Optically stimulated luminescence dating of late Holocene raised strandplain sequences adjacent to Lakes Michigan and Superior, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

This study evaluates the accuracy of optically stimulated luminescence to date well-preserved strandline sequences at Manistique/Thompson bay (Lake Michigan), and Tahquamenon and Grand Traverse Bays (Lake Superior) that span the past ∼4500 yr. The single aliquot regeneration (SAR) method is applied to produce absolute ages for littoral and eolian sediments. SAR ages are compared against AMS and conventional ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Modern littoral and eolian sediments yield SAR ages <100 yr indicating near, if not complete, solar resetting of luminescence prior to deposition. Beach ridges that yield SAR ages <2000 yr show general agreement with corresponding ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Significant variability in ¹⁴C ages >2000 cal yr B.P. complicates comparison to SAR ages at all sites. However, a SAR age of 4280 ± 390 yr (UIC913) on ridge77 at Tahquamenon Bay is consistent with regional regression from the high lake level of the Nipissing II phase ca. 4500 cal yr B.P. SAR ages indicate a decrease in ridge formation rate after ∼1500 yr ago, likely reflecting separation of Lake Superior from lakes Huron and Michigan. This study shows that SAR is a credible alternative to ¹⁴C methods for dating littoral and eolian landforms in Great Lakes and other coastal strandplains where ¹⁴C methods prove problematic.     

Peat-marl deposition in a Holocene paludal-lacustrine basin—Sucker Lake, Michigan

Exceptionally thick (over 15 m) deposits of peat which fill the northern end of Sucker Lake basin in northcentral Michigan document the volumetric importance of allochthonous organic material in a modern coal-forming environment. Organic debris that originates in, and is derived from, a highly vegetated floodplain immediately upstream is deposited as a lakeward-prograding lobe that exhibits features typical of most lacustrine Gilbert deltas, but is composed almost entirely of organic material. This system overlies an additional 7 m of nearly pure, brecciated lacustrine carbonate, deposited as shallow lake-margin benches and emplaced into the deep basin centre by gravity sliding prior to deltaic progradation. In the southern end of the basin, bottomset beds of fine silt-size organic phytoclasts onlap distal facies of progradational bench carbonates, which originate (in shallow water) through calcite encrustation about stems of the dominant macrophyte Chara. With continued sedimentation, a stratigraphic succession in which allochthonous organics will overlie pure, allochthonous lacustrine carbonates and in part be overlain by autochthonous carbonates will characterize the northern end of this Holocene system. In the southern end around the basin margins, however, autochthonous carbonates will entirely underlie allochthonous organics. Numerous continuous cores (up to 22 m) through these units document: (1) the importance of sources of allochthonous organic debris in modern coal-forming complexes, (2) the genetic relationship between nearly pure calcareous and nearly pure carbonaceous facies within these paludal-lacustrine settings, and (3) the complexity of interrelationships between the several component facies within such continental sedimentary systems.     

A strontium, oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of brines, Michigan and appalachian basins, Ontario and Michigan

⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of brine from samples from the Michigan and Appalachian Basins, in Ontario and Michigan, covering the stratigraphic interval from the Cambrian to Mississippian, vary from 0.708 to 0.711. With the exception of the salt units of the Salina Formation (Silurian), most values are greater than seawater for the time in question, indicating water-rock interaction. The sources of the radiogenic Sr has not been identified. All samples plot below the GMWL in δ¹⁸O−δ²H space, with the Cambrian and Ordovician samples closest to the line. Mixing of brines meteoric and glacial (Pleistocene) water is indicated in some cases. The more concentrated brines from each stratigraphic unit show a very narrow spread in values. All the Ordovician brines show a narrow range over a 200 km area for Sr, O and H isotopes, indicating extensive lateral migration of the fluids.Strontium in the brine has not equilibrated isotopically with its host rock. In some cases the late-stage minerals saddle dolomite, calcite and anhydrite have the same ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios as the brine, indicating that they precipitated from the brine in isotopic equilibrium.     

Bluff evolution and long-term recession rates,southwestern Lake Michigan

Where eroding cohesive sediments are present, Lake Michigan bluffs range up to 40 m in height, exposing multiple glacial stratigraphic units. Following the model presented here, bluffs form as a wave-cut terrace erodes inland from a point near the original shoreline. The erosion plane is nearly horizontal, in contrast with the eastward dip of the glacial units inherited from underlying bedrock. Therefore, terraces eroding inland produce progressively higher bluffs and expose successively older units at the toe and beneath the lake. This process was repeated several times as lake levels sequentially dropped to their modern stage. The initial modern shoreline, and hence the width of the wave-cut terrace, was determined from four offshore seismic and bottom-sampling profiles. It was picked as an inflection point in the lake bed, occurring offshore of dipping reflectors intersecting the lake bottom. The calculated average recession rate over a 2500-year duration of the modern stage is 1.5 m/yr in contrast to average rates of approximately 0.6 m/yr measured over the last century. Thus rates decrease through time as the terrace widens and wave energy is dampened. By correlating bluff height to recession distance, a third rate of approximately 2.7 m/yr for the first 940 years of recession is calculated from relict Nipissing bluffs. The three rates define a steeply decaying exponential curve in early stages of bluff retreat, flattening into a nearly linear function after 1000 years.     

Geologic assessment of environmental impact in Lake Macatawa,Michigan

A historical record of the effects of human development upon Lake Macatawa is established using geologic criteria. Significant cultural events are recognized using the pollen record, particularly ambrosia/vesiculate pollen ratios, and occurrences of detrital and chemical contaminants within the more recent sedimentary column. Detrital contaminants include such things as cinder and ash from coal burning power plants and animal hair from early tanning operations. Trace metal contaminants, frequently associated with specific industrial events, are particularly useful in establishing a modern sedimentary chronology. The impact of human activity upon Lake Macatawa is measured using fossil diatoms. The advantage of this method of environmental impact assessment is that it provides a historical perspective in which changes within an environment are related to its natural conditions.     

Late Pleistocene glaciolacustrine sedimentation and paleogeography of southeastern Michigan,USA

The geomorphic, stratigraphic and sedimentological characteristics of glaciolacustrine sediments in the metropolitan Detroit, Michigan area were studied to determine environments of deposition and make paleogeographic reconstructions. Nine lithofacies were identified and paleoenvironments interpreted based on their morphostratigraphic relationships with relict landforms. The sediments studied are found southeast of the Defiance and Birmingham moraines lying beneath a lowland characterized by a low morainal swell (Detroit moraine) and a series of lacustrine terraces that descend progressively in elevation southeastward. The glaciolacustrine sediments were deposited approximately 14.3–12.4 kA BP during the Port Bruce and Port Huron glacial phases of late Wisconsinan time, and are related to proglacial paleolakes Maumee, Arkona, Whittlesey, Warren, Wayne, Grassmere, Lundy and Rouge. The glaciolacustrine section is typically 2–4 m thick and consists of a basal unit of wavy-bedded clayey diamicton overlain by a surficial deposit of stratified and cross-stratified sand and gravel. The basal unit is comprised of subaqueous debris flow deposits that accumulated as subaqueous moraine in paleolake Maumee along the retreating front of the Huron lobe. The surficial deposits of sand and gravel were formed by traction, resulting from lacustrine wave activity and fluvial processes, in lakebed plain, beach ridge and deltaic depositional settings. Much of the lake-margin sand and gravel was derived from clayey diamicton by lacustrine wave action and winnowing, and that associated with paleolakes of the Port Huron phase is largely reworked Port Bruce sediment. Paleogeographic reconstructions show that the Defiance, Birmingham and Detroit moraines, Defiance and Rochester channels, and the Rochester delta, were deposited penecontemporaneously as paleolake Maumee expanded northward across the map area. A unique type of wavy bedform is characteristic of clayey diamicton deposited by subaqueous mass flow in the study area that is useful for differentiating sediment: 1) deposited by mass flow in subaqueous vs. subaerial settings, and 2) deposited by subaqueous mass flow vs. basal till. These bedforms are a useful tool for identifying subglacial meltwater deposits, and facilitate the mapping and correlation of glacial sediments based on till sheets. The map area provides a continental record of ice sheet dynamics along the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet during Heinrich event H-1. The record reveals rapid glacial retreat (～ 0.8 km/yr) contemporaneous with the discharge of a large volume of meltwater. Evidence in the study area for subglacial meltwater is problematic, but indications that periglacial conditions persisted in the map area until ～ 12.7 kA BP, and extended for 200 km or more south of the ice front suggest that a frozen substrate may have contributed to instability of the LIS.     

On the origin of tunnel valleys of the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet; Michigan,USA

Tunnel valleys are common throughout the terrain of the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southern Michigan. The set of valleys described in this paper is regularly spaced in a radial pattern behind the Kalamazoo Moraine, an ice‐marginal position formed during retreat from the Last Glacial Maximum. These valleys are divided into proximal and distal groups lying north and south, respectively, of a major river valley that cross‐cuts the tunnel valleys at right angles. Based on a series of rotasonic borings and core analysis, the proximal valleys are shallow, contain minimal sediment fill, and overlie fine‐grained diamicton and glaciolacustrine sediment, whereas the distal valleys are deeply incised into the substrate and are partially filled with coarse sediment. The distal valleys terminate within a broad zone of high‐relief, hummocky topography representing stagnation and collapse behind the Kalamazoo ice margin. The proximal valleys occur within a more subdued landscape located farther from the ice margin. Although some elements of existing genetic models are consistent with these valleys, none appears to be completely compatible with their stratigraphy and morphology. Initial incision of the valleys could have involved short‐lived moderate‐ to high‐discharge flows, followed by deposition during or after the events. The deep incision and thick, coarse sediment in distal valleys in the stagnant marginal zone probably involved supraglacial meltwater draining to the bed as the margin downwasted. Fining‐upward eskers inset into the valleys were formed by flows of declining energy in small late‐stage conduits.     

Glaciotectonic effects on a Middle-Wisconsin boreal fenland peat in Michigan, USA

A variety of glaciotectonic structueres are associated with a distinctive Middle- Wisconsin organic formation that is exposed at thirteen places along Michigan's Pine River. The carbonaceous material, with a ¹⁴C age of about 46,000 years BP, accumulated in an extensive, weakly geogenous, oligotrophic fen that was buried by sand before being deformed. Numerous faults and folds, the latter with observed amplitudes that may exceed 5 m, have a consistent sense of easterly structural vergence indicating glacial movement from the west. Gelogic relationships here and generally accepted regional chronology indicate that deformation was produced by Late Wisconsin ice that flowed from the Lake Michigan basin. This unequivocal marker bed provides detailed information on the topography, environment, and climate associated with an ice-free Middle-wisconsin landscape. Equally important and unprecedented for the area, it is an especially precise measure of multiple glaciotectonic effects upon an incompetent Pleistocene organic formation of considerable extent.     

Reef-capping laminites in the Upper Silurian carbonate- to-evaporite transition, Michigan Basin, south-western Ontario

Silurian pinnacle reefs in the subsurface of the south‐western Ontario portion of the Michigan Basin display a variety of laminated carbonates (laminites) within predominantly muddy reef‐capping facies in the upper part of the Guelph Formation and the overlying A‐1 Carbonate of the Salina Group. Laminites, which are limestone, dolomite or partially dolomitized limestones, have a range of morphologies, from simple planar to a variety of wavy and serrated forms. Individual laminae are composed mainly of micrite, microspar or replacive dolomite, and vary internally from isopachous and continuous over the diameter of the core to non‐isopachous and often discontinuous. Clotted and peloidal micrite, sometimes defining small knobs and chambers, is interpreted as being microbial in origin and occurs within all types of laminites. Fibrous cement locally comprises laminite clasts in breccias or coats clasts in breccias, and also occurs as spherulites in the interparticle spaces in breccias. Although similar laminites have been described from elsewhere in the Michigan Basin and interpreted as caliche, travertine and abiotic subtidal stromatolites, the laminites in south‐western Ontario are most realistically regarded as microbial. The causes for the variations in morphology and characteristics of the constituent laminae are uncertain, although fluctuations in local microenvironmental conditions would have been important, set against a backdrop of an increasingly restricted overall setting. Caliche or travertine origins for these laminites are unlikely in general, except perhaps locally at the subaerial exposure surface at the tops of pinnacle reefs.     

Static recrystallization and preferred orientation of phyllosilicates: Michigamme Formation,northern Michigan,USA

The Michigamme Formation of the Marquette District in Michigan's Upper Peninsula comprises a sequence of cleaved rocks of increasing metamorphic grade. Because metamorphism in the area occurred after cleavage formation, the rocks provide an opportunity to study preferred orientation development of phyllosilicates under conditions of static recrystallization.X-ray texture goniometry on samples from the greenschist-facies zone that were collected at varying distances from the bounding biotite-in and garnet-in isograds, shows that: (1) the preferred orientation of phyllosilicates is always parallel to the mesoscopic cleavage, and (2) the degree of preferred orientation of phyllosilicates improves as a function of increasing metamorphic grade (from <4 to >9 m.r.d.). Scanning electron microscopy on these samples shows that: (1) the length/width ratio increases with increasing grade, and (2) grain shapes are better defined with increasing grade.Previous work on slates showed mechanical processes dominate at very low-grade metamorphism, whereas chemical processes are favored at higher grades. The Michigamme samples show that improvement of preferred orientation occurrred by grain dissolution and crystallization. Noncleavage-parallel phyllosilicate grains were preferentially dissolved, probably facilitated by internal strain energy from mineral defects, aided by chemical energy, whereas cleavage-parallel phyllosilicates were hosts for new growth along their basal planes. These results show that significant fabric strengthening can be achieved by grain dissolution and crystallization in the absence of tectonic stress.     

Precambrian non-marine stromatolites in alluvial fan deposits, the Copper Harbor Conglomerate, upper Michigan

Laminated cryptalgal carbonates occur in the Precambrian Copper Harbor Conglomerate of northern Michigan, which was deposited in the Keweenawan Trough, an aborted proto-oceanic rift. This unit is composed of three major facies deposited by braided streams on a large alluvial-fan complex. Coarse clastics were deposited in braided channels, predominantly as longitudinal bars, whereas cross-bedded sandstones were deposited by migrating dunes or linguoid bars. Fine-grained overbank deposits accumulated in abandoned channels. Gypsum moulds and carbonate-filled cracks suggest an arid climate during deposition. Stromatolites interstratified with these clastic facies occur as laterally linked drapes over cobbles, as laterally linked contorted beds in mudstone, as oncolites, and as poorly developed mats in coarse sandstones. Stromatolites also are interbedded with oolitic beds and intraclastic conglomerates. Stromatolitic microstructure consists of alternating detrital and carbonate laminae, and open-space structures. Radial-fibrous calcite fans are superimposed on the laminae. The laminae are interpreted as algal in origin, whereas the origin of the radial fibrous calcite is problematic. The stromatolites are inferred to have grown in lakes which occupied abandoned channels on the fan surface. Standing water on a permeable alluvial fan in an arid climate requires a high water table maintained by high precipitation, or local elevation of the water table, possibly due to the close proximity of a lake. Occurrence of stromatolites in the upper part of the Copper Harbor Conglomerate near the base of the lacustrine Nonesuch Shale suggests that these depositional sites may have been near the Nonesuch Lake.     

Comparison of Michigan Basin crude oils

Michigan Basin oils from the Ordovician Trenton, Silurian Niagaran, and Devonian Dundee formations have been geochemically compared by GC, GC-MS, and carbon isotope mass spectrometry. One oil from each formation was selected for detailed analysis which included measurement of individual n-alkane δ¹³C values. The Ordovician and Devonian oils are strikingly similar to one another, yet clearly different from the Silurian oil. This pattern is unexpected because Ordovician and Devonian reservoirs are physically separated by the Silurian strata. From time-temperature considerations, the Devonian oil probably was formed in older strata and has migrated to its present location. Our analyses suggest a common source for the Devonian and Ordovician oils.     

Geological evolution of the Ishpeming Greenstone Belt,Michigan, U.S.A.

The Ishpeming Greenstone Belt is an Archean belt in the southern part of the Canadian Shield in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S.A. Two volcanic cycles are preserved in it. The oldest formation, and basal to the first cycle (the Kitchi Schist), consists of mafic metavolcanics, has a major serpentinized ultramafic body near its base, and grades upward to a coarse felsic volcanic breccia at the top of the cycle. This unit in turn is overlain by a sequence of mafic flows that grades upward to interbedded mafic flows and exhalites of the Mona Schist. This sequence has been intruded by the Dead River Pluton.The Ishpeming Greenstone Belt probably represents the keel of a previously much more extensive Greenstone Belt.Gold mineralization occurs associated with mafic basaltic volcanic rocks and serpentinized ultramafics low in the succession, and with carbonate-rich quartz-chlorite-sericite schists and exhalites higher in the sequence. No mineral deposits are now being exploited here.     

The soil-artifact context model: A geoarchaeological approach to paleoshoreline site dating in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,USA

Archaeological investigations in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan have revealed numerous sites associated with Mid- and Late-Holocene paleoshorelines of the ancestral Great Lakes. The sites typically contain stone flakes and fire-cracked rock, with no preserved floral or faunal material and rarely any diagnostic artifacts or dateable carbon. Because of the association with dated shorelines, many workers have assumed the sites are Archaic occupations (ca. 5000–2000 B.P.). However, the actual ages of the sites is often unclear, as later Woodland cultures (2000–500 B.P.) may have also used the abandoned shorelines. Based on expected pedological and archaeological characteristics, a soil-artifact context model was used at eight paleoshoreline sites to provide a preliminary means of relative dating. Sites that were correlative with shoreline development (i.e., Archaic) have artifacts that are deeper within the soil profile, soil horizon boundaries that cut across midden concentrations, and some artifacts that are iron-stained from Spodic horizon development. In contrast, sites that are not correlative with the time of shoreline development (i.e., Woodland) have artifacts that are at or very near the ground surface and archaeological features, if present, will cut across soil horizons, and artifacts tend not to be iron-stained. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Petrochemistry of the Fish Cove rhyolite,Keweenaw peninsula,Michigan, U.S.A.

A small (360 × 180 m) rhyolitic intrusive body in the lower portion of the Portage Lake Lava Series of Michigan's Keweenaw peninsula was mapped and sampled in detail. The rhyolite is one of a number of similar bodies which make up less than 1% of the total volume of this thick Late-Precambrian plateau basalt pile. The rock is a low-calcium rhyolite with fine-grained homogeneous texture and sparse phenocrysts of plagioclase and quartz. Analyses of selected trace and major elements for 21 samples taken from the body reveal a chemical zonation consisting of a core zone enriched in K, Rb and Ba, and a border zone relatively poor in these elements. Little areal difference is found with respect to other elements tested (Mn, Sr, Zr, Ca, Ti, and Fe). This apparently primary zonation seems to result from the migration of K, Rb and Ba during crystallization of the shallow intrusive. Though zoned, the trace-element chemistry of the Fish Cove body is distinct from that of eight other rhyolites in the Portage Lake Lava Series, and suggests that fingerprinting by trace elements might be a fruitful method for identifying and correlating the sources of numerous rhyolitic pebbles in conglomerates interbedded with the basaltlava flows of the Portage Lake Series.     

The Lake Michigan meteotsunamis of 1954 revisited

Two large meteotsunami wave events on Lake Michigan impacted the Chicago coastline within 10 days of each other in 1954. Initial data analysis suggested that the fatal first event (June 26) was caused by a Proudman resonant non-trapped wave, while the second event (July 6) was caused by Greenspan resonant trapped edge waves. In this study, a numerical hydrodynamic model was used to reveal the detailed behavior of these events. For both events, the atmospheric pressure and wind perturbations were found to be essential to explain the magnitude of the wave activity, in contrast to the initial conclusions that the waves were primarily pressure-driven. In the June 26 meteotsunami, Proudman resonance wave was the primary cause of the destructive wave, though the storm also generated edge waves which persisted for many hours, hindering rescue efforts. The maximum wave heights for the July 6 event were found to be the product of a superposition of edge waves and non-trapped waves rather than purely edge waves as originally thought. The results from these events demonstrate the enclosed Lake Michigan basin retained and focused wave energy, leading to their large magnitude, long duration, and destructive nature.     

Early Holocene dune activity linked with final destruction of Glacial Lake Minong, eastern Upper Michigan, USA

The early Holocene final drainage of glacial Lake Minong is documented by 21 OSL ages on quartz sand from parabolic dunes and littoral terraces and one radiocarbon age from a lake sediment core adjacent to mapped paleoshorelines in interior eastern Upper Michigan. We employ a simple model wherein lake-level decline exposes unvegetated littoral sediment to deflation, resulting in dune building. Dunes formed subsequent to lake-level decline prior to stabilization by vegetation and provide minimum ages for lake-level decline. Optical ages range from 10.3 to 7.7 ka; 15 ages on dunes adjacent to the lowest Lake Minong shoreline suggest final water-level decline ∼ 9.1 ka. The clustering of optical ages from vertically separated dunes on both sides of the Nadoway-Gros Cap Barrier around 8.8 ka and a basal radiocarbon date behind the barrier (8120 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr BP [9.1 cal ka BP]) support the hypothesis that the barrier was breached and the final lake-level drop to the Houghton Low occurred coincident with (1) high meltwater flux into the Superior basin and (2) an abrupt, negative shift in oxygen isotope values in Lake Huron.     

Eutrophication and salinization of urban and rural kettle lakes in Kalamazoo and Barry Counties,Michigan, USA

Salinization and eutrophication caused by runoff of road salt and nutrients was assessed in three kettle lakes, two (Woods and Asylum Lakes) located in urban Kalamazoo, MI, and one (Brewster Lake) in rural Hastings, MI. Profiles of dissolved O₂, conductivity, pH, and temperature were measured in situ, at half meter intervals. Water samples were collected at discrete depth intervals of 1 m and analyzed for Fe(II), Mn(II), ammonium, alkalinity, Cl^?, Na, Mg, K and Ca. Results of this study indicate that all three lakes are eutrophic with anoxic bottom waters. Conductivity was much greater, and Cl^? levels were more than 100 times greater, in the two urban lakes compared to the rural lake, demonstrating the significant impact of road salt deicers on urban lake water chemistry.     

Trace-element variability of native copper within a large ore body: The Kingston mine,Michigan, USA

This study attempts both single-site and regional trace-element variability assessments focusing on the Kingston Mine, Keweenaw County, Michigan, USA, and other sources of native copper in the Lake Superior region of the United States and Canada. This information is of potential significance to all studies trying to characterize and distinguish between individual mineral sources. It is of particular importance to geoarchaeologists/archaeometrists who are attempting to assign geologic/geographic origin to prehistoric copper artifacts and to those interested in the trace-element variability (vertically and horizontally) within large ore bodies.