Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T05:01:11.390Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Chronology of latest Pleistocene mountain glaciation in the western Wasatch Mountains, Utah, U.S.A.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Benjamin J. C. Laabs ,
David W. Marchetti ,
Jeffrey S. Munroe ,
Kurt A. Refsnider ,
John C. Gosse ,
Elliott W. Lips ,
Richard A. Becker ,
David M. Mickelson  and
Brad S. Singer
Benjamin J. C. Laabs*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, SUNY Geneseo, 1 College Circle, Geneseo, New York, USA, 14454
David W. Marchetti
Affiliation:
Geology Program, Western State College of Colorado, USA
Jeffrey S. Munroe
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Middlebury College, Vermont, USA
Kurt A. Refsnider
Affiliation:
INSTAAR, University of Colorado-Boulder, USA
John C. Gosse
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Elliott W. Lips
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Utah, USA
Richard A. Becker
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
David M. Mickelson
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Brad S. Singer
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:[email protected] (B.J.C. Laabs), [email protected] (D.W. Marchetti), [email protected] (J.S. Munroe), [email protected] (K.A. Refsnider), [email protected] (J.C. Gosse), [email protected] (E.W. Lips), [email protected] (R.A. Becker), [email protected] (D.M. Mickelson), [email protected] (B.S. Singer).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Understanding the timing of mountain glacier and paleolake expansion and retraction in the Great Basin region of the western United States has important implications for regional-scale climate change during the last Pleistocene glaciation. The relative timing of mountain glacier maxima and the well-studied Lake Bonneville highstand has been unclear, however, owing to poor chronological limits on glacial deposits. Here, this problem is addressed by applying terrestrial cosmogenic 10Be exposure dating to a classic set of terminal moraines in Little Cottonwood and American Fork Canyons in the western Wasatch Mountains. The exposure ages indicate that the main phase of deglaciation began at 15.7 ± 1.3 ka in both canyons. This update to the glacial chronology of the western Wasatch Mountains can be reconciled with previous stratigraphic observations of glacial and paleolake deposits in this area, and indicates that the start of deglaciation occurred during or at the end of the Lake Bonneville hydrologic maximum. The glacial chronology reported here is consistent with the growing body of data suggesting that mountain glaciers in the western U.S. began retreating as many as 4 ka after the start of northern hemisphere deglaciation (at ca. 19 ka).

Keywords

Mountain glaciationGreat BasinWasatch MountainsLake BonnevilleCosmogenic exposure dating
Type
QR Forum
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , September 2011 , pp. 272 - 284
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

Adams, K.D., and Wesnousky, S.G. Shoreline processes and the age of the Lake Lahontan highstand in the Jessup embayment, Nevada. Geological Society of America Bulletin 10, (1998). 1318–1332.Google Scholar
Applegate, P.J., Urban, N.M., Laabs, B.J.C., Keller, K., and Alley, R.B. Modeling the statistical distributions of cosmogenic exposure dates from moraines. Geoscientific Model Development 3, (2010). 293–307.Google Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J., Lifton, N., and Dunai, T. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements. Quaternary Geochronology 3, (2008). 174–195.Google Scholar
Benson, L., Madole, R., Landis, G., and Gosse, J. New data for late Pleistocene Pinedale alpine glaciation from southwestern Colorado. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, (2005). 49–65.Google Scholar
Benson, L.V., Currey, D.R., Dorn, R.I., Lajoie, K.R., Oviatt, C.G., Robinson, S.W., Smith, G.I., and Stine, S. Chronology of expansion and contraction of four Great Basin lake systems during the past 35,000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 78, (1990). 241–286.Google Scholar
Benson, L.V., and Thompson, R.S. The physical record of lakes in the Great Basin. North American and adjacent oceans during the last deglaciation. Ruddiman, W.F., Wright, H.E. Jr. The Geology of North America L, (1987). Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado. 241–260.Google Scholar
Bierman, P.R., Caffee, M.W., Davis, P.T., Marsella, K., Pavich, M., Colgan, P., Mickelson, D., and Larsen, J. Rates and timing of Earth-surface processes from in situ-produced cosmogenic Be-10. Beryllium: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry. Grew, E.S. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 50, (2002). 147–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blard, P.-H., Lavé, J., Farley, K.A., Fornari, M., Jiménez, N., and Ramirez, V. Late local glacial maximum in the Central Altiplano triggered by cold and locally-wet conditions during the paleolake Tauca episode (17–15 ka, Heinrich 1). Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 3414–3427.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., and Kaufman, A. Radiocarbon chronology of Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville II, Great Basin. Geological Society of America Bulletin 76, (1965). 537–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briner, J.P. Moraine pebbles and boulders yield indistinguishable 10Be ages: a case study from Colorado, U.S.A.. Quaternary Geochronology 4, (2009). 299–305.Google Scholar
Brugger, K.A. Cosmogenic 10Be and 36Cl ages from late Pleistocene terminal moraine complexes in the Taylor River drainage basin, central Colorado, U.S.A. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 494–499.Google Scholar
Bryant, B., (1992). Geologic and structure maps of the Salt Lake City 1° × 2° quadrangle, Utah and Wyoming. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map, I-1997: 1:125,000 scale.Google Scholar
Clark, P.U., Dyke, A.S., Shakun, J.D., Carlson, A.E., Clark, J., Wohlfarth, B., Mitrovica, J.X., Hostetler, S.W., and McCabe, A.M. The Last Glacial Maximum. Science 325, (2009). 710–714.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Desilets, D., and Zreda, M. Spatial and temporal distribution of secondary cosmic-ray nucleon intensities and applications to in-situ cosmogenic dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 206, (2003). 21–42.Google Scholar
Desilets, D., Zreda, M., and Prabu, T. Extended scaling factors for in situ cosmogenic nuclides: new measurements at low latitude. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 246, (2006). 265–276.Google Scholar
Douglass, D.C., Singer, B.S., Kaplan, M.R., Mickelson, D.M., and Caffee, M.W. Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of boulders on last-glacial and late-glacial moraines, Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina; interpretive strategies and paleoclimate implications. Quaternary Geochronology 1, (2006). 43–58.Google Scholar
Dunai, T. Influence of secular variation of the magnetic field on production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 193, (2001). 197–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galloway, R.W. The full-glacial climate of the southwestern United States. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 60, (1970). 245–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, G.K. Lake Bonneville. U. S. Geological Survey Monograph 1, (1890). 438 pp.Google Scholar
Godsey, H.S., Currey, D.R., and Chan, M.A. New evidence for an extended occupation of the Provo shoreline and implications for regional climate change, Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, Utah, USA. Quaternary Research 63, (2005). 212–223.Google Scholar
Godsey, H.S., Atwood, G., Lips, E., Miller, D.M., Milligan, M., and Oviatt, C.G. Don R. Currey Memorial Field Trip to the shores of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Interior Western United States. Pederson, J., Dehler, C.M. Geological Society of America Field Trip Guide 6, (2005). 419–448.Google Scholar
Gosse, J.C., Klein, J., Evenson, E.B., Lawn, B., and Middleton, R. Beryllium-10 dating of the duration and retreat of the last Pinedale glacial sequence. Science 268, (1995). 1329–1333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gosse, J.C., and Phillips, F.M. Terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides; theory and application. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 1475–1560.Google Scholar
Guido, Z.S., Ward, D.J., and Anderson, R.S. Pacing the post-Last Glacial Maximum demise of the Animas Valley glacier and the San Juan Mountain ice cap, Colorado. Geology 35, (2007). 739–742.Google Scholar
Hostetler, S.W., Giorgi, F., Bates, G.T., and Bartlein, P.J. Lake-atmosphere feedbacks associated with paleolakes Bonneville and Lahontan. Science 263, (1994). 665–668.Google Scholar
Kaufman, D.S. Amino acid paleothermometry of Quaternary ostracodes from the Bonneville Basin, Utah. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 899–914.Google Scholar
Laabs, B.J.C., Refsnider, K.A., Munroe, J.S., Mickelson, D.M., Applegate, P.A., Singer, B.S., and Caffee, M.W. Latest Pleistocene glacial chronology of the Uinta Mountains: support for moisture-driven asynchrony of the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 1171–1187.Google Scholar
Laabs, B.J.C., and Carson, E.C. Glacial geology of the southern Uinta Mountains. Uinta Mountain geology. Dehler, C.M., Pederson, J.L., Sprinkel, D.A., Kowallis, B.J. Utah Geological Association Monograph 33, (2005). 235–254.Google Scholar
Lal, D. Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ nuclide production rates and erosion rates. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104, (1991). 424–439.Google Scholar
Licciardi, J.M., and Pierce, K.L. Cosmogenic exposure-age chronologies of Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, (2008). 814–831.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Licciardi, J.M., Clark, P.U., Brook, E.J., Elmore, D., and Sharma, P. Variable responses of western U.S. glaciers during the last deglaciation. Geology 32, (2004). 81–84.Google Scholar
Lifton, N., Bieber, J., Clem, J., Duldig, M., Evenson, P., Humble, J., and Pyle, R. Addressing solar modulation and long-term uncertainties in scaling secondary cosmic rays for in situ cosmogenic nuclide applications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 239, (2005). 140–161.Google Scholar
Madsen, D.B., and Currey, D.R. Late Quaternary glacial and vegetation changes, Little Cottonwood Canyon Area, Wasatch Mountains, Utah. Quaternary Research 12, (1979). 254–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchetti, D.W., Cerling, T.E., and Lips, E.W. A glacial chronology for the Fish Creek drainage of Boulder Mountain, USA. Quaternary Research 64, (2005). 263–271.Google Scholar
Meierding, T.C. Late-Pleistocene glacial equilibrium-line altitudes in the Colorado Front Range; a comparison of methods. Quaternary Research 18, (1982). 289–310.Google Scholar
Mix, A.C., Lund, D.C., Pisias, N.G., Bodé, N.P., Born-Malm, L., Lyle, M., and Pike, J. Rapid climate oscillations in the northeast Pacific during the last deglaciation reflect Northern and Southern Hemisphere sources. Mechanisms of global climate change at millennial time scales. Clark, P.U., Webb, R.S., Keigwin, L.D. American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph 112, (1999). 127–148.Google Scholar
Morrison, R.B. Lake Bonneville: Quaternary stratigraphy of eastern Jordan Valley, south of Salt Lake City, Utah. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 447, (1965). 80 pp.Google Scholar
Munroe, J.S., Laabs, B.J.C., Shakun, J.D., Singer, B.S., Mickelson, D.M., Refsnider, K.A., and Caffee, M.W. Latest Pleistocene advance of alpine glaciers in the southwestern Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Evidence for the influence of local moisture sources. Geology 34, (2006). 841–844.Google Scholar
Munroe, J.S., and Mickelson, D.M. Last Glacial Maximum equilibrium-line altitudes and paleoclimate, northern Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A.. Journal of Glaciology 48, (2002). 257–266.Google Scholar
Muzikar, P., Elmore, D., and Granger, D.E. Accelerator mass spectrometry in geologic research. Geological Society of America Bulletin 115, (2003). 643–654.Google Scholar
O'Connor, J.E. Hydrology, hydraulics, and geomorphology of the Bonneville flood. Geological Society of America Special Issue 273, (1993). 83 pp.Google Scholar
Oviatt, C.G. Lake Bonneville fluctuations and global climate change. Geology 25, (1997). 155–158.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oviatt, C.G., Habiger, G.D., and Hay, J. Variation in the composition of Lake Bonneville marl: a potential key to lake-level fluctuations and paleoclimate. Journal of Paleolimnology 11, (1994). 19–30.Google Scholar
Oviatt, C.G., and Nash, W.P. Late Pleistocene basaltic ash and volcanic eruptions in the Bonneville basin, Utah. Geological Society of America Bulletin 101, (1989). 292–303.Google Scholar
Personius, S.F., and Scott, W.E., (1992). Surficial geologic map of the Sale Lake City segment and parts of adjacent segments of the Wasatch Fault Zone, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah Counties, Utah.: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-2106, scale 1:50,000.Google Scholar
Porter, S.C., Pierce, K.L., and Hamilton, T.D. Late Wisconsin mountain glaciation in the western United States. Late-Quaternary environments in the western United States. Porter, S.C. The late Pleistocene Volume 1, (1983). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN. 71–111.Google Scholar
Putkonen, J., and Swanson, T. Accuracy of cosmogenic ages for moraines. Quaternary Research 59, (2003). 255–261.Google Scholar
Refsnider, K.A., Laabs, B.J.C., Plummer, M.A., Mickelson, D.M., Singer, B.S., and Caffee, M.W. Last Glacial Maximum climate inferences from cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling of the western Uinta ice field, Uinta Mountains, Utah. Quaternary Research 69, (2008). 130–144.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T.J., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Southon, J.R., Talamo, S., Turney, C.S.M., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, (2009). 1111–1150.Google Scholar
Richmond, G. Glaciation of Little Cottonwood and Bells Canyons, Wasatch Mountains, Utah. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 454-D, (1964). D1–D41.Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, J.G., Heil, C.W. Jr. The glacial/deglacial history of sedimentation in Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho. Paleoenvironments of Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, and its catchment. Rosenbaum, J.G., Kaufman, D.S. Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America Special Paper 450, (2009). 247–262.Google Scholar
Schaefer, J.M., Denton, G.H., Barrell, D.J.A., Ivy-Ochs, S., Kubik, P.W., Andersen, B.G., Phillips, F.M., Lowell, T.V., and Schluechter, C. Near-synchronous interhemispheric termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in mid-latitudes. Science 312, (2006). 1510–1513.Google Scholar
Scott, W.E. Temporal relations of lacustrine and glacial events at Little Cottonwood and Bells canyons, Utah. In the footsteps of G.K. Gilbert; Lake Bonneville and neotectonics of the eastern Basin and Range Province; guidebook for field trip twelve. Machette, M.N. Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 88–1, (1988). 78–81.Google Scholar
Scott, W.E., and Shroba, R.R. Surficial geologic map of an area along the Wasatch Fault Zone in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 85–448, (1985). 19 pp.Google Scholar
Scott, W.E., McCoy, W.D., Shroba, R.R., and Rubin, M. Reinterpretation of the exposed record of the last two cycles of Lake Bonneville, western United States. Quaternary Research 20, (1983). 261–285.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Grootes, P.M. GISP2 oxygen isotope ratios. Quaternary Research 53, (2000). 277–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, J.O. Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production. Journal of Geophysical Research, B, Solid Earth and Planets 105, (2000). 23,753–23,759.Google Scholar
Thackray, G.D. Varied climatic and topographic influences on Late Plesticene mountain glaciation in the western United States. Journal of Quaternary Science 23, (2008). 671–681.Google Scholar
Thackray, G.D., Lundeen, K.A., and Borgert, J.A. Latest Pleistocene alpine glacier advances in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA: reflections of midlatitude moisture transport at the close of the last glaciation. Geology 32, (2004). 225–228.Google Scholar
Torsnes, I., Rye, N., and Nesje, A. Modern and Little Ice Age equilibrium-line altitudes on outlet valley glaciers from Jostedalsbreen, western Norway; an evaluation of different approaches to their calculation. Arctic and Alpine Research 25, 2 (1993). 106–116.Google Scholar
Ward, D.J., Anderson, R.S., Guido, Z.S., and Briner, J.P. Numerical modeling of cosmogenic deglaciation records, Front Range and San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Journal of Geophysical Research 114, (2009). F01026 Google Scholar