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Ice-Wedge Casts and Relict Patterned Ground in Central Illinois and their Environmental Significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

W. Hilton Johnson
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Abstract

Sediment features and soil patterns indicate that permafrost developed beyond the late Wisconsinan (Woodfordian) ice margin in Illinois. Vertical wedge-shaped bodies in Woodfordian glacigenic deposits and buried by Woodfordian loess are interpreted to be ice-wedge casts. Large-scale patterned ground, common on the late Wisconsinan drift plain and on the Illinoian drift plain to the south and west, also is interpreted to be the result of ice-wedge formation. Permafrost extended to about 38° 30′ N latitude and formed during the interval from about 21,000 to 16,000 yr B.P. Formation and degradation of permafrost was time-transgressive, directly related to the ice-marginal climate, and probably restricted temporally to less than 1000 years at a site. The following environmental conditions are suggested near the ice margin: mean annual ground temperature −3°C; mean annual air temperature −6 ± 2°C; less precipitation than modern, particularly in winter; strong and likely dry wind systems; and relatively open vegetation with few woody plants.

Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , January 1990 , pp. 51 - 72
Copyright
University of Washington

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