DOCSLIB.ORG

Montana Lobe of the Keewatin Ice Sheet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Montana Lobe of the Keewatin Ice Sheet Professional Paper No 50 Series B, Descriptive Geology, 79 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHARLES D \\ALCOir, DlRECTOP THE MONTANA LOBE OF THE KEEWATIN ICE SHEET BY FRED. H. H. OALHOUISr OF Mm IARY APRS 1975 LIBRARY WASHINGTON ' GOVERN MBNT FEINTING OFFICE 1906 CONTENTS. Page Introduction................. ..----... - ..-..-- . - - - -. - --.... ... ............... 7 Genei al features of the area . - . __.-__. .-. ... ..... ....-- -. ........... ............... 8 Location..-......--... - .. .. ... .. ......... ..... ...... ................. 8 Problems presented. ... .......... ... ... ............ -.....-..-..--..-. 8 Physiography.. ....... .. ... - ........ ... ............ -. ................. 8 Structure............ .. ....... ............ .......... ... ....... ... .... .... 9 General geology..... .. ... .. ........ .. --........-. ........-..--...-..-.---. 10 Sedimentary rocks . - - - . ........................... .... ............---.- 10 Igneous rocks....... - .. -...-.--..-.----...-.....--.-. ... ....-.-.-..-.---...- 11 Surface formations.......... .. .. ... ............ ......... .. -..--..-. ........... 13 Quartzite gravels......... ........ .......... ... ....... .. .....'.. ........... 13 Character-. .... -..--...... .......... ................ ........................ 13 Distribution........................... ......... ... - .... ... ...-...-..-..--- 13 Drift of the mountain ice...... .....-.........--...-..-..--.---.--.- ............. ..... 14 Distribution of the mountain glaciers........................ ........................ 14 Detailed descriptions of the mountain glaciers.. ............ ..... ............... .... 15 Sun River Glacier--.-....-.-----..- .-..-... ... .-------...... .--...-..-- 15 Deep Creek Glacier........................... ........... ................. 16 Teton River Glacier............. ......................... ................... 17 Muddy Creek glaciers........ ............ ........ ...................... 17 Dupuyer Creek Glacier... ............... ............. .... ................... 18 Sheep Canyon Glacier...... ....... .. ... ... ......................... ..... 18 Blackfoot Glacier..... .................................................. , 5 ..... 18 Cutbank Creek Glacier.................. ..... .... .... ....................... 20 Milk River Glacier.......................... ........ ........................ 20 St Mary River Glacier ......--.----.---..------.-...---.......-................ 21 Drift of Keewatm ice sheet.... ............................................... ......... 22 Terminal moraine-........ ......---......--.--....... ..........................1 22 Later moraines.................................... t ................................ 26 Character of the drift... .......... ....----...-...-....--.... ..................... 27 Ice surface......... ........................................................... 28 Height........ ... ....................................................... 28 Slope......... ... ... ..................... ................................. 28 Drainage.... ............ ................................................................ 28 Lakes................................................................................. 28 Character of the lakes.....---.-----..... .................... ................. 28 Location of the lakes..................................... ...................... 29 ' Lake in St Mary Valley....................... ................................. 29 Lake in Two Medicine River Valley............. ................................. 29 Lake in Teton River basin....................................................... 29 Lake in Missouri River Valley.................................................... 30 4 CONTENTS. Drainage Continued - , Page Rivers................................................................................ 32 Effect of mountain glaciers.......................................................... 32 Effect of northeastern ice sheet,...................................................... 32 St Mary Rivei................................................................. 32 Milk River..................................................................... 32 Two Medicine River......................'...................................... 32 Birch Creek.................................................................... 33 Muddy Creek.................................................................. 33 Teton River................................................................... 33 Missouri River................................................................. 34 Interrelations of surface loimations........................................................... 45 The quartzite gravels and the two drift sheets.............................................. 45 The northeastein and the mountain drift sheets............................................ 46 Deductions ft om interrelations................................................. ......... 49 Age of the quartzite gi avels.......................................................... 49 Age of the northeastern duft........................................... ............. 52 Evidence from erosion............................/............................ 52 Evidence from topography of terminal moi aine..................................... 53 Evidence from relations of the two drift sheets..................................... 53 The drift outside the terminal moraine.................................................... 54 Summary...........-...------...-..-.......-..........-.-...--...--.--.--..-.---...-...... 56 Index................-.....--........--......-..-...---.-..-.--.-...---.....--.......-.... 59 ILLUSTRATIONS. < " Page. PLATE I Map of nortnein Montana, showing the glaciated area.................................. 7 II A, Perched concietion weathered from Cretaceous sandstone, B, The Shonkin Sag.......... 12 III A, Summit Pass and adjacent valleys, B, Sun River Canyon...-......--.-.-----........ 18 IV. A, Eagle Butte nearly encircled by moraine of northeastern ice sheet; B, Till section 100 feet high on Muddy Creek......._.._..........-....--.-....--..-...---.-...-------.-- 26 V. Map showing area covered by the Great Falls Lake and the position of the terminal and later moraines......--.-......-.......-.......-.......-.......---.....-----.-.------- 30 VI A, Falls of the Missouri, B, One of the falls of the Missouri, showing amount of post-Glacial erosion-..........-.........-...............-.......---..--.--..-.-.--...-.--... 34 VII. A, Water gap formed by Missouri River; B, Wind erosion near Dry Fork of Marias River.... 36 FIG 1 Section in the Canadian Rockies, showing thrust-fault relations of Cretaceous to Algonkian and Cambnan................................................................... 9 2. Section along the 49th paiallel, showing thrust-fault relations of Cretaceous to Algonkian and Cambrian................................................................... 10 3. Cross section showing relations between the two lake deposits in the Missouri Valley west of Great Falls..................................................................... 30 4 Longitudinal section showing relations of the lake deposits to the drift dam and the ice dam.. 30 5. Section showing relation of the lacustrine clay to the giavels and till of the noitheastein ice sheet........................................................................... 31 6. Section on Belt Creek, showing the moraine covered by lake deposit..................... 31 7. Relative size of post-Glacial and pre-Glacial valleys of Two Medicine River............... 32 8 Cross sections showing relative sizes of Two Medicine, Cutbank Creek, and Marias valleys.. 33 9. Valley of the Missouri, showing post-Glacial cutting in sandstone and drift................ 34 ILLUSTBATTONS. 5 Page FIG. 10 Section showing the pre-Glacial valley of Missouri River............................... 35 11 Cross section showing the drift in the valley through which Highwood Creek now flows..... 37 12 Map showing the pre-Glacial course of the Missouri between Sand Coulee and the mouth of Highwood Creek................................................................. 37 13 Relations of the post-Glacial and the pre-Glacial channels of the Missouri between mouth of Highwood Creek and mouth of Little Sandy Creek................................... 38 14 Map showing outlines of the great pre-Glacial valley between Missouri and Milk nvers..... 39 15 Map of the vicinity of Havie, showing the relation of the pre-Glacial Missouri to the valleys of the post-Glaual streams...._.--.....-........_..._....__..._.__................... 39 16 Map showing pre-Glacial river system of northern Montana............................. 40 17. Map showing drainage of northern Montana, when ice had maximum extent and also pre- Glacial river system......----.-.-------------.----.-......-.-..-.-.-..-.-..-..... 41 18 Map showing drainage of northern Montana at stage of younger moraine................. 41 19 Map showing post-GIacial drainage system of northern Montana, with a part of the pre- Glacial system...-__..-....-._.--._-----..--..-----.-...._......-............... 42 20 Cross section of the Shonkin Sag at the time the ice was present-......---..-.-..-.-.-... 42 21 Section across the Shonkin Sag, showing how it was formed on the slope of Highwood Moun­ tains. __._.__._-_.._-_-..---.--.-.----..----.--..-.---.-..--..--..----.--...-._. 43 22. Sketch
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Chapter Upper Cretaceous Reservoirs
    CHAPTER 9 UPPER CRETACEOUS RESERVOIRS P. Viney, Petrel Robertson; Part B: Belly River Fm; and J.F. Chappell, L.L. & E. Canada; Part A: Cardium Fm INTRODUCTION The Bearpaw Fm, over 150 m thick in southcentral Alberta it would appear that exploration dollars directed towards them could Walker (1987, 1988), Swagor (1975) and Swagor et al. (1976). (14-18-2-23W4M), thins to the north and grades into the non-marine yield a good rate of return. Interest in exploration for these Cardium Fm conglomerate reser­ The evolution of the Alberta Basin during Upper Cretaceous time sequence of the overlying Horseshoe Canyon Fm (Edmonton Gp). voirs was reactivated in the early 1980's due to the discovery of and its effect on the geologic section is covered in the introduction to The four major Upper Cretaceous reservoirs are: 1) The Cardium; several new Cardium Fm pools and the recognition that modern this text. Strata of the Upper Cretaceous underlie most of the area Production has been obtained from the Upper Cretaceous section 2) The lower Belly River; 3) The Dunvegan-Doe Creek; and 4) The seismic reflection technology could be used in their detection covered by the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in an almost con­ for many years. However, prospecting for Upper Cretaceous hydro­ Belly River fluvial. (Chappell, 1984, 1985; Wren, 1984). The Carrot Creek Cardium S tinuous sequence of deposition. From the Base of Fish Scales Zone, carbons did not begin in earnest until the discovery of Cardium pool, located in 53-12 and 13 W5M (Fig. 9.4), is a typical example.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOLOGY and OIL and GAS PROSPECTS of the HUNTLEY FIELD, Montanj
    GEOLOGY AND OIL AND GAS PROSPECTS OF THE HUNTLEY FIELD, MONTANj By E. T. HANCOCK. INTRODUCTION. The Huntley field is in Yellowstone and Big Horn counties, south- central Montana, and embraces an area of about 650 square miles, part of which lies northwest and part southeast of Yellowstone River. The field has railroad facilities that are exceptionally good for this general region, being traversed by the main lines of the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroads. These roads furnish excellent shipping facilities at Huntley, Warden, Ballantine, Pompeys Pillar, and other points. Acknowledgments. In presenting this report the writer desires to express his thanks to David White for valuable suggestions and criticisms, to T. W. Stanton and F. H. Knowlton for the identifica­ tion of fossils, and to C. E. Dobbins for assistance in the detailed mapping. He also wishes to call attention to the public service rendered by oil and gas operators who have furnished records of deep borings and by individuals who have contributed in various ways to the success of the investigation. Earlier investigations. The Huntley field is in reality an ex­ tension of the Lake Basin field, which was mapped by the writer during the summer of 1916.1 The geologic investigation of the region including the Lake Basin and Huntley fields began with the Northern Transcontinental Survey of 1882. Prior to that time geologists had described certain struc­ tural features and the stratigraphic succession at points closely ad­ jacent to these fields, such as Judith Gap, the canyon of the North Fork of the- Musselshell, and the Bridger Range, but almost noth­ ing had been written concerning the geology of the area herein de­ scribed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cordilleran Ice Sheet 3 4 Derek B
    1 2 The cordilleran ice sheet 3 4 Derek B. Booth1, Kathy Goetz Troost1, John J. Clague2 and Richard B. Waitt3 5 6 1 Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth & Space Sciences, University of Washington, 7 Box 352700, Seattle, WA 98195, USA (206)543-7923 Fax (206)685-3836. 8 2 Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 9 3 U.S. Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, WA, USA 10 11 12 Introduction techniques yield crude but consistent chronologies of local 13 and regional sequences of alternating glacial and nonglacial 14 The Cordilleran ice sheet, the smaller of two great continental deposits. These dates secure correlations of many widely 15 ice sheets that covered North America during Quaternary scattered exposures of lithologically similar deposits and 16 glacial periods, extended from the mountains of coastal south show clear differences among others. 17 and southeast Alaska, along the Coast Mountains of British Besides improvements in geochronology and paleoenvi- 18 Columbia, and into northern Washington and northwestern ronmental reconstruction (i.e. glacial geology), glaciology 19 Montana (Fig. 1). To the west its extent would have been provides quantitative tools for reconstructing and analyzing 20 limited by declining topography and the Pacific Ocean; to the any ice sheet with geologic data to constrain its physical form 21 east, it likely coalesced at times with the western margin of and history. Parts of the Cordilleran ice sheet, especially 22 the Laurentide ice sheet to form a continuous ice sheet over its southwestern margin during the last glaciation, are well 23 4,000 km wide.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Ice, Paleoclimate and Polar Climate Working Groups
    2019 WG Meetings Land Ice, Paleoclimate and Polar Climate Working Groups Simulating the Northern Hemisphere climate and ice sheets during the last deglaciation with CESM2.1/CISM2.1 Petrini M. & Bradley S.L February 4, 2019 Study area and scientific motivations Study area: • At Last Glacial Maximum, ~21 ka, three large ice sheets: CIS Greenland, North American, Eurasian; LIS IIS GIS BSIS FIS BIIS Ice sheet reconstruction for initial LGM boundary conditions, from BRITICE-CHRONO + Lecavalier et al., 2014. Eurasian Ice Sheet complex: Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS), Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS), British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). North American Ice Sheet complex: Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), Innuitian Ice Sheet (IIS). Study area and scientific motivations Study area: • At Last Glacial Maximum, ~21 ka, three continental ice sheets: CIS Greenland, North American, Eurasian; • Sea level ~132±2 m lower: 76.0±6.7 Eurasian: 18.4±4.9 m SLE North American: 76.0±6.7 m SLE LIS IIS Greenland: 4.1±1.0 m SLE. f (Simms et al., 2019 QSR) GIS BSIS 4.1±1.0 FIS BIIS 18.4±4.9 Ice sheet reconstruction for initial LGM boundary conditions, from BRITICE-CHRONO + Lecavalier et al., 2014. Eurasian Ice Sheet complex: Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS), Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS), British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). North American Ice Sheet complex: Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), Innuitian Ice Sheet (IIS). Study area and scientific motivations Study area: • At Last Glacial Maximum, ~21 ka, three continental ice sheets: CIS Greenland, North American, Eurasian; • Sea level ~132±2 m lower: Eurasian: 18.4±4.9 m SLE North American: 76.0±6.7 m SLE LIS IIS Greenland: 4.1±1.0 m SLE.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleoindian Land Use in Glacier National Park
    PALEOINDIAN LAND USE IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK John J. Kinsner, M.A. Final Report 2010 Author’s Acknowledgements This project was made possible by funding provided from the National Park Service’s Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (RM-CESU). The author would like to extend special thanks to Christine Whitacre and Pei-Lin Yu of the RM-CESU, Lon Johnson and Deirdre Shaw of Glacier National Park, and Dr. Douglas H. MacDonald of the University of Montana. John J. Kinsner OUTLINE 1. Title Page w/ photo 4 (Mount Carter) 2. Acknowledgements 2. Report Outline 3. Introduction 3. Cultural Chronology 3. Table 1 5. Paleoindian Evidence in Glacier Park 6. Original Interpretations w/ photo 1 (Alberta projectile point) 7. Other Evidence 9. Seasonality 9. Physical Evidence 11. Depositional Environment 12. Three Hypotheses 15. Discussion 16. Conclusion 18. Figure 1 19. Photos 2 – 3 20. Photos 4 - 5 21. Bibliography 2 It has generally been understood that Glacier National Park (GNP) has a 10,000 year culture history as implied by the archeological record of GNP, park brochures, numerous publications (Reeves 2003), and governmental, corporate, and private web sites (nps.gov, Wikipedia.com, fcvb.org). However, this presumption is based upon a very weak record of Paleoindian occupation within park boundaries represented by two isolated, surface discoveries, and three typologically non-diagnostic, non-stratified basalt knives. Of the three represented ‘sites’, only one potentially represents Alpine land use within GNP and may or may not be related to Paleoindian activities. This paper examines this lone Paleoindian alpine site in order to extract a logical explanation of its deposition and to offer up possible evidence of early human occupation in one of the more remote and inaccessible regions of GNP.
    [Show full text]
  • FORT BELKNAP RESERVATION List of Topics
    FORT BELKNAP RESERVATION List of Topics BACKGROUND Reservation Overview Regional Geologic Overview GEOLOGIC OVERVIEW Geologic History Summary of Play Types CONVENTIONAL PLAY TYPES Play 1 - Shallow Cretaceous Biogenic Gas Play Play 2 - Northern Plains Biogenic Gas Play Plays 3,4,5 - Jurassic/Cretaceous and Mississippian Plays UNCONVENTIONAL / HYPOTHETICAL PLAY TYPES Plays 6,7 - Fractured Bakken and Cambrian Sandstone Plays REFERENCES Historical Background of the OVERVIEW (i.e. joint ventures) in contrast to procedures and regulatory minimums imposed Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes at Fort Belknap by the previous 1938 Minerals Leasing Act. The 1982 Act further provides that FORT BELKNAP RESERVATION The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was created in 1887 as the home for the individual Indian allottees may join agreements negotiated for tribal lands. The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Indian Tribes. The ancestors of these tribes have section entitled Operating Regulations discusses the procedures for obtaining lived on the northern plains for several centuries. The Assiniboine were allottee participance in the negotiated agreement. recognized by Europeans as part of the great Sioux Nation and speak a Siouan Principal components for the formal corporate proposal should include the TRIBAL HEADQUARTERS: Fort Belknap Agency, Montana language. However, their name is taken from a Chippewa word referring to area(s) of interest, type of contract, elaboration of proposed agreement terms, GEOLOGIC SETTING: Williston Basin "those who cook with stones." At some point in time the Assiniboine bands points of potential negotiation, diligence commitments (i.e. drilling), bonus broke with the traditional Sioux and allied themselves with the Cree.
    [Show full text]
  • Advance and Retreat of Cordilleran Ice Sheets in Washington, U.S.A
    Document généré le 4 oct. 2021 19:12 Géographie physique et Quaternaire Advance and Retreat of Cordilleran Ice Sheets in Washington, U.S.A. Avancée et recul des inlandsis de la Cordillère dans l’État de Washington (É.-U.) Vorstoß und Rückzug der Kordilleren-Eisdecke in Washington State. U.S.A. Don J. Easterbrook Volume 46, numéro 1, 1992 Résumé de l'article Dans la Cordillère, les glaciations se sont produites selon des modes URI : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/032888ar caractéristiques d'avancée et de recul : 1) dépôts fluvioglaciaires d'avancée; 2) DOI : https://doi.org/10.7202/032888ar poli glaciaire; 3) till; 4) dépôts fluvio-glaciaires de retrait au sud de Seattle, dans le sud des basses-terres de Puget, dépôts glacio-marins dans les basses-terres Aller au sommaire du numéro du nord, et eskers, terrasses fluvioglaciaires et petites moraines sur le plateau de Columbia. La datation au radiocarbone indique que les lobes de Puget et de Juan de Fuca ont avancé et reculé synchroniquement. Parmi les preuves qui Éditeur(s) nous contraignent à rejeter l'hypothèse selon laquelle un front en fusion, qui vêlait, serait à l'origine des dépôts glacio-marins, citons : 1) les nombreuses Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal datations au radiocarbone qui révèlent la mise en place simultanée de dépôts glacio-marins sur tout le territoire; 2) les dépôts issus de la fusion de la glace ISSN stagnante, intimement associés aux dépôts glacio-marins; 3) les preuves irréfutables d'une origine autre que marine des sables de Deming qui révèlent 0705-7199 (imprimé) que la Cordillère était libre de glace immédiatement avant la mise en place des 1492-143X (numérique) dépôts glacio-marins.
    [Show full text]
  • Description of the Fort Benton Quadrangle
    DESCRIPTION OF THE FORT BENTON QUADRANGLE. INTRODUCTION. steeply inclined sides. In the center of the range of the throat of a volcano, the dikes which radiate heat and cold, varying greatly, of course, with the the limestones and other stratified rocks are hori­ from these centers of activity, and the loose mate­ altitude. The annual rainfall is from 13 to 20 General relations. The Fort Benton quad­ zontal, or nearly so, while on the flanks structure of rials and lava flows of which the cones Structure_. , of. inches, being greatest in the mountains; June and rangle extends in longitude from 110° to 111° of the mountains they are sharply BheuLMoun- were built. The sedimentary strata October are the rainy months. The snowfall is and in latitude from 47° to 48°. It is inclined and dip away from the moun­ through which the volcanoes broke up heavy and the mountain tracts are well watered. 69.25 miles Ions; from north to south. extent°ofan tains to the lower plains country. The horizontal and upon which their materials accumulated are, Agriculture is therefore confined to the foothills . quadrangle. 47.36 miles wide, and contains 3272.7 attitude is well shown in the rocks of Belt Park, over most of the area, nearly horizontal or inclined and stream bottoms, except where irrigation is square miles. It includes part of Choteau, the whereas farther north the mountain masses near gently to the north. These rocks belong entirely possible. northwest corner of Fergus, and the eastern part Monarch are formed of blocks of tilted limestones to the Cretaceous system, and denudation has Culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Animating the Temporal Progression of Cordilleran Deglaciation and Vegetation Succession in the Pacific Northwest During the Late Quaternary Period
    Western Washington University Western CEDAR Scholars Week 2017 - Poster Presentations May 17th, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Animating the Temporal Progression of Cordilleran Deglaciation and Vegetation Succession in the Pacific Northwest during the late Quaternary Period Henry Haro Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/scholwk Part of the Environmental Studies Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Haro, Henry, "Animating the Temporal Progression of Cordilleran Deglaciation and Vegetation Succession in the Pacific Northwest during the late Quaternary Period" (2017). Scholars Week. 20. https://cedar.wwu.edu/scholwk/2017/Day_one/20 This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences and Events at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholars Week by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Animating the Temporal Progression of Cordilleran Deglaciation in the Pacific Northwest during the late Quaternary Period Henry Haro – 2017 The Cordilleran Ice Sheet Sequential Progression of Cordilleran Retreat The topography of the Pacific Northwest, its fjords, inland waterways and islands, are a result of an extended period of glaciation and glacial retreat. This retreat influenced the physical features and the resulting succession of vegetation that led to the landscape we see today. Despite this importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet and the large volume of research on the topic, there lacks a good detailed animation of the movement of the entire ice sheet from the last glacial maximum to the present day. In this study, I used spatial data of the glacial extent at different periods of time during the Quaternary period to model and animate the movement of the Cordilleran ice sheet as it retreated from 18,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE.
    [Show full text]
  • GLACIERS and GLACIATION in GLACIER NATIONAL PARK by J Mines Ii
    Glaciers and Glacial ion in Glacier National Park Price 25 Cents PUBLISHED BY THE GLACIER NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Cover Surveying Sperry Glacier — - Arthur Johnson of U. S. G. S. N. P. S. Photo by J. W. Corson REPRINTED 1962 7.5 M PRINTED IN U. S. A. THE O'NEIL PRINTERS ^i/TsffKpc, KALISPELL, MONTANA GLACIERS AND GLACIATTON In GLACIER NATIONAL PARK By James L. Dyson MT. OBERLIN CIRQUE AND BIRD WOMAN FALLS SPECIAL BULLETIN NO. 2 GLACIER NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION. INC. GLACIERS AND GLACIATION IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK By J Mines Ii. Dyson Head, Department of Geology and Geography Lafayette College Member, Research Committee on Glaciers American Geophysical Union* The glaciers of Glacier National Park are only a few of many thousands which occur in mountain ranges scattered throughout the world. Glaciers occur in all latitudes and on every continent except Australia. They are present along the Equator on high volcanic peaks of Africa and in the rugged Andes of South America. Even in New Guinea, which many think of as a steaming, tropical jungle island, a few small glaciers occur on the highest mountains. Almost everyone who has made a trip to a high mountain range has heard the term, "snowline," and many persons have used the word with­ out knowing its real meaning. The true snowline, or "regional snowline" as the geologists call it, is the level above which more snow falls in winter than can he melted or evaporated during the summer. On mountains which rise above the snowline glaciers usually occur.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Investigations Using Ice Sheet and Mass Balance Models with Emphasis on North American Glaciation Sean David Birkel
    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 2010 Climate Investigations Using Ice Sheet and Mass Balance Models with Emphasis on North American Glaciation Sean David Birkel Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Glaciology Commons Recommended Citation Birkel, Sean David, "Climate Investigations Using Ice Sheet and Mass Balance Models with Emphasis on North American Glaciation" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 97. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/97 This Open-Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. CLIMATE INVESTIGATIONS USING ICE SHEET AND MASS BALANCE MODELS WITH EMPHASIS ON NORTH AMERICAN GLACIATION By Sean David Birkel B.S. University of Maine, 2002 M.S. University of Maine, 2004 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Earth Sciences) The Graduate School The University of Maine December, 2010 Advisory Committee: Peter O. Koons, Professor of Earth Sciences, Advisor George H. Denton, Libra Professor of Earth Sciences, Co-advisor Fei Chai, Professor of Oceanography James L. Fastook, Professor of Computer Science Brenda L. Hall, Professor of Earth Science Terrence J. Hughes, Professor Emeritus of Earth Science ©2010 Sean David Birkel All Rights Reserved iii CLIMATE INVESTIGATIONS USING ICE SHEET AND MASS BALANCE MODELS WITH EMPHASIS ON NORTH AMERICAN GLACIATION By Sean D. Birkel Thesis Advisor: Dr. Peter O. Koons An Abstract of the Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Earth Sciences) December, 2010 This dissertation describes the application of the University of Maine Ice Sheet Model (UM-ISM) and Environmental Change Model (UM-ECM) to understanding mechanisms of ice-sheet/climate integration during ice ages.
    [Show full text]
  • FIELDREPORT Northern Rockies | Summer 2015
    FIELDREPORT Northern Rockies | Summer 2015 Sacred Ground A Lasting Legacy for Grand Teton Protecting the “Backbone of the World” By Sharon Mader Efforts to transfer ownership of state lands to Grand Teton Program Manager the Park Service are well underway, but are he Blackfeet Nation first encountered bound by an extremely ambitious timeline. Summer Celebration for Glacier’s North Fork the United States government in the resident Obama has an amazing The clock is ticking, and without immediate Tearly morning chill of July 27, 1806. opportunity, before the end of his action at the highest levels of government, Capt. Meriwether Lewis, returning with presidency, to create a profound his men from the Pacific, chanced upon P and lasting legacy for America’s national a band of eight young braves, camped in parks. As we look toward the Centennial spectacular buffalo country where unbroken of the National Park Service in August prairie crashes headlong into soaring 2016—NPCA is encouraging the peaks. What unfolded that morning was administration to prioritize protecting the only bloodshed recorded by Lewis lands in Grand Teton National Park that and Clark. are owned by the state of Wyoming. Before the summer sun had climbed high enough to warm the gravel banks of the More than 1,200 acres of state-owned Two Medicine River, two young Blackfeet lands fall within the boundary of the men—boys, really—were killed. park. These inholdings offer some of the most spectacular scenery and wildlife- Two centuries later, in 1982, the US viewing opportunities imaginable. Driving it’s possible this deal will not be completed in government returned to those very same by these lands, travelers assume these time.
    [Show full text]