Abstracts
Abstract
Ice directional indicators were compiled from extensive field mapping and air-photo interpretation in the Keewatin region of central Nunavut. The profusion of multi-faceted bedrock outcrops, intersecting striations, superimposed streamlined landforms, and stacked till units, particularly beneath the former Keewatin Ice Divide, is interpreted to be the result of the migration of the main ice divide in the region, by as much as 500 km between ice-flow phases, possibly through much of the Wisconsinan glaciation. This palimpsest glacial landscape reflects protection under an ice divide because of low-velocity basal sliding, and changes in flow velocity as a result of shifting ice flow centres. Relative ages of regional ice-flow sets were used to reconstruct multiple phases of paleo-ice flows, stemming from ice centres external to the region prior to or at LGM, and from a local ice divide throughout deglaciation. This work refutes previous interpretations of the age and stability of the Keewatin Ice Divide, and has implications for interpreting glacial dispersal trains and for mineral exploration in Keewatin.
Résumé
Des indices d’écoulement glaciaire ont été compilés à partir d’une cartographie à grande échelle sur le terrain et à l’aide de la photo-interprétation dans la région du Keewatin au centre du Nunavut. L’abondance d’affleurements rocheux à facettes multiples, de stries entrecroisées, de formes profilées superposées et d’unités de till empilées, notamment sous l’ancienne ligne de partage glaciaire du Keewatin, est le résultat de la migration de la ligne de partage glaciaire principale sur 500 km dans la région du Keewatin au cours de la glaciation du Wisconsinien. Ce paysage glaciaire est le vestige d’un glissement minimal sous la ligne de partage glaciaire et des variations de vitesse d’écoulement causées par le déplacement des centres d’écoulement. Les âges relatifs des familles d’écoulement glaciaire ont permis de reconstituer de nombreuses phases glaciaires anciennes, qui sont affectées par les centres d’écoulement situés à l’extérieur de la région et par une ligne de partage glaciaire locale jusqu'à la déglaciation. Ces résultats réfutent les interprétations antérieures quant à l’âge et à la stabilité de la ligne de partage glaciaire du Keewatin et ils aident à mieux comprendre les trains de dispersion glaciaire et l’exploration minérale dans la région du Keewatin.
Appendices
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