On the reconstruction of pleistocene ice sheets: a review

Auteur :
ANDREWS, J. T.

Description :
This paper reviews some of the results of a variety of ice sheet reconstructions and concentrates on the various attempts to reconstruct the ice sheets of the last (Wisconsin, Weischelian, Würm, Devensian) glaciation. Evidence from glacial geology suggests flow patterns at variance with simple, single-domed ice sheets over North America and Europe. In addition, reconstruction of ice sheets from glacial isostatic sea level data suggests that the ice sheets were significantly thinner than estimates based on 18 ka equilibrium ice sheets (cf. Denton and Hughes, 1981). The review indicates it is important to differentiate between ice divides, which control the directions of glacial flow, and areas of maximum ice thickness, which control the glacial isostatic rebound of the crust upon deglaciation. Recent studies from the Laurentide Ice Sheet region indicate that the center of mass was not over Hudson Bay| that a major ice divide lay east of Hudson Bay so that flow across the Hudson Bay and James Bay lowlands was from the northeast| that Hudson Bay was probably open to marine invasions two or three times during the Wisconsin Glaciation| and that the Laurentide Ice Sheet was thinner than an equilibrium reconstruction would suggest.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Quaternary science reviews Oxford, 1982, vol. 1, n°. 1, p. 1-30, Références bibliographiques : 112 réf.

Date :
1982