Late-Glacial Alpine Glacier Advance and Early Holocene Tephras, Northern British Columbia
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LATE-GLACIAL ALPINE GLACIER ADVANCE AND EARLY HOLOCENE TEPHRAS, NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA Thomas Ryan Lakeman B.Sc., University of Alberta, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE In the Department of Earth Sciences O Thomas Ryan Lakeman 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author, except for scholarly, non-profit use. APPROVAL Name: Thomas Lakeman Degree: Master of Science Title of Thesis: Late-Glacial Alpine Glacier advance and early Holocene Tephras, Northern British Columbia Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Derek Thorkelson , Professor, Department of Earth Sciences Dr. John Clague Senior Supervisor Professor, Department of Earth Sciences Dr. Brent Ward Supervisor Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences Dr. Brian Menounos Supervisor University of British Columbia Dr. Peter Bobrowsky External Examiner Geological Survey of Canada Date DefendedIApproved: November 10,2006 u~iv~~srnllSIMON FRASER brary DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http:llir.lib.sfu.calhandlell8921112~)and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2006 ABSTRACT Two related studies in northern British Columbia are presented. The first documents moraines in Finlay River area that record an advance of alpine glaciers. A minimum age of 9230 radiocarbon yr BP and the relation of moraines to ice-stagnation deposits suggest the advance is Younger Dryas in age. The advance demonstrates Younger Dryas glacier expansion differs in magnitude in western Canada, suggesting a complex glacier response to late-glacial climate change. The second study describes four early Holocene tephras. Two phonolitic tephras, older than 9180 radiocarbon yr BP, were found in sediments fiom Finlay River and Dease Lake areas. Their source may be a large volcano in northwest British Columbia. Two other tephras were recovered fiom Bob Quinn Lake. A lower basaltic tephra was produced by an eruption near Iskut River 8400 radiocarbon yr ago. The upper phonolitic tephra is 6000-7000 radiocarbon yr old. Keywords: Cordilleran Ice Sheet, Younger Dryas, British Columbia, tephras, northern Cordilleran volcanic province. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was supported by NSERC grants to John Clague and Brian Menounos, and student grants from the Geological Society of America and the Northern Scientific Training Program. I am grateful to John Clague and Brian Menounos for the opportunity to work in northern British Columbia and for their encouragement, support, and mentorship over the past two years. Valuable comments from Brent Ward regarding fieldwork, research articles, and aerial photographs are gratefully acknowledged. Gerald Osborn (University of Calgary) provided samples for microprobe analysis, helpful discussions, and financial support for fieldwork in the Dease Lake area. Duane Froese and Britta Jensen provided laboratory assistance at the University of Alberta and advice on interpreting microprobe data. Ian Spooner (Acadia University) and David Mazzucchi (University of Victoria) provided samples for microprobe analysis. I thank Ben Edwards (Dickinson College) for discussions of Quaternary volcanism in northern British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. Rolf Mathewes (Simon Fraser University) provided access to his laboratory. Denny Capps (Simon Fraser University) assisted in the field. Melanie Grubb assisted with splitting, logging, and sampling cores in the sedimentological laboratory at the University of Northern British Columbia and provided information on late-glacial moraines in the southern Coast Mountains. Kim Menounos and Milo are gratefully acknowledged for hospitable accommodation and exceptional meals during my endless visits to the University of Northern British Columbia. Simon and Darrel provided safe floatplane and helicopter transport, respectively, in the field. I thank Janice Brahney, Denny Capps, Jesse Dykstra, Michelle Hansen, Greg Hartman, Marit Heideman, Joe Koch, Robin McKillop, John Orwin, Jon Reidel, Dan Shugar, and Kenna Wilkie for their friendship and humour over the past two years. I am very grateful to my family for their continuing support and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank Chantel Nixon for her love and advice; she continues to amaze and inspire. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. APPROVAL .......................................................................................... 11 ... ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... ill ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ v .. LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: Late-glacial advance of alpine glaciers in the Finlay River area: Implications for ice sheet retreat and the nature of late-glacial climate change in northern British Columbia ...................................................................... 3 Abstract ............................................................................................ 3 Introduction ....................................................................................... 4 Study area ......................................................................................... 7 Methods ........................................................................................... 8 Early deglaciation in the Finlay River area ................................................... 9 Late-glacial moraines ........................................................................... 10 . Description .................................................................................. 10 Relative age ................................................................................. 11 Late-glacial advance ........................................................................ 11 Deglaciation following the late-glacial advance ............................................ 12 Deglacial landforms and sediments ...................................................... 12 Pattern and style of ice retreat ............................................................ 15 Age of the moraines ............................................................................ 16 Discussion ....................................................................................... 17 . Pattern and style of deglaciation ......................................................... 17 Finlay advance .............................................................................. 19 Correlative landforms and deposits ...................................................... 20 Late-glacial climate of northern British Columbia .................................... 22 Regional synthesis ........................................................................ 23 Conclusions ...................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3: Early Holocene tephras in northwest British Columbia ................ 41 Abstract ......................................................................................... -41 Introduction ...................................................................................... 41 Methods .......................................................................................... 43 Geomorphic and stratigraphic setting ........................................................ 44 . Composit~onand age ..........................................................................