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Chronology of glacial Lake Agassiz meltwater routed to the Gulf of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Timothy G. Fisher
Timothy G. Fisher*
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Indiana University Northwest, 3400 Broadway, Gary, IN 46408, USA
*
E-mail: tgfisher@iun.edu (T.G. Fisher).
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Abstract

Sediment cores with new radiocarbon dates from the southern outlet of glacial Lake Agassiz indicate that meltwater delivery to the Mississippi valley was disrupted at 10,800 14C yr B.P. and the outlet was abandoned by 9400 14C yr B.P. These findings confirm the timing of generally accepted terminations of the Lockhart and Emerson Phases of Lake Agassiz. Additionally, the radiocarbon chronology indicates that the spillway was fully formed by 10,800 14C yr B.P. and that the occupancy in late-Emerson time was likely short-lived with minimal spillway erosion.

Keywords

Lake AgassizSpillwaysPaleolimnologyMississippi ValleyGulf of Mexico
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , March 2003 , pp. 271 - 276
Copyright
Elsevier Science (USA)

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