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A late Lake Minong transgression in the Lake Superior basin as documented by sediments from Fenton Lake, Ontario

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Abstract

The evolution of the early Great Lakes was driven by changing ice sheet geometry, meltwater influx, variable climate, and isostatic rebound. Unfortunately none of these factors are fully understood. Sediment cores from Fenton Lake and other sites in the Lake Superior basin have been used to document constantly falling water levels in glacial Lake Minong between 9,000 and 10,600 cal (8.1–9.5 ka) BP. Over three meters of previously unrecovered sediment from Fenton Lake detail a more complex lake level history than formerly realized, and consists of an early regression, transgression, and final regression. The initial regression is documented by a transition from gray, clayey silt to black sapropelic silt. The transgression is recorded by an abrupt return to gray sand and silt, and dates between 9,000 and 9,500 cal (8.1–8.6 ka) BP. The transgression could be the result of increased discharge from Lake Agassiz overflow or the Laurentide Ice Sheet, and hydraulic damming at the Lake Minong outlet. Alternatively ice advance in northern Ontario may have blocked an unrecognized low level northern outlet to glacial Lake Ojibway, which switched Lake Minong overflow back to the Lake Huron basin and raised lake levels. Multiple sites in the Lake Huron and Michigan basins suggest increased meltwater discharges occurred around the time of the transgression in Lake Minong, suggesting a possible linkage. The final regression in Fenton Lake is documented by a return to black sapropelic silt, which coincides with varve cessation in the Superior basin when Lake Agassiz overflow and glacial meltwater was diverted to glacial Lake Ojibway in northern Ontario.

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Acknowledgments

Access to Fenton Lake, which lies within Lake Superior Provincial Park, was graciously provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Lake Superior Provincial Park. Joshua Michaels, Henry Loope, and Colby Smith assisted with fieldwork. Anders Noren and Kristina Brady assisted with the initial core logging at the Limnological Research Center, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Jeff Illingworth, Mercyhurst Archaeology Institute, helped with identification of the radiocarbon dated wood. Reviews by Mike Lewis, Andy Bajc, and an anonymous reviewer significantly improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Mercyhurst College, 501 E. 38th St, Erie, PA, 16546, USA

    Andy Breckenridge

  2. Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA

    Thomas V. Lowell

  3. Department of Environmental Science, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA

    Timothy G. Fisher

  4. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA

    Shiyong Yu

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  1. Andy Breckenridge
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  2. Thomas V. Lowell
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  3. Timothy G. Fisher
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Correspondence to Andy Breckenridge.

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Breckenridge, A., Lowell, T.V., Fisher, T.G. et al. A late Lake Minong transgression in the Lake Superior basin as documented by sediments from Fenton Lake, Ontario. J Paleolimnol 47, 313–326 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-010-9447-z

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