Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T16:44:48.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Modeling North American Freshwater Runoff through the Last Glacial Cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Shawn J. Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2219 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada. E-mail: marshall@eos.ubc.ca
Garry K.C. Clarke
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2219 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada. E-mail: marshall@eos.ubc.ca

Abstract

The Northern Hemisphere ice sheets decayed rapidly during deglacial phases of the ice-age cycle, producing meltwater fluxes that may have been of sufficient magnitude to perturb oceanic circulation. The continental record of ice-sheet history is more obscured during the growth and advance of the last great ice sheets, ca. 120,000–20,000 yr B.P., but ice cores tell of high-amplitude, millennial-scale climate fluctuations that prevailed throughout this period. These climatic excursions would have provoked significant fluctuation of ice-sheet margins and runoff variability whenever ice sheets extended to mid-latitudes, giving a complex pattern of freshwater delivery to the oceans. A model of continental surface hydrology is coupled with an ice-dynamics model simulating the last glacial cycle in North America. Meltwater discharged from ice sheets is either channeled down continental drainage pathways or stored temporarily in large systems of proglacial lakes that border the retreating ice-sheet margin. The coupled treatment provides quantitative estimates of the spatial and temporal patterns of freshwater flux to the continental margins. Results imply an intensified surface hydrological environment when ice sheets are present, despite a net decrease in precipitation during glacial periods. Diminished continental evaporation and high levels of meltwater production combine to give mid-latitude runoff values that are highly variable through the glacial cycle, but are two to three times in excess of modern river fluxes; drainage to the North Atlantic via the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Mississippi River catchments averages 0.356 Sv for the period 60,000–10,000 yr B.P., compared to 0.122 Sv for the past 10,000 yr. High-amplitude meltwater pulses to the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic, and North Pacific occur throughout the glacial period, with ice-sheet geometry controlling intricate patterns of freshwater routing variability. Runoff from North America is staged in the final deglaciation, with a stepped sequence of pulses through the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Arctic, and Hudson Strait drainages.

Type
Research Article
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.)

References

Alley, R.B. (1991). Deforming-bed origin for southern Laurentide till sheets?. Journal of Glaciology. 37, 6776.Google Scholar
Bard, E., Rostek, F., Sonzogni, C. (1997). Interhemispheric synchrony of the last deglaciation inferred from alkenone palaeothermoometry. Nature. 385, 707710.Google Scholar
Blackwell, D. B and Steele, J. L.(1992). Geothermal Map of North America. Decade of North American Geology, Map 006, Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Blunier, T., Chappellaz, J., Schwander, J., Dällenbach, A., Stauffer, B., Stocker, T.F., Raynaud, D., Jouzel, J., Clausen, H.B., Johnsen, S.J. (1998). Asynchrony of Antarctic and Greenland climate change during the last glacial period. Nature. 394, 739743.Google Scholar
Boulton, G.S., Jones, A.S. (1979). Stability of temperate ice caps and ice sheets resting on beds of deformable sediment. Journal of Glaciology. 24, 2942.Google Scholar
Boulton, G.S., Smith, G.D., Jones, A.S., Newsome, J. (1985). Glacial geology and glaciology of the last mid-latitude ice sheets. Geological Society of London Journal. 142, 447474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyle, E.A., Keigwin, L.D. (1982). Deep circulation of the North-Atlantic over the last 20 000 year: Geochemical evidence. Science. 218, 784786.Google Scholar
Boyle, E.A., Keigwin, L.D. (1987). North-Atlantic thermohaline circulation during the past 20,000 year linked to high-latitude surface temperature. Nature. 330, 3540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braithwaite, R. (1984). Calculation of degree-days for glacier-climate research. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie. 20, 18.Google Scholar
Braithwaite, R. (1995). Positive degree-day factors for ablation on the Greenland ice sheet studied by energy-balance modelling. Journal of Glaciology. 41, 153160.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Peteet, D., Rind, D. (1985). Does the ocean-atmosphere system have more than one stable mode of operation?. Nature. 315, 2125.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Bond, G., Klas, M., Bonani, G., Wolfli, W. (1990). A salt oscillator in the glacial Atlantic? 1. The concept. Paleoceanography. 5, 469477.Google Scholar
Clark, P.U. (1994). Unstable behaviour of the Laurentide Ice Sheet over deforming sediment and its implications for climate change. Quaternary Research. 41, 1925.Google Scholar
Clark, P.U., Licciardi, J.M., MacAyeal, D.R., Jenson, J.W. (1996). Numerical reconstruction of a soft-bedded Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum. Geology. 24, 679682.Google Scholar
Clark, P.U., Alley, R.B., Keigwin, L.D., Licciardi, J.M., Johnsen, S.J., Wang, H. (1996). Origin of the first global meltwater pulse following the last glacial maximum. Paleoceanography. 11, 563577.Google Scholar
Clarke, G. K. C, Marshall, S. J, Hillaire-Marcel, C, Bilodeau, G and Veiga-Pires, C. in press, A glaciological perspective on Heinrich events. In, Mechanisms of Millennial-Scale Global Climate Change. ( Clark, P. U. Webb, R. S. and Keigwin, L. D. Eds.), Geophysical Monograph Series, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Clayton, L., Teller, J.T., Attig, J.W. (1985). Surging of the southwestern part of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Boreas. 14, 235241.Google Scholar
Coe, M.T. (1998). A linked global model of terrestrial hydrologic processes: Simulation of modern rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Journal of Geophysical Research. 103, 88858899.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., Johnsen, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Gundestrup, N., Hammer, C.U., Oeschger, H. (1984). North Atlantic climatic oscillations revealed by deep Greenland ice cores. In Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity. Hansen, J.E., Takahashi, T. Geophysical Monograph Series 29. pp. 288298. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W. (1993). Evidence for general instability of past climate from a 250-kyr ice-core record. Nature. 364, 218220.Google Scholar
Deblonde, G., Peltier, W.R. (1993). Pleistocene Ice Age scenarios based upon observational evidence. Journal of Climate. 6, 709727.Google Scholar
Dowdeswell, J.A., Maslin, M.A., Andrews, J.T., McCave, I.N. (1995). Iceberg production, debris rafting, and the extent and thickness of “Heinrich layers” (H-1, H-2) in North Atlantic sediments. Geology. 23, 301304.Google Scholar
Dyke, A.S., Prest, V.K. (1987). Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Géographie physique et Quaternaire. 41, 237264.Google Scholar
Dyke, A. S and Prest, V. K.(1987b). Paleogeography of Northern North America. 18,000–5,000 year ago, Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1703A, scale 1:12,500,000.Google Scholar
Fairbanks, R.G. (1989). A 17,000-year glacio-eustatic sea level record: Influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature. 342, 637642.Google Scholar
Fanning, A., Weaver, A.J. (1997). Temporal-geographical meltwater influences on the North Atlantic conveyor: Implications for the Younger Dryas. Paleoceanography. 12, 307320.Google Scholar
Fawcett, P.J., Agustsdottir, A.M., Alley, R.B., Shuman, C.A. (1997). The Younger Dryas termination and North Atlantic deep water formation: Insights from climate model simulations and Greenland ice cores. Paleoceanography. 12, 2338.Google Scholar
Fisher, D.A., Reeh, N., Langley, K. (1985). Objective reconstructions of the late Wisconsinan Laurentide Ice Sheet and the significance of deformable beds. Géographie physique et Quaternaire. 39, 229238.Google Scholar
Hostetler, S.W., Giorgi, F., Bates, G.T., Bartlein, P.J. (1994). Lake-atmosphere feedbacks associated with paleolakes Bonneville and Lahontan. Science. 263, 665668.Google Scholar
Hostetler, S.W., Clark, P.U., Bartlein, P.J., Mix, A.C., Pisias, N.J. (1999). Atmospheric transmission of North Atlantic Heinrich events. Journal of Geophysical Research. 104, 39473952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, T.J. (1998). Tutorial on strategies for using isostatic adjustments in models that reconstruct ice sheets during the last deglaciation. Wu, P.P. Dynamics of the Ice Age Earth: A Modern Perspective. Trans Tech Publications, Zürich., 271321.Google Scholar
Huybrechts, P. (1990). A 3-D model for the Antarctic Ice Sheet: A sensitivity study on the glacial–interglacial contrast. Climate Dynamics. 5, 7992.Google Scholar
Huybrechts, P. (1990). The Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last glacial–interglacial cycle: A three-dimensional experiment. Annals of Glaciology. 14, 115119.Google Scholar
Huybrechts, P., T'Siobbel, S. (1995). Thermomechanical modelling of northern hemisphere ice sheets with a two-level mass-balance parameterisation. Annals of Glaciology. 21, 111117.Google Scholar
Jenson, J.W., MacAyeal, D.R., Clark, P.U., Ho, C.L., Vela, J.C. (1996). Numerical modeling of subglacial sediment deformation: Implications for the behavior of the Lake Michigan Lobe, Laurentide Ice Sheet. Journal of Geophysical Research. 101, 87178728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenssen, D. (1977). A three-dimensional polar ice sheet model. Journal of Glaciology. 18, 373389.Google Scholar
Kalnay, E. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 77, 437471.Google Scholar
Keigwin, L.D., Jones, G.A., Lehman, S.J., Boyle, E.A. (1991). Deglacial meltwater discharge, North Atlantic deep circulation, and abrupt climate change. Journal of Geophysical Research. 96, 16,81116,826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kutzbach, J., Gallimore, R., Harrison, S., Behling, P., Selin, R., Laarif, A. (1998). Climate and biome simulations for the past 21,000 year. Quaternary Science Reviews. 17, 473506.Google Scholar
Legates, D.R., Willmott, C.J. (1990). Mean seasonal and spatial variability in gauge-corrected global precipitation. International Journal of Climate. 10, 111127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Licciardi, J. M, Teller, J. T and Clark, P. U. in press, Freshwater routing by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation. In, Mechanisms of Millennial-Scale Global Climate Change. ( Clark, P. U., Webb, R. S. and Keigwin, L. D. Eds.), Geophysical Monograph Series, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Mahaffy, M.W. (1976). A three-dimensional numerical model of ice sheets: Tests on the Barnes Ice Cap, Northwest Territories. Journal of Geophysical Research. 81, 10591066.Google Scholar
Manabe, S., Stouffer, R.J. (1995). Simulation of abrupt climate change induced by freshwater input to the North Atlantic ocean. Nature. 378, 165167.Google Scholar
Manabe, S., Stouffer, R.J. (1997). Coupled ocean–atmosphere model response to freshwater input: Comparison to Younger Dryas event. Paleoceanography. 12, 321336.Google Scholar
Marshall, S.J. (1998). Dynamics of the Pleistocene ice sheets. Wu, P.P. Dynamics of the Ice Age Earth: A Modern Perspective. Trans Tech Publications, Zürich., 217248.Google Scholar
Marshall, S.J., Clarke, G.K.C. (1997). A continuum mixture model of ice stream thermomechanics in the Laurentide Ice Sheet 1. Theory. Journal of Geophysical Research. 102, .Google Scholar
Marshall, S.J., Clarke, G.K.C. (1997). A continuum mixture model of ice stream thermomechanics in the Laurentide Ice Sheet 2. Application to the Hudson Strait Ice Stream. Journal of Geophysical Research. 102, 20,61520,638.Google Scholar
Marshall, S. J, Tarasov, L, Clarke, G. K. C and Peltier, W. R. in press, Glaciological reconstruction of the Laurentide Ice Sheet: Physical processes and modelling challenges. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.Google Scholar
Mickelson, D.M., Clayton, L., Fullerton, D.S., Borns, H.W. (1983). The Late Wisconsinan Glacial Record of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the United States. Wright, H.E. Jr., Porter, S.C. Late Quaternary Environments of the United States. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis., 337.Google Scholar
Oeschger, H., Beer, J., Siegenthaler, U., Stauffer, B., Dansgaard, W., Langway, C.C. (1984). Late glacial climate history derived from ice cores. Hansen, J.E., Takahashi, T. Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity. Geophysical Monograph Series 29. American Geophysical Union, Washington., 299306.Google Scholar
Peltier, W.R. (1994). Ice age paleotopography. Science. 265, 195201.Google Scholar
Pollard, D. (1983). A coupled climate–ice sheet model applied to the Quaternary ice ages. Journal of Geophysical Research. 88, 77057718.Google Scholar
Rahmstorf, S. (1995). Bifurcations of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation in response to changes in the hydrological cycle. Nature. 378, 145149.Google Scholar
Reeh, N. (1991). Parameterization of melt rate and surface temperature on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Polarforschung. 59, 113128.Google Scholar
Ritz, C., Fabre, A., Letréguilly, A. (1997). Sensitivity of a Greenland ice sheet model to ice flow and ablation parameters: Consequences for evolution through the last climatic cycle. Climate Dynamics. 13, 1124.Google Scholar
Row, L. W. III and Hastings, D. A(1994). TerrainBase: Worldwide Digital Terrain Data. CD-ROM, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Stocker, T.F. (1998). The seesaw effect. Science. 282, 6162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stocker, T.F., Wright, D.G. (1991). Rapid transitions of the ocean's deep circulation induced by changes in surface water fluxes. Nature. 351, 729732.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Beck, J.W., Burr, G.S., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Van der Plicht, J., Spurk, M. (1998). INTCAL98 radiocarbon age calibration, 24,000–0 cal B.P. Radiocarbon. 40, 10411083.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarasov, L., Peltier, W.R. (1997). A high-resolution model of the 100-kyr ice-age cycle. Annals of Glaciology. 25, 5865.Google Scholar
Tarasov, L., Peltier, W.R. (1999). The impact of thermo-mechanical ice sheet coupling on a model of the 100 kyr ice-age cycle. Journal of Geophysical Research. 104, 95179545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teller, J. T. (1987). Proglacial lakes and the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. InNorth America and Adjacent Oceans during the Last Deglaciation. ( Ruddiman, W. F. and Wright, H. E. Jr. Eds.), The Geology of North America, Vol. K-3, pp. 3969. Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T. (1990). Volume and routing of late-glacial runoff from the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quaternary Research. 34, 1223.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T. (1995). History and drainage of large ice-dammed lakes along the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quaternary International. 28, 8392.Google Scholar
Teller, J.T., Kehew, A.E. (1994). Introduction to the late glacial history of large proglacial lakes and meltwater runoff along the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews. 13, 795799.Google Scholar
Vettoretti, G, Peltier, W. R and McFarlane, N. A. in press, A simulation of Last Glacial Maximum climate with a mixed layer ocean coupled atmospheric general circulation model: Intercomparisons with a reduced model of the Ice-Age cycle. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.Google Scholar
Weaver, A. J. in press, Millennial timescale variability in ocean/climate models. In, Mechanisms of Millennial-Scale Global Climate Change. ( Clark, P. U., Webb, R. S. and Keigwin, L. D. Eds.), Geophysical Monograph Series, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Weaver, A.J., Hughes, T.M.C. On the incompatibility of ocean and atmosphere models and the need for flux adjustments. Climate Dynamics. 12, (1996). 141170.Google Scholar
Weaver, A.J., Marotzke, J., Cummins, P.F., Sarachik, E.S. (1993). Stability and variability of the thermohaline circulation. Journal of Physical Oceanography. 23, 3960.Google Scholar