Glacial erosion and sediment dispersion from detrital cosmogenic nuclide analyses of till

Jane Willenbring Staiger; John Gosse; Edward C. Little; Daniel J. Utting; Robert Finkel; Jesse V. Johnson; James Fastook

doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2006.06.009

Glacial erosion and sediment dispersion from detrital cosmogenic nuclide analyses of till

Jane Willenbring Staiger
, John Gosse
, Edward C. Little
, Daniel J. Utting
, Robert Finkel
, Jesse V. Johnson
, James Fastook

Computer Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Field evidence based on sedimentology, geomorphology, and sediment provenance, supported by thermo-mechanical ice sheet model simulations, are used to classify the thermal regime of paleo-ice cover in northern central Baffin and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of those conditions. A new means to identify paleo-glacier polythermal conditions from the measurement of terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) in till was developed to test the assertion that glacial erosion and till production are partially controlled by the thermal regime at the base of a glacier. Concentrations of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al in 19 till samples from north central Baffin Island reflect the spatial pattern of areas classified as warm-based or cold-based (end member) systems. An ice sheet simulation of bed conditions produces the same pattern. The ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratio is also used to confirm the long cold-based ice burial histories of surfaces that have not been significantly eroded. The data suggest that till and regolith near the current terminus of the Oliver Glacier preserve a record of >3 Ma of continuous glacial cover. In three localities resembling intermediate cases (i.e., where field observations yield conflicting interpretations of basal thermal regime), the TCN concentrations and ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be reveal that the surface experienced a combination of cold-based ice burial and glacial erosion. When coupled with a high-resolution ice sheet model, the ¹⁰Be concentrations in till provide a more robust means of establishing the temporal and spatial variability in glacial erosion, and can be an important new tool for mineral exploration in glaciated terrain.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	29-42
Number of pages	14
Journal	Quaternary Geochronology
Volume	1
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2006.06.009
State	Published - Feb 2006

Funding

The authors would like to thank David Huntley (GSC-C), Greg Balco and an anonymous reviewer for reviewing an early draft of this paper and providing insightful comments. For discussions and support in the field, we thank Art Dyke, Andrew Hilchey, Mike Young, and Phil Holme. G. Yang's and E. Willenbring's help in the laboratory is greatly appreciated. Helicopter support was provided by Custom Helicopters Ltd.; thanks also to Jamie Boles, our pilot. We thank Gary Fisher (Tailored Polymers Group at DRDC) and Gwen MacPherson (U. Kansas) for ICP-AES analyses. Funding for this project was provided by the ACOA Atlantic Innovation Fund 1001052 and NSERC Discovery Grant to JCG, and Canada–Nunavut Geoscience Office (Project 040001) and the Polar Continental Shelf Project (03-2) support to ECL. J.W.S. acknowledges the Izaak Walton Killam Foundation for a pre-doctoral fellowship. Appendix A

Funders	Funder number
1001052
Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office	03-2, 040001

Keywords

Basal thermal regime
Cold-based
Cosmogenic
Drift prospecting
Erosion
Glacial
Glacial erosion
Ice
TCN
Till production
Warm-based

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10.1016/j.quageo.2006.06.009

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@article{7cdea32da7954dacabba69e0b34e008c,

title = "Glacial erosion and sediment dispersion from detrital cosmogenic nuclide analyses of till",

abstract = "Field evidence based on sedimentology, geomorphology, and sediment provenance, supported by thermo-mechanical ice sheet model simulations, are used to classify the thermal regime of paleo-ice cover in northern central Baffin and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of those conditions. A new means to identify paleo-glacier polythermal conditions from the measurement of terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) in till was developed to test the assertion that glacial erosion and till production are partially controlled by the thermal regime at the base of a glacier. Concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in 19 till samples from north central Baffin Island reflect the spatial pattern of areas classified as warm-based or cold-based (end member) systems. An ice sheet simulation of bed conditions produces the same pattern. The 26Al/10Be ratio is also used to confirm the long cold-based ice burial histories of surfaces that have not been significantly eroded. The data suggest that till and regolith near the current terminus of the Oliver Glacier preserve a record of >3 Ma of continuous glacial cover. In three localities resembling intermediate cases (i.e., where field observations yield conflicting interpretations of basal thermal regime), the TCN concentrations and 26Al/10Be reveal that the surface experienced a combination of cold-based ice burial and glacial erosion. When coupled with a high-resolution ice sheet model, the 10Be concentrations in till provide a more robust means of establishing the temporal and spatial variability in glacial erosion, and can be an important new tool for mineral exploration in glaciated terrain.",

keywords = "Basal thermal regime, Cold-based, Cosmogenic, Drift prospecting, Erosion, Glacial, Glacial erosion, Ice, TCN, Till production, Warm-based",

author = "Staiger, \{Jane Willenbring\} and John Gosse and Little, \{Edward C.\} and Utting, \{Daniel J.\} and Robert Finkel and Johnson, \{Jesse V.\} and James Fastook",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank David Huntley (GSC-C), Greg Balco and an anonymous reviewer for reviewing an early draft of this paper and providing insightful comments. For discussions and support in the field, we thank Art Dyke, Andrew Hilchey, Mike Young, and Phil Holme. G. Yang's and E. Willenbring's help in the laboratory is greatly appreciated. Helicopter support was provided by Custom Helicopters Ltd.; thanks also to Jamie Boles, our pilot. We thank Gary Fisher (Tailored Polymers Group at DRDC) and Gwen MacPherson (U. Kansas) for ICP-AES analyses. Funding for this project was provided by the ACOA Atlantic Innovation Fund 1001052 and NSERC Discovery Grant to JCG, and Canada–Nunavut Geoscience Office (Project 040001) and the Polar Continental Shelf Project (03-2) support to ECL. J.W.S. acknowledges the Izaak Walton Killam Foundation for a pre-doctoral fellowship. Appendix A ",

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doi = "10.1016/j.quageo.2006.06.009",

language = "English",

volume = "1",

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journal = "Quaternary Geochronology",

issn = "1871-1014",

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T1 - Glacial erosion and sediment dispersion from detrital cosmogenic nuclide analyses of till

AU - Staiger, Jane Willenbring

AU - Gosse, John

AU - Little, Edward C.

AU - Utting, Daniel J.

AU - Finkel, Robert

AU - Johnson, Jesse V.

AU - Fastook, James

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank David Huntley (GSC-C), Greg Balco and an anonymous reviewer for reviewing an early draft of this paper and providing insightful comments. For discussions and support in the field, we thank Art Dyke, Andrew Hilchey, Mike Young, and Phil Holme. G. Yang's and E. Willenbring's help in the laboratory is greatly appreciated. Helicopter support was provided by Custom Helicopters Ltd.; thanks also to Jamie Boles, our pilot. We thank Gary Fisher (Tailored Polymers Group at DRDC) and Gwen MacPherson (U. Kansas) for ICP-AES analyses. Funding for this project was provided by the ACOA Atlantic Innovation Fund 1001052 and NSERC Discovery Grant to JCG, and Canada–Nunavut Geoscience Office (Project 040001) and the Polar Continental Shelf Project (03-2) support to ECL. J.W.S. acknowledges the Izaak Walton Killam Foundation for a pre-doctoral fellowship. Appendix A

PY - 2006/2

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N2 - Field evidence based on sedimentology, geomorphology, and sediment provenance, supported by thermo-mechanical ice sheet model simulations, are used to classify the thermal regime of paleo-ice cover in northern central Baffin and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of those conditions. A new means to identify paleo-glacier polythermal conditions from the measurement of terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) in till was developed to test the assertion that glacial erosion and till production are partially controlled by the thermal regime at the base of a glacier. Concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in 19 till samples from north central Baffin Island reflect the spatial pattern of areas classified as warm-based or cold-based (end member) systems. An ice sheet simulation of bed conditions produces the same pattern. The 26Al/10Be ratio is also used to confirm the long cold-based ice burial histories of surfaces that have not been significantly eroded. The data suggest that till and regolith near the current terminus of the Oliver Glacier preserve a record of >3 Ma of continuous glacial cover. In three localities resembling intermediate cases (i.e., where field observations yield conflicting interpretations of basal thermal regime), the TCN concentrations and 26Al/10Be reveal that the surface experienced a combination of cold-based ice burial and glacial erosion. When coupled with a high-resolution ice sheet model, the 10Be concentrations in till provide a more robust means of establishing the temporal and spatial variability in glacial erosion, and can be an important new tool for mineral exploration in glaciated terrain.

AB - Field evidence based on sedimentology, geomorphology, and sediment provenance, supported by thermo-mechanical ice sheet model simulations, are used to classify the thermal regime of paleo-ice cover in northern central Baffin and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of those conditions. A new means to identify paleo-glacier polythermal conditions from the measurement of terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) in till was developed to test the assertion that glacial erosion and till production are partially controlled by the thermal regime at the base of a glacier. Concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al in 19 till samples from north central Baffin Island reflect the spatial pattern of areas classified as warm-based or cold-based (end member) systems. An ice sheet simulation of bed conditions produces the same pattern. The 26Al/10Be ratio is also used to confirm the long cold-based ice burial histories of surfaces that have not been significantly eroded. The data suggest that till and regolith near the current terminus of the Oliver Glacier preserve a record of >3 Ma of continuous glacial cover. In three localities resembling intermediate cases (i.e., where field observations yield conflicting interpretations of basal thermal regime), the TCN concentrations and 26Al/10Be reveal that the surface experienced a combination of cold-based ice burial and glacial erosion. When coupled with a high-resolution ice sheet model, the 10Be concentrations in till provide a more robust means of establishing the temporal and spatial variability in glacial erosion, and can be an important new tool for mineral exploration in glaciated terrain.

KW - Basal thermal regime

KW - Cold-based

KW - Cosmogenic

KW - Drift prospecting

KW - Erosion

KW - Glacial

KW - Glacial erosion

KW - Ice

KW - TCN

KW - Till production

KW - Warm-based

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DO - 10.1016/j.quageo.2006.06.009

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:34548025835

SN - 1871-1014

VL - 1

SP - 29

EP - 42

JO - Quaternary Geochronology

JF - Quaternary Geochronology

IS - 1

ER -

Glacial erosion and sediment dispersion from detrital cosmogenic nuclide analyses of till

Abstract

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Keywords

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