Inherited clast dispersal patterns: Implications for palaeoglaciology of the SE Keewatin Sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

• Published in: Boreas
• Main Authors: Trommelen, Michelle S., Ross, Martin, Campbell, Janet E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2012
• Subjects: Ice Sheet; Keewatin
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00308.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.2012.00308.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00308.x

The net effect of ice‐flow shifts resulting in the dilution or reworking of clasts on a single preserved till sheet is often unknown yet has major implications for palaeoglaciology and mineral exploration. Herein, we analyse variations in till clast lithologies from a single till sheet, within palimpsest‐type G lacial T errain Z ones in NE M anitoba, C anada, to better understand sediment–landform relationships in this area of high landform inheritance. This near‐ice‐divide area is known to consist of a highly fragmented subglacial landscape, resulting from spatio‐temporal variations in intensity of reworking and inheritance throughout multiple glacial events (subglacial bed mosaic). We show that a seemingly homogenous ‘Keewatin’ till sheet is composed of local (>15 km) and continental‐scale (∼100‐km‐long carbonate train and 350–600 km long D ubawnt red erratic train) fan, irregular (amoeboid) or lobate palimpsest dispersal patterns. Local dispersal is more complex than the preserved local landform flowset(s) record, but appears consistent with the overall glacial history reconstructed from regional flowset and striation analyses. The resultant surface till is a spatial mosaic interpreted to reflect variable intensities in modification (overprinting) and preservation (inheritance) of a predominately pre‐existing till sheet. A multi‐faceted approach integrating till composition, regional landforms, ice‐flow indicators, and stratigraphic knowledge is used to map relative spatio‐temporal erosion/reworking intensity.