Late Holocene Glacial History of Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

• Main Author: Misinay, Daniel R, II
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Open Works 2016
• Subjects: Geology; Glacier Bay; Stump; The Stump; Stump Cove; glacier; glaciers; Tidewater; Alaska
• Online Access: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/7233; https://openworks.wooster.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8041&context=independentstudy

Glacier Bay is a dynamic region whose landscape has been greatly influenced by tectonics and fluctuations of extensive tidewater glacier systems during the past 20,000 years. Much work has been done in the region reconstructing the past glacial history. Dendrochronology and radiocarbon were used here to obtain calendar dates on ancient forests that were killed by the advancing glaciers. Dating these ancient forests allows calendar dates to be assigned to the ice advance as well as putting better time constrains for sediment packages recognized in the fjord. In 2015, 11 logs were internally cross-dated and the first radiocarbon date, 1810-1990 cal. yr. BP, was assigned to the Nunatak sediment fan. The first tree ring series was built for the Nunatak and replication was added to the Stump Cove series. Muir Glacier was advancing through central Muir Inlet about 1730-1990 cal. yr. BP and was advancing during a warm period likely due to the dynamics of the tidewater glacier cycle as well as having the proper conditions within the fjord to allow advance.