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GlacialGlacial Processes,Processes, Ice-FlowIce-Flow IndicatorsIndicators andand RemoteRemote PredictivePredictive MappingMapping ApplicationsApplications toto DriftDrift ProspectingProspecting

RogerRoger C.C. PaulenPaulen GeologicalGeological SurveySurvey ofof CanadaCanada WhyWhy StudyStudy GlacialGlacial Processes?Processes?

• Basic principles of glaciers • Glacial erosion • Glacial transport • Glacial deposition Photo: R. Paulen Extent of glaciers during the last glacial event. LGM: 18k – 20k 14C years BP (Late Wisconsin) Older and more extensive glaciations dating to the Quaternary period (last 2.6 Ma)

ContinentalContinental IceIce SheetSheet Glaciated vs. unglaciated regions

GLACIATED UNGLACIATED ƒ Soils developed to a ƒ Soils can developed depth of about 1 m to depth in excess of several meters (regolith)

(Shilts, in Menzies, 1995) Glaciated vs. unglaciated regions

GLACIATED UNGLACIATED ƒ Enrichment in ƒ Enrichment of bedrock: dispersed element or mineral by glacial processes generally confined to the bedrock source, unless remobilized by fluvial, eolian, or chemical processes. Glaciated vs. unglaciated regions

GLACIATED UNGLACIATED • Dispersal patterns • Dispersal confined not confined to a to a drainage basin drainage basin except in mountainous regions with valley glaciers Glaciated vs. unglaciated regions

GLACIATED UNGLACIATED • Minerals of different • More likely to have origins can be minerals of a single intermixed in glacial source sediments (e.g. ultramafic and granitic) Accumulation zone

Ablation zone IceIce DynamicsDynamics GlacialGlacial FlowFlow ModelModel

Glacier flow dependant on mass balance gradient: mass balance transferred from accumulation wedge to flow wedge BasicBasic VariablesVariables Topography Basal substrate Ice and basal water

(Sugden and John 1976, p. 41) Equilibrium line

Photo: R. Paulen Accumulation zone

Equilibrium line

Ablation zone

Photo: R. Paulen IceIce flowflow

ƒ Basal sliding ƒ Internal deformation ƒ Glacial bed deformation IceIce DynamicsDynamics

Shield Three Mechanisms

Basal Sliding

Ice Centre Internal Deformation

Subglacial Bed Deformation and Decoupling Plains

(Bennett(Bennett andand GlasserGlasser 1996,1996, p.p. 43)43) WarmWarm--basedbased iceice (erosional)

Photo: I. McMartin ColdCold--basedbased iceice (protective)

Photo: I. McMartin EROSION

MechanismsMechanisms

AbrasionAbrasion

PluckingPlucking

MeltwaterMeltwater

Photo: I. McMartin TRANSPORT

(Boulton 1996) basal & englacial sediment transport

Photo: B. Shilts DEPOSITION

ƒ Till: implies genesis, sediment type directly deposited by ice; non-sorted. ƒ Diamicton: textural term, poorly to non-sorted sediment, just like till, but not necessarily deposited by ice. ƒ Deposition by: lodgement, meltout, deformation, sublimation, and more….

(Boulton 1996) DepositionDeposition

LodgementLodgement ProcessProcess

(Benn and Evans 1998, p. 198)

DepositionDeposition isis rarelyrarely straightforward,straightforward, severalseveral variationsvariations cancan existsexists atat aa singlesingle location.location. Friction at the base of glacier >>>> force of traction

Photo: R. Paulen basal till

Photo: B. Shilts basal till

Photo: A. Plouffe DeformingDeforming BedBed

(Bennett(Bennett andand GlasserGlasser 1996, 1996, p.p. 42)42) VariablesVariables Basal Contact Pressure

Ice Velocity

Substrate Lithology

Basal Debris: “Tools of Erosion” (Kjær et al., 2006) Ablation till (meltout)

Till deposited because of the melting of ice

(Eyles,(Eyles, 1979)1979) ablation till

Photo: R. Paulen ablation till

basal till

Photo: R. Paulen

WaterlainWaterlain Photo: R. Paulen Till but also:

• Glaciofluvial sediments • Glacial lake sediments • Glaciomarine sediments Glacier

34

Till

Debris Flow Silt and Clay Gravel

Plane Bedding Channel with Cross Bedding Massive Sand Cross Lamination with Ball and Pillow Structure (From Shaw, 1985) (modified from Sugden and John, 1976) Ice-FlowIce-Flow IndicatorsIndicators

ObjectiveObjective:: tracetrace anan indicatorindicator toto itsits sourcesource

•• RecognizeRecognize iceice--flowflow indicatorsindicators •• ReconstructReconstruct iceice--flowflow historyhistory •• IdentifyIdentify dispersaldispersal trainstrains (Paulen et al., 2006) TypesTypes ofof iceice--flowflow indicatorsindicators

Depositional • drumlin ridges Erosional • fluted till plain • roches moutonnées • till clast fabric • whalebacks • dispersal train • rock drumlins Combined • flutings • crag-and-tail • glacial grooves • ice-thrust ridges • striations • hill-hole pair • bullet-shaped boulders • boulder pavements LandformsLandforms

• Oriented landforms visible on topographic and geological maps and air photographs

• Morphology strongly influenced by bedrock topography

• Typically occur in groups, showing a characteristic pattern on maps and air photographs

• Accentuated by vegetation and drainage

• Provides a general regional impression of flow directions DrumlinizedDrumlinized plateau,plateau, PrincePrince GeorgeGeorge area,area, BCBC

ice flow

From Clague, 1989. (Paulen, in prep) OverprintingOverprinting ofof landformslandforms

ice flow

older younger OverprintingOverprinting ofof landformslandforms

ice flow

bedrock structure

Photo: R. Paulen CragCrag andand tailtail

ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen Double crag-and-tail landform, Princess Mary Lake, Nunavut

younger older

Photo: I. McMarten Rogen moraines, Schultz Lake, Nunavut (McMarten & Paulen, 2009)

ice flow

1 km (Paulen, in prep) Flutings and ice-thrust ridges, Pearless Highlands, Alberta

ice flow

McMartin and Paulen, 2009 Roche moutonnée, Fisher Bay, northern Québec

ice flow

Photo: I. McMarten SmallSmall--scalescale erosionalerosional formsforms

• striations • rat tails and mini crag-and-tails • crescentic fractures and gouges • nailhead striae • stoss-and-lee topography

ice flow (McMarten & Paulen, 2009)

Ashley et al. (1985) Striations: • erosional marks on bedrock surface made by sole of glacier • most convenient and reliable means of determining ice-flow trends

ice flow

Photo: I. McMarten RatRat tailstails ((erosionalerosional shadows)shadows)

tail

ice flow

ice flow crag

Photos: I. McMarten GroovesGrooves

ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen CrescenticCrescentic fracturesfractures

younger

older

ice flow CrescenticCrescentic gougesgouges

ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen CrescenticCrescenticNailheadNailhead striaegougesstriaegouges

ice flow

Photo: I. McMarten NailheadNailhead striaestriae

ice flow

Photo: R. Paulen MultiMulti--directionaldirectional indicatorsindicators

older

older

younger

younger

Photo: I. McMarten MultiMulti--directionaldirectional indicatorsindicators

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older

younger

Photo: R. Paulen MultiMulti--directionaldirectional indicators??indicators??

ice flow

glaciomarine iceberg grounding

Photo: R. Paulen MultiMulti--directionaldirectional indicators??indicators??

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lake ice grounding

ice flow Photo: R. Paulen NoNo bedrock?bedrock? Striations on boulder pavements

• One clast thick • Clasts separated by • Enclosing sediment (diamicton) • Tops of boulders are flat and striated • Striations on upper surfaces

Photos: R. Paulen Photos: R. Paulen TillTill FabricFabric

Strike and dip Horizontal surface…

McMartin and Paulen, 2009

•• Measure Measure clastclast orientationsorientations inin lodgmelodgmentnt till,till, inin C-horizonC-horizon soilsoil (>1(>1 mm depth)depth) •• Elongated Elongated (prolate)(prolate) clasts,clasts, minimumminimum ofof 5050 measurementsmeasurements •• Can Can bebe conductedconducted atat thethe exactexact sitesite ofof indicatorindicator mineralmineral samplesample •• Not Not recommendedrecommended inin permafrostpermafrost terrainterrain (Paulen et al., 2005)

younger ice flow

older ice flow

McMartin et al., 2006 NoNo bedrock?bedrock? Bullet-shaped boulders

ice flow ice flow

Photos: R. Paulen

McMartin and Paulen, 2009 McMartin and Paulen, 2009 •• Asymmetric Asymmetric stoss-and-leestoss-and-lee formform withwith smoothedsmoothed upglacierupglacier (stoss) (stoss) sideside andand fracturedfractured down-glacierdown-glacier (lee)(lee) side;side; gentlegentle up-glacierup-glacier imbricationimbrication •• Measure Measure orientationsorientations ofof boulderboulder andand striationsstriations onon upperupper surfacesurface (McClenaghan and Kjarsgaard, 2007) IceIce--flowflow reconstructionreconstruction

Veillette and McClenaghan, 1996 (McMartin and Henderson, 2004) IceIce--flowflow reconstructionreconstruction

Veillette and McClenaghan, 1996 (Tremblay et al., 2007) IceIce--flowflow reconstructionreconstruction

Veillette and McClenaghan, 1996 BC Southern Interior

(Paulen, 2001) IceIce--flowflow reconstructionreconstruction

Veillette and McClenaghan, 1996 (Paulen, 2009) IceIce--flowflow reconstructionreconstruction BC Rocky Mountains

(Paulen & Bobrowsky, 2003)

Veillette and McClenaghan, 1996 (Paulen, 2009) IceIce StreamsStreams

74 KIM Palimpsest Dispersal Train, Nunavut

(Stea et al., 2009) NewNew ppublicationublication forfor additionaladditional InformationInformation (late(late 2009)2009) SummarySummary ofof IceIce--FlowFlow IndicatorsIndicators inin newnew PublicationPublication

(McMartin & Paulen) REFERENCESREFERENCES

Benn, D.I and Evans, D.J.A. 1998. Glaciers and Glaciation. Arnold, London, 734 p.

Bennett, M. R. and Glasser, N.F. 1996. Glacial Geology: Ice Sheets and Landforms. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 364 p.

Boulton, G.S. 1996. Theory of glacial erosion, transport and deposition as a consequence of subglacial sediment deformation. Journal of Glaciology 42: 43-62.

Clague, J.J. 1989. Quaternary Geology of the Canadian Cordillera. Chapter 1. In: R. Fulton (ed.), Quaternary Geology of Canada and Greenland; Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, v. K-1, p. 15-95. 112: 683-692.

Eyles, N. 1979. Facies of supraglacial sedimentation on Icelandic and alpine temperate glaciers. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16: 1341-1361.

Kjær, K.H, Larsen, E., van der Meer, J., Ingolfsson, O., Krüger, J., Benediktsson, I.Ö., Knudsen, C.G. and Schomacker, A. 2006. Subglacial decoupling at the sediment/bedrock interface: a new mechanism for rapid flowing ice. Quaternary Science Reviews, 25: 2704–2712. REFERENCESREFERENCES

McClenaghan, M.B. & Kjarsgaard, B.A. 2007. Indicator mineral and surficial geochemical exploration methods for kimberlite in glaciated terrain, examples from Canada. In: Mineral Resources of Canada: A Synthesis of Major Deposit-types, District Metallogeny, the Evolution of Geological Provinces and Exploration Methods. Geological Association of Canada, Special Publication No. 4.

McMartin, I. and Henderson, P.J. 2004. Evidence from Keewatin (central Nunavut) for paleo-ice divide migration. Géographie physique et Quaternaire, 58: 163-186.

McMartin, I. And Paulen, R.C. 2009. Ice-fl ow indicators and the importance of ice-fl ow mapping for drift prospecting. In: R.C. Paulen and I. McMartin (eds.), Application of Till and Stream Sediment Heavy Mineral and Geochemical Methods to Mineral Exploration in Western and Northern Canada; Geological Association of Canada, GAC Short Course Notes 18, p. 15-34.

Paterson, W.S.B. 1994. The Physics of Glaciers; Third Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 481 p.

Paulen, R.C. 2001. Glacial transport and secondary hydromorphic metal mobilization: examples from the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. In: M.B. McClenaghan, P.T. Bobrowsky, G.E.M. Hall and S. J. Cook (eds.), Drift Exploration in Glaciated Terrain; Association of Exploration Geochemistry - Geological Society of London Special Publication 185, p. 323-337. REFERENCESREFERENCES

Paulen, R.C. 2009. Drift prospecting in northern Alberta - A unique glacial terrain for exploration. In: R.C. Paulen and I. McMartin (eds.), Application of Till and Stream Sediment Heavy Mineral and Geochemical Methods to Mineral Exploration in Western and Northern Canada; Geological Association of Canada, GAC Short Course Notes 18, p. 184-204.

Paulen, R.C. and Bobrowsky, P.T. 2003. Multiphase flow of late Wisconsin ice in the Quesnel Highlands: piecing together discordant ice flow indicators. Program with Abstracts, 2003 GAC- MAC-SEG, Vancouver, v. 28 p. 132.

Paulen, R.C., Waight, B. and Kjarsgaard, I.M. 2005. Kimberlite indicator mineral results from reconnaissance till sampling in the east Peace River region (NTS 84C/East), Alberta. Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Information Series 132 (poster).

Paulen, R.C., Plouffe, A. and Smith, I.R. 2006. Surficial Geology of the Beatty Lake Area (NTS 84M/NE). Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Map 360 and Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5183, scale 1:100,000.

Ryder, J.M. 1995. Recognition and interpretation of flow direction indicators for former glaciers and meltwater streams. In: P.T Bobrowsky, S.J Sibbick, J.H. Newell and P.F. Matesek (eds.), Drift Exploration in the Canadian Cordillera; British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1995-2, p. 1-22. REFERENCESREFERENCES

Shaw, J. 1985. Subglacial and ice-marginal environments. In: G.M. Ashley and N.D. Smith (eds.), Glacial Sedimentary Environments. SEPM Short Course 16, p. 7-84.

Shilts, W.W. 1995. Glacial drift exploration. In J. Menzies (ed.), Modern Glacial Environments: Processes, Dynamics and Sediments; Volume I Butterworth-Heineman, Oxford, p. 411-438.

Stea, R.R., Johnson, M. and Hanchar, D. 2009. The geometry of kimberlite indicator mineral dispersal fans in Nunavut, Canada. In: R.C. Paulen and I. McMartin (eds.), Application of Till and Stream Sediment Heavy Mineral and Geochemical Methods to Mineral Exploration in Western and Northern Canada; Geological Association of Canada, GAC Short Course Notes 18, p. 1-13.

Sugden, D.E. and John, B.S. 1976. Glaciers and Landscape. Edward Arnold Publishers, 376 p.

Tremblay, T., Ryan, J.J. and James, D. T. 2007. Ice-flow studies in Boothia mainland (NTS 57A and 57B), Kitikmeot region, Nunavut. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5554, 2007; 16 p.

Vorren, T.O., Hald, M., Edvardsen, M. and Lindhansen, O-W 1983. Glaciogenic sediments and sedimentary environments on continental shelves: General principles with a case study from the Norwegian shelf. In: J. Ehlers (ed.), Glacial Deposits in North-west Europe. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 61–73.