A Proposed Diachronic Revision of Late Quaternary Time-Stratigraphic Classification in the Eastern and Northern Great Lakes Area

2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Karrow ◽  
Aleksis Dreimanis ◽  
Peter J. Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Quaternary Deposits ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Stratigraphic Nomenclature ◽  
Lake Michigan Lobe

A succession of stratigraphic codes (1933, 1961, 1983) has guided attempts to refine classifications and naming of stratigraphic units for Quaternary deposits of the Great Lakes region. The most recent classifications for the late Quaternary of the Lake Michigan lobe (1968) and the eastern Great Lakes (1972) have been widely used, but later work has created the need for revision. An attempt has been made to integrate the two previous classifications following the diachronic system of the 1983 Code of Stratigraphic Nomenclature. A new nomenclature for the higher, more broadly recognized units was presented in 1997. We here present the diachronic nomenclature for finer subdivisions recognized in the eastern and northern Great Lakes. Following the interglacial Sangamon Episode, the three parts of the Wisconsin Episode are further subdivided as follows: the Ontario Subepisode (former Early Wisconsinan) comprises the Greenwood, Willowvale, and Guildwood phases; the Elgin Subepisode (former Middle Wisconsinan) comprises the Port Talbot, Brimley, and Farmdale phases; and the Michigan Subepisode (former Late Wisconsinan) consists of Nissouri, Erie, Port Bruce, Mackinaw, Port Huron, Two Creeks, Onaway, Gribben, Marquette, Abitibi, and Driftwood phases. Succeeding interglacial time to the present is the Hudson Episode.

Retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from 14,000 to 9000 Years Ago

1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Lake Superior ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Forward Movement ◽  
Western Lake ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Lake Michigan Lobe

The intricate pattern of moraines of the Laurentide ice sheet in the Great Lakes region reflects the marked lobation of the ice margin in late Wisconsin time, and this in turn reflects the distribution of steam-cut lowlands etched in preglacial times in the weak-rock belts of gentle Paleozoic fold structures. It is difficult to trace and correlate moraines from lobe to lobe and to evaluate the magnitude of recession before readvance, but three breaks stand out in the sequence, with readvances at about 14,500, 13,000, and 11,500 years ago. The first, corresponding to the Cary advance of the Lake Michigan lobe, is represented to the west by distant advance of the Des Moines lobe in Iowa, and to the east by the overriding of lake beds by the Erie lobe. The 13,000-year advance is best represented by the Port Huron moraine of the Lake Michigan and Huron lobes, but by relatively little action to west and east. The 11,500-year advance is based on the Valders till of the Lake Michigan lobe, but presumed correlations to east and west prove to be generally older, and the question is raised that these and some other ice advances in the Great Lakes region may represent surges of the ice rather than regional climatic change. Surging may involve the buildup of subglacial meltwater, which can provide the basal sliding necessary for rapid forward movement. It would be most favored by the conditions in the western Lake Superior basin, where the Superior lobe had a suitable form and thermal regime, as estimated from geomorphic and paleoclimatic criteria. The Valders advance of the Lake Michigan and Green Bay lobes may also have resulted from a surge: the eastern part of the Lake Superior basin, whence the ice advanced, has a pattern of deep gorges that resemble subglacial tunnel valleys, which imply great quantities of subglacial water that may have produced glacial surges before the water became channeled.

Absence of Glaciation in Illinois during Marine Isotope Stages 3 through 5

1996 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Brandon Curry ◽  
Milan J. Pavich
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Argillic Horizon ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Lake Michigan Lobe

A10Be inventory and14C ages of material from a core from northernmost Illinois support previous interpretations that this area was ice free from ca. 155,000 to 25,000 yr ago. During much of this period, from about 155,000 to 55,000 yr ago, 10Be accumulated in the argillic horizon of the Sangamon Geosol. Wisconsinan loess, containing inherited 10Be, was deposited above the Sangamon Geosol from ca. 55,000 to 25,000 yr ago and was subsequently buried by late Wisconsinan till deposited by the Lake Michigan Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The Sangamonian interglacial stage has been correlated narrowly to marine oxygen isotope substage 5e; our data indicate instead that the Sangamon Geosol developed during late stage 6, all of stages 5 and 4, and early stage 3.

Aztalan and the Northern Tier of a Cahokia Hinterland

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Illinois River ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Upper Great Lakes ◽  
Illinois River Valley ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Western Shore ◽  
Central Illinois

Cahokia’s northern hinterland can be conceptualized as extending north from the central Illinois River valley into the western and upper Great Lakes region. The northern tier of this hinterland can be thought of as a region north of the Apple River area of northwest Illinois and south of a line extending east from the mouth of the St. Croix River to the western shore of Lake Michigan. This area includes a wide range of landscapes, biotas, and cultures and this diversity is mirrored in the Cahokia-related manifestations found throughout the region. This chapter provides a brief comparison of three northern tier sites/complexes including Trempealeau, Fred Edwards, and Aztalan in order to highlight the diversity of Mississippian-related occupations in the area.

scholarly journals THE MAIN ORE UNLOADING DOCK FAILURES AND THEIR CORRECTION 1909-1925, GREAT LAKES REGION

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
E. James Fucik
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
The South ◽  
Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Chicago River

To start at the beginning of Chicago's lake structures (and first attempts to hold back ware action) we will go back about 120 years, to the year 1833. At that time an Illinois Congressman put through Congress an appropriation of $25,000 to construct a harbor at the south end of Lake Michigan (Fig. 1). At that time the Chicago River was navigable only by canoes. That Congressman, however, argued that the harbor should be located eleven miles south at the Calumet River. He was out-argued by a Captain of the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, who prevailed, and two 500 foot piers were built at the mouth of the Chicago River. The Congressman's name was Stephen A. Douglass and the Captain's name was Jefferson Davis, who evidently was a very persuasive fellow. These piers were either wooden cribs filled with stone, or stone-filled pile piers.

scholarly journals Stratigraphy and correlation of the Late Wisconsinan glacial events in the Lake Michigan basin

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. B. Evenson ◽  
D. M. Mickelson ◽  
W. R. Farrand
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Michigan Basin ◽  
Glacial Retreat ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
A Minor

Meaningful correlations of late glacial events between areas as distant as the Great Lakes and southern Quebec depend on the establishment of detailed local chronologies, mostly from studies in the Lake Michigan basin and the St. Lawrence lowland now holding the most promise for a radiometrically controlled record of the late glacial (ca. 14,000-8000). Based on recent investigations in the Lake Michigan region, we propose a revision in the déglaciation pattern and stratigraphie nomenclature. Although oscillatory glacial retreat began to dominate over readvance about 17,000 years BP, we define late Wisconsinan as beginning at ca. 14,000 when the ice withdrew from the Lake Border Morainic system. Following the Cary-Port Huron retreat, the ice read-vanced (350 km) depositing the red Shorewood Till. This was followed by a minor retreat and then by deposition of the Manitowoc Till. Continued retreat eventually uncovered an eastward outlet and Lake Chicago dropped to the Two Creeks low-water level. This déglaciation was not as extensive as previously assumed. The post-Twocreekan readvance (125 km) to the Two Rivers moraine oc-cured around 11,850 years BP. This sequence argues for a normal, climatically controlled progressive déglaciation rather than one interrupted by a major post-Twocreekan (formally Valderan) surge. Based on the knowledge that the Valders Till is late Woodfordian in age we have proposed the time-stratigraphic term "Greatlakean" as a substitute for the now misleading term "Valderan".

scholarly journals Climate in the Great Lakes Region Between 14,000 and 4000 Years Ago from Isotopic Composition of Conifer Wood

Radiocarbon ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W Leavitt ◽  
Irina P Panyushkina ◽  
Todd Lange ◽  
Alex Wiedenhoeft ◽  
Li Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Floristic Similarity ◽  
Ancient Wood ◽  
Conifer Trees ◽  
Conifer Wood

The isotopic composition of ancient wood has the potential to provide information about past environments. We analyzed the δ13C, δ18O, and δ2H of cellulose of conifer trees from several cross-sections at each of 9 sites around the Great Lakes region ranging from ∼4000 to 14,000 cal BP. Isotopic values of Picea, Pinus, and Thuja species seem interchangeable for δ18O and δ2H comparisons, but Thuja appears distinctly different from the other 2 in its δ13C composition. Isotopic results suggest that the 2 sites of near-Younger Dryas age experienced the coldest conditions, although the Gribben Basin site near the Laurentide ice sheet was relatively dry, whereas the Liverpool site 500 km south was moister. The spatial isotopic variability of 3 of the 4 sites of Two Creeks age shows evidence of an elevation effect, perhaps related to sites farther inland from the Lake Michigan shoreline experiencing warmer daytime growing season temperatures. Thus, despite floristic similarity across sites (wood samples at 7 of the sites being Picea), the isotopes appear to reflect environmental differences that might not be readily evident from a purely floristic interpretation of macrofossil or pollen identification.

scholarly journals Greatlakean Substage: A Replacement for Valderan Substage in the Lake Michigan Basin

1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward B. Evenson ◽  
William R. Farrand ◽  
Donald F. Eschman ◽  
David M. Mickelson ◽  
Louis J. Maher
Keyword(s):  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Michigan Basin ◽  
Glacial Ice ◽  
The Times ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Stratigraphic Nomenclature ◽  
New Evidence

New evidence from recent field and seismic investigations in the Lake Michigan basin and in the type areas of the Valders, Two Creeks and Two Rivers deposits necessitates revision of late-glacial ice-front positions, rock- and time-stratigraphic nomenclature and climatic interpretations and deglaciation patterns for the period ca. 14,000–7,000 radiocarbon years B.P. The previously reported and long accepted pattern of deglaciation for the Lake Michigan basin started with a regular retreat from the Lake Border Morainic System, with a minor oscillation marked by the Port Huron moraine(s) and then an extensive Twocreekan deglaciation followed by a major (320 km) post-Twocreekan advance (Valders). However, we now record a major retreat between the times of the Lake Border and Port Huron moraines, followed by a gradual retreat from the Port Huron limit and interrupted by a minor standstill (deposition of Manitowoc Till), a retreat (Twocreekan) and a readvance (Two Rivers Till). No Woodfordian or younger readvance was as extensive as had been the preceding one. This sequence argues for a normal, climatically controlled, progressive deglaciation rather than one interrupted by a major post-Twocreekan (formerly Valderan) surge. This revision appears finally to harmonize the geologic evidence and the palynological record for the Great Lakes region. Our investigations show that Valders Till from which the Valderan Substage was named is late-Woodfordian in age. We propose the term “Greatlakean” as a replacement for the now misleading time-stratigraphic term “Valderan”. The type section and the definition of the upper and lower boundaries of the Greatlakean Substage remain the same as those originally proposed for the Valderan Substage but the name is changed.

Late Wisconsinan ice-flow reconstruction for the central Great Lakes region

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Irving Dworkin ◽  
Grahame J. Larson ◽  
G. William Monaghan
Keyword(s):  
Lake Michigan ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Heavy Mineral ◽  
Lake Huron ◽  
Georgian Bay ◽  
South Central ◽  
Mineral Assemblages ◽  
Specific Source ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Lake Michigan Lobe

Late Wisconsinan tills from the lower peninsula of Michigan can be differentiated with respect to the Lake Michigan, Saginaw, and Huron–Erie lobes on the basis of their heavy-mineral assemblages. Using discriminant analysis, the heavy-mineral assemblages can also be associated with specific source areas on the Canadian Shield. These associations suggest that (1) the Lake Michigan Lobe flowed southwestward across a region north of Lake Huron and then into southwestern Michigan; (2) the Saginaw Lobe flowed southwestward across a region northwest of Georgian Bay and then into south-central Michigan; and (3) the Huron–Erie Lobe flowed southwestward across a region north of Georgian Bay and then southward into southeastern Michigan.Comparison of the heavy-mineral assemblages of tills from southeastern Michigan with those from younger tills just south of Lake Huron indicates that a significant westward shift in source area occurred during the retreat of the Huron–Erie Lobe from southeastern Michigan.

Late Quaternary Temporal and Event Classifications, Great Lakes Region, North America

1997 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Hilton Johnson ◽  
Ardith K. Hansel ◽  
E. Arthur Bettis ◽  
Paul F. Karrow ◽  
Grahame J. Larson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Great Lakes Region

AbstractSeveral temporal and event classifications are used for the Quaternary glacial and interglacial record in the Great Lakes region of North America. Although based on contrasting principles, the classifications, as practiced, are similar to one another in most respects and they differ little from the classification proposed by Chamberlin a century ago. All are based on stratigraphic units having time-transgressive boundaries; thus the associated time spans and events are diachronous. Where application of geochronologic classification based on isochronous boundaries is not practical or useful, we advocate the use of diachronic principles to establish local and regional temporal and event classifications. Diachronic and event classifications based on such principles are proposed herein for the Great Lakes region. Well-established names, including Wisconsin, Sangamon, and Illinois, are used at the episode (or glaciation/interglaciation) rank without significant redefinition. The Hudson Episode (Interglaciation) is introduced for postglacial time, the current interglacial interval. The Wisconsin Episode is divided into the Ontario, Elgin, and Michigan Subepisodes in the eastern and northern parts of the Great Lakes region and into the Athens and Michigan Subepisodes in the southern and western parts of the Great Lakes region.

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