Past Glacial Environments

By John Menzies

Past Glacial Environments, Second Edition, presents a revised and updated version of the very successful first edition of Menzies’ book, covering a breadth of topics with a focus on the recognition and analysis of former glacial environments, including the pre-Quaternary glaciations.

The book is made up of chapters written by various geological experts from across the world, with the editor’s expertise and experience bringing the chapters together. This new and updated volume includes at least 45% new material, along with five new chapters that include a section on techniques and methods.

Additionally, this new edition is presented in full color and features a large collection of photographs, line diagrams, and tables with examples of glacial environments and landscapes that are drawn from a worldwide perspective.

Informative knowledge boxes and case studies are included, helping users better understand critical issues and ideas.

• Provides the most complete reference concerning the study of glacial processes and their geological, sedimentological, and geomorphological products
• Comprised of chapters written by various geological experts from across the world
• Includes specific case studies to alert readers to important ideas and issues
• Uses text boxes throughout to explain key concepts from glacial literature
• Presents full color photographs, line diagrams, and tables throughout

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Nov 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9780081005255

Book preview

Past Glacial Environments

Second Edition

Edited by

John Menzies

Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

Jaap J.M. van der Meer

Queen Mary, University of London, London, United Kingdom

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Glacier Ice

List of Contributors

Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Impact of Past Glacial Environments on Planet Earth

1.2 Glacial Sediments and Glacial Geomorphology/Geology

1.3 Challenges and Opportunities

References

Part I: The Prequaternary

Chapter 2. Precambrian Glacial Deposits: Their Origin, Tectonic Setting, and Key Role in Earth Evolution

Abstract

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Age Distribution of Ancient Glacial Deposits

2.3 Why Did Glaciations Occur?

2.4 The Palaeolatitude Problem

2.5 Archaean Glaciations

2.6 Palaeoproterozoic Glaciations

2.7 The Barren Billion

2.8 The Great Cryogenian Glaciations

2.9 Ediacaran Ice Ages

2.10 Tectonic Setting and Palaeolatitudes: Radical Changes in the Ediacaran Period

2.11 Conclusions

Acknowledgments

References

Chapter 3. The Early Palaeozoic Glacial Deposits of Gondwana: Overview, Chronology, and Controversies

Abstract

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Extent of Glaciation and Chronology

3.3 The Sedimentary Record

3.4 Conclusions

References

Part II: The Quaternary

Chapter 4. Quaternary Glaciations and Chronology

Abstract

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Prelude to the Quaternary

4.3 Glaciation During the Quaternary

4.4 Plio-Pleistocene Glaciation

4.5 The ‘Glacial’ Pleistocene

4.6 Last Glaciation

4.7 Summary

References

Part III: Glacial Processes

Chapter 5. Subglacial Processes and Sediments

Abstract

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Erosion in the Subglacial

5.3 Transport: Mechanics

5.4 Deposition: Mechanics

5.5 Subglacial Sediments

5.6 Subglacial Landforms/Bedforms Directly Attributable to Active/Passive Ice Activity

5.7 Subglacial Landforms/Bedforms Indirectly Attributable to Active/Passive Ice Activity

5.8 Repetitive Sedimentologic Histories in Subglacial Environments

5.9 Future Perspectives: Challenges and Opportunities

References

Chapter 6. Supraglacial Environments

Abstract

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Sources and Characteristics of Supraglacial Debris

6.3 Processes in the Supraglacial Environment

6.4 Supraglacial Sediments and Landforms in the Pleistocene Record

6.5 Summary and Conclusions

References

Chapter 7. Modern Glaciomarine Environments and Sediments: An Antarctic Perspective

Abstract

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Physical Geography of Glacial and Glaciomarine Systems

7.3 Relationship of Glaciomarine Processes to Base Level

7.4 Stratigraphic Considerations

7.5 Antarctic Glaciomarine, Systems, Processes and Facies

7.6 Deposystems and Facies Ensembles

7.7 Provenance Changes

7.8 Other Processes Influencing Sediment Deposits

7.9 Biotic Interactions in Glaciomarine Settings Including Ice Shelves

7.10 Sediment Accumulation Rates

7.11 Stratigraphic Successions, Single Cycle

7.12 Cyclo-Stratigraphy and Examples of Facies Succession

7.13 Glacial Isostacy, Rebound, and Local Base Level

7.14 Glaciomarine Systems Over Deep Geologic Time

Acknowledgments

References

Further Reading

Chapter 8. Glacioaeolian Processes, Sediments, and Landforms

Abstract

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Sediment Production and Sources

8.3 Wind Action Around Glaciers

8.4 Glacioaeolian Sediments and Landforms

8.5 Facies

8.6 Conclusion

References

Chapter 9. Glaciolacustrine Processes

Abstract

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Physical Limnology and Sedimentology

9.3 Ice-Contact Lakes

9.4 Sedimentary Facies in Ice-Contact Lakes

9.5 Glaciotectonic Deformation

9.6 Subglacial Lakes

9.7 Ice-Distal Lakes

9.8 Distal Lakes as Environmental Repositories

9.9 Conclusion

References

Chapter 10. Glaciovolcanism: A 21st Century Proxy for Palaeo-Ice

Abstract

10.1 Introduction: What is Glaciovolcanism and Why is it Important?

10.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Volcanic Versus Sedimentary Rocks as Palaeoenvironmental Tools

10.3 Relationship Between Volcanism and Climate

10.4 A Typical Basaltic Glaciovolcanic Eruption

10.5 Physical Properties of Ice Important for Glaciovolcanic Eruptions

10.6 Classification of Glaciovolcanic Sequences and Landforms

10.7 Glaciovolcanic Sequences as Palaeoenvironmental Proxies

10.8 Case Studies Using Glaciovolcanism to Reconstruct Past Ice Conditions

10.9 Summary

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 11. Glacial Lithofacies and Stratigraphy

Abstract

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Geological Complexities in Glacial Sequences

11.3 Glacial Lithofacies

11.4 Stratigraphy in Glaciated Environments

11.5 Stratigraphic Approaches Within Glaciated Environments

11.6 Summary

11.7 Conclusions

References

Chapter 12. Glaciohydrogeology

Abstract

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Elementary Principles of Hydrogeology

12.3 Meltwater Production and Drainage Systems to the Bed

12.4 Groundwater Flow Characteristics Under Ice Sheets

12.5 Effect of Groundwater Drainage on Glacier Dynamics

12.6 Landforms Resulting from Inefficient Groundwater Drainage

12.7 Impacts of Subsurface Increasing Meltwater Pressure

12.8 Hydrogeochemistry

12.9 Issues and Applications

References

Chapter 13. Glacitectonics

Abstract

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Glacitectonic Research: A Brief History

13.3 Subglacial Deformation: The Subglacial Shear Zone

13.4 Subglacial Deformation of Permafrost

13.5 Ice-Marginal and Proglacial Deformation

13.6 Glacitectonic Rafting

References

Chapter 14. Geographic Information Systems and Glacial Environments

Abstract

14.1 Introduction

14.2 GIS Data Structures and Remotely Sensed Data Products

14.3 Glacial Landform Mapping

14.4 Glacial Geological Inversion of Palaeo-Ice Sheet Beds and GIS-Based Ice Sheet Reconstructions

14.5 Future Applications of RS and GIS in Palaeoglaciology

References

Chapter 15. Periglacial Processes in Glacial Environments

Abstract

15.1 Introduction

15.2 Cold Nonglacial Environments

15.3 Frost Action

15.4 Permafrost

15.5 Pleistocene Permafrost

15.6 Ground Ice

15.7 Thermokarst

15.8 Hydrology in Periglacial Environments

15.9 The Changing Periglacial Realm

References

Chapter 16. Ice Sheets and Climate: The Marine Geological Record

Abstract

16.1 Past Glaciations

16.2 Ice Sheets in the Earth System

16.3 Reconstructions of Ice Extent and Ice Thickness

16.4 Orbital Forcing of Glaciation and Climate Feedbacks

16.5 Abrupt Climate Change and Rates of Sea Level Rise

References

Part IV: Techniques and Methods

Chapter 17. Soils and Palaeosols in Glacial Environments

Abstract

17.1 Introduction

17.2 Surface Soils in Glaciated Landscapes

17.3 Palaeosols in Glacial Settings

17.4 Conclusions

References

Chapter 18. Ice Sheet and Glacier Modelling

Abstract

18.1 Overview: Historical Perspective

18.2 Mechanics and Rheology

18.3 Ice Flux Inputs and Outputs: Mass Budgets and Mechanical Controls

18.4 Temperature Effects

18.5 Basal Hydrology and Fast Flow

18.6 Future Directions

Acknowledgments

References

Appendix A: Mathematical Details: Coordinate System, Vectors and Tensors

Appendix B: Mathematical Details: Mechanical Balances and Boundary Conditions for Upper and Lower Surfaces

Chapter 19. Geochronology Applied to Glacial Environments

Abstract

19.1 Introduction

19.2 Radioactive Nuclides

19.3 Radiative Dosimetry Methods

19.4 Amino Acid Racemization

19.5 Comparative Methods

19.6 Summary

References

Chapter 20. Application of Till Mineralogy and Geochemistry to Mineral Exploration

Abstract

20.1 Introduction

20.2 Historical Perspective

20.3 Ice-Flow Reconstruction for Mineral Exploration

20.4 Glacial Dispersal Trains

20.5 Mineral Residence Sites in Till

20.6 Exploration Methods

20.7 Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Appendix A Mineral Deposits Discovered by Till Sampling and Boulder Tracing

Chapter 21. Micromorphology and Microsedimentology of Glacial Sediments

Abstract

21.1 Introduction

21.2 Sampling and Preparation Techniques

21.3 Study of Thin Sections

21.4 Microstructure Nomenclature

21.5 Micromorphology and Microsedimentology of Glacial Sediments

21.6 Future Perspectives

Acknowledgements

References

Further Reading

Part V: Problems and Perspective

Chapter 22. Glacial Environments: Themes and Issues

Abstract

22.1 Introduction

22.2 Themes in Past Glacial Environments

22.3 Theme 1: Global Warming and Past Glacial Environments

22.4 Theme 2: Glaciated Lands, Margins, Deep-Time Archives and Ocean Basins

22.5 Theme 3: ‘Old’ and Extant Persistent Problems in PGE

22.6 Epilogue

References

Index

Copyright

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Glacier Ice

If ever you visit glacier ice

you'll be struck by the wet, not the cold;

whether the weather is harsh or nice,

there's muck and water, and no advice,

offered by young or by old,

will prepare for the clinging feel

of slurry soaked slacks slapping your skin

as ice-cold water trickles within

to gather at a sock's holed heel.

You'll scramble over each morainic mound

of loose gravel mixed in stony clay,

and down through soft and flabby ground

with pools and puddles all around,

a cold, wet, watery way,

through clammy muck like dirty glue.

And on you'll plough and trudge and fight,

but you'll persevere till it comes in sight: –

the white glacier tinged with blue.

To reach the ice you may have to go round

a lake that laps its snout.

And when you get there, it's sure to be found,

like some mistreated, agèd hound,

to be dirt-ingrained throughout.

From its icy flank, you'll gaze perhaps

(your cautious crampons clinging tight),

on rivulets that are milky white

as they pump and pulse through perishing paps.

Of course you can't return to your base

without going in below.

You'll have ropes and tackle and friends in case

you get trapped some dark subglacial place;

there'll be a cave, and in you'll go,

through a wet and muddy maw,

to a terrible tomby tank,

where slinky walls of ice are dank,

and rock is splintered by freeze and thaw.

At first you will start – the water drips boom –

at each irregular, hollow drop.

And when, through the grim crepuscular gloom,

you hear the echoic howl of doom

(it's the glacier grating on rock),

you may retain a panicky doubt,

you weren't in the cave over-long,

but sloshing through sludge, having heard death's gong,

you'll struggle back out the mouth.

Though every bit of your body aches,

and muddied and wet, though not quite drowned,

you'll relate, despite the effort it takes,

of torture drips and fracture flakes

chipped from the bone of the ground.

A lucky escape, your friends will agree,

as they help you hobble out of that place.

You'll wonder if there was loss of face,

with a hasty back-glance at the ice, as you flee.

You'll let it sit for a year or two

to mature in your inner mind,

where time will wipe all grime from view

and cleanse your memory till you find

the ice was ever crisp and pure: –

no muck, no mire, no ice-ordure.

You'll stretch your legs on a couch or chair,

and fail to probe that inward eye

to see what sludge might linger there.

Though photographs will give the lie,

such erring eyes flash only clean

sights polished to romantic sheen.

Liam Ó Bharáin (aka William P Warren)

List of Contributors

Í.Ö. Benediktsson,     University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland

J.-F. Buoncristiani,     Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France

E. Derbyshire,     Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, United Kingdom

E.W. Domack,     University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States

J. Ehlers,     Witzeeze, Germany

S. Fitzsimons,     University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

P.L. Gibbard,     Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom

R.C.A. Hindmarsh,     British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, United Kingdom

J. Howarth,     GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

P.D. Hughes,     The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

P.M. Jacobs,     University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, United States

A.J.T. Jull

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States

Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary

D.P. Le Heron,     Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, United Kingdom

J. Lee,     British Geological Survey, Nottingham, United Kingdom

J.A. Mason,     University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States

M.B. McClenaghan,     Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

J. Melvin,     Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia

J. Menzies,     Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada

L.A. Owen,     University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States

S. Passchier,     Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, United States

R.C. Paulen,     Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

E.R. Phillips,     British Geological Survey, The Lyell Centre, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

W. Pollard,     McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

R. Powell,     Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, United States

E. Ravier,     Le Mans Université, Le Mans, France

A. Schomacker,     UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

W.W. Shilts,     Illinois State Geological Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, United States

J.L. Smellie,     University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom

S. Tofaif,     Royal Holloway, University of London, Surrey, United Kingdom

Jaap J.M. van der Meer,     Queen Mary, University of London, London, United Kingdom

K. Wagner,     Minnesota Geological Survey, Saint Paul, MN, United States

G.M. Young,     Western University, London, ON, Canada

Preface

John Menzies and Jaap J.M. van der Meer

In April 1837 Louis Agassiz delivered his famous discourse in Neuchâtel on his theory that in the past Alpine glaciers had been much more extensive. This is generally accepted as the start of the ice age theory, although recent evidence, only just translated, suggests that Jens Esmark by 1823 in the mountains of Norway (at Rauddalsbreen) had ‘discovered’ the concept of a vast ice age (Hestmark, 2018). Subsequently, James Croll’s hypothesis on the likely astronomical origin of ice ages was endorsed. In any event by the mid-19th century we can see the start of the study of past glacial environments. Without doubt Agassiz’ presentation resulted in endless discussions and a flurry of activity. Researchers started to travel the globe by sail, steam, horseback or on foot to map the extent of these former glaciers. Amazingly, by the end of the 19th century the whole known world was mapped. If we now examine today one of these world maps, we see a glacial distribution that does not look much different from one of our own. What followed was a period of consolidation of these maps, adding detail, but it was all about landforms and sediments. Gradually, geomorphology’s toolbox expanded, with clast indicator provenance, grainsize analysis, heavy mineral, clay mineralogy and much more methods and techniques developed. But studies concentrated on distribution and glacier extent. Whereas glaciologists, by the very nature of their topic, studied processes, glacial geo(morpho)logists, with few exceptions, did not. With recognition of multiple glaciations (Pleistocene) stratigraphy was introduced. Effectively only the boundaries of the glaciated areas changed by usually relatively minor amounts. Only from the late 1960s does the focus change to studying the origin (processes) of landforms and sediments, among others by comparison between Pleistocene sequences and actual processes at the Alpine and Arctic glaciers and later the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets. The toolbox was further expanded, for example, airphoto interpretation, palaeomagnetism, absolute dating, micromorphology, remote sensing, engineering geology, and glacier and ice sheet modelling. At the same time, some areas, where previously it was thought that they had been too warm, on close study, revealed that they have carried glaciers as well, for example, around the Mediterranean or the Drakensbergen in South Africa. Thus, an awareness crept in about global glaciations where in almost all continents evidence back into the Precambrian, other than the Jurassic, and in all subsequent geological periods can be found from Australia, Brazil, India, the Sahara, to the NWT in Canada. It appears that the only European country that had not been glaciated at all during the Pleistocene is Belgium.

This all means that there is now a huge body of literature and a wide array of techniques to choose from when studying past glacial environments and no place on earth is too remote to do so. Which is a huge challenge for anyone trying to produce a textbook in this field. As editors, we have tried to cover the most relevant glacial sedimentary environments and techniques to provide the current generation of physical geography, geology, sedimentology, glaciology or ice modelling students with an up-to-date overview and prepare them in the best possible way for the study of past glacial environments.

After all there is still a lot to discover, over the last half century we have made great progress in understanding glacial geological processes but as usual every answer leads to more questions. With climate change come new challenges to our understanding of the earth and its workings, increasing precipitation, floods, increasing demands on fresh and clean groundwater all beg the question of whether we understand the properties of glacial sediments, which cover huge parts of continents.

This volume stands on the shoulders of numerous predecessors, from single authored textbooks to multi-authored edited volumes. By now we must make choices when it comes to which topics to cover, the resulting volume should still be manageable. As said, we have tried to provide the best possible selection for current students. Thereby we had to forego some interesting topics that are currently emerging. As such we can mention exo-(palaeo)glaciology which shows that Earth is not unique in the solar system in having or had glaciers and ice which will help us in better understanding our own system. With the strong retreat of glaciers there is now an emerging field of glacial archaeology (it has its own journal) which shows that all over the world people have been living near and off glaciers. This provides fantastic insight in the ecology of glacier forefields.

Thus, we see a strong future for the study of past glacial environments, after all a huge proportion of this world’s population is living on the sediments of past glaciations or depends on meltwater from existing glaciers, the latter not only in developing countries, but also in countries such as Switzerland.

Given the increasing world population there will be an increasing demand for protection of groundwater, for construction materials, for arable land and increasing production. If we only look at the land area covered by tills, we come to c. 35% land coverage, which makes the study of past glacial environments even more relevant.

In all sciences, knowledge is used to predict the future and slowly we are reaching the stage where this is also applicable in the study of past glacial environments. If we combine glaciology, modelling and existing geology we can start to think about predicting the geology after the next glacial episode, which will inevitably come.

We sincerely wish to thank all the authors whose contributions appear in this volume. Some have had to endure our nagging, others have had to wait for their chapter to appear in print and at least one was even impacted by Hurricane Irma. This has been a big effort encompassing many more people than just the editors and the authors, each of the latter have had to rely on cartographers, photographers, lab assistants, colleagues, and many others. These are named in the relevant chapter acknowledgements.

Sadly, only 4 days after the publication of the eBook version of the textbook, we learned that Gene Domack had died. We are sure he knew of the book’s publication and his superb chapter – for which we are all very grateful.

At Elsevier, we would like to thank Louisa Hutchins, who suggested the idea of a new edition, Emily Thomson in London and Anitha Sivaraj in India and many others in the Elsevier’s offices.

Finally, we wish to thank our respective wives, Teresa and Wiesje, for their support and patience and in dealing with our absence and absentmindedness at times.

December 2017

Chapter 1

Introduction

J. Menzies¹ and Jaap J.M. van der Meer²,    ¹Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada,    ²Queen Mary, University of London, London, United Kingdom

At this time, in the second decade of the 21st century, global warming is ongoing. Climate change is more rapid than previously thought. Catastrophic storms and significant climatic events are evermore vast and costly. Social, economic and political changes to human societies on Earth are imminent and, in some cases, already ongoing due to global warming events and their repercussions. Sea level is rising at unprecedented rates. Glaciers are shrinking rapidly. If there ever was a reason among many to study past glacial environments it has never been more imperative than now. Furthermore, as glaciers have been extensively monitored and mapped over the last century, the glacier beds currently exposed by ice retreat can be directly linked to glacier properties, interpreting past glacier environments is very opportune.

Valley glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps, ice fields and ice shelves are the very ‘pulse’ by which climate change and thus global warming can be demonstrated and subtly directly related. As ice masses advance and retreat, these movements can be reliably correlated with climate change over time. In order that such ice masses move, an understanding of ice physics is essential. Movement of all ice masses occurs at the complex basal interface between ice and the underlying bed. As such the bed, its composition, topography, thermal characteristics and behaviour under strain by moving ice are central. Access to the basal interface under active present-day ice masses is by default a dangerous and risky endeavour. Various novel techniques of data acquisition are now tested. However, the base of any ice mass is exposed on the retreat of the ice thus providing a superb laboratory. Much of this textbook explores these now-exposed basal interfaces and the sediments and landforms so exposed.

It is essential in understanding these sediments and landforms to have a clear and precise grasp of how these glacial sediments form today and formed in Quaternary and pre-Quaternary environments. Glacial environments once thought to be unique to modern ice masses and those deposited in the Quaternary (The Ice Age) (Chapter 4) are now recognized to have been formed in most geological periods (other than the Jurassic) (Fig. 1.1); (Chapters 2, 3). In effect our planet is characteristically a ‘glacial planet’, where most often global glaciation events covering over 60% of the earth have occurred repeatedly (Chapters 2, 3, 4). Under ‘Snowball Earth’ conditions in the Neoproterozoic, e.g., the earth appears to have been totally ice-covered (Arnaud et al., 2011; Le Heron et al., 2013). Such is the all-pervading presence of glacial sediments that they can be found on every continent. Because the earth has been repeatedly glaciated and thus suffered both icehouse and greenhouse conditions, much can be learned of these events that have direct and immediate bearing on today’s rapidly advancing greenhouse conditions and in the near future. The predicative value of science has never more been critical to understanding how our planet will change and the tempo of that change by understanding past glacial environments and conditions.

Figure 1.1 Palaeogeography of global glaciations from the Neoproterozoic until the present day. Note ‘Snowball Earth’ glaciations in the Neoproterozoic covered 100% of the Earth. During subsequent glaciations only partial cover of the Earth occurred (approximately 60% Earth coverage that included continents and continental shelves). Adapted from http://www.snowballearth.org/ Slide 1.3.

Glaciers and ice sheets have an enormous effect upon all aspects of earth systems. At present, the complexities of ice dynamics and the relevant variables and influences they have on ice mass balance, and on the specific reasons for ice front and meltwater discharge fluctuations, remain poorly understood. The processes of ice basal movement, basal interfaces between ice and the subjacent bed whether deforming or not, thermally temperate or polar or more likely polythermal states and the intricate relationship between ice motion and subglacial hydrology continue to be investigated (Chapter 5). The key to ice movement whether in surge (fast ice) or ‘normal’ motion remains unanswered. Modern glaciers can be viewed as active analogues of past glaciers and ice sheets (Chapters 6, 7). Modelling of modern ice masses and mass balance studies advance our knowledge in explaining past global ice sheet development and expansion (Chapter 18). The diverse subenvironments of glaciers, both on land and subaquatically, provide an active field laboratory for studying present glacial sedimentological processes that can be employed to understand and interpret past glacial environments (Chapters 8–15). However, in utilizing modern ice masses as analogues of the past, care must be exercised, since past ice masses may have been significantly different in many critical aspects.

1.1 Impact of Past Glacial Environments on Planet Earth

The Earth is essentially a glacial planet (icehouse) punctuated by periods of ameliorative conditions (greenhouse) similar to or occasionally warmer than the period we live in today. Almost all aspects of life on Earth are influenced to a greater or lesser extent by the impact and persisting effects of glaciation. The distribution of plants, animals, early humans, soil types and coastal morphology are a few examples of the direct influence of global glaciation. Even in the tropics, where climatic conditions have remained relatively unchanged for at least the past 15 million years, the northern and southern boundaries on land and the repeated changes in ocean sea level have resulted in climatic and biogeographic changes all as a response, however imperceptible and subtle, to global glaciation. The dire impact of global warming and consequent climate change are enormous to comprehend (Hansen et al., 2016). The effect of such changes on human society, in all aspects, are truly major from the slight changes in a very few locations to cataclysmic changes in most parts of the world (see chapters: Geographic Information Systems and Glacial Environments (Chapter 14); and Soils and Palaeosols in Glacial Environments (Chapter 17)). Political, economic and societal changes of unheralded levels have never really been contemplated before by global community. The effect of ice sheets and glaciers, particularly on global habitats and earth systems, on sea level changes (Chapter 16), on the fluctuations of desert boundaries and discontinuous and continuous permafrost zones fast disappearing, e.g., can be viewed at two levels of impact: first, their influence upon humans and habitats within their immediate locality, and second, on their much more pervasive influence on all global habitats owing to the effect of modern ice masses on global climate and sea level (Church et al., 2013) (Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). The effect of ice masses in the immediate proximity to humans is well documented (Hambrey and Alean, 1992; Vrba, 1995; Jansen et al., 2007; Change IPCC, 2013; IPCC, 2014) in terms, e.g., of meltwater outbursts and rapid ice advances resulting in the loss of pasture lands, property and, in some cases, human fatality. These detrimental aspects, of course, need to be balanced with the beneficial resources of water for hydroelectric projects, irrigation and fresh domestic water supplies. Less obvious, but actively researched today, is the more insidious and pervasive influence of present-day ice masses on global climate and oceanic currents (Böning et al., 2008; Purkey and Johnson, 2010; Rignot et al., 2011). As predictions of global warming increase, so knowledge of modern glacial conditions needs to be amplified if we are to cope with and predict sea level rise in the coming century when this knowledge will become acutely significant (Willis et al., 2010; Hansen et al., 2016). Considering the enormity of this influence, the relevance today of past glacial environments and their sediments and landforms cannot be undervalued. It is more than likely that the Earth will experience further global glaciations. Human activities, especially over the past 200 years, have exacerbated and accelerated some of the complex oceanic/atmospheric and solar forcing interrelationships but to what extent remains unknown. To be able to predict and be prepared for future global change, a profound knowledge of past glacial environments must be gleaned from the vast record that past glaciations have left behind. Related to potential sea level rise resulting from ice sheet melting in Greenland and Antarctica is the question of future ice sheet stability (Chapter 7). If these ice sheets melt at an increased rate vast plumes of cold fresh water may be injected into the polar oceans affecting oceanic habitats, currents, surface ocean water temperatures (e.g., El Niño–Southern Oscillation events) and, consequently, global weather patterns (Moon et al., 2015; Overland et al., 2015; Stott et al., 2016).

A further aspect of glacial environments is in providing analogues to past glacial conditions as a key to understanding present and future glacial processes. By studying present-day glacial environments and sedimentological processes, considerable knowledge can be gleaned as to how sediments of past glacial events have been derived, transported, and finally deposited both on land and in water (Chapters 8, 9, 10). Pleistocene glacial sediments cover today at least 30% of the Earth’s continental landmasses, and an even greater area must be included when Pre-Pleistocene sediments ranging over vast areas of India, Australia, Africa and South America are considered (Hambrey and Harland, 1981; Arnaud et al., 2011; Young, 2013; Fleming et al., 2016; Spence et al., 2016) (Chapters 7, 11). These sediments affect almost every aspect of human life from establishing foundations and footings for buildings, windmills, roads and runways; the nutrient content of soils; the nature of groundwater supplies; to the potential soil routes for contaminant waste disposal and the location of landfill sites (Chapters 12, 13). These few examples illustrate the vital need to understand glacial processes ongoing in glacial environments (De Mulder and Hageman, 1989; Hay, 2016). Until relatively recently this figure of 30% for Pleistocene sediments was accepted yet, today, perhaps approximately 60% would be a more accurate figure if glaciomarine sediments are included. These thick sediments lie over the ocean floors covering enormous parts of the northern and southern areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Kennicutt et al., 2014; Simard et al., 2015). The impact of glaciomarine sediments on land-based habitats is certainly limited, affecting only fisheries to a little-known degree, but if future utilization of oceanic basins occurs the influence of these vast areas of glacial sediments may become increasingly meaningful.

1.1.1 Recognition of ‘Ice Ages’

From medieval times there have been innumerable explanations of features that we now recognize as glacial forms, such as erratic boulders viewed as the putting stones of giants, potholes as devils’ punch bowls and other demonic interpretations for glacial phenomena. Where and when precisely a glacial explanation of many of these features was first enunciated is difficult to determine, but by the mid-18th century in Scandinavia, Germany, Iceland and Switzerland, several individuals had begun to suggest that glaciers had been more extensive in the past (Nilsson, 1983; Dawson, 2013; Montañez and Poulsen, 2013; Rapp, 2013). In the 19th century, Charpentier, Agassiz, Buckland and Esmark, e.g., had begun to realize that large areas of Europe had been glaciated by vast ice sheets and thus the concept of the ‘ice age’ was proposed. This suggestion was not established, however, in many parts of Europe and North America until the late 1800s, and even up to the 1920s there were individuals who still questioned the very idea of an ice age. As early as 1863, Archibald Geikie interpreted the unlithified sediments and landforms of Scotland as evidence of glaciation and, from that beginning in Britain, a rapid period of geological mapping and stratigraphic interpretation spread throughout most of the northern hemisphere (Geikie, 1863). By the late 19th and early 20th centuries knowledge of the extent and details of multiple glaciations to have affected Europe and North America was well established (cf. Geikie, 1894; Antevs, 1928).

1.1.2 Multidisciplinary Nature of Glacial Studies

The study of past glacial environments has generated a multidisciplinary strategy of scientific inquiry (Fig. 1.1). The underlying thesis of all these separate, yet connected, studies is to understand past glacial events and processes, global climatic conditions and oceanic circulation patterns, and botanical and zoological adaptations and adjustments. With that knowledge, predictions can be made of possible future global events, patterns and responses. Central to the study of past glacial environments are glacial sediments. Their properties, characteristic structures, fossil content, age, stratigraphic position, landform association, morphology and location are characteristically the sole evidence from which reconstruction of past glacial environments can be made. To aid in reconstruction, surrogate and long-distance evidence must be gathered to augment what may, at times, be scanty data. In recent years, e.g., dating techniques, and oxygen isotope records from deep ocean sediments and ice sheets, have supplied objective and precise information. Similarly, models that can be run repeatedly with ever-changing parameters such as those for weather patterns or oceanic circulation provide additional clues as to conditions during incipient, full and waning global glacial and interglacial phases. Such models reveal theoretical possibilities and feasibilities, providing scientific support for explanations of past environmental conditions and constraints. With the use of satellite imagery, DEM images, Lidar, drones and other remote aerial imagery techniques and means of data collection, the advances in studying glacial terrains, sediments and large aerial tracts of the Earth surface allow an enormous series of steps forward in analyzing and understanding past glacial environments (Chapter 14).

1.2 Glacial Sediments and Glacial Geomorphology/Geology

This textbook takes glacial sediments as central in any explanation of past glacial environments. The study of these sediments comes under the heading of glacial geomorphology or geology. Glacial studies, in the past, have been of two types: those interested in sediments and landforms and those interested in the chronological sequence of glacial events. In many cases these two approaches were combined, thus developing a series of chronostratigraphic models of glacial events for a particular location (Chapters 2, 3, 4). Prior to the Second World War, research in glacial studies was strongly geological, with an emphasis on description and occasionally on processes and sedimentology (e.g., Gripp, 1929, see translation in Meer, 2004) but often within spatially limited areas. After 1945, a morphological approach was adopted in which the geographical distribution of landforms was used foremost in developing explanations of the glacial events for a specific site. Emphasis on sediment types and stratigraphic relationships was only used where stratigraphy was of interest and, too often, little attention was given to glacial sedimentology. By the 1970s, a search for explanations led research to again rely more heavily on glacial sedimentology (with a dependence on glaciological conditions), thereby deemphasizing the once strongly geographical paradigm (Boulton, 1987). This glacio-sedimentological approach sought to find answers by considering all glacial sediments and landforms within the framework of known sedimentological and glaciological conditions before, during and after specific events within a glacial system. The success of this approach hinges upon knowledge of those ‘events’ and ‘conditions’. Since the beginning of the 21st century with the huge advent of the use of GIS in its various techniques an amalgamation of glacio-(micro-)sedimentological, glaciological, geotechnical and GIS-based data collection has led to even greater understanding of glacial environments (Chapters 14, 21).

1.3 Challenges and Opportunities

When considering the vast array of research in glacial environments some general trends can be observed that have had an enormous impact on various facets of glacier studies. Over the past several decades the techniques for studying glaciers have vastly improved, e.g., in the accuracy of measurements of ice movement and mass balance through the use of satellite imaging methods. From the first ice cores extracted from near Byrd Station, Antarctica, to the more recent discoveries of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)-Divide ice core (Sigl et al., 2015), and the Greenland Ice-Core Project (GRIP, 1993), Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05), NorthGRIP (2004) (Svensson et al., 2006) and the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling Project (NEEM) (Miteva et al., 2015) the accuracy, detail and outpouring of data on ice cores, their geochemistry, geochronology and climatic implications, has been astounding. The precision of techniques in geochemical analyses of ice cores has reached a level whereby details of atmospheric chemistry can now be revealed that were hitherto unknown (e.g., Fudge et al, 2016). As understanding of modern ice sheets has grown, the intricate relationships of feedbacks and counterfeedbacks between the atmosphere, oceans and ice mass modifications have been translated into first-order ice sheet models. Sophisticated computer-generated ice sheet models have increased our understanding of ice sheet growth and potential stability/instability, permitting future predictions of ice sheet behaviour (Jenson et al., 1996; Marshall and Clarke, 1997; De Boer et al., 2013; Austermann et al., 2015; Young and Briner, 2015). In tandem with these findings has been the increasing knowledge concerning Pre-Pleistocene glaciations and the overall causative mechanisms that may lead to global glaciation (Arnaud et al., 2011; Li et al., 2013; Rooney et al., 2015). In considering how global glaciations began and ended, our knowledge of past global climates, carbon dioxide levels, biomass productivity and other habitat environmental indicators has dramatically improved, thereby permitting predictions of the possible effects of global greenhouse warming to be better understood, if not anticipated (Raynaud et al., 1993; Nesje and Dahl, 2000; Shiogama et al., 2016). What has often been ignored is an attendant and critical understanding of ice physics. A tacit recognition of this subdiscipline has always existed, but attempts to directly merge the findings of glaciological research into glacial geomorphology has been latently resisted. The result has been the divergence at times between glaciology and glacial geology. Today the value of combining both disciplines in a concerted effort to understand glaciers and their environments is gradually being accepted. It is no longer possible to try to understand the deposition of subglacial sediments without first considering the thermal and mechanical parameters of subglacial environments (e.g., Narloch et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2013; Gehrmann et al., 2016) (Chapter 4). What has emerged from the chaos of ideas and poorly developed hypotheses and theories concerning glacial sedimentological processes is that glacial environments are more complex than perhaps previously considered.

Just as glaciology has undergone profound changes and evolution, the wider field of glacial geology has undergone maturation. When the Europeans and North Americans first began studies of glaciated terrains they brought with them a profound geological appreciation of sedimentary stratigraphy as well as a spatial awareness of topography (physiography). Descriptions of sections in the field were often so detailed and accurate that even today when visiting these same sites, the accuracy of the precise details commented upon by early ‘glacialists’ is evident. Somewhere in the early 20th century the science became diverted into a dominance of form over sediment. Landforms and physiographic studies became de rigueur and increasingly detailed studies of sediments and depositional processes were often relegated to a subordinate place or, in many studies, virtually ignored. From this developed what might be termed a ‘spatio-morphological school’ of thought that placed emphasis on spatial interrelationships and supposed geographical locational cause and effect. It is of some profound concern that over-reliance on satellite and other similar imageries might lead the discipline off on a dangerous tangent as in the mid-20th century. The need for ‘ground truth’ was never more necessary. Glacial sediments and interrelationships were often too lightly considered in pursuit of the establishment of temporal–spatial relationships between landforms and landform assemblages in order to develop scenarios of glacier fluctuations at local, regional and continental scales. This paradigm achieved enormous successes in explaining and developing global and regional glacial chronologies. However, in detailed studies of local glacial variations this paradigm failed to provide answers, if only for want of sound sedimentological and glaciological inputs.

Although many workers held to a strong sedimentological methodology, only since the 1970s has a general swing toward a ‘glacio-sedimentological’ school of thought begun to evolve. Emphasis was placed on all aspects of glacial processes and glacial ice dynamics in an attempt to establish glacial process-patterns within a time frame constrained not by potentially perilous spatial–topographical relationships (the ‘dangers’ in the overuse of satellite imagery in isolation of ground-truthing), but a broader, more complex and stochastic, appreciation of sediment processes, ice mechanics and transient environmental conditions. At the same time a concomitant shift away from a ‘unique’ appreciation of landforms has emerged that places landforms as part of suites of associated forms developing in similar environmental conditions. As Fig. 1.2 illustrates, the breadth of scientific interest in glacial environments encompasses many diverse fields of inquiry and each one has pertinent research issues. Overall there are several issues that transcend discipline boundaries, for example:

• The problem of recognizing glacial from nonglacial sediments;

• Discrimination of different lithofacies and facies associations within one or adjacent glacial environments;

• Recognizing the contribution of water in the many subenvironments of glacial systems;

• Identifying boundary interface processes and related bed- and landform initiation in subenvironments of the glacial system;

• Identifying those sediment characteristics that are indicative of diagenesis;

• Distinguishing and verifying the impact of freezing conditions on sediments;

• Characterizing habitat changes close to ice masses in relation to climate change, plant colonization, and faunal and human migration; resolving, at the more local scale, the interplay between land and sea levels before, during and after global glaciations in relation to rapid changes in ice sheet volumes, ice marginal positions and oceanic circulation; developing objective multiple taxonomic criteria in glacial stratigraphy (Chapter 11);

• Acquiring dating techniques and refining dating resolution to permit more precise determination of events and process rates;

• Determining modes of transport in glacial systems from better definition of transport signatures on individual grain surfaces and understanding of erosion, transport and deposition sequences as manifest in sediment placer bodies.

Figure 1.2 Diagram illustrating the multidisciplinary nature of studies pertinent to past glacial environments.

A persistent problem in all glacial studies is the accurate recognition of glacial sediments. Although many characteristics have been suggested, there still remain concerns when interpreting lacustrine, marine and distal proglacial sediments (Chapters 7, 9). Once it has been determined that a particular sediment or form is glacial, controversy often surrounds the origin of a particular facies or subfacies. Within glacial systems there are several environments that produce sediments, forms and internal structures that are virtually identical and indistinguishable (Chapters 4, 8, 9, 11, 15). Under these circumstances, facies associations may often aid in the resolution of a particular problem, e.g., in the interpretation of the glacial sequence at Scarborough Bluffs near Toronto, Ontario (e.g., Eyles et al., 1983; Dreimanis, 1984; Karrow, 1984a,b; Sharpe and Barnett, 1985), or as to the nature of Precambrian Port Askaig sediments of Scotland (e.g., Le Heron, 2015) or the diamictites in Namibia (e.g., Hoffman, 2011). Since glacial sediments may progress through repeated cycles of erosion and deposition, an equifinality is commonly encountered in specific facies units. Only by using related diagnostic attributes possibly linked to stratigraphic position, location, or other facies associations can a facies unit be designated in certain cases. Discrimination is especially problematic between sediments in adjacent facies environments such as proglacial proximal, and subaqueous or subglacial and subaqueous diamictons. It has become apparent that water, as meltwater and porewater, has played a much greater role in most glacial subenvironments than hitherto assumed. Processes of subglacial erosion, e.g., are much more widespread than was recognized in the past both at the micro- and macroscale levels (Ravier et al., 2015) (Chapters 12, 21). The central role that meltwater and porewater plays in varying effective stress levels within glacial sediments has profound effects on sediment strength and mobility (Chapter 19). However, precise details of sediment geotechnical changes as controlled by porewater content remain rudimentary. The relative importance of porewater within glacial debris has been largely ignored. However, in many subenvironments where stress-sensitive sediments occur, such as flow tills, porewater content is the controlling variable in determining rates of deposition and transport, and effective stress levels. The porewater content of subglacial deformable beds controls the rate of debris mobilization and possible bedform development and/or survival (e.g., Menzies et al., 2016). From modern glacial environments it is known, e.g., that massive jökulhlaups occur having devastating effects in the proglacial zone, moving vast quantities of debris from the subglacial, terminal and proximal areas of ice masses, yet stratigraphic recognition remains imprecise and problematic (Chapter 6).

Much of geomorphology is concerned with the interaction of Earth surface processes across the boundary interface between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface, or the base of an ice mass and its sole, or the bed of a lake or sea or river and flowing water. It is at these interfaces that landforms and bedforms develop. Of special intrinsic interest therefore in glacial environments is the reaction between ice, meltwater and the Earth’s surface and the formation of glacial landforms and bedforms. With insufficient knowledge of many glacial processes, explanations, although often remarkably accurate, were imprecise concerning processes and rates of landform development. As understanding of glacial processes increased, details of landform development have likewise become more complex. At the same time, it has become apparent that many glacial landforms are not unique but are closely related in origin. In examining glacial sediments, it must be remembered that some of these sediments have been deposited many thousands of years ago, resulting in subsequent changes in their properties. These changes may be the result of exposure at the Earth’s surface and the influence of subaerial processes, possibly exhumation owing to surface erosion, uplift from a subaqueous to subaerial position because of isostatic or eustatic changes, the impact of vegetation colonization and soil development, and the impact of climatic change (Chapters 10, 14, 15, 17). Any of these effects may act alone or in concert over various periods of time and to varying depths within the sediments. All of these influences are generally referred to as processes of diagenesis, but the degree and extent of impact is often poorly understood or even recognized at present. Diagenesis may manifest as geotechnical alterations, the result of consolidation, removal of fine sediments, particle-to-particle interrelationships of fabric or structure, and/or new fracture geometries. Geochemical changes may occur that cause authigenic mineralization, mineral weathering, pore cementation and/or mineral precipitation. These changes to the original sediments may be visible and significant, while in other sediments the changes are imperceptible and minor. It must also be pointed out that in many instances within glacial sediment piles the complete package and associated subfacies and stratigraphy are usually only partly preserved, the top part is often missing. As a consequence, geologists often make reconstructions based on that partially preserved bed without considering what the missing ‘pieces’ of the package may have looked like. Within the glacial environment transient freezing conditions are commonplace. Sediments are frozen on a seasonal basis or occasionally for longer (Chapter 14). Freezing may occur owing to changes in stress levels, glacier ice thickness variations, meltwater surcharges, or other temporary thermal fluctuations. As sediments transit the glacial system it is likely that they may undergo several freeze/thaw cycles. At present, recognition of the existence of past freezing conditions is not difficult to substantiate, but is mainly detectable at the microscopic level (Chapters 11, 15, 21). The affirmation of frozen conditions would aid in the recognition of particular environments within glacial environments. As ice masses creep forward, or slowly retreat, surge into a proglacial lake, float as a tidewater glacier, or join an ice shelf, the margins of these ice bodies are in flux. Ice marginal conditions, therefore, are of immense importance since many sediments and landforms are associated with marginal environments and fluctuations. Recognition is often indirectly obtained from sediment facies sequences. Although land-based ice marginal fluctuations are understood, knowledge of land/water glacier margins is limited. This limitation is, first, due to a restricted knowledge of processes occurring immediately at the land/water ice grounding line positions–largely the result of past inaccessibility–and second, due to the inability to clearly discriminate in the glacial sediment record evidence of lithofacies indicative of the land/water margins (Chapter 7). For example, it has been hypothesized that in some instances drumlin development may be linked to near marginal subglacial/subaqueous ice conditions resulting in rapid changes in basal ice dynamics and possibly ice/sediment flux rates (e.g., in Ireland (Dardis, 1987; Hanvey, 1987) and North America (Kerr and Eyles, 2007; Menzies et al., 2016) drumlin formation may be linked to nearby grounding line positions in the sea or in a large proglacial lake) (Chapter 5).

The margins of the vast Fennoscandian and Laurentide Ice Sheets varied enormously in terms of climate, flora and fauna along their southern and northern edges (Chapter 4). Much remains to be learned of the margins of the past ice sheets to permit understanding of plant colonization, animal movement and migration, as well as plant and animal evolution and extinction.

Beyond the academic value of understanding glacial environments there is a huge and critical applied aspect to glacial studies (Chapter 19). It might be reasonable to speculate that continued interest in many facets of glacial geology/geomorphology will only be advanced by a much greater application of glacial studies to applied aspects such as drift prospecting and a greater understanding of the geotechnical aspects of glacial sediments as pertains to construction both on land and on the ocean bed (Chapter 20). The study of glacial environments has much to offer, yet all too often remains within the realms of academia and not the ‘real’ world.

A persistent problem in studying glacial environments is in establishing the relative position of land and sea in local areas. Often isostatic and eustatic changes have led to repeated inundations and reemergence of land surfaces, generating complex stratigraphies and landform assemblages (Chapter 16). Although the general framework of land/sea changes are known, much remains to be elucidated at the local scale, owing to regional variations in mantle viscosity, ice mass volumes, marginal ice thickness and marginal movements and local topography. As knowledge of glacial processes and depositional mechanics is refined, the ability to improve the stratigraphic resolution at different sites should be enhanced (Chapter 11). Allied to improvements in stratigraphic definition is the need to increase the resolution of dating techniques and the number of different dating methods that can be used on glacial materials (Chapter 18). Both stratigraphic definition and dating resolution demand a better understanding of glacial processes, process rates and the recognition of hiatus in erosional and depositional events before a greater comprehension of the chronology and sequence of glacial events can be resolved. The study of glacial environments remains a vibrant area of research in many disciplines with increasingly applied aspects related to climate change, human activities and global warming as we move into the first quarter century of the 21st century.

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Part I

The Prequaternary

Outline

Chapter 2 Precambrian Glacial Deposits: Their Origin, Tectonic Setting, and Key Role in Earth Evolution

Chapter 3 The Early Palaeozoic Glacial Deposits of