Late Stage 5 Glacio-isostatic Sea in the St. Lawrence Valley, Canada and United States
Quaternary Research
By: S. Occhietti, S. Balescu, M. Lamothe, M. Clet, T. Cronin, P. Ferland, and P. Pichet
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Abstract
Although post-glacial marine sediments of late Wisconsinan and early Holocene age are common in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, remnants of older Pleistocene marine sediments are scarce. A fossiliferous marine clay that predates the classical Wisconsinan was recently discovered in the St. Lawrence Valley. A dominantly estuarine environment is inferred from the geochemistry of the shells (??18O = -7.1) and from benthic foraminifer and ostracode assemblages. The clay indicates a marine invasion (Cartier Sea) shallower and probably shorter than that during the upper late Wisconsinan Champlain Sea episode (12,000-9,500 yr B.P.). The pollen content shows that regional vegetation during the marine episode began as open tundra, then became a Betula and Alnus crispa forest, reached a climatic optimum with Quercus, Corylus, and Abies, and concluded as a Pinus/Picea boreal forest. A corrected infrared stimulated luminescence age of 98,000 ?? 9000 yr is compatible with the epimerization ratio of shells. The Cartier Sea resulted from a post-glacial glacio-isostatic marine invasion in the St. Lawrence lowlands. It probably occurred during late stage 5 and is tentatively assigned to the transition of oxygen isotope substages 5b/5a. This marine episode dates to stage 5 of the preceding continental glacier which extended to middle latitudes in NE America. ?? 1996 University of Washington.
Suggested Citation
Occhietti, S., Balescu, S., Lamothe, M., Clet, M., Cronin, T., Ferland, P., and Pichet, P., 1996, Late Stage 5 Glacio-isostatic Sea in the St. Lawrence Valley, Canada and United States: Quaternary Research, v. 45, no. 2, p. 128-137, https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1996.0015.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Late Stage 5 Glacio-isostatic Sea in the St. Lawrence Valley, Canada and United States |
| Series title | Quaternary Research |
| DOI | 10.1006/qres.1996.0015 |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication Date | January 20, 2017 |
| Year Published | 1996 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Quaternary Research |
| First page | 128 |
| Last page | 137 |