A Proposed Diachronic Revision of Late Quaternary Time-Stratigraphic Classification in the Eastern and Northern Great Lakes Area

Karrow, P. F.; Dreimanis, Aleksis; Barnett, Peter J.

doi:10.1006/qres.2000.2144

Cited by 64 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The upper surface of the Scarborough Formation along the Lake Ontario bluffs is incised by large channels (up to 2 km wide and more than 50 m deep) interpreted to record either of the following: Karrow et al 2000). Log at right shows generalized stratigraphy of Scarborough Bluffs area with age determinations of units from radiocarbon ( 14 C; from Karrow 1984;Berti 1975) and thermoluminescence (TL) dating techniques (dates and log from Berger and Eyles 1994).…”

Section: Quaternary Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The pre-Late Wisconsin stratigraphy of southern Simcoe County, Ontario: implications for ice sheet buildup, decay, and Great Lakes drainage evolution

Mulligan

Bajc

2018

Can. J. Earth Sci.

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Recent three-dimensional mapping investigations in southern Simcoe County, Ontario, allow refinement of the existing regional stratigraphic framework. Analysis of 25 continuously cored boreholes has revealed a complex but consistent sediment succession that provides a record of the last two glacial cycles (Marine Isotope Stages 1-6). Five stratigraphic units (SU1-SU5) comprise the pre-Late Wisconsin record. The stratigraphy is floored by a presumed Illinoian glacial complex consisting of a lower, coarse-grained till (SU1), locally overlain by stratified glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial sediments (SU2), but more commonly capped by a stone-poor, fine-grained till (SU3) of the Georgian Bay lobe. A widespread subaerial unconformity developed on the upper surface of SU3 contains organic-bearing, nonglacial deposits (SU4) ranging between 54 800 ± 3000 years BP (considered beyond the limits of radiocarbon dating) and 37 450 ± 590 14 C years BP. SU4 is abruptly overlain by a thick succession of rhythmically laminated lacustrine muds graded upwards into glaciolacustrine silts and clays interrupted by regionally continuous sand bodies (SU5). The succession is capped (and locally truncated) by Late Wisconsin Newmarket Till. The sedimentary record of southern Simcoe County is correlated with other well-studied reference sections in southern Ontario and contains information that informs reconstructions of former ice extents in the lower Great Lakes region following the Illinoian glaciation. Several sediment units host aquifers, but limited thickness and spatial extent, as well as issues with naturally occurring dissolved gases and solids, restrict their use for groundwater supply.Résumé : Des études cartographiques tridimensionnelles récentes dans le sud du comté de Simcoe, en Ontario, permettent de peaufiner le cadre stratigraphique régional existant. L'analyse de 25 forages carottés en continu révèle une séquence sédimen-taire complexe mais cohérente qui offre un profil des deux derniers cycles glaciaires (étages 1-6 de la stratigraphie isotopique marine). Cinq unités stratigraphiques (SU1-SU5) renferment le profil pré-wisconsinien tardif. La base de la coupe stratigraphique est un complexe glaciaire d'âge illinoien présumé consistant en un till inférieur à grains grossiers (SU1) sur lequel reposent localement des sédiments glaciolacustres et fluvioglaciaires stratifiés (SU2), mais qui est plus couramment recouvert d'un till à grains fins pauvre en pierres (SU3) du lobe de la baie Georgienne. Une discordance subaérienne répandue formée sur la surface supérieure de SU3 contient des dépôts non glaciaires contenant de la matière organique (SU4) allant de 54 800 ± 3000 années BP (considéré comme étant hors des limites de la datation au radiocarbone) à 37 450 ± 590 14 C années BP. SU4 est abruptement recouverte par une épaisse séquence de boues lacustres à laminations rythmiques passant vers le haut à des silts et des argiles glaciolacustres interrompus par des corps de sable d'ampleur régionale (SU5). La séquence e...

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Section: Quaternary Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ice certainly advanced south and west of the Rome outlets (Fig. 1b) and may have abutted parts of the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario and (or) New York State, causing a transgression in the Lake Erie basin and deposition of member B of the Tyrconnell Formation (Dreimanis 1992;Barnett et al 1996;Karrow et al 2000;Fig. 2c).…”

Section: Quaternary Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The pre-Late Wisconsin stratigraphy of southern Simcoe County, Ontario: implications for ice sheet buildup, decay, and Great Lakes drainage evolution

Mulligan

Bajc

2018

Can. J. Earth Sci.

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“…The Catfish Creek Till unit is overlain by kame and outwash deposits of the subsequent Erie glacial retreat phase. The Port Stanley Till is found at surface in the NW section of the study area and is thought to be associated with the younger Port Bruce ice advance, whereas the Wentworth Till at surface in the SE sector records an ice readvance during the overall retreat of the Erie-Ontario lobe (Mackinaw Phase) (Table 1; Karrow 1987;Barnett 1992;Karrow et al 2000). In some areas, Karrow (1968Karrow ( , 1987 described an additional till between the Catfish Creek Till and the tills at surface, which he interpreted as Port Bruce in age (Maryhill-Middle till), although the similarities between Maryhill and Port Stanley tills in this area, and the limited stratigraphic control and radiometric data, do not always allow differentiation of tills at depth.…”

Section: Background Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Using a multiple variogram approach to improve the accuracy of subsurface geological models

2018

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Subsurface geological models are often used to visualize and analyze the nature, geometry, and variability of geologic and hydrogeologic units in the context of groundwater resource studies. The development of three-dimensional (3D) subsurface geological models covering increasingly larger model domains has steadily increased in recent years, in step with the rapid development of computing technology and software, and the increasing need to understand and manage groundwater resources at the regional scale. The models are then used by decision makers to guide activities and policies related to source water protection, well field development, and industrial or agricultural water use. It is important to ensure that the modelling techniques and procedures are able to accurately delineate and characterize the heterogeneity of the various geological environments included within the regional model domain. The purpose of this study is to examine if 3D stratigraphic models covering complex Quaternary deposits can be improved by splitting the regional model into multiple submodels based on the degree of variability observed between surrounding data points and informed by expert geological knowledge of the geologicaldepositional framework. This is demonstrated using subsurface data from the Paris Moraine area near Guelph in southern Ontario. The variogram models produced for each submodel region were able to better characterize the data variability, resulting in a more geologically realistic interpolation of the entire model domain as demonstrated by the comparison of the model output with preexisting maps of surficial geology and bedrock topography as well as depositional models for these complex glacial environments. Importantly, comparison between model outputs reveals significant differences in the resulting subsurface stratigraphy, complexity, and variability, which would in turn impact groundwater flow model predictions.Résumé : Des modèles de géologie de subsurface sont souvent utilisés pour visualiser et analyser la nature, la géométrie et la variabilité d'unités géologiques et hydrogéologiques dans le contexte d'études sur les ressources d'eau souterraine. Le dével-oppement de modèles géologiques de subsurface en trois dimensions (3D) couvrant des domaines modélisés de plus en plus grands s'est accéléré ces dernières années, parallèlement à l'essor rapide de la technologie informatique et des logiciels et au besoin accru de comprendre et de gérer les ressources d'eau souterraine à l'échelle régionale. Les modèles sont ensuite utilisés par les décideurs pour orienter les activités et politiques touchant à la protection des sources d'eau, la mise en valeur de champs de captage et l'utilisation industrielle ou agricole de l'eau. Il importe de s'assurer que les techniques et procédures de modéli-sation puissent délimiter et caractériser de manière exacte l'hétérogénéité des divers milieux géologiques contenus dans le domaine régional modélisé. Le but de l'étude est d'évaluer si les modèles stratigraphiques 3...

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“…The glaciolacustrine sediment are well exposed in the lakeshore bluffs and mapped across the landscape (Ontario Geological Survey 2010), and they record the interaction of ice marginal processes and glaciolacustrine sedimentation (e.g., Karrow et al 2000). The record of water level changes is preserved in both the onshore and offshore sedimentary record, though many of the lakes have relatively thin sedimentary successions.…”

Section: Late-glacial Lacustrine Depositsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quaternary geology of southern Ontario and applications to hydrogeology

et al. 2018

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Quaternary geology of southern Ontario and applications to hydrogeology IntroductionThe southern Ontario (lowland) region is a sedimentary basin covering ϳ72 000 km 2 located within the Great Lakes watershed (e.g., Sharpe et al. 2014a). It is bounded by Canadian Shield to the north and east, and three Great Lakes to the south and west (Ontario, Erie, and Huron). The region is the economic heartland of Canada accounting for over 40% of the Canadian Gross Domestic Product. It contains one-third of the Canadian population and has the highest population density in the country. The Great Lakes cumulatively account for approximately 84% of North Americas available freshwater and form the largest potential transboundary groundwater -surface-water resource between the USA and Canada (Environment Canada and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2014). Ironically, there is significant reliance on groundwater for potable, commercial, and agricultural water uses. Approximately 3 million people use groundwater in Ontario, with the majority of these located in southern Ontario. Extraction by domestic systems support ϳ1.3 million people and ϳ1.9 million people use municipal supplies (e.g., Waterloo, Guelph; Sharpe et al. 2014b).For a decade, from 2004 to 2015, groundwater studies in Ontario were dominated by the Source Protection Program that the provincial ministries of Environment and Climate Change, and Natural Resources and Forestry funded via Conservations Authorities in 22 Source Protection areas. The focus of this work was largely water budget modeling, the identification of threats to drinking water supplies, and the establishment of wellhead protection areas around municipal wells. This program was complemented by the Ontario Geological Survey's groundwater initiative, which focused on the collection and interpretation of new, high quality subsurface geoscience information to support regional groundwater understanding (Bajc et al. 2016). This research was a direct outcome of the recommendations of the Walkerton Inquiry (O'Connor 2002) that followed on the tragic events in a southwestern Ontario community where the water supply was compromised by poor wellhead design and lax water treatment checks and protocols, following a heavy rain event in the spring of 2000. Over 2000 people became ill, 7 people died, and the conservative, tangible cost to the provincial economy, up to 2002, was over $60 million (Livernois 2002).The O'Connor Report (2002) recognized the early leadership in Ontario of the Ontario Geological Survey and Geological Survey of Canada in providing the understanding on geologic controls to support knowledge of groundwater and surface-water relationships. Importantly, geological conceptualization is often the first step of any hydrogeological study as it provides important information about geometry and connectivity of units that may support withdrawal of large amounts of water, and the distribution and integrity of units that may act as a barrier to flow and contaminants. A robust geological framework ...

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A Proposed Diachronic Revision of Late Quaternary Time-Stratigraphic Classification in the Eastern and Northern Great Lakes Area

Cited by 64 publications

References 43 publications

The pre-Late Wisconsin stratigraphy of southern Simcoe County, Ontario: implications for ice sheet buildup, decay, and Great Lakes drainage evolution

The pre-Late Wisconsin stratigraphy of southern Simcoe County, Ontario: implications for ice sheet buildup, decay, and Great Lakes drainage evolution

Using a multiple variogram approach to improve the accuracy of subsurface geological models

Quaternary geology of southern Ontario and applications to hydrogeology

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