Climatic control on the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet margin in easternmost Quebec-Labrador (Canada) revealed by cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating

The Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) was the largest ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial cycle. The effects of its demise on global climate and sea-level changes during the subsequent deglaciation are unequivocal. Understanding the interplay between ice sheets and long-term or short-term (e.g. abrupt) climatic events is therefore crucial for predicting future rates of ice sheet melting and their potential contribution to sea-level changes. Here, we present 37 new Be-10 surface exposure ages from easternmost Quebec-Labrador that allow us to identify close ties between regional deglaciation history and climate. These results reveal that the LIS was disconnected from the Newfoundland Ice Cap by similar to 14.1 ka. Samples collected from moraine boulders indicate that this event was followed by five major stillstands and/or readvance stages of the LIS margin. Integrating our new moraine ages with those of earlier studies allows us to depict a temporal framework including events at similar to 12.9, similar to 11.5, similar to 10.4, similar to 9.3 and similar to 8.4-8.2 ka. These moraine ages highlight a strong sensitivity of the LIS to temperature changes in the Northern Hemisphere, as the documented continental ice margin stabilizations coincide with abrupt cooling events recorded in Greenland ice cores. These observations support the idea of a negative feedback mechanism induced by meltwater forcings into the North Atlantic Ocean which, in turn, provoked repeated cold reversals during the Younger Dryas and early Holocene.

Automated summary

The Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) was the largest ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial cycle. Its demise had significant effects on global climate and sea-level changes. Understanding the relationship between ice sheets and climatic events is crucial for predicting future ice sheet melting and its impact on sea-level changes.