In Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, the rapid collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) culminated in the catastrophic drainage of proglacial Lake Agassiz into the North Atlantic around 8500 cal BP. It has been suggested that this catastrophic event may have triggered the 8200 cal BP cold event recorded in Greenland ice cores. Evidence for that outburst flood was the identification of a centimeter to decimeter-thick hematiterich red layer that was observed in Hudson Strait sediments around 8000 yr BP. In this paper, we have identified a sequence of two flood-induced turbidites (i.e., hyperpycnites) in a reddish layer from two cores collected in northern Hudson Bay (core AMD0509-27bLEH) and western Hudson Strait (core AMD0509-28PC) in 2005 onboard the ice-breaker CCGS Amundsen. These two reddish layers can be correlated to a red bed previously identified as a regional isochron in Hudson Strait and associated with the final drainage of Lake Agassiz around 8500 cal BP. Regardless of the exact timing of the catastrophic drainage, the hyperpycnites described in this paper suggest that they were deposited following two pulses, which is in agreement with the one of the scenarios proposed by Clarke et al. (2003) [Science 301, 922-923] for the drainage of Lake Agassiz. Finally, this study demonstrates for the first time the turbiditic and the flood-induced nature of the Hudson Strait red bed isochron.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alley, R.B., Mayewski, P.A., Sowers, T., Stuiver, M., Taylor, K.C., Clark, P.U., 1997. Holocene climatic instability: a prominent, widespread event 8200 years ago. Geology 25, 483–486.
Alley, R.B., Agustsdottir, A.M., 2005. The 8k event: cause and consequences of a major Holocene abrupt climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 1123–1149.
Andrews, J.T., Maclean, B., Kerwin, M., Manley, W., Jennings, A.E., Hall, F., 1995. Final stages in the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Hudson Strait, Canada, NWT: 14C AMS dates, seismics stratigraphy, and magnetic susceptibility logs. Quaternary Science Reviews 14, 983–1004.
Barber, D.C., Dyke, A., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Jennings, A.E., Andrews, J.T., Kerwin, M.W., Bilodeau, G., McNeely, R., Southon, J., Morehead, M.D., Gagnon, J.M., 1999. Forcing of the cold event of 8,200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature 400, 344–348.
Blott, S.J., Pye, K., 2001. Gradistat: a grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolided sediments. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26, 1237–1248.
Chapron, E., Ariztegui, D., Mulsow, S., Villarosa, G., Pino, M., Outes, V., Juvignié, E., Crivelli, E., 2006. Impact of the 1960 major subduction earthquake in Northern Patagonia. Quaternary International 158, 58–71.
Chapron, E., Juvigné, E., Mulsow, S., Ariztegui, D., Magand, O., Bertrand, S., Pino, M., Chapron, O., subm. Clastic sedimentation processes in Lago Puyehue: Implications for natural hazards and paleoenvironment reconstructions in the Chilean Lake District, 40.5oS. Sedimentary Geology.
Clarke, G., Leverington, D., Teller, J., Dyke, A., 2003. Superlakes, megafloods and abrupt climate chance. Science 301, 922–923.
Clarke, G.K., Seidov, D., Haupt, B.J., 2004a. Freshwater ocean forcing scenarios for the megaflood from glacial Lake Agassiz. Eos Trans. AGU, 85 (17), Jt. Assem. Suppl., Abstract GC12A-02.
Clarke, G.K.C., Leverington, D.W., Teller, J.T., Dyke, A.S., 2004b. Paleohydraulics of the last outburst flood from glacial Lake Agassiz and the 8200 BP cold event. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 389–407.
Guyard, H., St-Onge, G., Chapron, E., Anselmetti, F., Francus, P., 2007. The AD 1881 earthquake-triggered slump and late Hocoloce exceptional flood-induced turbidites from proglacial Lake Bramant, Western French Alps. See this book.
Hall, F.R., Andrews, J.T., Kerwin, M., Smith, L.M., 2001. Studies of sediment colour, whole-core magnetic susceptibility, and sediment magnetism of Hudson Strait-Labrador Shelf region: CSS Hudson cruises 90023 and 93034. In B. MacLean (Ed.), Late Quaternary sediments, depositional environments, and Late Glacial/Deglacial history derived from marine and terrestrial studies. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 566, pp. 161-170.
Helmke, J.P., Schulz, M., Bauch, H.A., 2002. Sediment-color record from the Northeast Atlantic reveals patterns of millennial-scale climate variability during the Past 500,000 Years. Quaternary Research 57, 49–57.
Kerwin, M.W., 1996. A regional stratigraphic isochron (ca. 8000 14C yr B.P.) from final deglaciation of Hudson Strait. Quaternary Research 46, 89–98.
Kneller, B.C., 1995. Beyond the turbidite paradigm: Physical models for deposition of turbidites and their implications for reservoir prediction. In Hartley, A.J., Prosser, D.J. (Eds.), Characterization of deep marine clastic systems. Geological Society [London] Special Publication 94, pp. 31–49.
Mulder, T., Syvitski, J.P.M., 1995. Turbidity currents generated at river mouths during exceptional discharges to the world oceans. Journal of Geology 103,285–299.
Mulder, T., Migeon, S., Savoye, B., Jouanneau, J.-M., 2001a. Twentieth century floods recorded in deep Mediterranean sediments. Geology 29, 1011–1014.
Mulder, T., Migeon, S., Savoye, B., Faugères, J.-C., 2001b. Inversely graded turbidite sequences in the deep Mediterranean: a record of deposits from flood-generated turbidity currents? Geo-marine Letters 21, 86–93.
Mulder, T., Migeon, S., Savoye, B., Faugères, J.-C., 2002. Inversely graded turbidite sequences in the deep Mediterranean: a record of deposits from flood-generated turbidity currents? Reply. Geo-marine Letters 22, 112–120.
Mulder, T., Syvitski, J.P.M., Migeon, S., Faugères, J-C., Savoye, B., 2003. Marine hyperpycnal flows:initiation, behavior and related deposits A review Marine and Petroleum. Geology 20, 861–882.
Shilts, W.W., 1986. Glaciation of the Hudson Bay region. In I.P. Martini, (Ed.), Canadian Inland Seas. Elsevier Oceanography Series 44, Elsevier, New York, pp. 55–78.
Schneider, J.-L., Pollet, N., Chapron, E., Wessels, M., Wassmer, P., 2004. Signature of Rhine Valley sturztrom dam failures in Holocene sediments of Lake Constance, Germany. Sedimentary Geology 169, 75–91.
St-Onge, G., Mulder, T., Piper, D.J.W., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Stoner, J.S., 2004. Earthquake and flood-induced turbidites in the Saguenay Fjord (Québec): a Holocene paleoseismicity record. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 283–294.
St-Onge, G., Mulder, T., Francus, P., Long., B. 2007. Continuous physical properties of cored marine sediments. In C. Hillaire-Marcel and A. de Vernal (Eds.), Proxies in Late Cenozoic Paleoceanography, Elsevier, pp. 65-101.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
St-Onge, G., Lajeunesse, P. (2007). Flood-Induced Turbidites From Northern Hudson Bay And Western Hudson Strait: A Two-Pulse Record Of Lake Agassiz Final Outburst Flood?. In: Lykousis, V., Sakellariou, D., Locat, J. (eds) Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6512-5_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6512-5_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6511-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6512-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)