In these interactive webmaps, you can explore the Laurentide Ice Sheet through time. The maps are based on the shapefiles and datasets produced by Dalton et al. 2023. The maps are based on a radiocarbon chronology and are presented in calibrated thousands of years before present (cal. ka BP). The Last Glacial Maximum This map […]
Interactive webmaps Read More »
By Jakob Hamann Introduction Following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), global climate began to warm from around 19,000 years ago, marking the onset of widespread deglaciation across the Northern Hemisphere1. As temperatures increased, the Laurentide Ice Sheet began to thin and retreat from its maximum extent. The balance between snowfall and melting shifted, and ice
Deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the Younger Dryas Read More »
By Jakob Hamann Introduction The Laurentide Ice Sheet no longer exists, but its imprint remains visible across large parts of North America. The study of these landforms – known as glacial geomorphology – allows scientists to reconstruct how the ice sheet behaved, where it flowed, and how it advanced and retreated1,2. Different landforms form under
Geomorphology of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Read More »
By Jakob Hamann Introduction: timescale and climate setting at the Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) marks the coldest interval of the most recent glacial period, occurring between approximately 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. During this time, global temperatures were substantially lower than today, and large ice sheets reached their maximum extent across
Laurentide Ice Sheet at the Last Glacial Maximum Read More »
By Jakob Hamann Introduction Large parts of North America have been covered by glaciers and ice sheets in the past. Over roughly the last 2.6 million years – an interval known as the Quaternary Period1 – glaciers advanced and retreated repeatedly as climate shifted between colder and warmer conditions2. During colder intervals, ice sheets expanded
North American Glaciation Read More »
During the Quaternary Period, North America was covered by three ice sheets: the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, Laurentide Ice Sheet and Innuitian Ice Sheet. During the last glacial cycle, these ice sheets were the world’s largest ice masses, driving huge and important changes in global sea level, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and influencing the movement and
Ice Sheets of North America Read More »
Ellipsoidal Basins is a geographical term used to describe deep, elongated lakes, formed by subglacial activity beneath past ice sheets [1]. Examples of these basins include the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes of North America [1,2]. These basins were formed either where the ice was topographically constrained (Finger Lakes), had vulnerable, softer, geology (the Great
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