Erosion and infill of New York Finger Lakes; implications for Laurentide ice sheet deglaciation

• Published in: Geology (Boulder) 1989-07, Vol.17 (7), p.622-625
• Main Authors: Mullins, Henry T, Hinchey, Edward J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Appalachian Plateau; Appalachians; applied (geophysical surveys & methods); Cayuga County New York; deglaciation; erosion; Finger Lakes; Freshwater; Geology; geomorphology; geophysical methods; geophysical surveys; Geophysics; glacial geology; glacial sedimentation; glaciation; Glaciers; glaciolacustrine sedimentation; lacustrine features; lacustrine sedimentation; lakes; landform evolution; Laurentide ice sheet; New York; North America; Onondaga County New York; Ontario County New York; processes; reflection methods; Schuyler County New York; sedimentation; seismic methods; Seneca County New York; Steuben County New York; surveys; Tompkins County New York; United States; west-central New York; Yates County New York
• ISSN: 0091-7613; 1943-2682
• DOI: 10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0622:EAIONY>2.3.CO;2

A comprehensive seismic reflection profile investigation of the New York Finger Lakes has revealed the extent of bedrock erosion and nature of sediment fill beneath the lakes.Bedrock deepens to the south, where gorgelike profiles have been eroded to as much as 304 m #ITbelow#ME sea level and infilled with up to 275 m of late Quaternary age (< 14 ka) sediment. We propose a working hypothesis that invokes ice streaming and pressurized subglacial meltwater and sediment to account for regional geomorphology. This working hypothesis is consistent with recent concepts of the collapse of continental ice sheets via ice streaming and the marine isotopic record for a meltwater spike at 13-14 ka. The Finger Lakes may provide a critical testing ground for deglaciation models of the southern Laurentide ice sheet because they contain a thick, well-preserved, and now seismically defined record of the deglaciation process.