The deglaciation history of the Lake Superior region and its climatic implications

A zone of synchronous end moraines has been recognized in the Lake Superior region across northern Ontario and Michigan. The moraines were formed between 11,000 and 10,100 y.a. as cold climate resulted in successive halts in the general ice retreat. The cold climate is also indicated by the presence of tundra near Lake Superior until about 10,000 y.a. This episode is here referred to as the Algonquin Stadial. It was preceded and followed by rapid deglaciation. The Algonquin Stadial is comparable in age with the Younger Dryas Stadial of Europe, and indicates a reversal in the continuous trend toward a warmer climate during Late-Wisconsin (an) time. The apparent conflict between the present result (based on geologic evidence) and earlier pollen stratigraphical studies with no reversal is discussed.Glacial Lake Duluth formed in the western Lake Superior basin before 11,000 BP, followed by a series of Post-Duluth lakes between approximately 11,000 and over 10,100 BP. The Main Lake Algonquin stage in the Huron and Michigan basins terminated approximately 11,000 BP. The subsequent high-level post-Main Algonquin lakes, which were contemporaneous with the Post-Duluth lakes, existed in the southeastern Lake Superior basin. When the ice margin was along the north shore 9500 BP Lake Minong occupied the whole Lake Superior basin. By 9000 BP the ice had retreated north of Lake Superior-Hudson Bay divide.     

Geoarchaeology and late glacial landscapes in the western lake superior region,Central North America

The transition from full glacial to interglacial conditions along the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet resulted in dramatic changes in landscapes and biotic habitats. Strata and landforms resulting from the Wisconsin Episode of glaciation in the area directly west of Lake Superior indicate a context for late Pleistocene biota (including human populations) connected to ice margins, proglacial lakes, and postglacial drainage systems. Late Glacial landscape features that have the potential for revealing the presence of Paleoindian artifacts include abandoned shorelines of proglacial lakes in the Superior and Agassiz basins and interior drainages on deglaciated terrains. The linkage between Late Pleistocene human populations and Rancholabrean fauna has yet to be demonstrated in the western Lake Superior region, although isolated remains of mammoth ( Mammuthus) have been documented, as well as fluted points assigned to Clovis, Folsom, and Holcombe‐like artifact forms. Agate Basin and Hell Gap (Plano‐type) artifacts also imply the presence of human groups in Late Glacial landscapes associated with the Agassiz and Superior basins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The northern limits of glacial lake Algonquin in upper Michigan

A number of ancient shorelines formed by late-Pleistocene proglacial lakes have been found in eastern upper Michigan. These shorelines delimit several water planes, the uppermost of which is correlated with the Main Lake Algonquin stage. This correlation is based on the continuity of the highest water plane with Main Algonquin shorelines in Wisconsin and Ontario, the strength of the shoreline features, its altitudinal relationship with lower water planes, and a reinterpretation of radiocarbon dates from the Sault Ste. Maria area. The isobases of this water plane have a bearing of S75°E. At the time of the maximum extent of Lake Algonquin, ca. 10,600 yr B.P., its northern, ice-limited border lay along the Munising moraine, the northernmost of the two main morainic systems of eastern upper Michigan. This interpretation lends support to the idea of a period of slow deglaciation from ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. An ice lobe occupied the central Lake Superior basin until early Holocene time. Radiocarbon dates on wood found beneath till or outwash at several sites indicate a minor ice readvance from the central Lake Superior basin ca. 10,000 yr B.P. If true, this would have prevented the development of the post-Duluth series of glacial lakes in the western Lake Superior basin until ca. 9900 yr B.P., well after the end of the main Lake Algonquin stage.     

希夏邦马峰东坡冰川与冰川湖泊变化遥感监测

1977-2003年的遥感影像显示,希夏邦马峰东坡的冰川在迅速退缩,而其相应的冰川湖泊在迅速增大.南部的吉葱普冰川每年的退缩速度57099 m²,冰舌退缩48 m·a^-1,相应的卢姆池米冰湖面积增加速度大约为79048 m²·a^-1;北面的热强冰川退缩速度在63224 m²·a^-1,冰舌退缩71 m·a^-1,相应的扛西错冰湖面积增加约73 425 m²·a^-1.从这两个冰湖的类型和变化分析,认为其具有发生冰川湖泊溃决洪水的潜在危险.     

Glacial geomorphology of Teesdale,northern Pennines,England: Implications for upland styles of ice stream operation and deglaciation in the British-Irish Ice Sheet

The glacial geomorphology of Teesdale and the North Pennines uplands is analysed in order to decipher: a) the operation of easterly flowing palaeo-ice streams in the British-Irish Ice Sheet; and b) the style of regional deglaciation. Six landform categories are: i) bedrock controlled features, including glacitectonic bedrock megablocks or ‘rubble moraine’; ii) discrete mounds and hills, often of unknown composition, interpreted as weakly streamlined moraines and potential ‘rubble moraine’; iii) non-streamlined drift mounds and ridges, representing lateral, frontal and inter-ice stream/interlobate moraines; iv) streamlined landforms, including drumlins of various elongation ratios and bedrock controlled lineations; v) glacifluvial outwash and depositional ridges; and vi) relict channels and valleys, related to glacial meltwater incision or meltwater re-occupation of preglacial fluvial features. Multiple tills in valley-floor drumlin exposures indicate that the subglacial bedform record is a blend of flow directions typical of areas of discontinuous till cover and extensive bedrock erosional landforms. Arcuate assemblages of partially streamlined drift mounds are likely to be glacially overridden latero-frontal moraines related to phases of “average glacial conditions” (palimpsests). Deglacial oscillations of a glacier lobe in mid-Teesdale are marked by five inset assemblages of moraines and associated drift and meltwater channels, named the Glacial Lake Eggleshope, Mill Hill, Gueswick, Hayberries and Lonton stages. The Lonton stage moraines are thought to be coeval with bedrock-cored moraines in the central Stainmore Gap and likely record the temporary development of cold-based or polythermal ice conditions around the margins of a plateau-based icefield during the Scottish Readvance.     

Glacial advance,occupation and retreat sediments associated with multi‐stage ice‐dammed lakes: north‐central Alberta,Canada

Ice sheets that advance upvalley, against the regional gradient, commonly block drainage and result in ice‐dammed proglacial lakes along their margins during advance and retreat phases. Ice‐dammed glacial lakes described in regional depositional models, in which ice blocks a major lake outlet, are often confined to basins in which the glacial lake palaeogeographical position generally remains semi‐stable (e.g. Great Lakes basins). However, in places where ice retreats downvalley, blocking regional drainage, the palaeogeographical position and lake level of glacial lakes evolve temporally in response to the position of the ice margin (referred to here as ‘multi‐stage’ lakes). In order to understand the sedimentary record of multi‐stage lakes, sediments were examined in 14 cored boreholes in the Peace and Wabasca valleys in north‐central Alberta, Canada. Three facies associations (FAI–III) were identified from core, and record Middle Wisconsinan ice‐distal to ice‐proximal glaciolacustrine (FAI) sediments deposited during ice advance, Late Wisconsinan subglacial and ice‐marginal sediments (FAII) deposited during ice‐occupation, and glaciolacustrine sediments (FAIII) that record ice retreat from the study area. Modelling of the lateral extent of FAs using water wells and gamma‐ray logs, combined with interpreted outlets and mapped moraines based on LiDAR imagery, facilitated palaeogeographical reconstruction of lakes and the identification of four major retreat‐phase lake stages. These lake reconstructions, together with the vertical succession of FAs, are used to develop a depositional model for ice‐dammed lakes during a cycle of glacial advance and retreat. This depositional model may be applied in other areas where meltwater was impounded by glacial ice advancing up the regional gradient, in order to understand the complex interaction between depositional processes, ice‐marginal position, and supply of meltwater and sediment in the lake basin. In particular, this model could be applied to decipher the genetic origin of diamicts previously interpreted to record strictly subglacial deposition or multiple re‐advances.     

Würmian deglaciation of western Lake Geneva (Switzerland) based on seismic stratigraphy

Western Lake Geneva (le Petit-Lac) was filled during the Quaternary over a major erosion surface truncating the cemented, folded and thrusted Tertiary sediments of the foreland Alpine basin. The carving of the lake occurred during Quaternary glaciations with ice originating from the Rhone valley catchment basin flowing in two branches oriented SW and NE over the Swiss Plateau. Lake Geneva is situated on the South-Western branch of this paleo ice-cap.For the first time, a dense grid of high-resolution seismic profiles (airgun 5-inch³, airgun 1-inch³ and echosounder) has imaged the whole Quaternary sequence, providing a paleoenvironmental interpretation and a detailed reconstruction of the Rhone glacier retreat stages during glacial events that led to the formation of western Lake Geneva.The Quaternary sequence filling up the bedrock valley is exceptionally thick with up to 220 m of deposits and consists of glacial, glacio-lacustrine and lacustrine sediments. Fourteen seismic units have been defined (units U1–U14). Unit U1 represents the remnants of glacial deposits older than the last glacial cycle, preserved in the deepest part of the lake and in secondary bedrock valleys. Unit U2 represents gravel and sands deposited by meltwater circulation at the bottom of the glacial valley. Unit U3 is a thick, stratified unit marking the beginning of the deglaciation, when the Rhone glacier became thinner and buoyant and allowed the formation of a subglacial lake. Younger glacial units (units U4, U5, U7, U9, U11) are acoustically chaotic sediments deposited subglacially under the water table (undermelt tills), while the glacier was thinning. These glacial units are bounded by synform erosion surfaces corresponding to readvances of the glacier.The transition from a glacial to a glacio-lacustrine environment started with the appearance of a marginal esker-fan system (unit U6). Esker formation was followed by a small advance–retreat cycle leading to the deposition of unit U7. Then, the ice front receded and stratified sediments were deposited in a glacio-lacustrine environment (units U8, U10 and U12). This retreat was punctuated by two readvances – Coppet (unit U9) and Nyon (unit U11) – producing large push moraines and proglacial debris flows. Finally, a lacustrine environment with a characteristic lake current pattern and mass movement deposits took place (units U13 and U14).Except for unit U1, the sedimentary sequence records the Würmian deglaciation in a fjord-like environment occupied by a tidewater glacier with a steep, calving ice front. The presence of an esker-fan system reveals the importance of subglacial meltwater flow in continental deglaciation. Push-moraines and erosion surfaces below the glacier indicate at least 5 readvances during the deglaciation thus revealing that oscillations of ice front are the key process in deglaciation of perialpine fjord-lakes. The dating of these continental glacier fluctuations would allow correlation with oceanic and ice records and help to understand the climatic mechanisms between oceans and continents.     

Sedimentary environments associated with Glacial Lake Trimingham, Norfolk, UK

The site of Trimingham is situated where the Cromer Ridge, the largest topographic feature of northeast Norfolk, transects the coastline, providing an opportunity to study the ridge's internal structure and stratigraphy. It can be demonstrated that there were two glacial advances at this site, with an intervening phase of proglacial lake sedimentation that lasted for approximately 2000 years (Glacial Lake Trimingham). A detailed investigation of the sedimentology of the lake sediments enabled a facies reconstruction showing spatial and temporal changes within this lake. Ice-sheet retreat is indicated by an upward change from proximal to distal varve sequences, and a general shallowing of the lake followed by the deposition of marl-rich sediments and then aeolian and/or beach sands. A subsequent readvance of the ice-sheet is marked by further deposition of varved sediments and then by till deposition. This site provides an opportunity to study enviromental change over a known time period within the Anglian glaciation. It is suggested that this lake formed as the result of two ice-sheets coalescing and may be associated with the diachronously formed North Sea lake(s).     

Push moraines in the upper valley of Santa Cruz river,southwest Argentina. Structural analysis and relationship with Late Pleistocene paleoclimate

The upper cliff of the Santa Cruz River was used to assess the proglacial environments of the Argentino Glacier outlet of Late Pleistocene age. These cliffs show glaciolacustrine, fluvioglacial and till deposits, where only the first one are deformed. Glacial landforms in the area and these structures suggest that the ice mass advanced, topographically controlled, towards the east from the Patagonian Ice Sheet pushing up the proglacial sediments.The spatial arrangement of thrusts and overturned folds, the drumlins-flutes moraine directions and the end moraines shape, allow inferring the dynamic and the Argentino glacier profile. Detailed analyses of the glaciotectonic structures indicate that these have two origins: load in the north with stress transfer to the southeast, and push from the west. Through the analysis of deformed sediments, their thickness and their sedimentary and structural features, three zones of deformations were recognized. Each of these zones was associated to glacial advances because of changes of the regional climate conditions.     

The evolution of the terrestrial-terminating Irish Sea glacier during the last glaciation

Here we reconstruct the last advance to maximum limits and retreat of the Irish Sea Glacier (ISG), the only land-terminating ice lobe of the western British Irish Ice Sheet. A series of reverse bedrock slopes rendered proglacial lakes endemic, forming time-transgressive moraine- and bedrock-dammed basins that evolved with ice marginal retreat. Combining, for the first time on glacial sediments, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) bleaching profiles for cobbles with single grain and small aliquot OSL measurements on sands, has produced a coherent chronology from these heterogeneously bleached samples. This chronology constrains what is globally an early build-up of ice during late Marine Isotope Stage 3 and Greenland Stadial (GS) 5, with ice margins reaching south Lancashire by 30 ± 1.2 ka, followed by a 120-km advance at 28.3 ± 1.4 ka reaching its 26.5 ± 1.1 ka maximum extent during GS-3. Early retreat during GS-3 reflects piracy of ice sources shared with the Irish-Sea Ice Stream (ISIS), starving the ISG. With ISG retreat, an opportunistic readvance of Welsh ice during GS-2 rode over the ISG moraines occupying the space vacated, with ice margins oscillating within a substantial glacial over-deepening. Our geomorphological chronosequence shows a glacial system forced by climate but mediated by piracy of ice sources shared with the ISIS, changing flow regimes and fronting environments.     

Late Wisconsinan deglaciation and proglacial lakes development in the Charlevoix region,southeastern Québec,Canada

The Charlevoix region, in southeastern Québec, is characterized by a dramatic landscape formed by the junction of the Laurentian Highlands, the Charlevoix Astrobleme and the St Lawrence Estuary. At the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the region was completely covered by the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The complex topography of the region was the stage of many of the major deglacial events of southern Quebec (e.g. Goldthwait Sea Invasion, St Lawrence Ice‐Stream, Saint‐Narcisse Episode). We present a detailed reconstruction of the pattern of retreat of the LIS in the Charlevoix region based on the interpretation of ice‐marginal features (e.g. moraines, fans) and glaciolacustrine landforms and deposits, two extensive field campaigns, and the interpretation of high‐resolution 3D digital aerial photographs and LiDAR data. Our results indicate five moraine complexes in the region: the Rochette, the Brûlée, the Sainte‐Anne, the Saint‐Narcisse and the Mars‐Batiscan complexes. Deltas, fans, fine‐grained sediments, littoral deposits, drainage breaches and deposits were used to identify 91 palaeo‐proglacial lakes. The identification of these lakes and their relation to moraine complexes enabled the reconstruction of six stages of lake development during the Charlevoix deglaciation. The development of proglacial lakes occurred in all types of terrain (highlands, lowlands, transitory levels above marine limit). We conclude that local topography had a decisive effect on promoting both moraine deposition and lake development. We suggest that similar topographical regions (hilly‐mountainous) that were affected by major ice‐margin stabilizations during glacial retreat should have experience small lakes dominating valleys and topographical lows.     

Glacial advance and retreat sequences in a Permo-Carboniferous section, central Transantarctic Mountains

Episodes of glacial advance and retreat can be recognized through analysis of vertical facies sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Pagoda Formation of the Beardmore Glacier area, Antarctica. The formation includes a remarkably complete record of continental sedimentation near the terminus of a temperate glacier. Facies sequence is pre-eminent for inferring glacial advance and retreat. Other important criteria are abundance and geometry of sandstone interbedded with diamictite, diamictite character and nature of bed contacts. Using these characteristics advance and retreat sequences 5–60 m thick are recognized. A sharp contact, with a striated surface and erosional relief, overlain by structureless diamictite (lodgement till) is typical of grounded ice advance. Grounded ice retreat is characterized by structureless diamictite (lodgement till), overlain by crudely stratified diamictite (melt-out till) and then by diamictite interbedded with sandstone and conglomerate (flow till and glacio-fluvial or glacio-lacustrine deposits). Gradational contacts between shale overlain by diamictite and diamictite overlain by shale characterize advance and retreat, respectively, in subaqueous settings. Pauses in sediment accumulation, minor(?) fluctuations of the ice margin, and/or changes in subglacial dynamics are indicated by specific features within diamictite units such as probable frost-wedge casts, single layer boulder beds, sharp sedimentary contacts and changes in diamictite character. These minor(?) events are superimposed upon the main advance-retreat cycles. Study of both the overall facies sequence and of individual diagnostic structures, albeit in an incomplete stratigraphic record, permits a distinction between major and minor advance-retreat events. As many as six major advance-retreat cycles exist in some Pagoda sections, but the number of cycles present varies in different sections.     

Till in the marine environment

Till is of common occurrence in the marine environment and can be both subglacial and proglacial in origin. Former glacial margins are often represented by till tongues, that are interbedded with stratified glaciomarine sediment, and the relationship is readily mappable using seismic reflection techniques. It is inferred that within individual till tongues, sediment-gravity flow deposits form transitional contacts with till of subglacial origin, but these contacts cannot be distinguished on seismic profiles. These unstratified, gravity-induced deposits formed in close proximity to the glacial source at the grounding line are considered to be secondary tills (flow-till complex) in terms of the INQUA classification of tills. Till-tongue successions and till deltas are large, ice-marginal depocentres associated with floating front ice-margins, and appear to be closely related in origin. Tabular and hummocky moraines of the mid-Norwegian Shelf also are considered to be products of floating-front margins and represent a large proportion of the retreat tills formed during ice recession. Seismostratigraphic evidence for channelisation in ice-marginal deposits appears to provide a means of distinguishing between former tidewater and floating-front margins.     

The Late Devensian glaciation along the western margin of the Cheshire-Shroshire Iowland

The glacial succession in the western part of the Cheshire-Shropshire lowland records the advance, coalescence and subsequent uncoupling of Irish Sea and Welsh ice-sheets during the Late Devensian stage. During advance a discontinuous sheet of basal till was emplaced across the floor of the region by subglacial lodgement. On retreat, compression of the Irish Sea ice sheet against bedrock obstruction generated a zone of supraglacial sedimentation resulting in the creation of the Wrexham-Ellesmere-Wem-Whitchurch moraine system, and the formation of a wide range of sedimentary environments, including ice-marginal sandur troughs, ice-front alluvial fans, proglacial ribbon sandur, and subglacial, ice-contact and proglacial lakes. The geometry of sedimentary units, and their lithologic and geomorphic characteristics, display spatially ordered patterns of sediment-landform assemblage which show that the statigraphic succession is a response to rapidly changing depositional conditions at a retreating supraglacial ice-margin punctuated by minor still-stands and ice-front oscillations.     

Proglacial glaciotectonic deformation associated with glaciolacustrine sedimentation,Lake Pukaki,New Zealand

The Quaternary glaciogenic sediments exposed on the southwest shore of Lake Pukaki were investigated. The sections consisted of the Pukaki Diamicton, which is composed of four lithofacies: (i) homogeneous facies (PDH)—a grey matrix-supported homogeneous subglacial diamicton; (ii) coarse facies (PDC)—a very coarse matrix-supported diamicton, which was interpreted as a proximal glaciolacustrine sediment; (iii) laminated facies (PDL)—a cream coloured, fine-grained, matrix-supported diamicton, with grade laminations of silt, sand and gravel, interpreted as a more distal glaciolacustrine facies; and (iv) fine facies (PDF)—a cream coloured fine-grained, silt-rich matrix-supported diamicton, with lenses of sand and gravels, which was interpreted as the most distal glaciolacustrine facies. It is suggested that these sediments were produced by two small ice advances during a period of general retreat. Furthermore, the sections showed a combination of three types of glaciotectonic deformation; gravity tectonics, proglacial glaciotectonics and subglacial glaciotectonics. Two of the moraines showed an unusual style of glaciotectonic deformation, i.e. proglacial deformation on the proximal face and gravitational slumping on the distal face. It is suggested that this style of deformation is diagnostic of proglacial deformation into a waterbody associated with a retreating margin.     

Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the stratotype sections of the Catfish Creek Drift Formation between Bradtville and Plum Point, north shore, Lake Erie, southwestern Ontario, Canada

The Catfish Creek Drift Formation is a significant and extensive lithostratigraphical marker unit in SW Ontario. Here the stratotype, exposed in the Lake Erie bluffs of the Plum Point-Bradtville (Grandview) area south of London, Ontario, Canada, is proposed. It consists of subglacial and proglacial sediments deposited at the beginning of the Nissouri Phase of the Wisconsinan glaciation. In the 2.5-km-long stratotype section, the Catfish Creek Drift consists of 9 members. Five of them, the Dunwich and Grandview I-IV members, mainly consist of till, with minor components of stratified drift. The Dunwich till was deposited by the Huron-Georgian Bay lobe, but the Grandview I-IV tills by the Erie lobe. The Zettler Farm Member consists of co-lobal till in the central part of the section and of a proglacial waterlain flow diamicton and a subglacial undermelt diamicton in the SW part. Three members consist entirely of stratified drift; the glaciolacustrine silty and clayey Waite Farm Member, the ice-marginal deltaic Oosprink Farm Member and the Boy Scout Camp Member - deposited by meltwater streams in subglacial channels. The sequence of interbedded till and stratified drift represents the oscillating advance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the Lake Erie basin.     

Continental shelf record of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet evolution: seismo-stratigraphic evidence from the George V Basin

The late Quaternary ice sheet/ice shelf extent in the George V Basin (East Antarctica) has been reconstructed through analyses of Chirp sub-bottom profiles, integrated with multi-channel seismic data and sediment cores. Four glacial facies, related to the advance and retreat history of the glaciated margin, have been distinguished: Facies 1 represents outcrop of crystalline and sedimentary rocks along the steep inner shelf and comprises canyons once carved by glaciers; Facies 2 represents moraines and morainal banks and ridges with a depositional origin along the middle-inner shelf; Facies 3 represents glacial flutes along the middle-outer shelf; Facies 4 is related to ice-keel turbation at water depths <500 m along the outer shelf. A sediment drift deposit, located in the NW sector of the study area, partly overlies facies 2 and 3 and its ground-truthing provides clues to understanding their age. We have distinguished: (a) an undisturbed sediment drift deposit at water depth >775 m, with drape/sheet and mound characters and numerous undisturbed sub-bottom sub-parallel reflectors (Facies MD1); (b) a fluted sediment drift deposit at water depth <775 m, showing disrupted reflectors and a hummocky upper surface (Facies MD2). Radiocarbon ages of sediment cores indicate that the glacial advance producing facies MD2 corresponds to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and that during the LGM the ice shelf was floating over the deep sector of the basin, leaving the sediment drift deposit undisturbed at major depths (Facies MD1). This observation further implies that: (a) glacial facies underneath the sediment drift were the result of a grounding event older than the LGM, (b) this sector of the East Antarctic fringe was sensitive to sea-level rise at the end of the LGM; thus potentially contributing to meltwater discharge during the last deglaciation.     

New evidence of the total glaciation of the Isla Grande de Tierra Del Fuego

The stratigraphy and preliminary interpretation of a new locality with glacial deposits in a previously interpreted ice-free area in Tierra del Fuego are presented. These deposits consist of basal proglacial gravels (at least 4–5 m thick) covered by the Drift Cabo Campo del Medio. The drift consists of a lower, 2 m thick, lodgment till and a upper, 7 m thick, glaciotectonized composite till, reflecting basal glacier shearing and upthrusting of glaciofluvial deposits and lodgment till, with superimposed deformation by gelifluction. These two main drift packages are interpreted as ground moraines, reflecting two corresponding glacial advances with an intervening recess of the glacier front. The altitude of the Drift Campo del Medio, well above younger fluvioglacial deposits related to the Last Glaciation, the degree of erosional modifications, and its external position, to the NE of the Last Glaciation moraine system, are evidence suggesting that the Drift Cabo Campo del Medio was related to a glaciation older than the Penultimate Glaciation. The finding of this locality sheds new light on the old controversy of total vs partial ice coverage of the island.     

Seismic stratigraphical record of Lake Levinson‐Lessing,Taymyr Peninsula: evidence for ice‐sheet dynamics and lake‐level fluctuations since the Early Weichselian

A multi‐channel, high‐resolution seismic reflection survey using a Micro‐GI airgun was carried out in the framework of the Russian‐German project PLOT (Paleolimnological Transect) on Lake Levinson‐Lessing, Taymyr Peninsula, in 2016. In total, ~70 km of seismic reflection profiles revealed in unprecedented detail the glacial and postglacial sedimentary infill of the lake basin. Five main seismic units have been recognized and interpreted as glacial (Unit V), subglacial and proglacial (Unit IV), marine (Unit III), fluvial‐lacustrine (Unit II) and lacustrine (Unit I) sediments. Of particular significance are imbricated, south‐orientated structures present in the southernmost part of the lake basin within Unit V and a large topographic ridge recognized in front of those structures. We interpret these structures as push moraines and an end moraine, respectively, left by the glacier after its retreat. The depositional pattern of the units above the moraines documents past lake‐level fluctuations. We interpret Unit IV, Unit III and Unit I as highstand deposits, and Unit II as lowstand deposits. Gas‐charged sediments dominate the northern part of the lake basin, whilst they occur only sporadically and in limited spatial extent in the central and southern parts of the lake. In the latter areas, the seismic and echo‐sounder data suggest recent tectonic activity. Our study contributes to the reconstruction of environmental conditions in the Taymyr Peninsula directly following the Early Weichselian deglaciation and shows that deep tectonic lake basins affected by several glaciations can preserve important palaeoenvironmental records, which contributes significantly to our understanding of palaeoenvironmental changes in the Taymyr Peninsula and the central Russian Arctic.     

Multiple re‐advances of a Lake Vättern outlet glacier during Fennoscandian Ice Sheet retreat,south‐central Sweden

Lake Vättern represents a critical region geographically and dynamically in the deglaciation of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. The outlet glacier that occupied the basin and its behaviour during ice‐sheet retreat were key to the development and drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake, dammed just west of the basin, yet its geometry, extent, thickness, margin dynamics, timing and sensitivity to regional retreat forcing are rather poorly known. The submerged sediment archives of Lake Vättern represent a missing component of the regional Swedish deglaciation history. Newly collected geophysical data, including high‐resolution multibeam bathymetry of the lake floor and seismic reflection profiles of southern Lake Vättern, are used here together with a unique 74‐m sediment record recently acquired by drill coring, and with onshore LiDAR‐based geomorphological analysis, to investigate the deglacial environments and dynamics in the basin and its terrestrial environs. Five stratigraphical units comprise a thick subglacial package attributed to the last glacial period (and probably earlier), and an overlying >120‐m deglacial sequence. Three distinct retreat–re‐advance episodes occurred in southern Lake Vättern between the initial deglaciation and the Younger Dryas. In the most recent of these, ice overrode proglacial lake sediments and re‐advanced from north of Visingsö to the southern reaches of the lake, where ice up to 400 m thick encroached on land in a lobate fashion, moulding crag‐and‐tail lineations and depositing till above earlier glacifluvial sediments. This event precedes the Younger Dryas, which our data reveal was probably restricted to north‐central sectors of the basin. These dynamics, and their position within the regional retreat chronology, indicate a highly active ice margin during deglaciation, with retreat rates on average 175 m a^?1. The pronounced topography of the Vättern basin and its deep proglacial‐dammed lake are likely to have encouraged the dynamic behaviour of this major Fennoscandian outlet glacier.