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Support for the Innuitian Ice Sheet in the Canadian High Arctic during the Last Glacial Maximum
Author(s) -
England John
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(199805/06)13:3<275::aid-jqs374>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - geology , ice sheet , glacial period , arctic , last glacial maximum , oceanography , physical geography , ice stream , glacier , wisconsin glaciation , arctic ice pack , climatology , paleontology , cryosphere , sea ice , geography
The extent of glacier ice in the Canadian High Arctic during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been debated for decades. One school proposed a regional Innuitian Ice Sheet whereas another proposed a smaller, non‐contiguous Franklin Ice Complex. Research throughout western Nares Strait supports coalescent Innuitian and Greenland ice during the LGM, based on widespread glacial and marine deposits dated by 14 C and amino acid analyses. This coalescence likely promoted a vigorous regional ice flow westward across Ellesmere Island to Eureka Sound. Post‐glacial emergence in Eureka Sound suggests a former ice thickness at least as great as that in Nares Strait (≥ 1 km). Recently, independent field studies elsewhere in the High Arctic also support an Innuitian Ice Sheet during the LGM. Collectively, these studies resolve a long‐standing debate, and initiate new opportunities concerning the reconstruction of high‐latitude palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic change. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.