Geology Reports⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70192811

Cosmogenic nuclide age estimate for Laurentide Ice Sheet recession from the terminal moraine, New Jersey, USA, and constraints on latest Pleistocene ice sheet history

Lee B. Corbett·Paul R. Bierman·Byron D. Stone·Marc W. Caffee·Patrick L. Larsen
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The time at which the Laurentide Ice Sheet reached its maximum extent and subsequently retreated from its terminal moraine in New Jersey has been constrained by bracketing radiocarbon ages on preglacial and postglacial sediments. Here, we present measurements of in situ produced 10 Be and 26 Al in 16 quartz-bearing samples collected from bedrock outcrops and glacial erratics just north of the terminal moraine in north-central New Jersey; as such, our ages represent a minimum limit on the timing of ice recession from the moraine. The data set includes field and laboratory replicates, as well as replication of the entire data set five years after initial measurement. We find that recession of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the terminal moraine in New Jersey began before 25.2±2.1 ka ( 10 Be, n=16, average, 1 standard deviation). This cosmogenic nuclide exposure age is consistent with existing limiting radiocarbon ages in the study area and cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages from the terminal moraine on Martha’s Vineyard ~300 km to the northeast. The age we propose for Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat from the New Jersey terminal position is broadly consistent with regional and global climate records of the last glacial maximum termination and records of fluvial incision.

Explore related subjects

Quaternary ResearchArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Lee B. Corbett, Paul R. Bierman, Byron D. Stone, Marc W. Caffee, Patrick L. Larsen. 2017-04-18. Cosmogenic nuclide age estimate for Laurentide Ice Sheet recession from the terminal moraine, New Jersey, USA, and constraints on latest Pleistocene ice sheet history. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2017.11

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Age reassignment using luminescence dating for the Mammoth Site, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

The Mammoth Site (MS) at Hot Springs, South Dakota, provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions on the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Previous radiocarbon analyses of mammoth bone apatite suggested the MS sinkhole was deposited ∼42–23 cal ka BP. However, two U-series ages and one thermoluminescence (TL) age ranged between 150 and 101 ka, suggesting the bones were considerably older. We analyzed six samples from the bone bed using infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL) on feldspars, because the quartz luminescence was saturated; the ages ranged from approximately 232 to 160 ka, showing better agreement with previous U-series and TL analyses. In addition, we dated three samples on two terraces that are at lower elevation than the MS. Our new IRSL ages show that the sediments of the MS were likely well bleached, derived from pond margin runoff events, and deposited as sandy-silt laminae couplets. Our chronology indicates that the 6-m-thick bone-bearing sediments accumulated at a rate of approximately 12 mm/yr and that deposition occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 and MIS 7, not MIS 2 and MIS 3 as previously published.

South Dakota↗
USGS2026

A multiproxy reconstruction of changes in sea ice and primary productivity at IODP Site U1339 (Umnak Plateau, Bering Sea) during Marine Isotope Stage 11

The extreme warmth of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 has been extensively studied in the terrestrial realm; however, less is known about its expression in the North Pacific. Here, we present a multiproxy record from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1339 in the southeastern Bering Sea (Umnak Plateau). We use sedimentology, diatoms, and organic geochemistry to reconstruct sea ice and primary productivity from the end of MIS 12 to the beginning of MIS 10 (430–368 ka) at this site. In late MIS 12, the Umnak Plateau experienced extensive seasonal sea ice cover, with spring sea ice concentration near 100%. Based on diatoms and ice-rafted debris, sea ice declined to year-round ice-free conditions during deglaciation but readvanced during the interglacial climatic optimum. In contrast, sea ice has not been present at the Umnak Plateau throughout the Holocene. During MIS 11, sea ice at this site may have persisted due to a more easterly and/or weaker Aleutian Low. Laminated sediments indicate enhanced seasonal productivity during deglaciation. However, productivity does not remain high throughout the interglacial. The decline in productivity during MIS 11 occurs independently of fluctuations in sea ice and upwelling and may be due to increasing nutrient limitation.

Alaska↗