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What caused the low-water phase of glacial Lake Agassiz?

Bibliographic Data

ID24085935
AuthorsThomas V Lowell (0000-0001-7826-0636, University of Cincinnati, corresponding author), Patrick J Applegate, Timothy G Fisher (0000-0003-3339-4731, University of Toledo), Kenneth Lepper (North Dakota State University)
Year2013
Volume80
Issue3
Pages370-382
Publication date2013-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaternary Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-5894 • E-ISSN: 1096-0287
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.yqres.2013.06.002
OpenAlexW2009709915
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited74

First-order modeling suggests that a low-water phase in late-glacial Lake Agassiz can be explained through changes in the balance between evaporation, precipitation, and runoff, rather than drainage. The low-water Moorhead Phase is often attributed to drainage through outlets opened by isostatic depression and retreat of the Laurentide ice margin. However, new data indicate that the proposed outlets were ice-covered during the Moorhead Phase. Instead, the lake water levels dropped to the Moorhead Phase before the start of the Younger Dryas chronozone and remained there until 11.3 ka. Thus, drainage seems to be an implausible explanation for Younger Dryas-aged low water levels in Lake Agassiz. An alternative explanation is that evaporation equaled or exceeded water inputs from the adjacent ice margin and the deglaciated parts of the drainage basin. To evaluate whether this hypothesis is plausible, we constructed a simple model that considers the paleo-basin geometry, hydrology, and meltwater production from the adjacent ice margin. Modest hydrologic changes (within the range of present-day variability), coupled with low meltwater production, produce a closed basin. Shifts in the location of the polar jet, driven by increased Arctic albedo, may explain our inferred hydrologic changes.

Antarctic sea ice · Arctic · Arctic ice pack · Geomorphology · Glacial lake · Glacial period · Hydrology (agriculture) · Ice sheet · Meltwater · Shelf ice · Stadial · Surface runoff · Younger Dryas · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena · Oceanography

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Unique citing works1
Citations per year0,13
Citation span2018 - 2018 (1)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
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