Reconstruction of isostatically adjusted paleo-strandlines along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the Great Lakes, Lake Agassiz, and Champlain Sea basins

Abstract

Strandlines document the former presence of lakes and a sea in east-central North America along the southern margin of the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). The strandlines of these formerly level water bodies are uplifted to the north and provide evidence of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) of the Earth’s crust to the former ice load. We compile published ages and measurements of the present elevation and location of shore features in the strandlines of eight major paleo-water bodies from the St. Lawrence Valley to the northern Great Plains in digital format as an aid for the numerical modelling of GIA. Data for eastern water bodies were extracted and digitized from publications during the past 120 years. Digital position coordinates were scaled from published maps of survey sites or were determined using Google Earth Pro software. Published data for paleo-lakes Duluth and Agassiz were mainly obtained from field measurements and digital elevation models. Two-sigma or 95% probability values are provided for the strandline ages and for isobase (contour) positions representing the deformed water surfaces. Peak strandline gradients reported here were largest at about ca. 13 000 years ago. Lower strandline gradients for older shores may reveal areas closer to the peripheral bulge and areas of thinner ice (lighter crustal loads). Concave upward strandline profiles characterize most paleo-basins, whereas a linear uplift profile characterizes the Champlain Sea strandline. Directions of strandline maximum uplift within the former water body basins point toward the thickest part of the LIS near the Quebec–Labrador ice dome.