Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T13:09:34.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Early Holocene dune activity linked with final destruction of Glacial Lake Minong, eastern Upper Michigan, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Henry M. Loope ,
Walter L. Loope ,
Ronald J. Goble ,
Timothy G. Fisher ,
Harry M. Jol  and
J.C. Seong
Henry M. Loope
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Walter L. Loope*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Munising, MI 49862, USA
Ronald J. Goble
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Timothy G. Fisher
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Harry M. Jol
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54702, USA
J.C. Seong
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. P.O. Box 40, N8391 Sand Pt. Rd., Munising, MI 49862, USA. Fax: + 1 906 387 4025. E-mail address:wloope@usgs.gov (W.L. Loope)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The early Holocene final drainage of glacial Lake Minong is documented by 21 OSL ages on quartz sand from parabolic dunes and littoral terraces and one radiocarbon age from a lake sediment core adjacent to mapped paleoshorelines in interior eastern Upper Michigan. We employ a simple model wherein lake-level decline exposes unvegetated littoral sediment to deflation, resulting in dune building. Dunes formed subsequent to lake-level decline prior to stabilization by vegetation and provide minimum ages for lake-level decline. Optical ages range from 10.3 to 7.7 ka; 15 ages on dunes adjacent to the lowest Lake Minong shoreline suggest final water-level decline ∼ 9.1 ka. The clustering of optical ages from vertically separated dunes on both sides of the Nadoway–Gros Cap Barrier around 8.8 ka and a basal radiocarbon date behind the barrier (8120 ± 40 14C yr BP [9.1 cal ka BP]) support the hypothesis that the barrier was breached and the final lake-level drop to the Houghton Low occurred coincident with (1) high meltwater flux into the Superior basin and (2) an abrupt, negative shift in oxygen isotope values in Lake Huron.

Keywords

Lake MinongdunesUpper MichiganLake Superiorlake levelOSLvibracoring
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , July 2010 , pp. 73 - 81
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1 Present address: Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

References

Aitken, M.J. An Introduction to Optical Dating. (1998). Oxford University Press, 267 pp.Google Scholar
Arbogast, A.F., and Packman, S.C. Middle-Holocene mobilization of aeolian sand in western upper Michigan and the potential relationship with climate and fire. Holocene 14, (2004). 464–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arbogast, A.F., Wintle, A.G., and Packman, S.C. Widespread middle Holocene dune formation in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the relationship to climate and outlet-controlled lake level. Geology 30, (2002). 55–58.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Argyilan, E.P., Forman, S.L., Johnston, J.W., and Wilcox, D.A. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of late Holocene raised strandplain sequences adjacent to Lakes Michigan and Superior, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA. Quatern. Res. 63, (2005). 122–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bajc, A.F., Morgan, A.V., and Warner, B.G. Age and paleoecological significance of an early postglacial fossil assemblage near Marathon, Ontario, Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci. 34, (1997). 687–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergquist, S.G. The Pleistocene history of the Tahquamenon and Manistique drainage region of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan. Mich. Geol. Surv. Publ. 40, (1936). 17–137.Google Scholar
Blewett, W.L. Late Wisconsin history of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and vicinity. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Resource Report 94-01. (1994). Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, MI. 1–8.Google Scholar
Booth, R.K., Jackson, S.T., and Thompson, T.A. Paleoecology of a northern Michigan lake and the relationship among climate, vegetation and Great Lakes water levels. Quatern. Res. 57, (2002). 120–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A. The Lake Superior varve stratigraphy and implications for eastern Lake Agassiz outflow from 10, 700 to 8900 cal ybp (9.5–8.0 14C ka).. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 246, (2007). 45–61.Google Scholar
Breckenridge, A., and Johnson, T.C. Paleohydrology of the upper Laurentian Great Lakes from the late glacial to early Holocene. Quatern. Res. 71, (2009). 397–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breckenridge, A., Johnson, T.C., Beske-Diehl, S., and Mothersill, J.S. The timing of regional late glacial events and post-glacial sedimentation rates from Lake Superior. Quatern. Sci. Rev. 23, (2004). 2355–2367.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Kennett, J., Flower, B., Teller, J.T., Trumbore, S., Bonani, G., and Wolfli, W. Routing of meltwater from the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Younger Dryas cold episode. Nature 341, (1989). 318–321.Google Scholar
Clark, P.U., Marshall, S.J., Clarke, G.K.C., Hostetler, S.W., Licciardi, J.M., and Teller, J.T. Freshwater forcing of abrupt climate change during the last glaciation. Science 293, (2001). 283–287.Google Scholar
Costa, J.E., and Schuster, R.L. The formation and failure of natural dams. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 100, (1988). 1054–1068.Google Scholar
Cowan, W.R. Deglacial Great Lakes shorelines at Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. Karrow, P.K., and Calkin, P.E. Quaternary evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 30, (1985). St. John's, 33–37.Google Scholar
Davis, M., Douglas, C., Calcote, R., Cole, K.L., Winkler, M.G., and Flakne, R. Holocene climate in the western Great Lakes National Parks and Lakeshores: implications for future climate change. Conserv. Biol. 14, (2000). 968–983.Google Scholar
Delcourt, P.A., Nester, P.L., Delcourt, H.R., Mora, C.I., and Orvis, K.H. Holocene lake-effect precipitation in northern Michigan. Quatern. Res. 57, (2002). 225–233.Google Scholar
Derouin, S.A., Lowell, T.V., and Hajdas, I. Landscape evolution and deglaciation of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan: an examination of chronology and stratigraphy in kettle lake cores. J. Great Lakes Res. 33, (2007). 875–886.Google Scholar
Drexler, C.W., Farrand, W.R., and Hughes, J.D. Correlation of glacial lakes in the Superior Basin with eastward discharge events from Lake Agassiz. Teller, J.T., and Clayton, L. Glacial Lake Agassiz. Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 26, (1983). St. John's, 309–329.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R., (1960). “Former shorelines in western and northern Lake Superior..” Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, 226 p.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R. The Quaternary history of Lake Superior. Proceedings of the12th Conference of Great Lakes Research, International Association of Great Lakes Research. (1969). 181–197.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R., and Drexler, C.W. Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Lake Superior Basin. Karrow, P.K., and Calkin, P.E. Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 30, (1985). St. John's, 17–32.Google Scholar
Filion, L. A relationship between dunes, fire and climate recorded in the Holocene deposits of Quebec. Nature 309, (1984). 543–546.Google Scholar
Fisher, T.G. Vibracoring from lake ice with a lightweight monopod and piston coring apparatus. J. Paleolimnol. 31, (2004). 377–382.Google Scholar
Fisher, T.G., and Whitman, R.L. Deglacial and lake level fluctuation history recorded in cores, Beaver Lake, Upper Peninsula, Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 25, (1999). 263–274.Google Scholar
Futyma, R. The northern limits of glacial Lake Algonquin in Upper Michigan. Quatern. Res. 15, (1981). 291–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grigal, D.F., Severson, R.C., and Goltz, G.E. Evidence of eolian activity in north-central Minnesota 8, 000 to 5, 000 yr ago. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 87, (1976). 1251–1254.Google Scholar
Hesp, P. Foredunes and blowouts: initiation, geomorphology and dynamics. Geomorphology 48, (2002). 245–268.Google Scholar
Julig, P.J., McAndrews, J.H., and Mahaney, W.C. Geoarchaeology of the Cummins site on the beach of proglacial Lake Minong, Lake Superior, Canada. Lasca, N.P., and Donahue, J. Archaeological Geology of North America. Geological Society of America Centennial Special vol. 4, (1990). 21–50.Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F., Anderson, T.W., Clarke, A.H., Delorme, L.D., and Sreenivasa, M.R. Stratigraphy, paleontology, and age of Lake Algonquin sediments in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Quatern. Res. 5, (1975). 49–87.Google Scholar
Larsen, C.E. Geological history of glacial Lake Algonquin and the upper Great Lakes. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1801. (1987). 36 pp.Google Scholar
Leverett, F., and Taylor, F.B. The Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan and the history of the Great Lakes. U.S. Geological Survey Monograph 53. (1915). 529 pp.Google Scholar
Lewis, C.F.M., Blasco, S.M., and Gareau, P.L. Glacial isostatic adjustment of the Laurentian Great Lakes basin: using the empirical record of strandline deformation for reconstruction of early Holocene paleo-lakes and discovery of a hydrologically closed phase. Géog. Phys. Quatern. 59, (2007). 187–210.Google Scholar
Lewis, C.F.M., Heil, C.W. Jr., Hubeny, J.B., King, J.W., Moore, T.C. Jr., and Rea, D.K. The Stanley unconformity in Lake Huron: evidence for a climate-driven closed lowstand about 7900 14C BP, with similar implications for the Chippewa lowstand in Lake Michigan. J. Paleolimnol. 37, (2007). 435–452.Google Scholar
Lichter, J. Primary succession and forest development on coastal Lake Michigan sand dunes. Ecol. Monogr. 68, (1998). 487–510.Google Scholar
Loope, W.L., Fisher, T.G., Jol, H.M., Goble, R.J., Anderton, J.B., and Blewett, W.L. A Holocene history of dune-mediated landscape change along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior. Geomorphology 61, (2004). 303–322.Google Scholar
Lowell, T.V., Larson, G.J., Hughes, J.D., and Denton, G.H. Age verification of the Lake Gribben forest bed and the Younger Dryas advance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Can. J. Earth Sci. 36, (1999). 383–393.Google Scholar
Lytle, D.E. Palaeoecological evidence of state shifts between forest and barrens on a Michigan sand plain, USA. Holocene 15, (2005). 821–836.Google Scholar
Moore, T.C. Jr., Walker, J.C.G., Rea, D.K., Lewis, C.F.M., Shane, L.C.K., and Smith, A.J. Younger Dryas interval and outflow from the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Paleoceanography 15, (2000). 4–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, T.F. Quaternary geology of the Wawa area, Northeastern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey Open File Report 6055. (2001). 67 pp.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiat. Meas. 32, (2000). 57–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, J.S. Rates of succession and soil changes on southern Lake Michigan sand dunes. Bot. Gaz. 119, (1958). 125–170.Google Scholar
Phillips, B.A.M., and Fralick, P.W. A transgressive event on Lake Minong, northshore of Lake Superior-possible evidence of Lake Agassiz inflow, circa 9.5 ka BP. Can. J. Earth Sci. 31, (1994). 1638–1641.Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Hutton, J.T. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiat. Meas. 23, (1994). 497–500.Google Scholar
Rea, D.K., Moore, T.C. Jr., Lewis, C.F.M., Mayer, L.A., Dettman, D.L., Smith, A.J., and Dobson, D.M. Stratigraphy and paleolimnologic record of lower Holocene sediments in northern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Can. J. Earth Sci. 31, (1994). 1586–1605.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Bertrand, C.J.H., Blackwell, P.G., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Cutler, K.B., Damon, P.E., Edwards, R.L., Fairbanks, R.G., Friedrich, M., Guilderson, T.P., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Ramsey, C.B., Reimer, R.W., Remmele, S., Southon, J.R., Stuiver, M., Talamo, S., Taylor, F.W., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. IntCal04 terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 0–26 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon 46, (2004). 1029–1058.Google Scholar
Saarnisto, M. The deglaciation history of the Lake Superior region and its climatic implications. Quatern. Res. 4, (1974). 316–339.Google Scholar
Saarnisto, M. Stratigraphical studies on the shoreline displacement of Lake Superior. Can. J. Earth Sci. 12, (1975). 300–319.Google Scholar
Schaetzl, R.J., Drzyzga, S.A., Weisenborn, B.N., Kincare, K.A., Lepczyk, X.C., Shein, K., Dowd, C.M., and Linker, J. Measurement, correlation, and mapping of glacial Lake Algonquin shorelines in northern Michigan. Ann. Assoc. Am. Geogr. 92, (2002). 399–415.Google Scholar
Slattery, S.R., Barnett, P.J., and Long, D.G.F. Constraints on paleolake levels, spillways and glacial lake history, north-central Ontario, Canada. J. Paleolimnol. 37, (2007). 331–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanley, G.M., (1932). “Abandoned strands of Isle Royale and northeastern Lake Superior”. unpublished PhD dissertation. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J. Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 14C age calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 215–230.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T. Volume and routing of late-glacial runoff from the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quatern. Res. 34, (1990). 12–23.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T., and Mahnic, P. History of sedimentation in the northwestern Lake Superior and its relation to Lake Agassiz overflow. Can. J. Earth Sci. 25, (1988). 1660–1673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zoltai, S.C. Glacial features of the Quetico-Nipigon area, Ontario. Can. J. Earth Sci. 2, (1965). 247–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Loope et al. Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Loope et al. Supplementary Material(File)
File 1.5 MB