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A Sedimentological and Geomorphological Investigation of the Paris Moraine in the Guelph Area, Ontario, Canada

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A Sedimentological and Geomorphological Investigation of the Paris Moraine in the Guelph Area, Ontario, Canada A Sedimentological and Geomorphological Investigation of the Paris Moraine in the Guelph Area, Ontario, Canada by Michael McGill A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Land Resource Science Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Michael McGill, August, 2012 ABSTRACT A SEDIMENTOLOGICAL AND GEOMORPHICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE PARIS MORAINE IN THE GUELPH AREA, ONTARIO, CANADA Michael McGill Advisor: University of Guelph, 2012 Dr. E. Arnaud A sedimentological and geomorphologic investigation southeast of the City of Guelph, Ontario was undertaken to determine the nature, trends in distribution, and origin of subsurface sediments in the Paris moraine. Sediments were investigated by drilling five cored-holes, mapping geomorphic elements, and creating a database of existing data. Nine broadly encompassing and reoccurring lithofacies were identified, ranging from gravel to clayey silt. The general transverse trend of geomorphic elements across the moraine consists of a frontslope, hummocky, and backslope element. Sediment-landform associations were identified from the synthesis of cored-hole, geomorphic element mapping, and lithologic cross-section data. Based on these results, the Paris Moraine is thought to be the remnants of an ice-cored controlled moraine. The relief inversion process responsible for the formation of the controlled moraine creates a horizontally and vertically variable distribution of lithofacies. Hydrogeologic properties of the moraine sediments will likely be similarly spatially variable and difficult to predict. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the numerous people that helped make this thesis possible. I need to thank my advisor Dr. Emmanuelle Arnaud for this opportunity and my committee Dr. Peter Martini and Dr. Gary Parkin for their guidance and support. My gratitude goes out to many other people at the University of Guelph. I need to thank the post- doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students of the Glacial Geology lab for their assistance in performing fieldwork. As well, help with fieldwork and guidance from members of the G360 research group is appreciated. I would also like to thank the staff at the School of Environmental Science for their help with policies and procedures within the department. I would like to thank colleages from outside the University of Guelph. I need to thank the many graduate students from McMaster University and University of Waterloo for their help with fieldwork and sharing their relatable experiences as graduate students at their respective universities. I would also like to acknowledge the regional geologic knowledge and opinions of Abigail Burt from the Ontario Geologic Survey. The work performed by drilling contractors Underground Sonic and Aardvark Drilling and the GPS survey contractors Halltech Environmental and Van Harten Surveying is very much appreciated. I would like to thank the Ontario Research Fund, NSERC, and OMAFRA for funding this project. Finally, my thanks go out to my friends and family for their encouragement, camaraderie and putting up with me if they ever made the mistake of asking how the thesis was going. iii Table of Contents List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ viii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Study Area and Rationale ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Organization of Thesis ........................................................................................................................ 3 2.0 Literature Review .................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Quaternary Glacial History ................................................................................................................. 7 2.2. Regional Geological Setting ............................................................................................................ 11 2.2.1 Bedrock ...................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.2 Landforms .................................................................................................................................. 12 2.2.3 Local Quaternary Stratigraphy ................................................................................................... 17 2.3 The Paris Moraine ............................................................................................................................. 24 2.4 Moraine Models ................................................................................................................................ 26 2.4.1 End Moraines ............................................................................................................................. 27 2.4.2 Hummocky Moraines ................................................................................................................. 28 2.5 Glacial Lithofacies Models ............................................................................................................... 36 2.5.1 Glaciofluvial .............................................................................................................................. 37 2.5.2. Glaciolacustrine ........................................................................................................................ 39 2.5.3 Subglacial ................................................................................................................................... 40 2.5.4 Supraglacial ................................................................................................................................ 44 2.5.5 Englacial .................................................................................................................................... 46 2.5.6 Ice Marginal ............................................................................................................................... 47 3.0 Study Design and Methods ................................................................................................................... 53 3.1 Geomorphic Mapping ....................................................................................................................... 53 3.1.1 Terrain Mapping of Geomorphic Elements ............................................................................... 54 3.1.2 ArcGIS ....................................................................................................................................... 54 3.1.3 Qualitative Groundtruthing Descriptions and Photography ....................................................... 55 3.1.4 High Resolution GPS Surveys ................................................................................................... 56 iv 3.2 High Resolution Sediment Cores ...................................................................................................... 57 3.2.1 Field Activities ........................................................................................................................... 57 3.2.2 Cored Hole Limitations and Technical Issues ........................................................................... 62 3.2.3 Particle Size Analysis................................................................................................................. 63 3.3 Lithologic Cross-Sections ................................................................................................................. 70 3.3.1 Digitizing Logs .......................................................................................................................... 70 3.3.2 Database Development .............................................................................................................. 74 3.3.3 Rockworks Lithologic Cross-Sections ....................................................................................... 79 4.0 Results ................................................................................................................................................... 84 4.1 High Quality Boreholes .................................................................................................................... 84 4.1.1 High Quality Boreholes Lithofacies .......................................................................................... 84 4.1.2 High Quality Borehole Stratigraphy .......................................................................................... 89 4.2. Landforms and Geomorphic Elements of the Paris Moraine in the Guelph Area ......................... 118 4.2.1. Geomorphic Elements in the Study Area ................................................................................ 118 4.2.2. Geomorphic Variability .........................................................................................................
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