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Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America

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SESSION NO. 3<br />

Michigan and Lake Erie lobes option 3 seems unlikely. This comparison can not distinguish<br />

between options 1 and 2.<br />

3-4 9:00 AM Carson, Eric C. [218824]<br />

RADIOCARBON CONTROL FOR THE ADVANCE OF THE GREEN BAY LOBE TO ITS LATE<br />

WISCONSIN (MIS 2) MAXIMUM POSITION AT DEVILS LAKE, SOUTH-CENTRAL WISCONSIN<br />

CARSON, Eric C., Department <strong>of</strong> Environmental Sciences, Wisconsin <strong>Geological</strong> and<br />

Natural History Survey, Madison, WI 53705, eccarson@wisc.edu and ATTIG, John W.,<br />

Department <strong>of</strong> Environmental Sciences, Wisconsin <strong>Geological</strong> and Natural History Survey,<br />

3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705<br />

Currently there are few reliable numerical age estimates that constrain the timing <strong>of</strong> the maximum<br />

extent <strong>of</strong> the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the midcontinent, a problem that largely reflects the<br />

scarcity <strong>of</strong> radiocarbon dates that closely constrain late Wisconsin glacial events. To improve our<br />

understanding <strong>of</strong> the timing <strong>of</strong> the last glacial advance and retreat, recent research (e.g., Attig<br />

et al., 2011; Carson et al., 2012) has begun dating lacustrine sediment deposited in a range <strong>of</strong><br />

environments along the margin <strong>of</strong> the Green Bay lobe in south-central Wisconsin. The specific<br />

geomorphic settings <strong>of</strong> these lacustrine deposits allow unequivocal correlation <strong>of</strong> the sediment<br />

to discrete late Wisconsin glacial events, thus providing chronologic control that has previously<br />

been lacking.<br />

While previously published data from this research program addresses the timing <strong>of</strong> onset <strong>of</strong><br />

retreat <strong>of</strong> ice from the last maximum position, new data is shedding light on the timing <strong>of</strong> the end<br />

<strong>of</strong> ice advance to its maximum extent (locally known as the Johnstown phase). The Baraboo Hills<br />

in south-central Wisconsin are formed by a doubly-plunging anticline <strong>of</strong> the Precambrian Baraboo<br />

quartzite. Devils Lake gorge cuts through the south range <strong>of</strong> the Baraboo Hills. The gorge was<br />

blocked at both ends by late Wisconsin ice, creating a lake during the glacial maximum and the<br />

lower, modern, Devils Lake during post-glacial time. We collected a 9.1-m core into laminated silty<br />

lacustrine sediments immediately south <strong>of</strong> Devils Lake; the base <strong>of</strong> the core is 9.2 m higher than<br />

modern lake level, suggesting that the sediment could only have been deposited when sediment<br />

and ice were completely blocking both ends <strong>of</strong> the gorge. Three radiocarbon dates from plant<br />

macr<strong>of</strong>ossils in an organic-rich zone near the base <strong>of</strong> the core range between 20,480 +/- 100<br />

14C yr BP (24,890 – 24,050 cal yr BP) and 19,100 +/- 80 14C yr BP (23,290 – 23,060 cal yr BP),<br />

indicating that the Green Bay Lobe had advanced to its maximum position by that time. These<br />

dates represent the first direct absolute age control for the timing <strong>of</strong> the end <strong>of</strong> the Green Bay<br />

lobe’s advance to its late Wisconsin maximum position, and one <strong>of</strong> few such chronologic controls<br />

along the southern Laurentide ice sheet.<br />

3-5 9:20 AM Schaetzl, Randall [218188]<br />

OSL AGES ON LOESS CONSTRAIN THE ADVANCE OF THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY LOBE IN<br />

WESTERN WISCONSIN, USA<br />

SCHAETZL, Randall, Geography, Michigan State University, 128 Geog Bldg, Michigan<br />

State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, soils@msu.edu, FORMAN, Steven L., Earth and<br />

Environmental Sciences, University <strong>of</strong> Illinois at Chicago, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL<br />

60607, and ATTIG, John W., Department <strong>of</strong> Environmental Sciences, Wisconsin <strong>Geological</strong><br />

and Natural History Survey, 3817 Mineral Point Road, Madison, WI 53705<br />

The timing <strong>of</strong> the advance and recession <strong>of</strong> the Chippewa Valley Lobe in west-central Wisconsin<br />

is poorly constrained, mainly because <strong>of</strong> the lack <strong>of</strong> closely controlled radiocarbon dates. To<br />

that end, we present the first OSL ages on loess for west-central Wisconsin, which constrain<br />

the advance <strong>of</strong> the Laurentide Ice Sheet out <strong>of</strong> the Lake Superior basin and into this region<br />

during the last part <strong>of</strong> the Wisconsin glaciation. The Chippewa River flows south, perpendicular<br />

to the terminal moraine, and eventually becomes confluent <strong>with</strong> the Mississippi River. After the<br />

advancing glacier crossed the southern edge <strong>of</strong> the Lake Superior basin and reached a drainage<br />

divide in northwestern Wisconsin, meltwater flowed into the northern part <strong>of</strong> the Chippewa<br />

drainage basin, and continued to flow there until the ice margin retreated back, across the divide.<br />

Today, loess covers bedrock uplands that lie scattered on either side <strong>of</strong> the river, just beyond the<br />

terminal moraine. Spatial patterns <strong>of</strong> particle-size data on loess, from 125 upland sites throughout<br />

the Chippewa basin, clearly show that this loess was derived from the sandy valley trains <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Chippewa River and its tributaries - all <strong>of</strong> which drained the ice front. The loess exceeds 5 m in<br />

thickness at sites near the widest valley train areas, in areas only a few km beyond the moraine.<br />

Using deep cores recovered from five ridge-top sites, we dated 12 loess samples - solely from<br />

depths > 3 m - using MAR OSL methods. The oldest age for basal loess on bedrock was ca<br />

24 ka, which constrains the timing <strong>of</strong> the advance <strong>of</strong> the southern margin <strong>of</strong> the Laurentide<br />

Ice Sheet out <strong>of</strong> the Superior basin, across the drainage divide, and into the drainage <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Chippewa River. The remaining OSL ages from the deep loess, taken only slightly higher in the<br />

stratigraphic column, range between 19.7 and 12.3 ka, suggesting that the Chippewa Valley was a<br />

loess source for several millennia, and that most <strong>of</strong> the loess was deposited during ice recession.<br />

OSL ages from loess <strong>with</strong>in 3 to 3.5 m <strong>of</strong> the surface are abnormally young, presumably due to<br />

post-depositional mixing.<br />

3-6 10:00 AM Esch, John M. [218821]<br />

BURIED BEDROCK VALLEYS OF MICHIGAN<br />

ESCH, John M., Michigan Dept. <strong>of</strong> Environmental Quality, Office <strong>of</strong> Oil, Gas, and Minerals,<br />

P.O. 30256, Lansing, MI 48909, eschj@michigan.gov<br />

In the glaciated Midwest, much can be learned about the geological history <strong>of</strong> an area by<br />

mapping the bedrock surface topography and the buried bedrock valleys. In Michigan, a complex<br />

and very irregular bedrock surface underlies the thickest glacial drift on land in North <strong>America</strong>. In<br />

general, the bedrock surface has well defined buried bedrock valley networks <strong>with</strong> tributaries and<br />

main bedrock valleys which can run for tens <strong>of</strong> miles. These <strong>of</strong>ten appear to be in inferred preglacial<br />

bedrock drainage basins <strong>with</strong> bedrock surface divides. Other buried bedrock valleys cross<br />

bedrock surface divides and cut through broad bedrock highlands and cuestas. Some bedrock<br />

valleys are in a nearly parallel pattern over large areas. In other places, the bedrock valleys are<br />

short, relatively straight disconnected valleys. Sometimes these appear to be imprinted over<br />

an already existing pre-glacial bedrock valley network. There are also broad regional bedrock<br />

lowlands and local fjord-like bedrock troughs. Some bedrock valleys and scarps directly overlie<br />

deeper structural features. Often bedrock valleys are found preferentially in less resistant bedrock<br />

formations. In addition some areas are essentially devoid <strong>of</strong> bedrock valleys.<br />

There is considerable debate as to the origin <strong>of</strong> bedrock valleys, but no single mechanism<br />

can account for these widely varying bedrock valley types. The extensive buried bedrock valley<br />

network suggests that much <strong>of</strong> the bedrock surface is a slightly glacially modified pre-glacial<br />

bedrock surface, the result <strong>of</strong> long history <strong>of</strong> pre-glacial uplift and erosion (post Pennsylvanian<br />

and post Jurassic). In other places the bedrock surface has also been sculpted by numerous<br />

paleo-river channels cut into the bedrock during the numerous glacial ice advances, interglacial<br />

periods and the postglacial period over the last 2.5 million years. While in other areas, the bedrock<br />

surface has been significantly eroded by direct glacial erosion removing the bedrock valleys.<br />

4 2013 GSA <strong>Abstracts</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Programs</strong><br />

Knowledge <strong>of</strong> the location <strong>of</strong> bedrock valleys may assist in exploration for potential glacial<br />

aquifers in bedrock valleys, and in seismic data processing for oil and gas exploration. These<br />

bedrock valleys, especially the deeper ones, may contain older glacial, interglacial or pre-Tertiary<br />

sediments and paleosols which may be <strong>of</strong> value for geological age dating.<br />

3-7 10:20 AM Walters, Kent A. [218432]<br />

A CASE FOR STEP-WISE RETREAT OF THE LAURENTIDE ICE SHEET DURING THE<br />

YOUNGER DRYAS: CENTRAL UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN<br />

WALTERS, Kent A., Department <strong>of</strong> Geology, The University <strong>of</strong> Cincinnati, 500 Geology<br />

Physics Building, Cincinnati, OH 45221, walterkr@mail.uc.edu, LOWELL, Thomas V.,<br />

Department <strong>of</strong> Geology, University <strong>of</strong> Cincinnati, 500 Geology/Physics Building, University<br />

<strong>of</strong> Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, and PUTNAM, Aaron E., Lamont-Doherty Earth<br />

Observatory, Columbia University, 217 Comer, 61 Route 9W - PO Box 1000, Palisades,<br />

NY 10964<br />

The Younger Dryas (YD) is a well-known paleoclimatic event from 12.9-11.6 cal ka BP. Although<br />

the response <strong>of</strong> small glaciers to climate change is well established, far less is known how large<br />

glaciers like the Laurentide Ice sheet (LIS) respond to rapid climate change during events like<br />

the Younger Dryas. This study investigates the right lateral moraines <strong>of</strong> the Green Bay lobe <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Laurentide Ice Sheet in central Upper Peninsula <strong>of</strong> Michigan. Here and in adjacent Wisconsin,<br />

the LIS buried two forest beds (Two Creeks and Lake Gribben) and the ages <strong>of</strong> 13.7 and 11.6 cal<br />

ka BP, respectively, indicate that the ice sheet occupied this region during Younger Dryas time.<br />

Hypothesis for ice sheet behavior during this time include (i) retreat some 200 km across Lake<br />

Superior before the YD and the same length readvance during the YD and (ii) limited readvance<br />

at the end <strong>of</strong> the YD.<br />

To test these possibilities this study employed the USGS 10 m digital elevation model to<br />

map surficial glacial landforms and added 25 new radiocarbon dates to refine the ice-sheet<br />

deglaciation chronology. Mapping revealed at least four and perhaps as many as seven<br />

successive ice-contact margin positions between the Two Creeks and Lake Gribben locations<br />

suggesting a step-wise retreat. Radiocarbon dates indicate the LIS retreated across the region<br />

from 12.8 to 11.4 cal ka BP and then readvanced at 11.3 cal ka BP. This implies that during most<br />

<strong>of</strong> the YD the ice sheet was in retreat <strong>with</strong> a readvance occurring after the YD. If the LIS retreated<br />

in a step wise manner during the YD, it may imply warmer summers or high solar insolation values<br />

as the mechanism controlling the ice sheet margin at this time.<br />

3-8 10:40 AM Colgan, Patrick M. [218673]<br />

EVIDENCE FOR DISTRIBUTION AND THICKNESS OF ATHENS SUB-EPISODE AND OLDER<br />

SEDIMENTS IN OTTAWA COUNTY, MICHIGAN<br />

COLGAN, Patrick M., Geology, Grand Valley State University, 132 Padnos Hall <strong>of</strong> Science,<br />

1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI 49401-9403, colganp@gvsu.edu<br />

Previous researchers have mapped and provided multiple radiocarbon ages for buried organic<br />

matter below Michigan Sub-episode age glacial tills in Lower Michigan. A 43 meter long rotosonic<br />

core to bedrock was recovered in August 2012 by Western Michigan University’s Hydrogeology<br />

Field School at Hemlock Crossing County Park in Ottawa County, Michigan. The core contains<br />

organic wood fragments in sand lying below the Saugatuck/Ganges tills and lying above Glen<br />

Shores till, and older unnamed units. The isolated wood fragments yield an AMS radiocarbon<br />

age <strong>of</strong> 37,840 ± 400 C14 years BP (41,920 to 42,950 calendar years BP two sigma error, Beta-<br />

329000). This age is <strong>with</strong>in the uncertainty <strong>of</strong> three finite ages previously obtained by researchers<br />

at the Glen Shores Section in Allegan County. This suggests an Athens Sub-episode age for<br />

the organic sand and a possible pre-Athens Sub-episode age for the Glenn Shores till and<br />

unnamed units.<br />

Similar buried organic material in sand between till units are common in Ottawa County,<br />

occurring in two clusters as reported in water well records. More than 200 water-well-records<br />

report buried organic materials well below the land surface. Of these well records, 137 appear to<br />

correlate to the Athens Sub-episode age organics in the Hemlock Crossing County Park core. The<br />

largest cluster occurs over a broad area north <strong>of</strong> the Grand River, and a smaller cluster occurs<br />

south <strong>of</strong> Pigeon Creek. The average depth <strong>of</strong> the top <strong>of</strong> the organic layer is 28 ± 16 m (2 sigma)<br />

and at an average elevation <strong>of</strong> 167 ± 28 m (2 sigma) above mean sea level. This is about 10<br />

meters below the mean lake level <strong>of</strong> Lake Michigan. The mean thickness <strong>of</strong> the organic sand is<br />

about 3 meters.<br />

Continuing research examining the glacial till(s) <strong>of</strong> pre-Athens Sub-episode age in the Hemlock<br />

Crossing Core will attempt to correlate these units to known units. Other yet unnamed units may<br />

also be defined. These tills could be <strong>of</strong> any age and could correlate to MIS-4 (early Wisconsin<br />

Glaciation/Episode), MIS-6 (Illinois Glaciation/Episode), or older pre-Illinoian glaciations recorded<br />

in the marine oxygen isotope records from ocean sediments and ice cores.<br />

3-9 11:00 AM Curry, B. Brandon [218573]<br />

SUPERPOSED ICE-WALLED LAKE DEPOSITS, NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS<br />

CURRY, B. Brandon, Prairie Research Institute, Illinois State <strong>Geological</strong> Survey, Champaign,<br />

IL 61820, b-curry@illinois.edu<br />

A complex <strong>of</strong> ice-walled lake plains occurs in and around Woodstock, Illinois. One ice-walled<br />

lake plain stands out from the rest (-88.4113˚W, 42.2571˚N). It is nearly circular, about 1.1 km<br />

across, <strong>with</strong> an unusual central kettle about 0.4 km across. Five cores <strong>of</strong> this landform have been<br />

sampled. Facies architecture, radiocarbon ages <strong>of</strong> entombed tundra plants, and geomorphology<br />

collectively indicate two stages <strong>of</strong> ice-walled lake development. Gray, silty clay diamicton <strong>of</strong><br />

the Yorkville Member (Lemont Formation; Livingston Phase) underlies the glaciolacustrine<br />

complex forming the ice-walled lake plain, but sediment cores sampled adjacent to the landform<br />

reveal patches <strong>of</strong> dolomite-rich, pebbly sandy loam diamicton <strong>of</strong> the Haeger Member (Lemont<br />

Formation; Woodstock Phase) that cover the fine-grained Yorkville unit. The margin <strong>of</strong> the icewalled<br />

lake plain is covered by about 1.7 m <strong>of</strong> well-sorted, fining-upward medium sand. The sand<br />

pinches out approaching the kettle’s edge. The underlying fossiliferous lacustrine sediment is as<br />

much as 7.5 m thick.<br />

The two stages <strong>of</strong> development are reflected in five radiocarbon ages (each <strong>with</strong> < 30 yrs<br />

sigma-one error) <strong>of</strong> Dryas integrifolia found in the lacustrine faces. The first stage lasted from<br />

about 21,870 to 21,460 cal yr BP during deglaciation <strong>of</strong> the Livingston Phase. The second stage<br />

occurred from about 18,720 to 17,870 cal yr BP during deglaciation <strong>of</strong> the Woodstock Phase.<br />

The lack <strong>of</strong> 14C ages spanning from about 21,460 to 18,720 cal yr BP also is observed from the<br />

composite <strong>of</strong> more than 40 radiocarbon ages associated <strong>with</strong> ice-walled lakes in Illinois. The<br />

hiatus is also observed in 15 14C ages <strong>of</strong> plant fossils from the nearby De Kalb mounds. The lack<br />

<strong>of</strong> physical evidence for the nonconformity in sediment cores such as clay mineral alteration or<br />

changes in bedding or grain-size suggests that the active layer did not thaw; the landscape was<br />

physically and chemically inert during this time <strong>of</strong> extremely cold summer temperatures.

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