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Mississippi Valley regional source of loess on the southern Green Bay Lobe land surface, Wisconsin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Peter M. Jacobs ,
Joseph A. Mason  and
Paul R. Hanson
Peter M. Jacobs*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Geology, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, USA
Joseph A. Mason
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
Paul R. Hanson
Affiliation:
School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: +1 262 472 5633.
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Abstract

Loess has been recognized on the glacial land surface of the Green Bay Lobe for over 100 yr, but no systematic explanation of the source of the loess has been advanced. Intriguingly, the loess on the Green Bay Lobe land surface is thicker than predicted by regional thinning trends from the Mississippi Valley and is geographically separated from much loess of southwest Wisconsin by a sandy region devoid of loess. Mapping based on soil survey interpretation indicates that the loess occurs above an escarpment marking the eastern end of the sandy loess-free region. Particle size fining trends demonstrate that the loess was transported by northwesterly winds. Clay mineralogy of the Green Bay Lobe loess is distinctly different than glaciogenic sediments and matches loess of the Mississippi Valley, indicating a regional source and long distance transport of the loess. We propose the loess was transported from the regional source along a surface of transport produced by migration of eolian sand through low-relief landscapes including the glacial Lake Wisconsin basin. Eolian sand migration caused repeated entrainment of dust leading to east-southeastward transport. The loess accumulated above an escarpment that limited sand mobility and re-entrainment of loess beyond this topographic barrier.

Keywords

LoessEolian sandWisconsinGreen Bay LobeClay mineralogy
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 3 , May 2011 , pp. 574 - 583
Copyright
University of Washington

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