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Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900 yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kelly R. MacGregor ,
Catherine A. Riihimaki ,
Amy Myrbo ,
Mark D. Shapley  and
Krista Jankowski
Kelly R. MacGregor*
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105, USA
Catherine A. Riihimaki
Affiliation:
Biology Department, Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940, USA
Amy Myrbo
Affiliation:
LacCore, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Mark D. Shapley
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA
Krista Jankowski
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: + 1 651 696 6122.
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Abstract

Glaciated alpine landscapes are sensitive to changes in climate. Shifts in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes to glacier size and terminus position, the production and delivery of organic mass, and in the hydrologic energy related to the transport of water and sediment through proglacial environments. A sediment core representing a 12,900-yr record collected from Swiftcurrent Lake, located on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Montana, was analyzed to assess variability in Holocene and latest Pleistocene environment. The spectral signature of total organic carbon content (%TOC) since ~ 7.6 ka matches that of solar forcing over 70–500 yr timescales. Periodic inputs of dolomite to the lake reflect an increased footprint of Grinnell Glacier, and occur during periods when sediment sinks are reduced, glacial erosion is increased, and hydrologic energy is increased. Grain size, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and %TOC broadly define the termination of the Younger Dryas chronozone at Swiftcurrent Lake, as well as major Holocene climate transitions. Variability in core parameters is linked to other records of temperature and aridity in the northern Rocky Mountains over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

Keywords

Glacier National ParkRadiocarbon datingLake sediment coreHoloceneYounger DryasGrain sizeTotal organic carbonMazama ashSunspot cycleSolar forcing
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 80 - 90
Copyright
University of Washington

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