19 Ice sheets, glaciers, and landscapes, oh my!

Glaciers and ice sheets shaped the landscape of the Northeast. Ice continues to shape the landscape of alpine and polar regions. We welcome submissions on glaciers &  ice sheets of any size, shape, age, and location.

Monday, 23 March 2026
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
CCC, Room 26

A 500,000-Year Record of Laurentide Ice Sheet Cover from New York Speleothems

Paper number: 19-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:20 AM – 11:40 AM

Authors

Abstract

Marine records show that the Northern Hemisphere has experienced regular glacial-interglacial cycles during the Quaternary. However, these records do not reflect individual ice sheet extent, and there are few long-term terrestrial records that capture Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) behavior prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Speleothems are a potentially useful tool for paleoclimate studies at higher latitudes because they typically only grow when conditions permit liquid water to percolate through carbonate bedrock and into a cave, and they can remain preserved underground through multiple glacial cycles. Here we present a 500 kyr chronology of speleothem growth as a proxy for ice cover near the southern glacial limit in east-central New York State, U.S. We measured 133 uranium-thorium ages on 45 speleothems from eight caves. Our data span the past five glacial cycles, with most growth clustering in times of intermediate ice volume and moderate climate. Apparent hiatuses in growth at Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 2, 6, and 10 may reflect LIS cover in this region during these glacial maxima and suggest that they featured particularly extensive advances. In contrast, continuous growth during MIS 4 and 12 suggests that the LIS remained north of New York during these glacials, contrasting with some prior modeling. These results help to inform LIS extent during past glacial periods, glacial isostatic adjustment corrections, and LIS contribution to regional and global climate change.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 2

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026NE-411170

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