Sequence stratigraphy of a glaciated basin fill, with a focus on esker sedimentation

Abstract

Research Article| July 01, 2011 Sequence stratigraphy of a glaciated basin fill, with a focus on esker sedimentation Don I. Cummings; Don I. Cummings † 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada †E-mail: [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar George Gorrell; George Gorrell 2BGC Engineering Inc., Suite 500, 1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jean-Pierre Guilbault; Jean-Pierre Guilbault 3BRAQ-Stratigraphie, 37 Chemin Cochrane, Compton, Quebec J0B 1L0, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar James A. Hunter; James A. Hunter 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Charles Logan; Charles Logan 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dmitri Ponomarenko; Dmitri Ponomarenko 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J.-M. Pugin André; J.-M. Pugin André 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Susan E. Pullan; Susan E. Pullan 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hazen A.J. Russell; Hazen A.J. Russell 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David R. Sharpe David R. Sharpe 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Don I. Cummings † 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada George Gorrell 2BGC Engineering Inc., Suite 500, 1045 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2A9, Canada Jean-Pierre Guilbault 3BRAQ-Stratigraphie, 37 Chemin Cochrane, Compton, Quebec J0B 1L0, Canada James A. Hunter 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Charles Logan 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Dmitri Ponomarenko 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada J.-M. Pugin André 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Susan E. Pullan 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada Hazen A.J. Russell 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada David R. Sharpe 1Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 2A9, Canada †E-mail: [e-mail] Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 10 Feb 2010 Revision Received: 21 May 2010 Accepted: 04 Jun 2010 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2011 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2011) 123 (7-8): 1478–1496. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30273.1 Article history Received: 10 Feb 2010 Revision Received: 21 May 2010 Accepted: 04 Jun 2010 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Don I. Cummings, George Gorrell, Jean-Pierre Guilbault, James A. Hunter, Charles Logan, Dmitri Ponomarenko, J.-M. Pugin André, Susan E. Pullan, Hazen A.J. Russell, David R. Sharpe; Sequence stratigraphy of a glaciated basin fill, with a focus on esker sedimentation. GSA Bulletin 2011;; 123 (7-8): 1478–1496. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30273.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract A large integrated data set of cores, outcrop data, and seismic transects from the mud-buried Vars-Winchester esker in the Champlain Sea basin, Canada, was studied to gain insight into how muddy glaciated basins fill with sediment, and how esker sedimentary systems contribute to this process.Three stratigraphic units—a till sheet over carbonate bedrock, the Vars-Winchester esker , and overlying Champlain Sea mud—are identified in the data set. The till is massive, mud rich, carbonate rich, and drumlinized. The esker is also carbonate rich, and rests erosively on till or bedrock. It consists of two elements, a narrow gravelly central ridge and a broad sandy carapace. Three units comprise the overlying mud package: gray carbonate-rich rhythmites, massive bioturbated mud, and carbonate-poor, red-and-gray rhythmites.A sequence stratigraphic model is proposed to explain these observations. Emphasis is placed on gradual ice-front translation superimposed by rapid meltwater events. The esker is interpreted to have been derived from the underlying till by water that flowed through a subglacial conduit (R-channel), within which the narrow gravelly central ridge was deposited. Most mud and finer sand bypassed the conduit and was deposited proglacially on the floor of the Champlain Sea, first as sandy outwash and, farther basinward, as muddy carbonate-rich rhythmites. Gradual ice-front retreat superposed distal facies over proximal facies, generating the upward-fining succession that starts with the esker gravel and ends with muddy rhythmites. Most esker sediment appears to have been deposited during rapid, jökulhlaup-like floods that punctuated gradual retreat. Discharges are estimated to have been high, possibly on the order of several hundred to, perhaps more commonly, several thousand cubic meters per second. The chaotic and random-looking appearance of the resultant sedimentological signatures in the esker sensu stricto is sharply contrasted with the regularity of the muddy rhythmites. If the rhythmites are indeed correlative to the esker, which seems reasonable given their geochemistry and the fact that their volume scales to the volume of mud in the till, the flood events that deposited the esker must have been seasonally mediated, and the basin water must have attenuated the flood signal, resulting in a rhythmic "on-off" signature in more distal portions of the system. The regularity of the rhythmites does not betray the chaotic nature of the esker sensu stricto, and vice versa. Studying either one in isolation would lead to a very different "end-member" impression of how eskers form and how esker sedimentary systems operate during the infilling of glaciated basins. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.