Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T16:55:57.305Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Age of the Five Islands Formation, Nova Scotia, and the Deglaciation of the Bay of Fundy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Rudolph R. Stea  and
Daryl M. Wightman
Rudolph R. Stea
Affiliation:
Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy, P.O. Box 1087, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 2X1
Daryl M. Wightman
Affiliation:
Alberta Research Council, P.O. Box 8330, Station F, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6H 5X2
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Three atomic mass spectrometry (AMS) dates have been obtained for shell material from the bottomset beds of a glaciomarine delta at Spencers Island, Nova Scotia, near the head of the Bay of Fundy. The sediments in the delta are part of the previously undated Five Islands Formation, and are the first direct indictaion of the age of deglaciation in this region. The dates range from 14,300 to 12,600 yr B.P. and record the duration of deposition of a diamicton under the deltaic deposits and of the delta itself. The diamicton may have formed around 14,000 yr B.P. under ice-shelf or calving-bay conditions, or by a readvance of grounded ice. The Spencers Island delta is part of a prominent ice-marginal stand marked by numerous deltas along the Minas Basin. The time of formation of the deltas and the inferred ice margin is between 13,500 and 12,000 yr B.P. based on the Spencers Island dates and palynologically confirmed dates on the base of lake-sediment cores from the delta surface. Ice-marginal glaciomarine deposits near St. John, New Brunswick, record a range of radiocarbon dates similar to the Spencers Island dates. This implies that the Bay of Fundy became virtually ice free about 14,000 yr B.P.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , May 1987 , pp. 211 - 219
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

Amos, C.L., (1978). The postglacial evolution of the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia—A sedimentological interpretation Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48, 965–981 Google Scholar
Blake, W. Jr. (1983). Geological Survey of Canada, Radiocarbon Dates XXIII Paper 84-7 Geological Survey of Canada Google Scholar
Blake, W. Jr. (1984). Geological Survey of Canada, Radiocarbon Dates XXIV Paper 84-7 Geological Survey of Canada CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borns, H.W. Jr. (1966). The geography of paleo-Indian occupation in Nova Scotia Quaternaria 7, 49–57 Google Scholar
Chalmers, R., (1894). Summary report on investigations of surface geology of southeastern New Brunswick and adjacent parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Geological Survey of Canada, Summary Report 1893, Annual Report 1893 No. vi 52–57 pt. a Google Scholar
Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J., (1981). The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley Toronto Google Scholar
Flint, R.F., (1971). Glacial and Quaternary Geology Wiley Toronto Google Scholar
Gadd, N.R., (1973). Quaternary Geology of Southwest New Brunswick with Particular Reference to the Fredericton Area Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 71-34 Google Scholar
Grant, D.R., (1977). Glacial style and ice limits, the Quaternary stratigraphic record, and changes of land and ocean level in the Atlantic Provinces, Canada Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 31, 247–260 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, D.R., (1980). Quaternary Stratigraphy of Southwestern Nova Scotia: Glacial Events and Sea Level Changes Geological Association of Canada and Mineralogical Association of Canada Field Trip Guidebook Google Scholar
Lowdon, J.A. Blake, W. Jr. (1970). Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dates IX Radiocarbon 12, No. 1 46–86 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mott, R.J. Grant, D.R. Stea, R.R. Occhietti, S., (1984). Late-glacial climatic oscillation in Atlantic Canada equivalent to the Allerod/younger Dryas event Nature 323, No. 6085 247–250 Google Scholar
Prest, V.K., (1984). The late Wisconsinan glacier complex Fulton, R.J. Quaternary Stratigraphy of Canada—A Canadian Contribution to IGCP Project 24 Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 84-10 21–36 Google Scholar
Rampton, V.N. Gauthier, R.C. Thibault, J. Seaman, A.A., (1984). Quaternary Geology of New Brunswick Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 416 Google Scholar
Stea, R.R., (1984). The sequence of glacier movements in Northern Mainland Nova Scotia determined through mapping and till provenance studies Mahaney, W.C. Correlation of Quaternary Chronologies Geo Books 279–297 Google Scholar
Stea, R.R. Finck, P.W. Wightman, D.M., (1985). Quaternary Geology and Till Geochemistry of the Western Part of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia (Sheet 9) Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 85-17 Google Scholar
Swift, D.J.P. Borns, H.W. Jr. (1967). A raised fluvio-marine outwash terrace, north shore of the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia Journal of Geology 75, 693–710 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walton, A. Trautman, M.A. Friend, J.P., (1961). Isotopes incorporated radiocarbon measurements Radiocarbon 3, 47–49 Google Scholar
Wang, C. Stea, R.R. Ross, G.J. Holmstrum, D., (1986). Age estimation of the Shulie Lake and Eatonville tills in Nova Scotia by pedogenic development Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 23, 115–119 Google Scholar
Wightman, D.M., (1980). Late Pleistocene Glaciofluvial and Glaciomarine Sediments on the North Side of the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia Dalhousie University Unpublished Ph.D. dissertations Google Scholar