The origin of stratified Catfish Creek Till by basal melting

• Published in: Boreas
• Main Author: Gibbard, Philip
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1980
• Subjects: Ice Shelf
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1980.tb01026.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.1980.tb01026.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1980.tb01026.x

Sedimentological investigations into the lateral and vertical variation of Late Wisconsinan stratified Catfish Creek Till exposed on the north shore of Lake Erie, in southwestern Ontario, are presented. Depositional features and stratigraphical relations of the till combined with the results of granulometric and carbonate analyses indicate that it was formed beneath a floating, overriding ice shelf by basal melting. This is contrary to earlier work which suggested the till was formed as a series of subaquatic flows from a nearby grounding ice margin. The genesis of stratified till by basal melting, its significance and characteristics are contrasted with those of subaquatic flowage and iceberg‐rafting.