009.
Froese, D. G., Young, J. M., Norris, S. L., and Margold, M.: Availability and viability of the ice-free corridor and Pacific coast routes for the peopling of the Americas, The SAA, Society for American Archaeology, Archaeological Record, 19, 27–33, 2019.
Gauthier, M. S., Breckenridge, A., and Hodder, T. J.: Patterns of ice recession and ice stream activity for the MIS 2 Laurentide Ice Sheet in Manitoba, Canada, Boreas, 51, 274–298, https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12571, 2022.
Geological Survey of Canada: Surficial geology of Canada / Géologie des formations superficielles du Canada, Natural Resources Canada, https://doi.org/10.4095/295462, 2014.
Gowan, E. J., Tregoning, P., Purcell, A., Montillet, J.-P., and McClusky, S.: A model of the western Laurentide Ice Sheet, using observations of glacial isostatic adjustment, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 139, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.03.003, 2016.
Greenwood, S. L. and Clark, C. D.: Reconstructing the last Irish Ice Sheet 1: changing flow geometries and ice flow dynamics deciphered from the glacial landform record, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 28, 3085–3100, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.09.008, 2009.
Greenwood, S. L., Clark, C. D., and Hughes, A. L. C.: Formalising an inversion methodology for reconstructing ice-sheet retreat patterns from meltwater channels: application to the British Ice Sheet, J. Quaternary Sci., 22, 637–645, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1083, 2007.
Gregoire, L. J., Otto-Bliesner, B., Valdes, P. J., and Ivanovic, R.: Abrupt Bølling warming and ice saddle collapse contributions to the Meltwater Pulse 1a rapid sea level rise, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 9130–9137, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070356, 2016.
GSC: Geoscience Data Repository, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, http://gdr.nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.php (last access: 1 May 2023), 2008.
Heintzman, P. D., Froese, D., Ives, J. W., Soares, A. E. R., Zazula, G. D., Letts, B., Andrews, T. D., Driver, J. C., Hall, E., Hare, P. G., Jass, C. N., MacKay, G., Southon, J. R., Stiller, M., Woywitka, R., Suchard, M. A., and Shapiro, B.: Bison phylogeography constrains dispersal and viability of the Ice Free Corridor in western Canada, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 8057–8063, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601077113, 2016.
Hickin, A. S. and Fournier, M. A.: Compilation of Geological Survey of Canada surficial geology maps for NTS 94A and 93P, British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, British Columbia Geological Survey Open-File 2011-02; Geoscience BC Map, 1:250 000 scale, 2011.
Horberg, L.: Pleistocene drift sheets in the Lethbridge region, Alberta, Canada, J. Geol., 60, 303–330, https://doi.org/10.1086/625981, 1952.
Hughes, A. L. C., Clark, C. D., and Jordan, C. J.: Flow-pattern evolution of the last British Ice Sheet, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 89, 148–168, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.002, 2014.
Klassen, R. W.: Quaternary geology of the southern Canadian interior plains, in: Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland, edited by: Fulton, R. J., Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, 138–174, 1989.
Klassen, R. W.: Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of southwestern Saskatchewan, Can. J. Earth Sci., 31, 1822–1837, https://doi.org/10.1139/e94-162, 1994.
Kleman, J. and Borgström, I.: Reconstruction of palaeo-ice sheets: The use of geomorphological data, Earth Surf. Process., 21, 893–909, https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1096-9837(199610)21:10<893::aid-esp620>3.0.co;2-u, 1996.
Kleman, J., Hättestrand, C., Borgström, I., and Stroeven, A.: Fennoscandian palaeoglaciology reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model, J. Glaciol., 43, 283–299, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003233, 1997.
Kleman, J., Hättestrand, C., Stroeven, A. P., Jansson, K. N., De Angelis, H., and Borgström, I.: Reconstruction of palaeo-ice sheets – inversion of their glacial geomorphological record, in: Glacier Science and Environmental Change, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, USA, 192–198, https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470750636.ch38, 2006.
Kleman, J., Jansson, K., De Angelis, H., Stroeven, A. P., Hättestrand, C., Alm, G., and Glasser, N.: North American Ice Sheet build-up during the last glacial cycle, 115–21 kyr, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 29, 2036–2051, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.04.021, 2010.
Kulig, J. J.: The glaciation of the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan and its regional implications, Quaternary Int., 32, 53–77, https://doi.org/10.1016/1040-6182(95)00059-3, 1996.
Lambeck, K., Purcell, A., and Zhao, S.: The North American Late Wisconsin ice sheet and mantle viscosity from glacial rebound analyses, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 158, 172–210, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.033, 2017.
Landvik, J. Y., Alexanderson, H., Henriksen, M., and Ingólfsson, Ó.: Landscape imprints of changing glacial regimes during ice-sheet build-up and decay: a conceptual model from Svalbard, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 92, 258–268, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.11.023, 2014.
Leckie, D. A.: Tertiary fluvial gravels and evolution of the Western Canadian Prairie Landscape, Sediment. Geol., 190, 139–158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2006.05.019, 2006.
Lemmen, D. S., Duk-Rodkin, A., and Bednarski, J. M.: Late glacial drainage systems along the northwestern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 13, 805–828, https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(94)90003-5, 1994.
Margold, M., Stokes, C. R., and Clark, C. D.: Ice streams in the Laurentide Ice Sheet: Identification, characteristics and comparison to modern ice sheets, Earth-Sci. Rev., 143, 117–146, 2015a.
Margold, M., Stokes, C. R., Clark, C. D., and Kleman, J.: Ice streams in the Laurentide Ice Sheet: a new mapping inventory, J. Maps, 11, 380–395, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2014.912036, 2015b.
Margold, M., Stokes, C. R., and Clark, C. D.: Reconciling records of ice streaming and ice margin retreat to produce a palaeogeographic reconstruction of the deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 189, 1–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.013, 2018.
Margold, M., Gosse, J. C., Hidy, A. J., Woywitka, R. J., Young, J. M., and Froese, D.: 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, Quaternary Res., 92, 469–482, https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.10, 2019.
Mathews, W. H., Gabrielse, H., and Rutter, N. W.: Glacial maps of Beatton river map area, BritishColumbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, open file 274, 1:1 000 000 scale, 1975.
Mossop, G. D. and Shetsen, I.: Geological atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Alberta Research Council, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, and I. Shetsen, Geological atlas of the Western Canada sedimentary basin, Calgary, Published jointly by the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and the Alberta Research Council, 1994.
Munyikwa, K., Feathers, J. K., Rittenour, T. M., and Shrimpton, H. K.: Constraining the Late Wisconsinan retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet from western Canada using luminescence ages from postglacial aeolian dunes, Quaternary Geochronol., 6, 407–422, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2011.03.010, 2011.
Munyikwa, K., Rittenour, T. M., and Feathers, J. K.: Temporal constraints for the Late Wisconsinan deglaciation of western Canada using eolian dune luminescence chronologies from Alberta, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 470, 147–165, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.12.034, 2017.
Murton, J. B., Bateman, M. D., Dallimore, S. R., Teller, J. T., and Yang, Z.: Identification of Younger Dryas outburst flood path from Lake Agassiz to the Arctic Ocean, Nature, 464, 740–743, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08954, 2010.
Norris, S.: flowsets map .kmz file, figshare [data set], https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22790615.v2, 2023.
Norris, S., Tarasov, L., Monteath, A. J., Gosse, J. C., Hidy, A. J., Margold, M., and Froese, D. G.: Rapid retreat of the southwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Bølling-Allerød interval, Geology, 50, 417–421, https://doi.org/10.1130/g49493.1, 2022.
Norris, S. L.: Glacial Flowlines in the Lower Athabasca and Clearwater Region Alberta and Saskatchewan, Alberta Geological Survey, AER/AGS, Map 595, 2019.
Norris, S. L., Margold, M., and Froese, D. G.: Glacial landforms of northwest Saskatchewan, J. Maps, 13, 600–607, 2017.
Norris, S. L., Garcia-Castellanos, D., Jansen, J. D., Carling, P. A., Margold, M., Woywitka, R. J., and Froese, D. G.: Catastrophic drainage from the northwestern outlet of glacial Lake Agassiz during the Younger Dryas, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2021GL093919, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093919, 2021.
Ó Cofaigh, C., Evans, D. J. A., and Smith, I. R.: Large-scale reorganization and sedimentation of terrestrial ice streams during late Wisconsinan Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 122, 743–756, https://doi.org/10.1130/b26476.1, 2010.
Paterson, W. S. B.: The physics of glaciers, 3rd edn., Pergamon, Elsevier Science Ltd, ISBN 0 08 037945 1, 1994.
Pattyn, F., Ritz, C., Hanna, E., Asay-Davis, X., DeConto, R., Durand, G., Favier, L., Fettweis, X., Goelzer, H., Golledge, N. R., Kuipers Munneke, P., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Nowicki, S., Payne, A. J., Robinson, A., Seroussi, H., Trusel, L. D., and van den Broeke, M.: The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets under 1.5 °C global warming, Nat. Clim. Chang., 8, 1053–1061, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0305-8, 2018.
Paulen, R. C. and McClenaghan, M. B.: Late Wisconsin ice-flow history in the Buffalo Head Hills kimberlite field, north-central Alberta, Can. J. Earth Sci., 52, 51–67, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2014-0109, 2015.
Pawluk, S. and Bayrock, L. A.: Some characteristics and physical properties of Alberta tills, Research Council of Alberta, RCA/AGS Bulletin 26, 26 pp., 1969.
Peltier, W. R., Argus, D. F., and Drummond, R.: Space geodesy constrains ice age terminal deglaciation: The global ICE-6G_C (VM5a) model, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 120, 450–487, 2015.
Prest, V. K.: Nomenclature of moraines and ice-flow features as applied to the glacial map of Canada, 32, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1968.
Prest, V. K., Grant, D. R., and Rampton, V. N.: Glacial map of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1253A, https://doi.org/10.4095/108979, 1968.
Rasmussen, S. O., Bigler, M., Blockley, S. P., Blunier, T., Buchardt, S. L., Clausen, H. B., Cvijanovic, I., Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S. J., Fischer, H., Gkinis, V., Guillevic, M., Hoek, W. Z., Lowe, J. J., Pedro, J. B., Popp, T., Seierstad, I. K., Steffensen, J. P., Svensson, A. M., Vallelonga, P., Vinther, B. M., Walker, M. J. C., Wheatley, J. J., and Winstrup, M.: A stratigraphic framework for abrupt climatic changes during the Last Glacial period based on three synchronized Greenland ice-core records: refining and extending the INTIMATE event stratigraphy, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 106, 14–28, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.09.007, 2014.
Reyes, A. V., Carlson, A. E., Milne, G. A., Tarasov, L., Reimink, J. R., and Caffee, M. W.: Revised chronology of northwest Laurentide ice-sheet deglaciation from 10Be exposure ages on boulder erratics, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 277, 107369, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107369, 2022.
Rignot, E. and Kanagaratnam, P.: Changes in the velocity structure of the Greenland Ice Sheet, Science, 311, 986–990, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1121381, 2006.
Rignot, E. and Thomas, R. H.: Mass balance of polar ice sheets, Science, 297, 1502–1506, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1073888, 2002.
Rignot, E., Bamber, J. L., van den Broeke, M. R., Davis, C., Li, Y., van de Berg, W. J., and van Meijgaard, E.: Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling, Nat. Geosci., 1, 106–110, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo102, 2008.
Rignot, E., Velicogna, I., van den Broeke, M. R., Monaghan, A., and Lenaerts, J. T. M.: Acceleration of the contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sea level rise, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, 5, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011gl046583, 2011.
Ross, M., Campbell, J. E., Parent, M., and Adams, R. S.: Palaeo-ice streams and the subglacial landscape mosaic of the North American mid-continental prairies, Boreas, 38, 421–439, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00082.x, 2009.
Sharp, M.: “crevasse-fill” ridges – A landform type characteristic of surging glaciers?, Geogr. Ann. Ser. A. Phys. Geogr., 67, 213–220, https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.1985.11880147, 1985.
Shepherd, A.: Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet from 1992 to 2017, Nature, 556, 219–222, 2018.
Shetsen, I.: Application of till pebble lithology to the differentiation of glacial lobes in southern Alberta, Can. J. Earth Sci., 21, 920–933, https://doi.org/10.1139/e84-097, 1984.
Simpson, M. A.: Surficial geology map of Saskatchewan, Sask. Energy Mines/Sask. Resear. Counc., 1:1 000 000 scale, 1997.
Stalker, A. M.: Buried valleys in central and southern Alberta, Geological Survey of Canada Geological Survey of Canada, Preliminary Map 47-1960, 1 sheet, https://doi.org/10.4095/108733, 1961.
Stalker, A. M.: Surficial geology, Lethbridge (east half), Geological Survey of Canada, Map 41-1962, scale 1:253 440, 1962.
Stalker, A. M.: Indications of Wisconsin and earlier man from the southwest Canadian prairies, Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 288, 119–136, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1977.tb33606.x, 1977.
Stoker, B. J., Margold, M., Gosse, J. C., Hidy, A. J., Monteath, A. J., Young, J. M., Gandy, N., Gregoire, L. J., Norris, S. L., and Froese, D.: The collapse of the Cordilleran–Laurentide ice saddle and early opening of the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada, constrained by 10Be exposure dating, The Cryosphere, 16, 4865–4886, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4865-2022, 2022.
Stokes, C. and Clark, C.: Evolution of late glacial ice-marginal lakes on the northwestern Canadian Shield and their influence on the location of the Dubawnt Lake palaeo-ice stream, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 215, 155–171, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-0182(04)00467-5, 2004.
Stokes, C. R. and Clark, C. D.: Geomorphological criteria for identifying Pleistocene ice streams, Ann. Glaciol., 28, 67–74, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756499781821625, 1999.
Stokes, C. R., Margold, M., Clark, C. D., and Tarasov, L.: Ice stream activity scaled to ice sheet volume during Laurentide Ice Sheet deglaciation, Nature, 530, 322–326, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16947, 2016.
Tarasov, L., Dyke, A. S., Neal, R. M., and Peltier, W. R.: A data-calibrated distribution of deglacial chronologies for the North American ice complex from glaciological modeling, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 315–316, 30–40, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.010, 2012.
Utting, D. J. and Atkinson, N.: Proglacial lakes and the retreat pattern of the southwest Laurentide Ice Sheet across Alberta, Canada, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 225, 106034, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106034, 2019.
Utting, D. J., Atkinson, N., Pawley, S., and Livingstone, S. J.: Reconstructing the confluence zone between Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets along the Rocky Mountain Foothills, south-west Alberta, J. Quaternary Sci., 31, 769–787, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2903, 2016.
Westgate, J. A.: Surficial geology of the Foremost-Cypress Hills region, Alberta, Research Council of Alberta, Bulletin 22, 122, 1968.
Woywitka, R.: Geoarchaeology of the mineable oil sands region, Northeastern Alberta, Canada, PhD dissertation, University of Alberta, https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-t1nd-k544, 2019.
Young, J. M., Reyes, A. V., and Froese, D. G.: Assessing the ages of the Moorhead and Emerson phases of glacial Lake Agassiz and their temporal connection to the Younger Dryas cold reversal, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 251, 106714, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106714, 2021.
Young, R. R., Burns, J. A., Smith, D. G., Arnold, L. D., and Rains, R. B.: A single, late Wisconsin, Laurentide glaciation, Edmonton area and southwestern Alberta, Geology, 22, 683, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0683:aslwlg>2.3.co;2, 1994.
Short summary
Associated with climate change between the Last Glacial Maximum and the current interglacial period, we reconstruct the behaviour of the southwestern Laurentide Ice Sheet, which covered the Canadian Prairies, using detailed landform mapping. Our reconstruction depicts three shifts in the ice sheet’s dynamics. We suggest these changes resulted from ice sheet thinning triggered by abrupt climatic change. However, we show that regional lithology and topography also play an important role.
Associated with climate change between the Last Glacial Maximum and the current interglacial...
