Support for the Innuitian Ice Sheet in the Canadian High Arctic during the Last Glacial Maximum

The extent of glacier ice in the Canadian High Arctic during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been debated for decades. One school proposed a regional Innuitian Ice Sheet whereas another proposed a smaller, non-contiguous Franklin Ice Complex. Research throughout western Nares Strait supports coalescent Innuitian and Greenland ice during the LGM, based on widespread glacial and marine deposits dated by ¹⁴C and amino acid analyses. This coalescence likely promoted a vigorous regional ice flow westward across Ellesmere Island to Eureka Sound. Post-glacial emergence in Eureka Sound suggests a former ice thickness at least as great as that in Nares Strait (≥ 1 km). Recently, independent field studies elsewhere in the High Arctic also support an Innuitian Ice Sheet during the LGM. Collectively, these studies resolve a long-standing debate, and initiate new opportunities concerning the reconstruction of high-latitude palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic change. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.