Late Wisconsinan glaciation and postglacial relative sea-level change on western Banks Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Lakeman, Thomas R., England, John H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2014
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Arctic Archipelago; Banks Island; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2013.02.001; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589413000197?httpAccept=text/xml; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589413000197?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400002283

The study revises the maximum extent of the northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) in the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) during the last glaciation and documents subsequent ice sheet retreat and glacioisostatic adjustments across western Banks Island. New geomorphological mapping and maximum-limiting radiocarbon ages indicate that the northwest LIS inundated western Banks Island after ~ 31 14 C ka BP and reached a terminal ice margin west of the present coastline. The onset of deglaciation and the age of the marine limit (22–40 m asl) are unresolved. Ice sheet retreat across western Banks Island was characterized by the withdrawal of a thin, cold-based ice margin that reached the central interior of the island by ~ 14 cal ka BP. The elevation of the marine limit is greater than previously recognized and consistent with greater glacioisostatic crustal unloading by a more expansive LIS. These results complement emerging bathymetric observations from the Arctic Ocean, which indicate glacial erosion during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to depths of up to 450 m.