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

Abstract

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.

Primary Succession and Forest Development on Coastal Lake Michigan Sand Dunes

“…Mackinaw City, 17 km east on the Straits of Mackinac, averaged 6.2ЊC and 772.2 mm of annual precipitation between 1951 and 1980, and Cross Village, 12 km south on the coast of Lake Michigan, averaged 731.5 mm of annual precipitation during the same period (Nurnberger 1996). Interdunal swales developed open-pond vegetation, peatlands, ceiving longshore sediments over thousands of years (e.g., Thompson 1992, Dott and Mickelson 1995, Petty et al 1996. On the east shore of Lake Michigan, an extensive strandplain of ϳ108 arcuate dune ridges (i.e., dune-capped beach ridges) formed over the past 3500 yr (Fig.…”

“…The dune ridges are ϳ2.5 km long, 10-30 m wide, and generally between 3 and 5 m in height. ceiving longshore sediments over thousands of years (e.g., Thompson 1992, Dott and Mickelson 1995, Petty et al 1996.…”

Holocene Lake-Effect Precipitation in Northern Michigan

“…Late Quaternary paleoecological sites in the Great Lakes region. Michigan sites include Nelson Lake (this study), Elbow Lake (Petty et al, 1996), Kerr Lake (Brugam and Johnson, 1997), Little Dollar Lake (Futyma, 1982), Lake Sixteen Bog (Futyma and Miller, 1986), and Marion Lake (Bernabo, 1981). Other sites mentioned in the text include Deep Lake (Hu et al, 1997) and Elk Lake (Dean and Stuiver, 1993) in Minnesota, Lake Mendota in Wisconsin (Winkler et al, 1986), and Crawford Lake (Yu et al, 1997) and Inglesby Lake (Edwards and Fritz, 1988) in Ontario.…”

Late Woodland Period “Waste” Reduction in the Ohio River Valley

“…We have plotted (Fig. 4) for each century the frequency with which evidence for high lake levels has been documented (Anderton and Loope 1995;Delcourt et al 1996;Dott and Mickelson 1995;Fraser et al 1990;Johnson et al 1990;Larsen 1985Larsen , 1994Lichter 1995;Petty et al 1996;Thompson 1992). Assuming that historically documented relationships between lake-level fluctuations and climatic conditions in the Upper Great Lakes drainage basin extend over the past 2000 years, the peak indicates a time of significantly increased pre- cipitation and perhaps slightly cooler temperatures.…”