Climatic control of lake levels in the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron basins

Fraser, Gordon S.; Larsen, Curtis E.; Hester, Norman C.

doi:10.1130/spe251-p75

Cited by 43 publications

(44 citation statements)

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“…Glacial ice covered the study area until between 11,600 and 11,200 yr B.E; a minor glacial readvance occurred in the northernmost Upper Peninsula about 10,100 yr B.E (Futyma 1981;Farrand and Drexler 1985;Larsen 1987;Fraser et al 1990). Late Wisconsinan ground moraines and drumlin fields sculpted in stratified tills of sandy loam and of reworked lacustrine clays occur primarily west of Lake Millecoquins (a large inland lake located in the approximate center of the study area).…”

Section: Geology and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presettlement landscape heterogeneity: Evaluating grain of resolution using General Land Office Survey data

Delcourt

1996

Landscape Ecol

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General Land Office Survey (GLOS) records from the A.D. 1840s provide data for quantitative characterization of presettlement vegetation across western Mackinac County, Michigan, located within the mixed conifer-northern hardwoods forest region. We analyzed data from land survey plat maps and 1958 bearing, witness, and line trees from 162 surveyed section and quarter-section corners in order to map vegetation cover types at a level of spatial resolution appropriate for characterizing landscape heterogeneity using standard landscape ecological metrics. As also demonstrated by a number of both classic and contemporary plant-ecological studies, the distribution of landforms, soils properties, hydrology, and location of fire breaks all contribute to the heterogeneity in vegetation observed at a landscape scale in the region. Through a series of spatial landscape analyses with differing grain of resolution, in this study we determine that a grid cell size of 65 ha (0.5 mi • 0.5 mi or 0.25 mi 2) to 259 ha (1 mi 2) gives a conservative characterization of landscape heterogeneity using standard metrics and is therefore appropriate for use of GLOS data to study historical landscape changes.

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Section: Geology and Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presettlement landscape heterogeneity: Evaluating grain of resolution using General Land Office Survey data

Delcourt

1996

Landscape Ecol

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“…Modern Lake Michigan was formed when the Port Huron outlet again was down-cut to just above its modern level by 2500 14C yr B.R (Hansel et al,t985). During post-Algoma and historic times, Lake Michigan water level has fluctu-ated :t: 1.5 m about its present elevation of 176.4 m (578.7 ft) (Bishop, 1990;Fraser et al, 1990).…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much of the geomorphological research establishing the chronology of lake level has focused on the southern portion of the Lake Michigan basin (Leverett, 1897;Hansel et al, 1985;Larsen, 1985;Thompson, 1992;Fraser et al, 1990) with relatively little contemporary research conducted on shore features prominent farther to the north (Futyma, 1981;Johnson et al, 1990;Baedke & Thompson, 1993;Larsen, 1994). With the advent of radiocarbon dating, many of these features in the southern portion of the basin have been placed within an absolute radiocarbon chronology of lake-level fluctuations (Hansel et al, 1985;Larsen, 1987;Thompson, 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Holocene lake-level fluctuations and beach-ridge development along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, USA

Petty

Delcourt

1996

J Paleolimnol

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Geomorphology of a beach-ridge complex and adjacent lake basins along the northern shore of Lake Michigan records fluctuations in the level of Lake Michigan for the last 8000 to 10 000 14C yr B.R (radiocarbon years Before Present). A storm berm at 204.7-206 m (671.6-675.9 ft) exposed in a sandpit provides evidence of a pre-Chippewa Low lake level that is correlated with dropping water levels of Glacial Lake Algonquin (c. 10 300-10 100 14C yr B.R). Radiocarbon dates from organic material exposed in a river cutbank and basal sediments from Elbow Lake, Mackinac Co., Michigan, indicate a maximum age of a highstand of Lake Michigan at 6900 14C yr B.E, which reached as high as 196.7 m (645 ft), during the early-Nipissing transgression of Lake Michigan. Basal radiocarbon dates from beach swales and a second lake site (Beaverhouse Lake, Mackinac Co.) provide geomorphic evidence for a subsequent highstand which reached 192.6 m (632 ft) at 5390 4-70 14C yr B.R Basal radiocarbon dates from a transect of sediment cores, along with tree-ring data, and General Land Office Surveyor notes of a shipwreck, c. A.D. 1846, reveal a late-Holocene rate for isostatic rebound of 22.6 cm/100 radiocarbon years (0.74 ft/100 radiocarbon years) for the northern shore of Lake Michigan, relative to the Lake Michigan-Lake Huron outlet at Port Huron, Michigan. Changes in sediment stratigraphy, inter-ridge distance, and sediment accumulation rates document a mid-to late-Holocene retreat of the shoreline due to isostatic rebound. This regression sequence was punctuated by brief, periodic highstands, resulting in progressive development over the past 5400 14C yr of 75 pairs of dune ridges and swales each formed over an interval of approximately 72 years. Times of lake-level fluctuation were identified at 3900, 3200, and 1000 14C yr B.R based on changes in inter-ridge spacing, shifts in the course of Millecoquins River, and reorientation of beach-ridge lineation. Soil type, dune development, and selected pollen data provide supporting evidence for this chronology. Late-Holocene beach-ridge development and lake-level fluctuations are related to a retreat of the dominant Pacific airmass and the convergence of the Arctic and Tropical airmasses resulting in predominantly meridional rather than zonal air flow across the Great Lakes region.

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“…This study Fraser et al, 1990Lewis et al, in press Blasco, 2001 p Beta-98369 9360 ± 805; p Beta-103563 9300 ± 50; p Beta-104923 9320 ± 50 q Beta-81977 8200 ± 60; q Beta-81978 8200 ± 60 levels through the Post-Algonquin phases is recorded further by additional, but somewhat delayed, organic sediment accumulation in small basins south of Georgian Bay (5, 6), near North Bay (24, 25) and on Manitoulin Island (8).…”

Section: This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment of the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin: Using the Empirical Record of Strandline Deformation for Reconstruction of Early Holocene Paleo-Lakes and Discovery of a Hydrologically Closed Phase*

Lewis

Blasco

Gareau³

2007

gpq

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In the Great Lakes region, the vertical motion of crustal rebound since the last glaciation has decelerated with time, and is described by exponential decay constrained by observed warping of strandlines of former lakes. A composite isostatic response surface relative to an area southwest of Lake Michigan beyond the limit of the last glacial maximum was prepared for the complete Great Lakes watershed at 10.6 ka BP (12.6 cal ka BP). Uplift of sites computed using values from the response surface facilitated the transformation of a digital elevation model of the present Great Lakes basins to represent the paleogeography of the watershed at selected times. Similarly, the original elevations of radiocarbon-dated geomorphic and stratigraphic indicators of former lake levels were reconstructed and plotted against age to define lake level history. A comparison with the independently computed basin outlet paleo-elevations reveals a phase of severely reduced water levels and hydrologically-closed lakes below overflow outlets between 7.9 and 7.0 ka BP (8.7 and 7.8 cal ka BP) in the Huron-Michigan basin. Severe evaporative draw-down is postulated to result from the early Holocene dry climate when inflows of meltwater from the upstream Agassiz basin began to bypass the upper Great Lakes basin.Dans la région des Grands Lacs, le soulèvement isostatique lié à la dernière glaciation a ralenti selon une courbe de décroissance exponentielle établie à partir du gauchissement observé dans les anciennes lignes de rivage lacustres. Une surface de référence composite de la réponse isostatique datant de 10,6 ka BP (12,6 cal ka BP) a été préparée pour l’ensemble du bassin-versant des Grands Lacs, par rapport à une région au sud-ouest du lac Michigan située au-delà de la limite du dernier maximum glaciaire. Le calcul du soulèvement des sites en fonction des altitudes de la surface de référence a facilité la conversion d’un modèle altimétrique de terrain du bassin actuel des Grands Lacs en des cartes paléo-géographiques pour différents âges choisis. De plus, afin de définir l’évolution des niveaux lacustres, les altitudes initiales des indicateurs géomorphologiques et stratigraphiques des paléo-niveaux lacustres, datés au 14C, ont été reconstituées puis reportées en fonction de l’âge. La comparaison de cette courbe à celles des paléo-altitudes des exutoires lacustres, calculée indépendamment, révèle, entre 7,9 et 7 ka BP (8,7 et 7,8 cal ka BP), une phase d’abaissement majeur des niveaux lacustres au-dessous de ceux des exutoires et la fermeture hydrologique des lacs dans le bassin des lacs Huron-Michigan. La forte évaporation nécessaire à l’abaissement du niveau d’eau est attribuée à un climat sec peu après le début de l’Holocène, dans un contexte de détournement progressif hors des Grands Lacs des eaux de fonte du lac Agassiz

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Climatic control of lake levels in the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron basins

Cited by 43 publications

References 0 publications

Presettlement landscape heterogeneity: Evaluating grain of resolution using General Land Office Survey data

Presettlement landscape heterogeneity: Evaluating grain of resolution using General Land Office Survey data

Holocene lake-level fluctuations and beach-ridge development along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, USA

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment of the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin: Using the Empirical Record of Strandline Deformation for Reconstruction of Early Holocene Paleo-Lakes and Discovery of a Hydrologically Closed Phase*

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