Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Kelly R. MacGregor; Catherine A. Riihimaki; Amy Myrbo; Mark D. Shapley; Krista Jankowski

doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2010.08.005

Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Kelly R. MacGregor, Catherine A. Riihimaki, Amy Myrbo, Mark D. Shapley, Krista Jankowski

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Glaciated alpine landscapes are sensitive to changes in climate. Shifts in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes to glacier size and terminus position, the production and delivery of organic mass, and in the hydrologic energy related to the transport of water and sediment through proglacial environments. A sediment core representing a 12,900-yr record collected from Swiftcurrent Lake, located on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Montana, was analyzed to assess variability in Holocene and latest Pleistocene environment. The spectral signature of total organic carbon content (%TOC) since ~. 7.6. ka matches that of solar forcing over 70-500. yr timescales. Periodic inputs of dolomite to the lake reflect an increased footprint of Grinnell Glacier, and occur during periods when sediment sinks are reduced, glacial erosion is increased, and hydrologic energy is increased. Grain size, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and %TOC broadly define the termination of the Younger Dryas chronozone at Swiftcurrent Lake, as well as major Holocene climate transitions. Variability in core parameters is linked to other records of temperature and aridity in the northern Rocky Mountains over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	80-90
Number of pages	11
Journal	Quaternary Research
Volume	75
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2010.08.005
State	Published - Jan 2011

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank the Macalester College Wallace Faculty Research Fund (to KRM), the American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Research Fund (to CAR), and Dan Fagre, Blase Reardon, and the Many Glacier Park Rangers for financial and logistical support. Thanks to Kevin Thiessen for his generosity in the use of his Elemental Analyzer, and to Emily Dunn, Hannah Wydeven, Don Barber and Camille Jones for laboratory assistance. We thank the LacCore facility for field and lab support. Special thanks to Justin Revenaugh for assistance with the spectral analyses. We are grateful to Eric Leonard and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

Keywords

Glacier National Park
Grain size
Holocene
Lake sediment core
Mazama ash
Radiocarbon dating
Solar forcing
Sunspot cycle
Total organic carbon
Younger Dryas

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10.1016/j.yqres.2010.08.005

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@article{1d51c2e7bf984d9d8005a95a6702bb2c,

title = "Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA",

abstract = "Glaciated alpine landscapes are sensitive to changes in climate. Shifts in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes to glacier size and terminus position, the production and delivery of organic mass, and in the hydrologic energy related to the transport of water and sediment through proglacial environments. A sediment core representing a 12,900-yr record collected from Swiftcurrent Lake, located on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Montana, was analyzed to assess variability in Holocene and latest Pleistocene environment. The spectral signature of total organic carbon content (%TOC) since ~. 7.6. ka matches that of solar forcing over 70-500. yr timescales. Periodic inputs of dolomite to the lake reflect an increased footprint of Grinnell Glacier, and occur during periods when sediment sinks are reduced, glacial erosion is increased, and hydrologic energy is increased. Grain size, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and %TOC broadly define the termination of the Younger Dryas chronozone at Swiftcurrent Lake, as well as major Holocene climate transitions. Variability in core parameters is linked to other records of temperature and aridity in the northern Rocky Mountains over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.",

keywords = "Glacier National Park, Grain size, Holocene, Lake sediment core, Mazama ash, Radiocarbon dating, Solar forcing, Sunspot cycle, Total organic carbon, Younger Dryas",

author = "MacGregor, {Kelly R.} and Riihimaki, {Catherine A.} and Amy Myrbo and Shapley, {Mark D.} and Krista Jankowski",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the Macalester College Wallace Faculty Research Fund (to KRM), the American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Research Fund (to CAR), and Dan Fagre, Blase Reardon, and the Many Glacier Park Rangers for financial and logistical support. Thanks to Kevin Thiessen for his generosity in the use of his Elemental Analyzer, and to Emily Dunn, Hannah Wydeven, Don Barber and Camille Jones for laboratory assistance. We thank the LacCore facility for field and lab support. Special thanks to Justin Revenaugh for assistance with the spectral analyses. We are grateful to Eric Leonard and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that improved the manuscript. ",

year = "2011",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1016/j.yqres.2010.08.005",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "75",

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AU - MacGregor, Kelly R.

AU - Riihimaki, Catherine A.

AU - Myrbo, Amy

AU - Shapley, Mark D.

AU - Jankowski, Krista

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Macalester College Wallace Faculty Research Fund (to KRM), the American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Research Fund (to CAR), and Dan Fagre, Blase Reardon, and the Many Glacier Park Rangers for financial and logistical support. Thanks to Kevin Thiessen for his generosity in the use of his Elemental Analyzer, and to Emily Dunn, Hannah Wydeven, Don Barber and Camille Jones for laboratory assistance. We thank the LacCore facility for field and lab support. Special thanks to Justin Revenaugh for assistance with the spectral analyses. We are grateful to Eric Leonard and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

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N2 - Glaciated alpine landscapes are sensitive to changes in climate. Shifts in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes to glacier size and terminus position, the production and delivery of organic mass, and in the hydrologic energy related to the transport of water and sediment through proglacial environments. A sediment core representing a 12,900-yr record collected from Swiftcurrent Lake, located on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Montana, was analyzed to assess variability in Holocene and latest Pleistocene environment. The spectral signature of total organic carbon content (%TOC) since ~. 7.6. ka matches that of solar forcing over 70-500. yr timescales. Periodic inputs of dolomite to the lake reflect an increased footprint of Grinnell Glacier, and occur during periods when sediment sinks are reduced, glacial erosion is increased, and hydrologic energy is increased. Grain size, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and %TOC broadly define the termination of the Younger Dryas chronozone at Swiftcurrent Lake, as well as major Holocene climate transitions. Variability in core parameters is linked to other records of temperature and aridity in the northern Rocky Mountains over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

AB - Glaciated alpine landscapes are sensitive to changes in climate. Shifts in temperature and precipitation can cause significant changes to glacier size and terminus position, the production and delivery of organic mass, and in the hydrologic energy related to the transport of water and sediment through proglacial environments. A sediment core representing a 12,900-yr record collected from Swiftcurrent Lake, located on the eastern side of Glacier National Park, Montana, was analyzed to assess variability in Holocene and latest Pleistocene environment. The spectral signature of total organic carbon content (%TOC) since ~. 7.6. ka matches that of solar forcing over 70-500. yr timescales. Periodic inputs of dolomite to the lake reflect an increased footprint of Grinnell Glacier, and occur during periods when sediment sinks are reduced, glacial erosion is increased, and hydrologic energy is increased. Grain size, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and %TOC broadly define the termination of the Younger Dryas chronozone at Swiftcurrent Lake, as well as major Holocene climate transitions. Variability in core parameters is linked to other records of temperature and aridity in the northern Rocky Mountains over the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

KW - Glacier National Park

KW - Grain size

KW - Holocene

KW - Lake sediment core

KW - Mazama ash

KW - Radiocarbon dating

KW - Solar forcing

KW - Sunspot cycle

KW - Total organic carbon

KW - Younger Dryas

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DO - 10.1016/j.yqres.2010.08.005

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:78751580460

SN - 0033-5894

VL - 75

SP - 80

EP - 90

JO - Quaternary Research

JF - Quaternary Research

IS - 1

ER -

Geomorphic and climatic change over the past 12,900yr at Swiftcurrent Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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