Ice stream dynamics in the north-western sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

Brown, Victoria H.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.07.313

Cited by 5 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…1, 2, 5, and 144 in Fig. 9; Brown, 2012;Margold et al, 2015). However, it is not entirely clear whether these were separate ice streams or different trajectories of a major ice stream system changing its course over time (Brown, 2012).…”

Section: Interior Plainsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In contrast, the Amundsen Gulf Ice Stream is thought to have operated throughout deglaciation, and was spatially more stable than both the M'Clure Strait Ice Stream to the north and the Mackenzie Trough Ice Stream to the west Brown, 2012). It is evidenced both by terrestrial landform record on the mainland and on Victoria Island (Sharpe, 1988;Stokes et al, 2006;Kleman and Glasser, 2007;Storrar and Stokes, 2007;Stokes et al, 2009;Brown et al, 2011;Brown, 2012), and by erosion and distinctly streamlined morphology of the seabed in Amundsen Gulf (Supplementary data; Batchelor et al, 2013b).…”

Section: Canadian Arctic Archipelagomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The shallow Mackenzie Trough appears to have formed the main ice discharge route, but the landform record indicates that ice drainage was highly dynamic and ice streams operated along different trajectories ( Fig. 9; Brown et al, 2011;Brown, 2012;Margold et al, 2015). Tracks of four major ice streams have been reconstructed in the area: The Mackenzie Trough, Anderson, Bear Lake, and Fort Simpson ice streams (nos.…”

Section: Interior Plainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9; Brown, 2012;Margold et al, 2015). However, it is not entirely clear whether these were separate ice streams or different trajectories of a major ice stream system changing its course over time (Brown, 2012). East of the major ice streams of the Mackenzie region, three smaller, well-defined ice streams developed during ice retreat: the Horton/Paulatuk, Haldane, and Kugluktuk ice streams (nos.…”

Section: Interior Plainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3, 4, and 142 in Fig. 9; Winsborrow et al, 2004;Kleman and Glasser, 2007;Brown, 2012;Margold et al, 2015). An area of coalescence of the LIS with the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) existed during the LGM between 62°and 52°N and this saddle provided ice that drained through the Mackenzie region to the north (Figs.…”

Section: Interior Plainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ice streams in the Laurentide Ice Sheet: Identification, characteristics and comparison to modern ice sheets

Margold

Stokes

Clark

2015

Earth-Science Reviews

219

222

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This paper presents a comprehensive review and synthesis of ice streams in the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) based on a new mapping inventory that includes previously hypothesised ice streams and includes a concerted effort to search for others from across the entire ice sheet bed. The inventory includes 117 ice streams, which have been identified based on a variety of evidence including their bedform imprint, large-scale geomorphology/ topography, till properties, and ice rafted debris in ocean sediment records. Despite uncertainty in identifying ice streams in hard bedrock areas, it is unlikely that any major ice streams have been missed. During the Last Glacial Maximum, Laurentide ice streams formed a drainage pattern that bears close resemblance to the present day velocity patterns in modern ice sheets. Large ice streams had extensive onset zones and were fed by multiple tributaries and, where ice drained through regions of high relief, the spacing of ice streams shows a degree of spatial self-organisation which has hitherto not been recognised. Topography exerted a primary control on the location of ice streams, but there were large areas along the western and southern margin of the ice sheet where the bed was composed of weaker sedimentary bedrock, and where networks of ice streams switched direction repeatedly and probably over short time scales. As the ice sheet retreated onto its low relief interior, several ice streams show no correspondence with topography or underlying geology, perhaps facilitated by localised build-up of pressurised subglacial meltwater. They differed from most other ice stream tracks in having much lower length-to-width ratios and have no modern analogues. There have been very few attempts to date the initiation and cessation of ice streams, but it is clear that ice streams switched on and off during deglaciation, rather than maintaining the same trajectory as the ice margin retreated. We provide a first order estimate of changes in ice stream activity during deglaciation and show that around 30% of the margin was drained by ice streams at the LGM (similar to that for present day Antarctic ice sheets), but this decreases to 15% and 12% at 12 cal ka BP and 10 cal ka BP, respectively. The extent to which these changes in the ice stream drainage network represent a simple and predictable readjustment to a changing mass balance driven by climate, or internal ice dynamical feedbacks unrelated to climate (or both) is largely unknown and represents a key area for future work to address.

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Section: Interior Plainsmentioning

confidence: 96%