A new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin: evidence for a climate-driven early Holocene lowstand |
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Authors: | T W Anderson C F M Lewis |
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Institution: | (1) Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E8, Canada;(2) Geological Survey of Canada Atlantic, Natural Resources Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4A2, Canada;(3) Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA |
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Abstract: | Piston cores from deep-water bottom deposits in Lake Ontario contain shallow-water sediments such as, shell-rich sand and
silt, marl, gyttja, and formerly exposed shore deposits including woody detritus, peat, sand and gravel, that are indicative
of past periods of significantly lower water levels. These and other water-level indicators such as changes in rates of sedimentation,
mollusc shells, pollen, and plant macrofossils were integrated to derive a new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin
using an empirical model of isostatic adjustment for the Great Lakes basin to restore dated remnants of former lake levels
to their original elevations. The earliest dated low-level feature is the Grimsby-Oakville bar which was constructed in the
western end of the lake during a near stillstand at 11–10.4 (12.9–12.3 cal) ka BP when Early Lake Ontario was confluent with
the Champlain Sea. Rising Lake Ontario basin outlet sills, a consequence of differential isostatic rebound, severed the connection
with Champlain Sea and, in combination with the switch of inflowing Lake Algonquin drainage northward to Ottawa River valley
via outlets near North Bay and an early Holocene dry climate with enhanced evaporation, forced Lake Ontario into a basin-wide
lowstand between 10.4 and 7.5 (12.3 and 8.3 cal) ka BP. During this time, Lake Ontario operated as a closed basin with no
outlets, and sites such as Hamilton Harbour, Bay of Quinte, Henderson Harbor, and a site near Amherst Island existed as small
isolated basins above the main lake characterized by shallow-water, lagoonal or marsh deposits and fossils indicative of littoral
habitats and newly exposed mudflats. Rising lake levels resulting from increased atmospheric water supply brought Lake Ontario
above the outlet sills into an open, overflowing state ending the closed phase of the lake by ~7.5 (8.3 cal) ka BP. Lake levels
continued to rise steadily above the Thousand Islands sill through mid-to-late Holocene time culminating at the level of modern
Lake Ontario. The early and middle Holocene lake-level changes are supported by temperature and precipitation trends derived
from pollen-climate transfer functions applied to Roblin Lake on the north side of Lake Ontario. |
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