Pleistocene Glaciation of British Columbia

Clague, John J.; Ward, Brent

doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-53447-7.00044-1

Cited by 49 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…This model, although credible, may not apply in all areas of the Cordilleran ice sheet (Margold et al, 2013a). Although solid evidence for late-glacial glacier readvances has been found in the Coast, Columbia, and Rocky mountains (Reasoner et al, 1994;Osborn and Gerloff, 1997;Clague et al, 1997;Friele and Clague, 2002a, b;Kovanen, 2002;Kovanen and Easterbrook, 2002;Lakeman et al, 2008;Menounos et al, 2008), it appears to be sparser than for formerly glaciated regions surrounding the North Atlantic (e.g. Sissons, 1979;Lundqvist, 1987;Ivy-Ochs et al, 1999;Stea et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The possibility of late-glacial readvances in the North American Cordillera has been debated for some time (Luckman and Osborn, 1979;Reasoner et al, 1994;Osborn and Gerloff, 1997;Osborn et al, 1995), and locally these have been reconstructed and dated. Radiocarbon-dated end moraines in the Fraser and Squamish valleys, off the southern tip of the Coast Mountains, indicate consecutive glacier maxima or standstills while in overall retreat, one of which corresponds to the Younger Dryas chronozone (Clague et al, 1997;Friele and Clague, 2002a, b;Kovanen, 2002;Kovanen and Easterbrook, 2002). Although most of these moraines characterise independent valley glaciers that may have been disconnected from the waning Cordilleran ice sheet, the Finlay River area in the Omineca Mountains (Fig.…”

Section: Late-glacial Readvancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle

et al. 2016

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After more than a century of geological research, the Cordilleran ice sheet of North America remains among the least understood in terms of its former extent, volume, and dynamics. Because of the mountainous topography on which the ice sheet formed, geological studies have often had only local or regional relevance and shown such a complexity that ice-sheet-wide spatial reconstructions of advance and retreat patterns are lacking. Here we use a numerical ice sheet model calibrated against field-based evidence to attempt a quantitative reconstruction of the Cordilleran ice sheet history through the last glacial cycle. A series of simulations is driven by time-dependent temperature offsets from six proxy records located around the globe. Although this approach reveals large variations in model response to evolving climate forcing, all simulations produce two major glaciations during marine oxygen isotope stages 4 (62.2-56.9 ka) and 2 (23.2-16.9 ka). The timing of glaciation is better reproduced using temperature reconstructions from Greenland and Antarctic ice cores than from regional oceanic sediment cores. During most of the last glacial cycle, the modelled ice cover is discontinuous and restricted to high mountain areas. However, widespread precipitation over the Skeena Mountains favours the persistence of a central ice dome throughout the glacial cycle. It acts as a nucleation centre before the Last Glacial Maximum and hosts the last remains of Cordilleran ice until the middle Holocene (6.7 ka).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Late-glacial Readvancementioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle

et al. 2016

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“…Local Last Glacial Maximum. As sea level rose, the western, shelf-based margin of the ice sheet disintegrated by calving (Clague & Ward 2011). The position of the ice divide in north-central British Columbia is after Stumpf et al (2000) and McCuaig & Roberts (2002).…”

Section: Later Stages Of the Deglaciationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retreat pattern of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in central British Columbia at the end of the last glaciation reconstructed from glacial meltwater landforms

Margold

Jansson

Klemån

et al. 2013

Boreas

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2013 (October): Retreat pattern of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in central British Columbia at the end of the last glaciation reconstructed from glacial meltwater landforms.The Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) covered much of the mountainous northwestern part of North America at least several times during the Pleistocene. The pattern and timing of its growth and decay are, however, poorly understood. Here, we present a reconstruction of the pattern of ice-sheet retreat in central British Columbia at the end of the last glaciation based on a palaeoglaciological interpretation of ice-marginal meltwater channels, eskers and deltas mapped from satellite imagery and digital elevation models. A consistent spatial pattern of highelevation (1600-2400 m a.s.l.), ice-marginal meltwater channels is evident across central British Columbia. These landforms indicate the presence of ice domes over the Skeena Mountains and the central Coast Mountains early during deglaciation. Ice sourced in the Coast Mountains remained dominant over the southern and east-central parts of the Interior Plateau during deglaciation. Our reconstruction shows a successive westward retreat of the ice margin from the western foot of the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by the formation and rapid evolution of a glacial lake in the upper Fraser River basin. The final stage of deglaciation is characterized by the frontal retreat of ice lobes through the valleys of the Skeena and Omineca Mountains and by the formation of large esker systems in the most prominent topographic lows of the Interior Plateau. We conclude that the CIS underwent a large-scale reconfiguration early during deglaciation and was subsequently diminished by thinning and complex frontal retreat towards the Coast Mountains.

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“…During the last glacial maximum (Late Wisconsinian, ca. 17 000 BP), British Columbia and NW Montana were covered by the Cordilleran ice sheet, with the exception of a few nunataks (Clague & Ward ). This ice sheet reached SW Yukon and coastal Alaska from the south, while large parts of the Yukon and interior Alaska (Beringia) remained ice‐free (Hultén ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timberline meadows along a 1000‐km transect in NW North America: species diversity and community patterns

Wagner

Spribille

Abrahamczyk

et al. 2013

Applied Vegetation Science

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Pleistocene Glaciation of British Columbia

Cited by 49 publications

References 58 publications

Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle

Numerical simulations of the Cordilleran ice sheet through the last glacial cycle

Retreat pattern of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in central British Columbia at the end of the last glaciation reconstructed from glacial meltwater landforms

Timberline meadows along a 1000‐km transect in NW North America: species diversity and community patterns

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