The ability of ice-flow indicators to record complex, historic deglaciation events, Burroughs Glacier, Alaska

Known changes in ice-flow direction during a 100-year interval have been used to evaluate how well ice-flow indicators record complex deglaciation events. At Burroughs Glacier, nunataks emerging from a thinning Neoglacial ice mass and differential ice-surface lowering caused by calving ice margins have produced major changes in ice-flow direction sincc 1892. Cross-cutting striae with angles of divergence of up to 105' reflect the past range of flow directions in the area. Striae from the oldest flow events are deepest, and striae from some late-stage flow events are missing. This may be caused by overprinting during late-stage reversals in the direction of ice movement. The orientation of flutes and surficial bullet boulders reflects the final ice-flow direction, but boulder orientations are less clustered than flute orientations. Surficial till pebble fabrics are weakly to moderately developed, but till fabrics vary with depth and record ice-flow direction changes with time.     

Comparative study of striations and basal till clast fabrics, Malpeque—Bedeque region, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Coastal erosion has resulted in exposure of a succession of basal till deposits and striation localities along the Malpeque and Bedeque Bays, PEI, Canada, permitting repetitive determinations of clast fabrics and investigation of recently exhumed striations. Striations indicate initial eastward ice flow, followed by a second glacial event with flow towards the south and southwest from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The degree of local inconsistency and the variations with striation assemblages indicate that the orientations of individual striations cannot be regarded as 'absolute' indicators of ice flow directions. Diamictons identified as basal tills using sedimentological criteria have clast fabrics typical of basal till deposition. Local deviations of fabric trend within individual outcrops are common. A comparative analysis of the data obtained from striation and clast fabric orientations indicates that the ice flow directions independently suggested by each are in general agreement. Differences are present between the orientations of striations and clast fabrics at individual sites. The orientations of the fabrics lie within 20° of the modal striation orientations in only 28% of the cases, and the median deviation between the suggested ice flow directions was 29°. In 40%, of the cases, the azimuth deviation between the two methods exceeded 40°, and the maximum deviation recorded was 84°. At many sites, the deviations are so severe as to potentially result in the misinterpretation of the modal ice flow direction, based on the use of either striation orientation or clast fabric in isolation. Variations in glacial flow can readily produce striations and clast fabrics which record different phases of glacial activity associated with the same glacial event at an individual site.     

Comparisons between macro‐ and microfabrics in a pebble‐rich,sandy till deposited by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet

It is standard practice to measure particle fabrics in glacial studies to infer palaeo‐ice flow directions and processes of till formation but few studies examine the relationships between particle fabrics at different (i.e. the macro‐ and micro‐) scales. This knowledge is critical to inform the utility of the methods and limitations of the associated interpretations. Micro‐ (sand grain) and macro‐ (pebble) fabrics of pebble‐rich, sandy subglacial till (Kamloops Lake till) deposited by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, south‐central British Columbia, were compared to assess their similarities and differences, and therefore their utility for understanding subglacial processes. Before comparisons were made, the data were tested for robustness by assessing various controls (e.g. sampling face orientation, number of particles measured, statistical variation resulting from sampling effects, particle shape, size and concentration) on particle fabrics. A new method of microfabric analysis was applied that involves the identification and delineation of distinct clusters of similarly orientated sand grains in order to compare them with macrofabrics and inferred ice‐flow directions. The results show that microfabrics, on their own, are an unreliable indicator of ice‐flow direction in Kamloops Lake till in the study area and should not be used as a substitute for macrofabric data, as they probably record late‐stage microscale strain patterns and pore‐water flow in addition to till deposition and deformation by overriding ice. We suspect that this would also be the case for coarse‐grained till elsewhere. Our findings suggest that till microfabric interpretations should always be made after assessing corresponding macrofabric data alongside sedimentological and structural observations.     

Permian glaciated bedrock surfaces and associated sediments on Kangaroo Island,South Australia: Implications for local Gondwanan ice‐mass dynamics

Late Palaeozoic glaciated rock surfaces and associated sediments occur along the northeastern coast of Kangaroo Island. The erosional forms include glacially polished rock surfaces, striae, grooves, chatter marks, friction cracks, crescentic gouges, p‐forms, sichelwannen, miniature rock crag‐and‐tails and roches moutonnées. The distribution and orientation of these along with till fabrics indicate a general northwesterly ice flow in this part of the Troubridge Basin. The glacial erosional forms and the presence of thick lodgement till imply that the local basal ice was at pressure‐melting point during their formation. Temperate to subpolar glacial ice conditions, similar to those currently prevailing in glaciers in Spitsbergen, are inferred.     

An anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) investigation of the till fabric of drumlins: support for an accretionary origin

This paper describes the results of a spatially dense anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) till fabric study of a single drumlin in the Weedsport Drumlin Field, New York State, USA. AMS till fabrics provide a robust, quantitative and unbiased approach to assess subglacial till kinematics and infer ice‐flow dynamics. The drumlin selected for this detailed investigation was systematically sampled at 18 locations to evaluate the patterns of ice flow and associated till kinematics within a drumlin and to test erosional vs. depositional models for its formation. AMS till fabric analysis yielded strong fabrics that increase in strength towards the drumlin crest, indicating that bed deformation occurred during till deposition and that deformation within the drumlin was greater than that in the interdrumlin low. Fabric orientations reveal drumlin convergent, divergent and parallel ice‐flow paths that illustrate a complex interaction between ice flow and the drumlin form; fabric strength and shape reveal systematic differences in bed deformation between the interdrumlin and drumlin regions. These observations are inconsistent with purely erosional models of drumlin genesis; instead, these observations are more consistent with syndepositional streamlining of till transported, probably locally as a deforming bed, from the interdrumlin low towards the drumlin locality.     

Lobal interactions and rheologic superposition in subglacial till near Bradtville, Ontario, Canada

Structural, stratigraphic, and lithologic data from a section 69 m long of Catfish Creek drift (north shore of Lake Erie) tell a complex story of two competing glacial lobes. Stone surface features and orientations indicate that stones rotated in viscously deforming, fine-medium textured subglacial till prior to final emplacement. Fractures, shears, and attenuated sediment lenses in tills reveal that they experienced some brittle shear superposed on ductile shear during till dewatering and stiffening. The Huron-Georgian Bay lobe advanced first from the northwest, deforming interstadial sediments and depositing subglacial till. Next, southward confluent flow of the Huron, Georgian Bay, and Erie lobes carved subglacial troughs into sediments and deposited (then deformed) bouldery deformation till by squeeze flow. The northwest flowing Erie lobe then prevailed, depositing deformation till, subglacial aquatic sediments, and mudflows. Finally, a pavement-bearing, hybrid deformation-lodgement till covered the section. Till formation was mainly by subglacial viscous flow with minor lodgement superposed as water content decreased and some fines were probably winnowed. This implies that till deformation probably accounted for much of the glacier movement. Therefore, rapid ice flow could have occurred over the section, along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet.     

Till‐forming processes beneath parts of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet,British Columbia,Canada: macroscale and microscale evidence and a new statistical technique for analysing microstructure data

This paper presents the first integrated macroscale and microscale examination of subglacial till associated with the last‐glacial (Fraser Glaciation) Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS). A new statistical approach to quantifying till micromorphology (multivariate hierarchical cluster analysis for compositional data) is also described and implemented. Till macrostructures, macrofabrics and microstructures support previous assertions that primary till in this region formed through a combination of lodgement and deformation processes in a temperate subglacial environment. Macroscale observations suggest that subglacial environments below the CIS were probably influenced by topography, whereby poor drainage of the substrate in topographically constricted areas, or on slopes adverse to the ice‐flow direction at glacial maximum, facilitated ductile deformation of the glacier bed. Microscale observations suggest that subglacial till below the CIS experienced both ductile and brittle deformation, including grain rotation and squeeze flow of sediment between grains under moist conditions, and microshearing, grain stacking and grain fracturing under well‐drained conditions. Macroscale observations suggest that ductile deformation events were probably followed by brittle deformation events as the substrate subsequently drained. The prevalence of ductile‐type microstructures in most till exposures investigated in this study suggests that ductile deformation signatures can be preserved at the microscale after brittle deformation events that result in larger‐scale fractures and shear structures. It is likely that microscale ductile deformation can also occur within distributed shear zones during lodgement processes. Cluster analysis of microstructure data and qualitative observations made from thin sections suggest that the relative frequency of countable microstructures in this till is influenced by topography in relation to ice‐flow direction (bed drainage conditions) as well as by the frequency and distribution of voids in the till matrix and skeletal grain shapes.     

Boulder beds in the glaciogenic Permo-Carboniferous Dwyka Formation in South Africa

Single-layer and massive boulder beds, which include boulder pavements, are sporadically distributed in the glaciogenic Permo-Carboniferous Dwyka Formation. These matrix-supported beds consist of moderately to poorly sorted, rounded boulders, cobbles and pebbles with a clast composition similar to those in the underlying or overlying diamictite. Alternatively, the clasts are composed of monolithic basement rock-types. The clasts show a long-axis orientation which, in the case of the boulder pavements, is parallel to the striae on the pavements. The various types of boulder beds have a similar mode of deposition and their subglacial origin is evidenced by the clast orientation, clasts with stoss and lee sides, stacking of clasts, and the development of a cleavage in the matrix due to horizontal stresses exerted by the boulders in the subglacial sediment. Subglacial streams, kame mounds, subaqeously winnowed till, or boulder beaches supplied the coarse debris which was entrained in the basal ice by plastic flow and regelation. Selective lodgement of the transported boulders occurred down-glacier when the basal thermal conditions changed from cold-freezing to warm-melting. The formation of the different types of boulder beds is thought to depend primarily on the concentration of coarse debris in the basal ice.     

Magnetic fabrics of the Douglas Till of the Superior lobe: exploring bed-deformation kinematics

The Superior lobe of the Laurentide ice sheet, during its last advance into northwestern Wisconsin, may have moved and transported sediment primarily through deep, widespread shear of its bed to high strains (>100). To study the kinematics of this deformation, we measured the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of 3750 intact samples of its basal till—the Douglas member of the Miller Creek formation—collected from eight profiles at 0.2 m depth increments. A benchmark for interpretations was provided by results of ring-shear experiments conducted on the Douglas Till, which provided fabric characteristics for the case of horizontal simple shear. Orientations of maximum susceptibility (k₁) were controlled by preferred orientations of silt-sized magnetite grains and were similar to sand-grain orientations measured in thin sections. Strengths of fabrics formed by orientations of k₁ indicate that most of the till sampled was deformed but to variable strains. Deformation averaged over the 20 km spanned by the study approximated horizontal simple shear. However, large differences in k₁ fabric azimuths (>45°) over lateral distances of meters to tens of meters indicate highly heterogeneous bed deformation, perhaps focused in anastomosing zones with associated divergent and convergent till shear. This interpretation is supported by orientations of principal susceptibilities that imply, in many cases, either that shear planes were steeply dipping, particularly transverse to the shearing direction, or that there were major components of pure shear. Variations in k₁ fabric azimuth with depth indicate that most of the till thickness did not shear simultaneously; rather, till accumulated at the bed as shear direction changed in response to temporally shifting zones of shallow deformation (<1 m). This heterogeneous, temporally variable deformation of the bed differs from many applications of the bed-deformation model but is consistent with subglacial measurements at modern glaciers.     

Palaeoglaciology of the last Irish ice sheet reconstructed from striae evidence

A database comprising some ～5200 individual striation measurements on bedrock surfaces across the island of Ireland was used to produce maps of flowsets corresponding to individual ice flow events during the last (late Devensian) glacial cycle. These flowsets were identified on the basis of regional-scale correspondence between striae orientations which, when linked together spatially, are able to identify consistent ice flow vectors. Four main chronological stages are identified on the basis of this evidence: (i) incursion of Scottish ice into Ireland; (ii) glacial maximum conditions; (iii) ice retreat and dissolution; and (iv) development of localised ice domes. Striae-based reconstructions of the glaciology of the last Irish ice sheet are qualitatively different from those based on bedform (mainly drumlin and ribbed moraine) evidence. Significant differences are apparent in upland areas which have fewer preserved bedforms and a higher concentration of striae. Combining bedform and striae datasets will enable a better understanding of the temporal evolution of the ice sheet. It is likely that both datasets record a snapshot of ice flow direction and subglacial conditions and environments immediately prior to preservation of this directional evidence.     

Characterization of pebble fabrics in modern terrestrial glacigenic sediments

ABSTRACT Pebble fabric data are available from several facies of glacigenic sediments deposited by modern glaciers, where sedimentary processes can be observed or inferred with relatively little ambiguity. Over 100 samples from contemporary environments illustrate fabrics characterizing melt-out till, deformed and undeformed lodgement till, sediment flow deposits and ice slope colluvium. Lodgement till fabric variability is related to the two-layer structure of these sediments; a structureless, friable upper layer with low shear strength and high consolidation coefficient, overlying a very compact material of horizontal platy structure. Fabric strength (assessed by eigenvalue analysis) is weaker and pebble dip is more dispersed in the upper structureless horizon. Stronger fabrics in the lower platy horizon may be primary depositional fabrics which are destroyed by subglacial shearing to give weaker fabrics in the upper horizon. Alternatively, upper horizon fabrics may be characteristic of all recently-deposited lodgement tills, with stronger fabrics developing at depth by dewatering and consolidation. There is a general reduction in fabric strength and an increase in particle dip associated with the transition from melt-out tills, through undeformed and deformed lodgement tills, to sediment flow deposits and ice slope colluvium. There is, however, considerable overlap in the fabric strengths characteristic of sediment flow deposits and deformed lodgement tills. Fabric data from modern glacial sedimentary facies are used to assist in interpreting the mode of deposition of some Quaternary glacial sediments. Relatively strong fabrics characteristic of melt-out tills and undeformed lodgement tills are more likely to be diagnostic of genesis than weaker fabrics associated with deformed sediments.     

Lodgement till deposition and deformation investigated by macroscopic observation, thin-section analysis and electron microscope study at site Dçbe, central Poland

Macroscopic observation, thin-section analysis and electron microscope study were used in a detailed examination of till exposed in a valley escarpment. The till displays two kinds of bedding: (1) beds of different colour (lithology) that are not separated from one another by distinct boundaries, and (2) beds that are separated by distinct subhorizontal planes of discontinuity, commonly consisting of several beds of the first type. Beds showing no clear separation are interpreted as having been deposited through continuous lodgement, while the distinct discontinuities most probably record sliding planes of the glacier sole during breaks in till deposition. These features, along with the qualitative and quantitative microscopic evidence, indicate that the lower and middle parts of the till were deposited by hard lodgement. The process of deposition was interrupted several times by episodes of non-deposition, some of them accompanied by glacial erosion. The upper part of the till was deposited by continuous lodgement that was transitional between hard and soft lodgement processes. Such a succession indicates the prevalence of a cooler subglacial thermal regime which changed upwards into a milder one. The till examined displays mainly brittle deformation - namely Riedel shears that are primarily concentrated between the subhorizontal discontinuities characteristic of the lower and middle parts of the section. A dense set of Riedel shears also cuts thicker portions of the upper part of the till and, in some places, such shears combine along additional subhorizontal (discrete) shear planes. The direction of the fractures, as well as the strong fabric orientation of stone a-axes within the till, indicate an ice flow in the studied area from NW to SE.     

Clast ploughing, lodgement and glacier sliding over a soft glacier bed

Rarely-preserved features indicative of clast lodgement are exceptionally well preserved near Peoria, Illinois, on the contact surface between Illinoian till and underlying glacifluvial sand due to synsedimentary cementation of the substrate contact. Features preserved on the cemented contact surface record a history of particle transport, lodgement by ploughing into a deformable substrate, and subsequent overriding by abrasive debris-rich ice. Linear grooves and frontal sediment prows suggest that clasts embedded in the glacier sole ploughed through the soft, deformable bed. Increasing form resistance by the enlargement of sediment prows that developed on the lee side of clasts and deeper penetration of the clasts into the substrate eventually exceeded the force exerted on the clasts by ice flow, and the clasts lodged. Subsequently, clasts were abraded on their up-ice flanks and plucked on their down-ice flanks, resulting in stoss-lee morphology. These features offer direct information on the nature of the interface between aglacier and a soft, deformable substrate such as characterized large areas of former ice sheets.     

Fluted moraine formation and till genesis below a temperate valley glacier: Slettmarkbreen, Jotunheimen, southern Norway

Clast fabric and morphological data have been used to determine the origin of fluted subglacial tills exposed by recent retreat of the Slettmarkbreen glacier, Norway. A new method for the interpretation of clast fabric data allows aspects of the strain and depositional history of the till to be reconstructed. The till formed by a combination of lodgement and subsole deformation by slip along discrete shear planes. Lodgement was dominant for the larger size fractions (>125 mm), while the smaller material was more susceptible to deformation. The fluted till surface reflects the tendency for the till matrix to deform into regions of low confining pressure in the lee of lodged boulders. Downglacier components of till flow are thought to have resulted in significant sediment transfer towards the margin.     

An anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric record of till kinematics within a Late Weichselian low Baltic till,southern Sweden

Herein we report on the results of an anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric case‐study of two Late Weichselian tills exposed in a bedrock quarry in Dalby, Skåne, southern Sweden. The region possesses a complex glacial history, reflecting alternating and interacting advances of the main body of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) and its ice lobes from the Baltic basin, perhaps driven by streaming ice. AMS till fabrics are robust indicators of ice‐flow history and till kinematics, and provide a unique tool to investigate till kinematics within and amongst till units. The till section investigated here contains ~8 m of the Dalby Till – a dark grey silt‐clay rich till deposited during one or more Baltic advance – overlain by ~1.5 m of the regional surface diamicton. AMS fabrics within the lower part of the Dalby Till conform to the regional surface fluting, and reflect sustained flow from the ENE with progressive increases in basal strain. A boulder‐rich horizon approximately 3 m from the base of the till marks a restricted excursion in till fabric direction, fabric strength and style of strain. Ice flow is from the SW and W in the upper section. We interpret these fabrics to record shifting ice flow and bed conditions at the margins of the Young Baltic Advance ice lobe in southern Sweden, prior to a short‐lived re‐advance of the main body of the SIS over mainland Sweden recorded by the surface diamicton.     

Cordilleran Ice Sheet lobal interactions and glaciotectonic superposition through stadial maxima along a mountain front in southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Glaciotectonic structures in subglacial till and substrate, as well as stone fabric, provenance and surface features in till, indicate that complex interactions of late Wisconsinan glacial lobes occurred along a mountain front in the western Fraser Lowland of southwestern British Columbia. Tills of this study represent subglacial deposition through the maxima of two stades in the Fraser Glaciation, the Coquitlam and the Vashon. Through each stadial maximum, temperate glacial ice was grounded and commonly overrode proglacial outwash while superimposing deformations in subglacial till during three phases: (1) pre-maximum glacier flow down valleys and into lowland piedmont ice, (2) coalescent piedmont ice during stadial maxima when flow was westward along the mountain front and across valley mouths, and (3) post-maximum glacier flow down valleys into lowland piedmont ice but prior to general deglaciation. Valley glaciers appear to have shifted flow directions during phases 1 and 3. During stadial maxima (phase 2), Fraser Lowland piedmont ice may have been part of an outlet glacier-ice stream complex that terminated in salt water over the continental shelf.     

Shear fracture pattern and microstructural evolution in transpressional fault zones from field and laboratory studies

Zones of transpressional shear deformation accommodate strike-slip and oblique-slip displacements. Field work in a transpressive shear zone, and transpressional analogue clay-box modelling, show that a P-oriented foliation and associated P-shears are preferentially developed over the more common R₁ Riedel-shears. The Carboneras fault system (CFS) in SE Spain is a left-lateral transpressional shear zone with an internal geometry characterized by first-order Y-oriented faults and widespread P-oriented second-order faults. The mesoscopic to microscopic gouge fabric reflects the regional architecture of the shear zone being dominated by a pervasive Poriented foliation and discrete Y- and P-shears. Friction experiments carried out to investigate the textural evolution of gouge fabrics showed four textural stages of fabric development, from foliation formation to extreme shear localization resulting in cross-gouge failure. Transpression clay-box models favoured the formation of secondary P-oriented shear fractures and P-oriented shear lenses. Further deformation caused differential shear lens rotation and shear lens orientations closer to the mean displacement direction. Our field studies and laboratory analogue experiments indicate that shear zones dominated by P-shears are diagnostic of a transpressional deformation regime.     

Sand intraclasts within a diamicton mélange,southern Niagara Peninsula,Ontario, Canada

Sand intraclasts found within diamicton units along the north shore of Lake Erie in the Mohawk Bay area of the Niagara Peninsula would appear to be part of a ‘block-in-matrix’ mélange. The intraclasts are undeformed and many exhibit primary bedding structures. Numerous intraclasts have been rotated and/or tilted and are, in general, subrounded in outline. Examination of the surrounding diamicton reveals that the diamicton clast fabrics exhibit a wide scatter and are not characteristic of any known till clast fabric. Around each intraclast exists an aureole of brecciated diamicton. Other evidence in the form of macro- and microshear structures, and banding within the diamicton indicate that the diamicton has been subject to high strain. Interpretation of the sand intraclasts seems to be intrinsically linked to the origin of the diamicton and together linked to the origin of the mélange. Various hypotheses are suggested separately for the sand intraclasts, diamicton and mélange. A subglacial deformable bed hypothesis is advanced as the most acceptable explanation for the complete sediment sequence in which diamicton and frozen sand intraclasts, the latter mobilised from the substrate, are moved as a mélange below an active fast-moving ice mass. Several implications from this study emerge with regard to glacial sedimentology and stratigraphic interpretations.     

Insight into the character of palaeo‐ice‐flow in upland regions of mountain valleys during the last major advance (Vashon Stade) of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet,southwest British Columbia,Canada

Lian, O. B. & Hicock, S. R. 2009: Insight into the character of palaeo‐ice‐flow in upland regions of mountain valleys during the last major advance (Vashon Stade) of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, southwest British Columbia, Canada. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00123.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. A detailed glacial geological study was done on Vashon till, formed during the last (Fraser) glaciation, in upland areas of two relatively short and narrow mountain valleys which open onto the Fraser Lowland in southwest British Columbia. The orientation and association of glaciotectonic structures in till and bedrock, a‐axis fabrics of stones in till and abrasion features, indicate that Vashon till formed initially by lodgement and that brittle deformation processes dominated at least during the latter stages of glaciation. The presence of local glacigenic bedrock quarrying suggests that ice flow experienced localized enhanced compressive flow along valley sides. These observations indicate that ice flow was relatively slow and they contrast with a previous study of bedrock geomorphology undertaken in some larger south Coast Mountains valleys and a model of ice‐flow velocity in the Puget Lowland that suggest rapid ice flow. This indicates that either ice‐flow conditions in the larger valleys were different from those in the valleys studied here, or that the observations from our study reflect subglacial conditions following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), but immediately prior to deglaciation when ice had thinned and slowed. If the latter scenario is correct, and if processes inferred from this study were also common along the upland parts of other southwest Coast Mountains valleys after the LGM, then the rate at which ice was supplied to lowland piedmont glaciers would have been reduced, and this may have accelerated decay of the southwest margin of the last Cordilleran Ice Sheet.