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Timing of advance and basal condition of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum in the Richardson Mountains, NWT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Denis Lacelle ,
Bernard Lauriol ,
Grant Zazula ,
Bassam Ghaleb ,
Nicholas Utting  and
Ian D. Clark
Denis Lacelle*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Bernard Lauriol
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Grant Zazula
Affiliation:
Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, Canada
Bassam Ghaleb
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche en géochimie et géodynamique, GEOTOP, Université du Québec a Montréal, Montréal, Canada
Nicholas Utting
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada BGC Engineering Inc, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Ian D. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:dlacelle@uottawa.ca (D. Lacelle).
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Abstract

This study presents new ages for the northwest section of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) glacial chronology from material recovered from two retrogressive thaw slumps exposed in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. One study site, located at the maximum glacial limit of the LIS in the Richardson Mountains, had calcite concretions recovered from aufeis buried by glacial till that were dated by U/Th disequilibrium to 18,500 cal yr BP. The second site, located on the Peel Plateau to the east yielded a fossil horse (Equus) mandible that was radiocarbon dated to ca. 19,700 cal yr BP. These ages indicate that the Peel Plateau on the eastern flanks of the Richardson Mountains was glaciated only after 18,500 cal yr BP, which is later than previous models for the global last glacial maximum (LGM). As the LIS retreated the Peel Plateau around 15,000 cal yr BP, following the age of the Tutsieta phase, we conclude that the presence of the northwestern margin of the LIS at its maximum limit was a very short event in the western Canadian Arctic.

Keywords

Laurentide Ice SheetLast glacial maximumGround iceRichardson MountainsWestern Arctic
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , September 2013 , pp. 274 - 283
Copyright
University of Washington

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