Post-Iroquois Lake Stages and Shoreline Sedimentation in Eastern Ontario Basin

Sutton, Robert G.; Lewis, Thomas; Woodrow, Donald L.

doi:10.1086/627737

Cited by 14 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Recent work indicates that the Holocene water level history of Lake Ontario is more complex than the simple rebound model suggests. Sutton et al (1972) and Anderson & Lewis (1982, 1985 indicate that periods of accelerated water level rise followed by temporary stabilization occurred around 5000 to 4000 B.P. The accelerated water level rise, called the 'Nipissing Flood', was attributed to the capture of Upper Great Lakes drainage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water levels in Lake Ontario 4230?2000 years B.P.: evidence from Grenadier Pond, Toronto, Canada

McCarthy

McAndrews

1988

J Paleolimnol

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Lake Ontario water levels have been rising for the past 11 500 years due to differential isostatic rebound of the St. Lawrence outlet. Small scale fluctuations in water level superimposed on this general trend have received little study, with the exception of the 'Nipissing Flood'.The transgression of a Grenadier Pond was studied from cores along a transect from the bar that separates the pond from Lake Ontario to the marsh on the north shore. Radiocarbon dates of the transition from swamp peat to pond marl in five cores provide estimates of the rate of water level rise since 4230 years B.P. These estimates are supported by changes in sediment type and in abundance of pollen and seeds of aquatic plants. There were three short intervals of accelerated water level rise in Grenadier Pond, around 4200, 3000, and 2000 years B.P., when water levels rose up to 2 m instantaneously, within the resolution of radiocarbon dating. Sedimentological and paleobotanical data suggest that Grenadier Pond was an open embayment of Lake Ontario until 1970-1850 years B.P., when it was isolated by the bar, and therefore sediments deposited prior to this time reflect water levels in Lake Ontario.Short term departure of up to 2 m from the average rate of water level rise over the past 4000 years, as observed in the record at Grenadier Pond, is of the same range as historically observed departures from the mean lake stage of Lake Ontario. This implies that a threshold discharge exists above which broadening of the outflow channel occurs to accommodate further increase in discharge with little rise in lake level. The intervals of accelerated water level rise in Lake Ontario broadly coincide with periods of cool, wet climate, suggesting that increased moisture may have caused the short term fluctuations in water level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water levels in Lake Ontario 4230?2000 years B.P.: evidence from Grenadier Pond, Toronto, Canada

McCarthy

McAndrews

1988

J Paleolimnol

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“…The surficial deposits of the lake are described in Thomas et al (1972) and various aspects of the Quaternary sediments and water-level history of Lake Ontario basin are summarized in Lewis and McNeely (1967), Sutton et al (1972), Lewis and Sly (1971), Sly and Prior (1984), Anderson and Lewis (1985) and Coakley and Karrow (1994). Pollen analyses were performed on a long core from the deep central basin of Lake Ontario by McAndrews (1972) and on embayment cores bordering Lake Ontario (Anderson and Lewis 1985;McCarthy and McAndrews 1988).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4, lake level in Ontario basin fell through a series of lake stages (Frontenac, Sydney(? ), BellevilleSandy Creek, and Trenton-Skinner Creek) as the impounding Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) retreated from the St. Lawrence River valley (Mirynech 1962;Sutton et al 1972;Clark and Karrow 1984;Muller and Prest 1985;Pair et al 1988;Pair and Rodrigues 1993). The Sydney(?)…”

Section: Interpretation Of Lake-level Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 'transgression' accounted for a peat deposit about 1 m above the present lake (Sutton et al 1972). Because the transgression was close in time to the return of upper Great Lakes drainage to the Erie and Ontario basins during their late Nipissing phase, and because it was supported by corresponding higher-than-present water levels in the Lake Erie basin dated 3,900 ± 100 (4,160-4,500 cal) BP (BGS-898) (Coakley and Lewis 1985), a higher-than-present water level was proposed for the Lake Ontario basin and termed the Nipissing Flood (Anderson and Lewis 1982).…”

Section: Revision Of the Nipissing Floodmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin: evidence for a climate-driven early Holocene lowstand

Anderson

Lewis

2011

J Paleolimnol

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Piston cores from deep-water bottom deposits in Lake Ontario contain shallow-water sediments such as, shell-rich sand and silt, marl, gyttja, and formerly exposed shore deposits including woody detritus, peat, sand and gravel, that are indicative of past periods of significantly lower water levels. These and other water-level indicators such as changes in rates of sedimentation, mollusc shells, pollen, and plant macrofossils were integrated to derive a new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin using an empirical model of isostatic adjustment for the Great Lakes basin to restore dated remnants of former lake levels to their original elevations. The earliest dated low-level feature is the Grimsby-Oakville bar which was constructed in the western end of the lake during a near stillstand at 11-10.4 (12.9-12.3 cal) ka BP when Early Lake Ontario was confluent with the Champlain Sea. Rising Lake Ontario basin outlet sills, a consequence of differential isostatic rebound, severed the connection with Champlain Sea and, in combination with the switch of inflowing Lake Algonquin drainage northward to Ottawa River valley via outlets near North Bay and an early Holocene dry climate with enhanced evaporation, forced Lake Ontario into a basin-wide lowstand between 10.4 and 7.5 (12.3 and 8.3 cal) ka BP. During this time, Lake Ontario operated as a closed basin with no outlets, and sites such as Hamilton Harbour, Bay of Quinte, Henderson Harbor, and a site near Amherst Island existed as small isolated basins above the main lake characterized by shallow-water, lagoonal or marsh deposits and fossils indicative of littoral habitats and newly exposed mudflats. Rising lake levels resulting from increased atmospheric water supply brought Lake Ontario above the outlet sills into an open, overflowing state ending the closed phase of the lake by *7.5 (8.3 cal) ka BP. Lake levels continued to rise steadily above the Thousand Islands sill through mid-to-late Holocene time culminating at the level of modern Lake Ontario. The early and middle Holocene lake-level changes are supported by temperature and precipitation trends derived from pollen-climate transfer functions applied to Roblin Lake on the north side of Lake Ontario.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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“…Following retreat of the ice dam in the Upper St. Lawrence Valley around 12 ka (Fullerton, 1980), lake levels fell by as much as 145 m from the glacial Lake Iroquois water plane. Subsequently, they rose again as a consequence of differential glacioisostatic uplift of the lake outlet (near Kingston), with a maximum recovery of about 100 m in the western lake area and 40 m in the eastern lake area (Coleman, 1937;Karrow etal., 1961 ;Sutton et al, 1972;Sly and Prior, 1984;Anderson and Lewis, 1985;Pair et al, 1988). This glacial history suggests that the Lake Ontario sedimentary deposits should record a history of variable ice advances prior to 12 ka followed by regional tilting and changing water levels to the present.…”

Section: Carte Repère Du Lac Ontario Montrant La Bathymétrie (En Mètrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Stratigraphic Framework of Surficial Sediments and Bedrock Beneath Lake Ontario

Hutchinson¹,

Lewis²,

Hund³

2007

gpq

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Post-Iroquois Lake Stages and Shoreline Sedimentation in Eastern Ontario Basin

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Water levels in Lake Ontario 4230?2000 years B.P.: evidence from Grenadier Pond, Toronto, Canada

Water levels in Lake Ontario 4230?2000 years B.P.: evidence from Grenadier Pond, Toronto, Canada

A new water-level history for Lake Ontario basin: evidence for a climate-driven early Holocene lowstand

Regional Stratigraphic Framework of Surficial Sediments and Bedrock Beneath Lake Ontario

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