Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T08:39:10.577Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Geomorphological and stratigraphic evidence along the northeastern U.S. margin for Laurentide glacial lake outburst floods during the MIS 2 deglaciation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2018

Shannon Klotsko  and
Neal Driscoll
Shannon Klotsko*
Affiliation:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Neal Driscoll
Affiliation:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, California 92192, USA. E-mail address: sklotsko@sdsu.edu (S. Klotsko).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Block Island Sound (BIS), in southern New England, was occupied by a glacial meltwater lake (Lake BIS) during the MIS 2 deglaciation. New CHIRP seismic data, swath bathymetry, and legacy seismic profiles from BIS provide important insights and constraints on the morphologic evolution of a glaciated margin from the last glacial maximum to present. Interpretation of seismic data revealed four well-defined sediment units: acoustic basement, glaciolacustrine varved sediments, a lag deposit, and Holocene sediment. The morphology and architecture of the sedimentary units suggest that Lake BIS drained quickly, followed by the catastrophic drainage of glacial Lake Connecticut through BIS (Lake Connecticut occupied present-day Long Island Sound). The draining waters carved depressions ~100 m deep in the floor of BIS and the region between the lakes. The waters also carved Block Island Valley, which extends across the continental shelf. Continued existence of the depressions and valley suggests a rapid transgression over these water depths and limited sediment supply. Our results show the significant impact of glacial lake outburst floods, even during a sea level transgression, and may help explain morphology observed along other glaciated margins.

Keywords

QuaternaryGlacial geomorphologyCHIRP seismicSouthern New EnglandBlock Island SoundGlaciated marginGlacial lake outburst floodsCatastrophic draining
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 90 , Issue 1 , July 2018 , pp. 139 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alley, R.B., Mayewski, P.A., Sowers, T., Stuiver, M., Taylor, K.C., Clark, P.U., 1997. Holocene climatic instability: a prominent, widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology 25, 483–486.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, B.D., Chaytor, J.D., ten Brink, U.S., Brothers, D.S., Gardner, J.V., Lobecker, E.A., Calder, B.R., 2016. Bathymetric Terrain Model of the Atlantic Margin for Marine Geological Investigations (ver. 2.0, May 2016). U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1266. http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121266.Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., 1973. Maps of the maximum post glacial marine limit and rebound for the former Laurentide Ice Sheet. Arctic and Alpine Research 5, 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J.O., Porter, S.C., Caffee, M.W., 2002. Cosmogenic-nuclide ages for New England coastal moraines, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, 2127–2135.Google Scholar
Barber, D.C., Dyke, A., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Jennings, A.E., Andrews, J.T., Kerwin, M.W., Bilodeau, G., et al., 1999. Forcing of the cold event of 8,200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature 400, 344–348.Google Scholar
Bertoni, R., Dowling, J., Frankel, L., 1977. Freshwater-lake sediments beneath Block Island Sound. Geology 5, 631.Google Scholar
Boothroyd, J.C., Freedman, J.H., Brenner, H.B., Stone, J.R., 1998. The glacial geology of southern Rhode Island. In: Guidebook to Field Trips in Rhode Island and Adjacent Regions of Connecticut and Massachusetts: New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference, 90th Annual Meeting. Department of Geology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, pp. C5.1–C5.25.Google Scholar
Christie-Blick, N., Driscoll, N. W., 1995. Sequence stratigraphy. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 23, 451–478.Google Scholar
Clague, J.J., Evans, S.G., 2000. A review of catastrophic drainage of moraine-dammed lakes in British Columbia. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, 1763–1783.Google Scholar
Clayton, J.A., Knox, J.C., 2008. Catastrophic flooding from glacial lake Wisconsin. Geomorphology 93, 384–397.Google Scholar
Colgan, P.M., Mickelson, D. M., Cutler, P. M., 2003. Ice-marginal terrestrial landsystems: southern Laurentide Ice Sheet margin. In: Evans, D.A. (Ed.), Glacial Landsystems. London: Arnold, pp. 111–142.Google Scholar
Damman, A.W.H., French, T.W., 1987. The Ecology of Peat Bogs of the Glaciated Northeastern United States: A Community Profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 85(7.16). https://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/techrpt/85-7-16.pdf.Google Scholar
Donnelly, J.P., Driscoll, N.W., Uchupi, E., Keigwin, L.D., Schwab, W.C., Thieler, E.R., Swift, S.A., 2005. Catastrophic meltwater discharge down the Hudson Valley: a potential trigger for the Intra-Allerød cold period. Geology 33, 89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Driscoll, N.W., Weissel, J.K., Goff, J.A., 2000. Potential for large-scale submarine slope failure and tsunami generation along the US mid-Atlantic coast. Geology 28, 407–410.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyke, A.S., Prest, V.K., 1987. Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 41, 237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eakins, B.W., Taylor, L.A., Carignan, K.S., Warnken, R.R., Sazonova, T., Schoolcraft, D.C., 2009. Digital Elevation Model of Montauk, New York: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis. NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS NGDC-17. Department of Commerce, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Evans, S.G., Clague, J.J., 1994. Recent climatic change and catastrophic geomorphic processes in mountain environments. Geomorphology 10, 107–128.Google Scholar
Farran, M., 2008. IMAGE2SEGY: Una aplicación informática para la conversión de imágenes de perfiles sísmicos a ficheros en formato SEG Y. Geo-Temas 10, 1215–1218.Google Scholar
Gardner, J.V., Mayer, L.A., Armstrong, A.A., 2006. Mapping supports potential submission to U.N. Law of the Sea. Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 87, 157–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henkart, P., 2003. SIOSEIS, Software. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA (available at http://sioseis.ucsd.edu).Google Scholar
Kattelmann, R., 2003. Glacial lake outburst floods in the Nepal Himalaya: a manageable hazard? Natural Hazards 28, 145–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klotsko, S., Driscoll, N., Kent, G., Brothers, D., 2015. Continental shelf morphology and stratigraphy offshore San Onofre, California: the interplay between rates of eustatic change and sediment supply. Marine Geology 369, 116–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koteff, C., Larsen, F.D., 1989. Postglacial uplift in western New England: geologic evidence for delayed rebound. In: Gregersen, S., Basham, S. (Eds.), Earthquakes at North-Atlantic Passive Margins: Neotectonics and Postglacial Rebound. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, Netherlands, pp. 105–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koteff, C., Robinson, G.R., Goldsmith, R., Thompson, W.B., 1993. Delayed postglacial up-lift and synglacial sea levels in coastal central New England. Quaternary Research 40, 46–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, H.J., Schwab, W.C., Booth, J.S., 1993. Submarine landslides: an introduction. In Schwab, W.C., Lee, H.J., Twichell, D.C. (Eds.), Submarine Landslides: selected studies in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, US Geological Survey Bulletin, Government Printing Office, Washington DC, pp. 1–13.Google Scholar
Lewis, R.S., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M., 2000. A review of the geologic framework of the Long Island Sound basin, with some observations relating to postglacial sedimentation. Journal of Coastal Research 16, 522–532.Google Scholar
Lewis, R.S., Stone, J.R., 1991. Late Quaternary stratigraphy and depositional history of the Long Island Sound basin: Connecticut and New York. Journal of Coastal Research 11, 1–23.Google Scholar
McMaster, R.L., Ashraf, A.S.A.F., 1973. Drowned and buried valleys on the southern New England continental shelf. Marine Geology 15, 249–268.Google Scholar
McMaster, R.L., Lachance, T.P., Garrison, L.E., 1968. Seismic-reflection studies in Block Island and Rhode Island Sounds. AAPG Bulletin 52, 465–474.Google Scholar
McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Danforth, W.W., Blackwood, D.S., Clos, A.R., Parker, C.E., 2014. Sea-Floor Morphology and Sedimentary Environments of Western Block Island Sound, Northeast of Gardiners Island, New York. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1160. http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141160.Google Scholar
McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Danforth, W.W., Blackwood, D.S., Winner, W.G., Parker, C.E., 2015. Sea-Floor Morphology and Sedimentary Environments in Western Block Island Sound, Offshore of Fishers Island, New York. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1224. http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Geophysical Data Center [NGDC]. 1999. U.S. Coastal Relief Model—Northeast Atlantic. National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. doi: 10.7289/V5MS3QNZ.Google Scholar
Needell, S.W., Lewis, R.S., 1984. Geology of Block Island Sound, Rhode Island and New York. Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1621. 1:125,000. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Google Scholar
Oakley, B.A., Boothroyd, J.C., 2012. Reconstructed topography of Southern New England prior to isostatic rebound with implications of total isostatic depression and relative sea level. Quaternary Research 78, 110–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldale, R.N., O’Hara, C. J., 1980. New radiocarbon dates from the inner Continental Shelf off southeastern Massachusetts and a local sea-level–rise curve for the past 12,000 yr. Geology 8, 102–106.Google Scholar
Poppe, L.J., Danforth, W.W., McMullen, K.Y., Blakenship, M.A., Glomb, K.A., Wright, D.B., Smith, S.M., 2014a. Sea-Floor Character and Sedimentary Processes of Block Island Sound, Offshore Rhode Island (ver.1.1, August 2014). U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1005. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1005.Google Scholar
Poppe, L.J., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., Doran, E.F., Smith, S.M., Stewart, H.F., Forfinski, N.A., 2007. Geological Interpretation and Multibeam Bathymetry of the Sea Floor in the Vicinity of The Race, Eastern Long Island Sound. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007–1012. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1012.Google Scholar
Poppe, L.J., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., Smith, S.M., Stewart, H.F., Forfinski, N.A., 2006. Seafloor character and sedimentary processes in eastern Long Island Sound and western Block Island Sound. Geo-Marine Letters 26, 59–68.Google Scholar
Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Danforth, W.W., Blankenship, M.A., Clos, A.R., Glomb, K.A., Lewit, P.G., Nadeau, M.A., Wood, D.A., Parker, C.E., 2014b. Combined Multibeam and Bathymetry Data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound—A regional Perspective. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1012. http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Foster, D.S., Blackwood, D.S., Williams, S.J., Ackerman, S.D., Barnum, S.R., Brennan, R.T., 2008. Sea-Floor Character and Sedimentary Processes in the Vicinity of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1004. http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/pubs/of2008-1004/index.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poppe, L.J., Paskevich, V.F., Lewis, R.S., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., 2002. Geological Framework Data from Long Island Sound, 1981–1990: A Digital Data Release. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02–002. http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/openfile/of02-002/index.htm.Google Scholar
Rayburn, J.A., 2004. Deglaciation of the Champlain Valley, New York and Vermont and It’s Possible Effects on North Atlantic Climate Change. Ph.D. thesis, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY.Google Scholar
Richardson, S.D., Reynolds, J.M., 2000. An overview of glacial hazards in the Himalayas. Quaternary International 65, 31–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sirkin, L., 1991. Stratigraphy of the Long Island platform. In: Quaternary Geology of Long Island Sound and Adjacent Coastal Areas: Walter S. Newman Memorial Volume. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 11, 217–227.Google Scholar
Sirkin, L., Veeger, A., 1998. Geology and hydrogeology of Block Island, Rhode Island. In: Guidebook to Field Trips in Rhode Island and Adjacent Regions of Connecticut and Massachusetts: New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference, 90th Annual Meeting. Department of Geology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, pp. B5-1–B5-12.Google Scholar
Sirkin, L.A., 1982. Wisconsinan glaciation of Long Island, New York to Block Island, Rhode Island. In: Larson, G.J., Stone, B.D. (Eds.), Late Wisconsinan Glaciation of New England. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, IA, pp. 35–60.Google Scholar
Stanford, S.D., Harper, D.P., 1991. Glacial lakes of the lower Passaic, Hackensack, and lower Hudson valleys, New Jersey and New York. Northeastern Geology 13, 271–286.Google Scholar
Stone, B.D., Borns, H.W., 1986. Pleistocene glacial and interglacial stratigraphy of New England, Long Island, and adjacent Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine. Quaternary Science Reviews 5, 39–52.Google Scholar
Stone, J.R., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M., Lewis, R.S., Goldsmith, R., 1998. Recessional moraines and the associated deglacial record of southeastern Connecticut and Long Island Sound. In: Guidebook to Field Trips in Rhode Island and Adjacent Regions of Connecticut and Massachusetts: New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference, 90th Annual Meeting. Department of Geology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, pp. B7-1–B7-20.Google Scholar
Stone, J.R., Shafer, J.P., London, E.H., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M., Lewis, R.S., Thompson, W.B., 2005. Quaternary Geologic Map of Connecticut and Long Island Sound Basin. Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2784. 1:125,000, 2 sheets and pamphlet, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T., Leverington, D.W., Mann, J.D., 2002. Freshwater outbursts to the oceans from glacial Lake Agassiz and their role in climate change during the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, 879–887.Google Scholar
Thieler, E.R., Butman, B., Schwab, W.C., Allison, M.A., Driscoll, N.W., Donnelly, J.P., Uchupi, E., 2007. A catastrophic meltwater flood event and the formation of the Hudson Shelf Valley. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 246, 120–136.Google Scholar
Woodworth, J.B., Wigglesworth, E., Berry, E.W., Bryan, K., Hollick, C.A., Stephenson, L.W., 1934. Geography and Geology of the Region Including Cape Cod, the Elizabeth Islands, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island. Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Uchupi, E., Driscoll, N., Ballard, R.D., Bolmer, S.T., 2001. Drainage of late Wisconsin glacial lakes and the morphology and late quaternary stratigraphy of the New Jersey–southern New England continental shelf and slope. Marine Geology 172, 117–145.Google Scholar
Veillette, J.J., 1994. Evolution and paleohydrology of glacial lakes Barlow and Ojibway. Quaternary Science Reviews 13, 945–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yongjian, D., Jingshi, L., 1992. Glacier lake outburst flood disasters in China. Annals of Glaciology 16, 180–184.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: Image

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 1

Supplementary Figure

Download Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 1(Image)
Image 702.9 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 2

Supplementary Figure

Download Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 2(Image)
Image 1.1 MB
Supplementary material: Image

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 3

Supplementary Figure

Download Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 3(Image)
Image 811.8 KB
Supplementary material: Image

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 4

Supplementary Figure

Download Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 4(Image)
Image 997.4 KB
Supplementary material: File

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 5

Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 5

Download Klotsko and Neal Driscoll supplementary material 5(File)
File 13.3 KB