little ice age glacial activity in the mt. waddington area ... · 1413 little ice age glacial...

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Little Ice Age glacial activity in the Mt.Waddington area, British Columbia CoastMountains, Canada

S.J. Larocque and D.J. Smith

Abstract: The establishment of fourteen Little Ice Age (LIA) glacier chronologies in the Mt. Waddington area led tothe development of an extended history of glacial activity in this portion of the southern British Columbia Coast Mountains,Canada. The glaciers were located within four different mountain ranges, and were of varying size and aspect.Dendrochronological and lichenometric techniques were used to provide relative age estimates of moraines formed asglacier termini retreated from advanced positions. Evidence for pre-LIA glacial events is best preserved at TiedemannGlacier, where the oldest glacial advances date to A.D. 620 and 925–933. Soil-covered and well-vegetated morainesbuilt at Cathedral, Pagoda, and Siva glaciers date to between A.D. 1203 and 1226. Following this event, moraines constructed atRagnarok, Siva, and Cathedral glaciers in the mid-14th century suggest glaciers in the region underwent a period ofdownwasting and retreat before readvancing. The majority of moraines recorded in the Mt. Waddington area describelate-LIA glacial events shown to have constructed moraines that date to A.D. 1443–1458, 1506–1524, 1562–1575,1597–1621, 1657–1660, 1767–1784, 1821–1837, 1871–1900, 1915–1928, and 1942–1946. Over the last 500 years,these moraine-building episodes were shown to occur on average every 65 years and suggest there has been prolongedsynchronicity in the glaciological response to persistent climate-forcing mechanisms. Nevertheless, our analysis suggeststhat local factors, such as aspect and size, play an important role in individual glacial response. Notably, ice termini ofmedium-size glaciers facing eastwards showed a quicker response to climatically induced mass balance changes.

Résumé : L’historique de quatorze glaciers de vallée de la région du mont Waddington, sud de la Chaîne Côtière deColombie-Britannique, Canada, durant le Petit Âge Glaciaire (PAG) fut évalué par l’utilisation de techniquesdendrochronologiques et lichénométriques, procurant un âge minimum pour la formation des moraines latérales etfrontales multiples. Les glaciers à l’étude, d’aspect et de taille différents, furent sélectionnés à partir de quatre chaînesde montagnes. Les événements qui prédatent le PAG sont le mieux préservés sur le site du glacier Tiedemann, où lesplus vieilles avancées glaciaires date de A.D. 620 et 925–933. Des moraines présentant une pédogenèse avancée etrecouvertes d’une dense couverture végétale furent datées entre A.D. 1203 et 1226. Des moraines construites dans lemilieu du 14e siècle par les glaciers Ragnarok, Siva et Cathedral suggèrent que les glaciers de la région se sont retiréspour par la suite réavancer. La majorité des moraines datées le furent vers la fin du PAG, soit en A.D. 1443–1458,1506–1524, 1562–1575, 1597–1621, 1657–1660, 1767–1784, 1821–1837, 1871–1900, 1915–1928 et 1942–1946. Aucours des 500 dernières années, en moyenne 65 années séparent les différents épisodes glaciaires, ce qui suggèrent unsynchronisme des réponses glaciaires aux mécanismes climatiques. Des données préliminaires suggèrent que l’orientationet la taille des glaciers jouent un rôle important dans la réponse individualiste des glaciers. En fait, les terminus glaciairesdes moyens glaciers d’orientation est semblent répondre plus rapidement à un ajustement de volume interne glaciaire.

Larocque and Smith 1436

Introduction

Beginning in the 12th century, glaciers throughout theCanadian Cordillera began to advance down valley followingthe onset of Little Ice Age (LIA) glacial conditions (Luckmanet al. 1993). This LIA activity matches a period of worldwide

glacial expansion (Grove 1988) and, in the southern CanadianCordillera context, corresponds to an interval when the averagesummer temperature was more than 1 °C cooler than at present(Luckman 2000). Throughout the last millennium, there isevidence for multiple pulses of glacial expansion interspersedwith periods when glacier ice fronts retreated from theirmaximum terminal positions (Grove 1988).

Can. J. Earth Sci. 40: 1413–1436 (2003) doi: 10.1139/E03-053 © 2003 NRC Canada

Received 19 December 2002. Accepted June 2 2003. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at http://canjchem.nrc.ca on16 October 2003.

Paper handled by Associate Editor R. Gilbert.

S.J. Larocque and D.J. Smith.1 University of Victoria Tree-Ring Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Victoria,Victoria, BC V8W 3P5, Canada.

1Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]).

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1414 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 40, 2003

LIA glacial chronologies along the Pole–Equator–Pole(PEP 1) transect show that there is a broad synchroneity inthe initiation and timing of glacial events in the westernAmericas (Luckman and Villalba 2001). Examined in detail,however, contemporary mass balance data in western NorthAmerica suggest that the findings greatly simplify complexglacier–climate relationships that have changed over timeand vary depending upon local factors and complex massbalance adjustments (Hodge et al. 1998). Developing a spatialand temporal understanding of the regional mass balancevariations is fundamental in the assessment of past climate.

Although a number of studies have been undertaken thatoffer insights into the LIA history of glaciers in the CanadianRocky Mountains (e.g., Osborn and Luckman 1988; Luckman2000), only a few researchers have described the LIA behaviourof glaciers in the more westerly British Columbia CoastMountains (Mathews 1951; Ryder and Thomson 1986; Deslogesand Ryder 1990; Smith and Desloges 2000). There remainsa significant need for detailed, well-dated records of LIAglacier fluctuations linked to better pre-instrumental proxyrecords describing the climate factors that control glaciermass balance. This need is particularly acute in the PacificNorthwest portion of the PEP 1 transect, where Pacificteleconnections result in differential mass balance statesbetween glaciers in Alaska and those in southern Canada(Walters and Meier 1989).

The purpose of this paper is to document the LIA historyof glaciers in the Mt. Waddington area of the British Columbia

Coast Mountains (Fig. 1). Detailed field studies were undertakenat glacier forefields, where lichenometric and dendrochronologicaltechniques were used to reconstruct the LIA glacial historyof this portion of the Coast Mountains. Local LIA glacialchronologies are used to build a regional synthesis and assessthis record in the context of LIA glacial activity within PacificNorth America.

Study area

The study area is located on the lee (eastern) side of thesouthern Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada (Fig. 1).Corresponding to an area of 375 km by 490 km (183 750 km2),the region encompasses the Niut and Pantheon ranges in thenorth and the Waddington and Homathko ranges in the south.The Niut and Pantheon ranges, located adjacent to the InteriorPlateau, have an average annual air temperature rangingfrom 2.2 °C (normals 1961–1990; Big Creek; 51°43′N–123°02′W, 1128 m asl (above sea level)) to 4.1 °C (normals1961–1990; Williams Lake; 52°11′N–122°03′W, 940 m asl).Average annual total precipitation falls within the 400 to450 mm/a range (Meteorological Service of Canada 2002).The more maritime Waddington and Homathko ranges havean average annual temperature of 7.9 °C (normals 1961–1990; Bella Coola, 52°22′N–126°41′W, 18 m asl) and annualtotal precipitation averages 1677 mm.

The forest cover of the study area is dominated by subalpinefir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall) at higher elevations,

Fig. 1. Location of study sites in the Mt. Waddington area, southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia.



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except within the northern portion of the region, wherewhitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelmann) favours disturbedand rocky sites (Meidinger and Pojar 1991). In the southernportion of the study area, in addition to subalpine fir,homogenous and mixed stands of mountain hemlock (Tsugamertensiana (Bongard) Carriere) and yellow-cedar (Chama-ecyparis nootkatensis (D. Don in Lambert) Spach) characterizemost lower elevation slopes. Restricted stands of Douglas-fir(Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco) are limited to afew scattered south-facing slopes.

Study sites

The remoteness of this area precluded preliminary fieldreconnaissance, so air photographs were used to assess thepotential LIA record at each site. Forefields fronting cirqueand valley glaciers were preferentially examined, as thesetypes of glaciers are more sensitive to climatically inducedmass balance adjustments (e.g., Grudd 1990; Lawby et al.1995). In total, fourteen sites displaying multiple lateral andend moraine crests were identified for detailed study: six inthe Pantheon Range, five in the Niut Range, two in theWaddington Range, and one on the northwest side of theHomathko Icefield (Fig. 1, Table 1). The majority of theseforefields are fed by glaciers with northerly or easterly aspects;only one faces south. These forefields extend down valley toterminate at elevations ranging from 425 to 1880 m asl, withmost positioned below the local tree line.

Methods

Field surveys were undertaken in July 2000 and 2001.Measurements and sampling occurred along linear transectsplaced perpendicular to representative moraine sequences.Moraine crests were numbered according to their position onthe transects (moraine 1 being the most distal), with morainenumbers from different transects at a site not necessarily beingtime synchronous. Lichenometric evidence on moraine substratewas abundant, and we used a locally calibrated lichen growthcurve to provide minimum dates for moraine stabilizationand glacier retreat. Where moraines supported living trees,

or where subfossil or detrital wood was found, dendro-chronological techniques were employed to provide additionaldating control (see Appendix A, Table A1). Moraine datesare given in years A.D., unless specified.

Lichenometric techniquesLichenometric dating is based on the assumption that the

largest lichen growing on a suitable substrate provides anapproximation of the minimum date of deposition or exposureof this surface (Innes 1985). This technique has been widelyapplied in glaciated areas (Beschel 1973; Porter 1981; Smithet al. 1995; Harrison and Winchester 2000; Smith and Desloges2000; Wiles et al. 2002) and remains the only reliable relativedating technique for application at LIA sites where a lack oftrees precludes radiocarbon and (or) dendrochronologicalanalysis.

Our lichenometric assessments were based upon a regionallichen growth curve originally developed from 12 controlpoints in the Bella Coola – Monarch Icefield area by Smithand Desloges (2000). Larocque and Smith (in review) extendedthe growth curve from 165 to 680 years with six additionalcontrol points (based on photogrammetric, dendrochronological,and radiocarbon evidence) calibrated to the Mt. Waddingtonarea (Fig. 2). This curve is a compilation of single largestRhizocarpon spp. (usually R. geographicum) thalli and isassumed to be representative of lichen growth throughoutthis region. Beyond 680 years (thallus diameter: 85 mm),surface dates were derived by means of linear extrapolation.

Dating errors associated with lichenometry are attributedto measurement errors, microclimate factors, and variablerates of moraine stabilization (Innes 1985). In this instance,we assigned dating errors based on the 95% confidence interval,with error estimates ranging from ±20–28 years at the beginningof the 20th century to +77 and –31 years for 650-year-oldsurfaces. As a result of this inherent uncertainty, and thedifficulty of correlating individual moraine segments withincomplex forefield sequences, we opted for a high number oflichen measurements at several sites and transects for morereliable estimates of the timing of glacier retreat from eachmoraine.

At each glacier site, one to seven transects intersecting


Site Code Sub-region Coordinates Aspect Elevation (m)a

Astarte Glacier* AG Pantheon Range 51°39′N; 125°12′W E 1880Byamee Glacier* BG Pantheon Range 51°38′N; 125°11′W NW 1720Cathedral Glacier* CG Homathko Icefield 51°14′N; 124°52′W N 1600Escape Glacier* EG Pantheon Range 51°37′N; 125°07′W SE 1760Hope Glacier* HG Niut Range 51°31′N; 124°53′W NW 1830Liberty Glacier* LG Niut Range 51°35′N; 124°50′W N 1525Nirvana Glacier* NG Pantheon Range 51°39′N; 125°12′W E 1800Oval Glacier OG Waddington Range 51°29′N; 125°15′W NE 1260Pagoda Glacier PG Niut Range 51°30′N; 124°55′W NW 1280Ragnarok Glacier RG Pantheon Range 51°36′N; 125°18′W NE 1520Razor Creek Glacier* RCG Niut Range 51°34′N; 124°46′W N 1650Siva Glacier SG Pantheon Range 51°39′N; 125°10′W NW 1500Tiedemann Glacier TG Waddington Range 51°19′N; 124°54′W E 425Whitesaddle Glacier* WG Niut Range 51°36′N; 124°50′W E 1525

Note: *Unofficial name.aLower altitudinal limit of the forefield.

Table 1. Characteristics of glaciers studied in the Mt. Waddington area.



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multiple moraine ridges were examined for the presence oflichen (see maps in Figs. 3, 6 to 13, and Appendix A). Thelargest and the smallest diameters of 30 visually selectedlargest, near-circular, non-competing Rhizocarpon thalli weremeasured along 50 m moraine crest transects using digitalcalipers (precision of ±0.1 mm). Normality tests (Shapiro-WilkNormality Test for small samples) and visual analysis of lichendistribution, combined with a relative assessment of the possibledisturbance factors at the measurement sites (such as snowavalanche activity, late snowpack, rockfall, etc.), were usedto systematically reject anomalous lichens. The single largestthallus diameter was used to establish an absolute minimumdate for the moraine stabilization (and therefore glacier retreat).See Appendix A for the error estimates.

Dendrochronological techniquesThe age of the oldest tree found growing on the moraine

crests at each site was established by collecting one or twoincrement cores from living stems and by counting the numberof annual tree rings present. To correct for missed piths, weused the pith locator application developed by Applequist(1958) to estimate the number of missing rings. On average,8 years were added to the tree-ring dates, with a maximumof 58 years added in one instance.

Pith dates do not necessarily provide a precise surface agefor coarse substrate because of variable ecesis intervals andsystematic sampling-height errors. To get a reasonable estimateof the date of the surface stabilization, we attempted to establishthe duration of the ecesis interval using the transect methodemployed by McCarthy and Luckman (1993). Trees foundgrowing on recently deposited sediments proximal to theterminus of Tiedemann Glacier were sampled at groundlevel. Corresponding surface dates were established withreference to historical aerial photographs. The dates wereused to determine the time interval since the ice front hadretreated and the oldest tree established. A median ecesis of

6 years for whitebark pine and 1 year for subalpine fir wascalculated at this site. While similar short ecesis periods havebeen reported for high-elevation conifers in Washington Stateand Vancouver Island (Sigafoos and Hendricks 1961, 1972;Lewis 2001), we suspect that the valley-bottom ecesis inter-vals greatly underestimate those on moraine crests where con-ditions do not favour seedling establishment (e.g., wind,coarse material). As a consequence, a regional ecesis of 18 yearswas adopted based on estimates derived from different studiesalong the Pacific Coast (Table 2). This estimate was used atall sites, regardless of site differences, because of the generallack of knowledge on tree growth variability related to substrateand microclimate factors. Because of this uncertainty, weincorporated error ranges from +33 (maximum ecesisobserved) to –18 years (no ecesis interval added).

To correct for sampling-height errors (cf. McCarthy et al.1991), we developed a regional correction factor for the Mt.Waddington area by sampling different tree species at groundlevel (Table 3). Whitebark pine seedlings were shown togrow more rapidly (5 cm/a) than subalpine fir stems (1.67 cm/a)on moraine crests. The values were applied to correct tree-ringdates obtained for the two species. Subalpine fir seedlingsshow slower average growth rates (1.35 cm/a) on nearby valleyfloors. The rates of growth are less than those estimated byDesloges and Ryder (1990) for high-elevation subalpine firand lodgepole pine (0.32 a/cm = 3.17 cm/a) in the nearbyBella Coola area.

Additional dendrochronological indicators of LIA glacialactivity included sections of detrital wood and in situ treestumps sampled to provide an indication of periods of glacieradvance. Fifteen local living tree-ring chronologies weredeveloped using standard techniques to permit crossdatingof the living and subfossil samples (Fritts 1976). Visualcomparison of marker years and verification procedures withinthe COFECHA software program (Holmes 1999; Grissino-Mayer 2001) were used to establish absolute dates for thesubfossil wood samples. The relative ages of a limited numberof wood samples were assigned by radiocarbon dating.

Local LIA chronologies

Pantheon Range

Astarte GlacierAstarte Glacier is located in the Pantheon Range and has a

sparsely vegetated forefield that extends down to 1880 m asl(Fig. 3, Table 1). Two transects were surveyed, one includinga sequence of three moraines at the terminal position (a– ′a ),fragmented by glaciofluvial activity, and a second through anested lateral moraine complex (b– ′b ) (Fig. 4). The moraineswere mostly bare of seedlings and woody vegetation.Consequently, the LIA chronology was established solelyon the basis of lichenometry (Appendix A). On each transect,three end moraines were located, built during four distinctice advances, with minimum dates for ice retreat of 1597,1767, 1895, and 1942 (Fig. 5).

The outermost moraine (A1, B1) records a late-1500s advancethat ended by 1597. A succeeding advance in the 18th centurybuilt an end moraine that had stabilized by 1767 (A2). MorainesA3 and B2 are morphologically continuous and were likely

Fig. 2. Calibrated Rhizocarpon spp. growth curve developed forthe Mt. Waddington area.



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built during the same ice advance, which retreated by atleast 1895. B3 moraine, not represented on transect a–a1 onthe north side of the glacial forefield, was dated to 1942,suggesting a possible readvance during the first part of the20th century.

Byamee GlacierThe forefield at Byamee Glacier has a altitudinal lower

limit of 1720 m asl and is distinguished by three main ridges

along the northern moraine perimeter (Figs. 3, 4, Table 1).The outermost moraine A1 shows different morphologicalcharacteristics and presents signs of intense weathering (e.g.,collapse of distal slope, soil development). It is a relativelylow ridge compared with the two massive moraines A2 andA3, whose crests are 50 m higher in elevation. On A1, a lichendate of 1405 was estimated, and lichens found growing atlocation b (Fig. 3) give a minimum age of 1837 for the twonested moraines that overshadow the oldest moraine (Fig. 5,

Fig. 3. Location map of Astarte, Byamee, Nirvana, and Siva glaciers, Pantheon Range. Straight lines and dots associated with lowercase letters indicate the location of transects and sampling sites. Historical ice front positions since 1954 based on historical air photo-graphs are also displayed when available.



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Location Ecesis range (years) Average ecesis Species Substrate Dating control N Comment and references

Tiedemann Glacier 0–9 6 wbp Fine to moderate Photogrammetry 4 Valley bottom (Larocque and Smith, unpub.)Tiedemann Glacier 0–6 1 sf Fine to moderate Photogrammetry 10 Valley bottom (Larocque and Smith, unpub.)Tiedemann Glacier 2–10 6 df Fine to moderate Photogrammetry 9 Valley bottom (Larocque and Smith, unpub.)Strathcona Park 4–19 12 mh ns Historical landslide 13 (Lewis 2001)Garibaldi area 20–40 30 a, h, f ns Observation ns (Mathews 1951)Wedgemont 10–51 28 es ns Photogrammetry >11 (Ricker and Tupper 1979)Wedgemont 13–48 27 f ns Photogrammetry >9 (Ricker and Tupper 1979)Wedgemont 27 27 p ns Photogrammetry >1 (Ricker and Tupper 1979)Cascades–Olympics 12 12 ns ns ns ns Trees growing on the down-valley moraines

(Heusser 1957)Mount Rainier 1–16 5 ns ns Photogrammetry ns Trees growing on the down-valley moraines

(Sigafoos and Hendricks 1961, 1972)Borealis Glacier 30 30 ns Coarse Photogrammetry 1 Seedlings establishing in pockets of fine material

and absent from boulder dominated moraines(Desloges and Ryder 1990)

Deer Glacier 25 25 ns Moderate Photogrammetry 5 Seedlings establishing in pockets of fine mate-rial and absent from boulder dominatedmoraines (Desloges and Ryder 1990)

Fyles Glacier 10 10 ns Fine Photogrammetry 7 Seedlings establishing in pockets of the finematerial and absent from boulder dominatedmoraines (Desloges and Ryder 1990)

Purgatory Glacier < 5 3 ns ns Observation ns Low elevation site, supported by colonization ofrecently logged areas (Desloges and Ryder1990)

Bella Coola area 10–30 20 ns ns Photogrammetry, observation ns 18 sites where the ecesis interval was esti-mated, average of 22 years, with lowerecesis on fine substrate and higher on coarsemoraines (Desloges 1987)

Bella Coola area 20–25 23 ns ns ns ns (Smith and Desloges 2000)Mount Baker 28 28 ns ns ns ns (Heikkinen 1984)Western Prince William

Sounds15 15 ns ns ns ns Based on work from Taylor Glacier (Wiles et al.

1999)Prince William Sounds 6–50 28 ns ns Photogrammetry ns (Viereck 1967)Southern Kenai Mountains 15 15 ns ns ns ns (Wiles and Calkin 1994)Chisana Glacier 30 30 ns ns ns ns Near tree line (Wiles et al. 2002)

Note: An average regional tree ecesis of 18 years was calculated (minimum: 0, maximum: 51). Species: a, alder; df, Douglas-fir; es, Engelmann spruce; f, fir; h, hemlock; mh, mountain hemlock; p,pine; sf, subalpine fir; wbp, whitebark pine. ns, non-specified.

Table 2. Tree ecesis intervals observed in glaciated terrains along the Pacific Coast of North America.

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Appendix A). Based on the ice-front position of ByameeGlacier in 1954 (air photograph BC1831-10), the morainedates assigned by lichenometry at A2 and A3 (1954 and1960) were considered too recent and were rejected(Appendix A).

Nirvana GlacierNirvana Glacier is a small cirque glacier surrounded by

steep cliff faces (Fig. 3, Table 1). Although little of the gla-cier remained by 1965 (air photograph BC5144-12), duringthe LIA Nirvana Glacier advanced down valley to 1800 masl to build two end moraines. Although limited lichenometricand dendrochronologic evidence was found at this site, lichenwith a maximum diameter of 77.4 mm indicates that theoutermost moraine (A1) was constructed by 1450 (Fig. 5).The date estimated from lichens growing at site b (1860)

Sample Site Species LocationRingcount

Height(cm)

Growth(cm/a)

01B801 PG wbp Moraine 15 75 5.0001B802 PG sf Moraine 27 55 2.0401B803 PG sf Moraine 38 70 1.8401B804 PG sf Moraine 67 152 2.2701B805 PG wbp Moraine 15 60 4.0001B806 PG wbp Moraine 23 117 5.0901B807 PG wbp Moraine 37 164 4.4301C801 LG sf Moraine 33 45 1.3601C802 LG sf Moraine 30 35 1.1701C803 LG sf Moraine 40 43 1.0801C804 LG sf Moraine 32 30 0.9401C805 LG sf Moraine 23 74 3.2201C806 LG sf Moraine 19 44 2.3201C807 LG sf Moraine 33 47 1.4201C808 LG sf Moraine 25 39 1.5601D801 RCG wbp Moraine 35 240 6.8601D802 RCG sf Moraine 31 150 4.8401E612 EG sf Moraine 57 170 2.9801G800 BG sf Moraine 50 45 0.9001G801 BG sf Moraine 37 22 0.5901G802 BG sf Moraine 25 90 3.6001G803 BG sf Moraine 37 53 1.4301G804 BG sf Moraine 45 75 1.6701G805 BG sf Moraine 45 80 1.7801I801 RG sf Moraine 42 165 3.9301I803 RG es Moraine 23 190 8.2601IE3 RG sf Valley 23 65 2.8301IE4 RG sf Valley 33 75 2.2701J801 CG sf Moraine 83 175 2.1101J802 CG sf Moraine 56 150 2.6801J803 CG sf Moraine 60 190 3.1701J804 CG sf Moraine 23 115 5.0001JC5–400 CG sf Valley 46 125 2.7201JC5–400 CG sf Valley 52 125 2.4001JC7–400 CG sf Valley 26 15 0.5801JC7–400 CG sf Valley 46 37 0.8001JC8–400 CG sf Valley 46 55 1.2001JC8–400 CG sf Valley 44 79 1.8001JC10–400 CG sf Valley 55 75 1.3601JC11–400 CG sf Valley 50 70 1.4001JCM4 CG sf Moraine 52 75 1.4401JCM4 CG sf Moraine 46 62 1.35

Note: An average of 5 cm/a was used to correct dates obtained on whitebark pine, while 1.67 cm/awas applied to subalpine fir samples. Species: es, Engelmann spruce; sf, subalpine fir; wbp, whitebarkpine. Sites: PG, Pagoda Glacier; LG, Liberty Glacier; RCG, Razor Creek Glacier; EG, Escape Glacier;BG, Byamee Glacier; RG, Ragnarok Glacier; CG, Cathedral Glacier.

Table 3. Seedlings sampled at ground level to build an estimate of yearly growth, used tocorrect tree-ring dates to compensate for height of coring.



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was not considered reliable due to disturbance associated withrecent thermokarstic activity (air photographs BC1831-10,BC94067- 105).

Siva GlacierSiva Glacier originates from a small icefield on the upper

slopes of Siva Mountain and is one of the largest glaciers inthe Pantheon Range (Fig. 3, Table 1). The maximum LIAextent of Siva Glacier is indicated by a partially forest-covered lateral–terminal moraine that extends to 1500 m asl.Proximal to this moraine are 8 additional fragmented endmoraines shown on transects c–c1 and d–d1 (Fig. 4). Acontinuous soil and vegetation cover on the outermost moraine(A1, C1, D1) precluded lichen growth. While an extrapolatedlichenometric date of 1226 at C2 provides a minimum early-LIAdate for the moraine (Fig. 5), the largest lichen (116.5 mm =974 years) found growing on the moraine was rejected (dueto an irregular shape and a non-normality of the populationdistribution), and the moraine may be a pre-LIA deposit. Noequivalent was found on the other transects. The three outermostmoraines on transect c are positioned in close proximity. Un-stable distal and proximal slope sediments from moraine C2have cascaded over top of C1 and C3, precluding any rela-tive dating of their emplacement.

Moraines A2, B1, and C4 are part of the same morainecomplex. A lichen with maximum diameter at C4 of 81.5 mmindicates that Siva Glacier was retreating from this positionby 1359. The more recent dates at A2 (1391) and B1 (1448)are attributed to post-depositional slope activity on transectsa and b. The C5 moraine dated to 1524 suggests that ice-frontrecession following the mid-14th century event was accom-panied by a readvance, correlated with formation of morainesB2, D2, and F1. A brief period of recession followed until1657, when moraines deposited at B3, C6, and E1 record apervasive moraine-building episode. There is limited evidencefor a subsequent glacial advance in the early 1700s at C7,where the moraine crest dates to 1724 (Appendix A).

Following these events, Siva Glacier underwent a periodof retreat and downwasting, followed by a minor readvancethat led to the stabilization of moraines A3, C8, and D5 by1782 (Appendix A). A final pulse of LIA activity is recordedby lichenometric evidence for an advance that terminated by1881 (B4, C9). Corollary evidence for subsequent ice-frontretreat is provided by six in situ stumps at location g foundwithin an abandoned stream channel distal to the terminalposition of this late-19th century advance. This grove oftrees, established in the mid-1700s, was killed by fluvialerosion in 1906 during the early stages of ice-front retreat.Two moraine-building episodes are recorded at Siva Glacierduring the first half of the 20th century. Moraines dated to1921 (D7 and D8) and 1942 (D9) by lichenometry anddendrochronology suggest that two stillstand or minor readvanceepisodes interrupted an extended historical period of ice retreatat Siva Glacier (Appendix A).

Fig. 4. Details of transects surveyed at Astarte, Byamee, andSiva glaciers (see Fig. 3 for location). Moraine crests were numberedaccording to their position along the transects (moraine 1 beingthe outermost), with moraine numbers from different transects notnecessarily being time synchronous.



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Fig. 5. Graphs showing the time distribution of dated end and lateral moraines for each glacier studied (see Appendix A for more de-tails). The boxes represent groups of moraines built during the same glacial episode and are associated with a minimum date (in yearsA.D.) for ice recession. Some dates remain uncertain and are designated with a question mark. Error intervals for each point are in-cluded, except where the lichen date was extrapolated. Moraine numbers are indicated on the x-axis.



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Ragnarok GlacierRagnarok Glacier is a composite valley glacier formed

from the confluence of three glaciers (Fig. 6). During theLIA, the glacier extended down to 1320 m asl (Table 1) toform a sequence of five end moraines. Two moraines (D1,D2) remain undated at the lower limit of the forefield becauseof competition between lichen thalli and unreliable tree dates.While nested lateral moraines characterize the site, snowavalanche activity that disturbed trees and lichens growingalong sites on transects a and b limits their usefulness forLIA reconstruction. The glacier foreland is generally bare ofvegetation, except where wetter conditions have promotedthe growth of dense alder thickets or permitted the establishmentof isolated subalpine fir and whitebark pine trees.

Early-LIA glacial activity is recorded at Ragnarok Glacierby a minimum lichen date of 1344 at moraine C1 (Fig. 5).This moraine is contiguous with the outermost moraines A1and B1. There is limited evidence suggesting that by 1616(C2), Ragnarok Glacier had retreated some distance back upvalley from an advanced position. An isolated lichen date of1695 estimated for B3 may be related to the same glacialadvance.

A third advance occurred as early as 1784 (B4), with mostend moraines constructed between 1812 (C3) and 1829 (A2)(Appendix A). These dates were retrieved from the samecontinuous moraine ridge. Short and morphologically indistinctmoraine segments at the end of the transect d were tree-ringdated to 1871, suggesting a succeeding advance occurredbetween 1812 and 1871.

Escape GlacierEscape Glacier is a small cirque glacier located at 1760 m asl

(Table 1). Four end moraines encompass the glacier forefieldand lichenometric measurements were made along two transects(Fig. 7). The two most distal partially vegetated end moraineswere constructed during glacial advances that terminated priorto 1146 (A1) and 1562 (B2) (Fig. 5). The third moraine wasdated to 1924 (B3) using a combination of tree-ring andlichenometric measures (Appendix A). Air photographiccoverage from 1954 and 1965 (BC1830-93, BC5144-9) showingthe glacier 300 m up valley from the most proximal moraineindicates that the lichenometric dates obtained for A4 (1960)and B4 (1962) underestimate its age.

Niut Range

Whitesaddle GlacierWhitesaddle Glacier is a debris-covered glacier that, at the

height of the LIA, flowed down to 1525 m asl and formedan ice dam that blocked Whitesaddle Creek below LibertyGlacier (Fig. 8, Table 1). The subsequent recession of

Fig. 6. Location map of Ragnarok Glacier and details oftransects surveyed from lateral and end moraines. Straight linesassociated with lower case letters indicate the location oftransects and sampling sites. Historic ice front positions since1954 based on historical air photographs. Moraine crests werenumbered according to their position along the transects (moraine 1being the outermost), with moraine numbers from different transectsnot necessarily being time synchronous.



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Whitesaddle Glacier left behind a thick dam of morainic debristhat continues to impound Whitesaddle Lake. The end moraineand north lateral moraine deposits are each characterized bythree prominent ridge crests. A distinct small moraine segmentcomposed of well-weathered and lichen-covered boulders islocated at B1. While an extrapolated lichen date for a singlelichen thallus (maximum diameter: 348 mm) of 3573 BP onB1 indicates that it predates the LIA, uncertainty as to thespecies suggests the date should be treated cautiously.

Several detrital whitebark pine boles and in situ stumpswere discovered buried below debris spilled distally duringconstruction of the outermost lateral moraine at C1. Attemptsto crossdate this subfossil wood to living subalpine fir andwhitebark pine tree-ring chronologies developed from standsadjacent to Liberty and Siva glaciers failed. Calibratedradiocarbon dates on outermost rings of two in situ stumpssuggest the moraine was constructed between 1270 and 1410(Table 4). A lichen survey undertaken along the crest of thecorresponding terminal moraine at A1 provides an extrapolatedlichenometric date of 1260 (Fig. 5), supporting the interpretationof this moraine as an early-LIA feature. Two subsequentmoraine-building events at Whitesaddle Glacier occurred inthe 16th century by 1511 (A2, C2, C3) and in the 19th centuryprior to 1821 (A3) (Appendix A).

Liberty GlacierThe lower forefield limit of Liberty Glacier is located at

1525 m asl and records at least four moraine-building events(Fig. 5, Table 1). Although four nested lateral moraines arepresent along the western perimeter of the forefield, surveysalong the eastern forefield led to the discovery of seven morainecrests (Fig. 8). Because the lake and delta fragment theforefield, correlation between the two moraine sequences isbased solely on the dating correspondence of individualmoraines.

The oldest and most visibly weathered moraine fragmentat Liberty Glacier is preserved sporadically on both sides ofthe forefield. Based on a single thallus (120.3 mm diameter)found at B1, the moraine has an extrapolated minimum dateof 933 and may record a pre-LIA event.

There is lichenometric evidence for a late-16th centuryadvance that led to a sequence of moraine-building events atA1, B2, and B3 between 1506 and 1638 (Appendix A).Nested lateral moraines at location c (1741), A3 (1771), andA2 (1782) record a subsequent readvance not recorded attransect b. Dates obtained on moraines A4 and A5 suggest aperiod of moraine construction in the early 1900s. MorainesA6 and A7 are undated because of the lack of lichens, butrecord a 20th-century recessional ice-front positions. A dateof 1963 estimated on B4 using lichens was clearly unreliable,

Fig. 7. Location map of Escape Glacier and details of transectssurveyed from end moraines. Straight lines associated with lowercase letters indicate the location of transects and sampling sites.

Location SampleRadiocarbonage

Calibrateddate Description

d Beta-166885 760±50 BP A.D. 1270 In situ stumpe Beta-165115 540±60 BP A.D. 1410 In situ stump

Table 4. Radiocarbon dates obtained on fossil wood extractedfrom debris spilled distally during construction of the most distallateral moraine at Whitesaddle Glacier (Fig. 8).



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as air photographs from 1965 (air photograph BC5144-88)show the ice front ca. 750 m up valley.

Razor Creek GlacierRazor Creek Glacier is a valley glacier located in the Niut

Range at 1650 m asl (Fig. 9, Table 1). Three terminalmoraines occur between the glacier forefield and a promi-nent delta. While the second moraine is continuous, the dis-tal and proximal moraines have been breached and partiallyburied by glaciofluvial outwash. Nested lateral moraines oneither side of the glacier forefield record at least two moraine-building episodes. The outermost terminal moraine at C1dates to a moraine-building event that ended by 1562 (Fig. 5).A subsequent advance and retreat of Razor Creek Glacierled to the stabilization of the distal lateral moraines at B1(1702) and location d (1732) in the early part of the 18thcentury (Appendix A). Tree-ring and lichen dates at C3 indicatethat the innermost moraine was constructed prior to 1946.

Hope GlacierThe terminal moraine complex at Hope Glacier is positioned

directly adjacent to the local tree line at 1830 m asl (Fig. 10,Table 1). The two distal moraines are soil covered and mantledby a dense cover of alder and (or) subalpine fir. While noreliable dating controls were found during an extensive surveyof moraine 1 (A1, B1, C1), a corresponding Paleosol buriedby a subsequent moraine-building episode at location d suggeststhat it predates the LIA (Fig. 10). An analysis of this Paleosolrevealed characteristic podzolization and suggests thatconsiderable time had elapsed prior to the construction ofmoraine 2 (A2, B2, C2) by 1275 (Fig. 5, Appendix A). Directlyup valley is a third moraine crest that surrounds the terminalcomplex with a minimum lichenometric date of 1614 (A3,A4, B3, C3). Behind this ridge is an end moraine couplet(A5–A6, B4–B5, and C4–C5) that dates to 1871 and 1915(Appendix A). No lichens were found on B6, but the morainewas possibly constructed at the same time as B5.

Pagoda GlacierPagoda Glacier is located 1 km down valley from Hope

Glacier and at its LIA maximum extended across the adjoiningtrunk valley (Fig. 10). Although little remains of the terminalmoraine complex, two sets of nested lateral moraines provideinsight into the LIA glacial history of Pagoda Glacier. Theoutermost moraine (location a, Fig. 10) was constructed before1203, with any evidence of subsequent early-LIA glacial activityburied by a 17th century advance that had ended by 1660(locations b and c, Fig. 10) (Fig. 5). A more recent advancecorresponding to the formation of the massive lateral moraineat location d (Fig. 10) dates to the present century (Appendix A).

Homathko Icefield

Cathedral GlacierCathedral Glacier is a cirque glacier located on Klattasine

Ridge, northwest of the Homathko Icefield (Fig. 1, Table 1).

Fig. 8. Location map of Liberty and Whitesaddle glaciers anddetails of transects surveyed from lateral and end moraines.Straight lines and dots associated with lower case letters indicatethe location of transects and sampling sites.



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Four prominent lateral and end moraines are found at an ele-vation of 1600 m (Fig. 11). The lower part of the forefieldspills over a steep slope and the southern part is highly dis-turbed by snow avalanches, resulting in an undefined outer-most moraine crest (not shown on transect c–c1). Themoraine is present on transects a–a1 and b–b1, where it cor-responds to a continuous ridge along the forest line (A1,B1). The second moraine disappears on transect a–a1, but isclearly evident on transects b–b1 (B2) and c–c1 (C1). Thethird moraine is found as well at the lower part of the forefield,including sampling sites B3 and C2. The last moraine, observedon all transects, forms a morphologically continuous segment(A3, B4, and C3). The small A2 segment is not recognizedanywhere else on the site, but it may have been constructedduring the same period as the one that formed A3.

The earliest advance at this site was dated with referenceto lichen found growing on the outermost moraine (A1, B1),providing an extrapolated estimate of 1203 (Fig. 5). Twoproximal moraines describe subsequent advances in the 14thand 15th centuries that saw the ice front recede from the tworidge crests by 1362 (B2) and 1458 (B3, C2), respectively.Following this period of ice recession, two 17th-centurymoraine-building episodes resulted in the construction of theridge A2, A3–B4 by 1660. At C3, lichenometry provided a

possible minimum construction date of 1806 for the proximalmoraine (Appendix A).

Waddington Range

Tiedemann GlacierTiedemann Glacier is 24 km long and is one of the more

prominent valley glaciers on the east side of the WaddingtonRange (Fig. 1, Table 1). Our field studies were limited to theeasternmost extent of the northern lateral and frontal complex(425 m asl). Previous investigations have shown that the out-ermost moraines at Tiedemann Glacier (Fig. 12) date to2940 BP (Fulton 1971) and are associated with a period ofNeoglacial ice expansion (Ryder and Thomson 1986). Noattempt was made to re-date this feature in the course of ourresearch.

A number of nested moraine complexes record at least sixsuccessive pre-LIA and LIA moraine-building episodes atTiedemann Glacier from the 7th to the 17th centuries.Lichenometric dating of the outermost lateral moraine attransects e–e1 and f–f1 defines a moraine-building episodethat dates to 620 (Fig. 5). Although this moraine age isextrapolated and the number of lichens measured on E1 is

Fig. 9. Location map of Razor Creek Glacier and details of transects surveyed from lateral and end moraines. Straight lines and dotsassociated with lower case letters indicate the location of transects and sampling sites.



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low (n = 4), the sampled population from F1 (n = 30) isstatistically acceptable and normally distributed.

A subsequent readvance built a massive lateral moraine(D2, G1, H2) that likely impounded North Tiedemann Lakeprior to 925 (Appendix A). A subsequent early 12th-centuryadvance, before 1118 constructed a lateral–terminal moraine(A1, B1, C1, F2) that demarcates the farthest down-valleyextent of Tiedemann Glacier during the LIA. Following thisevent, ice-front fluctuations through the 14th to 17th centuriesconstructed moraines dated to 1392 (moraine 2 on transectsa–a1 and b–b1, and moraine G3), 1575 (A3, B3, C3, D3, E2),and 1621 (A4, B4, C4, D4, G4) (Appendix A). Although

there is no morainic evidence for late-LIA activity, historicalphotographs from 1920 illustrate that the snout of TiedemannGlacier was positioned close to that reached in the 12th century(J.W. Clark, I-52517, I-52521, Royal British ColumbiaArchives, Victoria).

Oval (Parallel) GlacierOval Glacier (historically known as Parallel Glacier) is

located on the northern edge of the Waddington Range(Fig. 1). The glacier has retreated more than 800 m from aset of sparsely vegetated and fresh-appearing LIA moraineson the valley floor and presently calves into Oval Lake (Fig. 13,

Fig. 10. Location map of Hope and Pagoda glaciers and details of transects surveyed from lateral and end moraines at Hope Glacier.Moraine sequences at Pagoda Glacier were not surveyed. Straight lines and dots associated with lower case letters indicate the locationof transects and sampling sites.



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Table 1). In the lower part of the forefield, a sequence offive LIA moraines has been preserved. One undated forestedlateral moraine (D1) was positioned distal to the LIA mo-raines.

Although the morphological evidence is fragmentary, wesuggest that at least six distinct moraine-building episodesare preserved at Oval Glacier (Fig. 5). While the age of theoutermost moraine D1 was not established due to a scarcityof lichens on the few boulders that were not covered bymoss or forest litter, we suspect it records an episode ofearly-Neoglacial ice expansion (cf. Ryder and Thomson 1986).Pre- to early-LIA glacial advances are indicated by moraineridges that date to 1031 (moraines B1, C1, and D2) (Fig. 5).A subsequent period of glacial expansion occurred in the15th century (1443, moraines B2, D3, and E1). A lengthyperiod of fluctuating ice-fronts occurred from the early 1600s(1601) to mid-1700s (1762). It is unclear if the 17th centuryencompassed one (1601) or two (1601, 1705) glacialadvances. The last LIA advance dates to between 1830 and1894, before an extended period of 20th-century retreat begansometime after a possible short-lived stillstand before 1928.This position corresponds closely to that shown in an historicphotograph taken by W.A.D. Munday during a 1933 moun-taineering expedition in the Waddington Range (I-61521,Royal British Columbia Archives, Victoria).

Regional summary

Figure 14 and Table 5 summarize the late-Holocene glacialrecord collected at the 14 study sites. Evidence for pre-LIAglacial events is best preserved at Tiedemann Glacier, wherethe oldest glacial advance recorded in the Mt. Waddingtonarea dates to 620 (Fig. 14, Table 5). There is little indicationof any further ice-front activity until the 10th century, whenmoraines constructed at Liberty and Tiedemann glaciers between920 and 933 indicate that there must have been a subsequentinterval of retreat and, possibly, readvance. At the majorityof sites examined, the evidence for these earlier events ispresumably buried below the characteristically more massiveLIA moraines that were constructed following the interveningglobally recognized Medieval Warm Period (Luckman 1994).

The early-LIA glacial record in the study area begins withmoraines tentatively dated to 1031 at Oval Glacier, 1118 atTiedemann Glacier, and 1146 at Escape Glacier. While theunreplicated dates may describe glacier activity at the beginningof the LIA, our data show that most glaciers in the Mt.Waddington area did not reach their maximum LIA terminalpositions until the 13th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Soil-coveredand well-vegetated moraines constructed at Cathedral, Pagoda,and Siva glaciers date to between 1203 and 1226, providingthe earliest definitive record of regional late 12th- to early13th-century advance that may benchmark the beginning ofthe early LIA. Moraines constructed at Whitesaddle Glacierin 1260 and at Hope Glacier in 1275 may record a contem-poraneous event or a second largely unrecognized mid-13th

Fig. 11. Location map of Cathedral Glacier and details oftransects surveyed from lateral and end moraines. Straight linesassociated with lower case letters indicate the location oftransects and sampling sites.



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Fig. 12. Location map of Tiedemann Glacier and details of transects surveyed from lateral and end moraines. Straight lines associatedwith lower case letters indicate the location of transects and sampling sites.



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Fig. 13. Location map of Oval (Parallel) Glacier and details of transects surveyed from lateral and end moraines. Transect i was notsurveyed. Straight lines and dots associated with lower case letters indicate the location of transects and sampling sites.



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century moraine-building episode. The well-developed paleosoillocated below the 1275 moraine at Hope Glacier indicatesthat the former, and suggests that the undated outermost moraineat this site predates the LIA. Following this period of early-LIA glacial activity, moraines constructed at Ragnarok, Siva,and Cathedral glaciers in the mid-14th century indicate gla-ciers in the region may have undergone a period ofdownwasting and retreat before readvancing.

The majority of moraines recorded in the Mt. Waddingtonarea represent late-LIA glacial events. Following an intervalwhen glaciers throughout the southern Canadian Cordilleraexperienced an extended period of retreat (Luckman 2000),fluctuating ice fronts over the succeeding 500 years haveconstructed moraines that date to 1443–1458, 1506–1524,1562–1575, 1597–1621, 1657–1660, 1767–1784, 1821–1837,1871–1900, 1915–1928, and 1942–1946. Some uncertaintyexists concerning the moraines dated to 1405 at ByameeGlacier, 1702 at Razor Creek Glacier, 1741 at Liberty Glacier,and 1806 at Cathedral Glacier, as moraines with correspondingdates were not identified at other sites. It may be that themoraines represent a response to local mass balance conditionsor, alternatively, that the ages assigned by lichenometry arespurious.

The last 500 years of LIA glacial record compiled for theMt. Waddington area suggest that successive glacial events(as identified by moraine-building episodes) occurred on averageevery 65 years (maximum: 110, minimum: 35) (Table 5).Although this regional glaciological response is presumablyrelated to large-scale climatic forcing (e.g., Bitz and Battisti1999), Tables 6 and 7 show that not all of the glaciers studiedresponded equally to the attendant mass balance changes.Differing local climates may offer a partial explanation forthis differential response. For instance, glaciers in the drierNiut and Pantheon ranges appear to have responded sooner,6 to 8 times out of, respectively, 14 to 20 recorded moraine-building events. Ice termini of glaciers in the more humidWaddington Range and Homathko Icefield had in general alater response (more than half the total of dated glacial events).

To dissociate any size-dependent response variation amongglaciers, we separated the glaciers by relative size and

subdivided the medium-sized glaciers according to aspect.Our data indicate that east-facing medium glaciers respondedmost rapidly to climate oscillations during the late LIA, withfive recorded glacial advances corresponding to the earliestregional responses, and that large glaciers, represented byTiedemann Glacier, and north-facing medium valley glaciersdid not reach their full extent until somewhat later (Table 7).The observations appear to corroborate previous findings,noting that the terminus response of large valley glaciers andnorth-facing glaciers lag behind mass balance regime shifts(e.g., Oerlemans 1989). Nevertheless, the potential dating errorsinherent to our study (±50 years) and the limited number oflarge glaciers surveyed limits our interpretations.

Comparison with other LIA chronologies in the PacificNorthwest

The LIA glacial record developed for the Mt. Waddingtonarea corresponds closely to the emerging chronology of eventsin the Pacific Northwest. Our evidence for early-LIA moraine-building activity at Tiedemann Glacier in 620 and 925–933appears to be supported by local radiocarbon dates obtainedby Fulton (1971) and Ryder and Thomson (1986; 1330 ±65 BP — A.D. 674), and by corollary investigations atBridge Glacier (Ryder and Thomson 1986; 1115 ± 40 BP —A.D. 901, 918, 960). Corresponding evidence for a 7th centuryglacial advance in this region has been reported from theKenai Fjords area (Alaska), where Wiles and Calkin (1990,1991, 1993, 1994) and Wiles et al. (1995) crossdated subfossilwood with tree-ring chronologies and radiocarbon dated treetrunks found in till deposits deposited between 544 and 680.An analogous early-LIA advance was recorded at TebenkofGlacier (628), in western Prince William Sound (Wiles et al.1999), Sheridan Glacier (560 and 600) (Tuthill et al. 1968;Yager et al. 1998), Bering Glacier (580), and Icy Bay (601–902) (Plafker and Miller 1957, referenced by Heusser 1957;Calkin et al. 2001). In the St. Elias Mountains, Denton andKarlén (1973) propose a period of enhanced glacial activitybetween 720 and 900. To date, evidence for glacial activityin the 10th century in Alaska is restricted to sites in the

Fig. 14. Frequency distribution of minimum dates for periods of glacial advance on each site in the Mt. Waddington area. Bars withlighter shading correspond to uncertain dating. Classes are every 10 years. Earliest evidence of glacial activity was recognized in the7th century at Tiedemann Glacier. Most of the LIA evidence records events in the 1500s to 1800s, with successive glacial advancesoccurring on average every 64 years.



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Kenai Fjords reported by Plafker and Miller (1957, referencedby Heusser 1957) and Wiles and Calkin (1993).

Moraines constructed during the 13th century at six glaciersin the Mt. Waddington area (between 1203–1226 and 1260–1275) correspond with woody debris found in Paleosol horizonstaken from lateral moraine sections at several locations inthe British Columbia Coast Mountains (A.D. 1217, Ryderand Thomson 1986; Desloges and Ryder 1990; A.D. 1295and 1296, Ryder and Thomson 1986; Desloges and Ryder1990) and Washington State Cascade Mountains (A.D. 1217at Carbon Glacier, Crandell and Miller 1964; A.D. 1221,Lowdon and Blake 1975, referenced by Ryder and Thomson1986). Evidence of Alaskan glacial activity at this time pointsto advances that terminated between 1190–1248 and 1240–1300 (Wiles et al. 1999; Calkin et al. 2001) (Table 8).

The 14th century advance (1344–1362) at Ragnarok, Siva,and Cathedral glaciers has been sparsely observed in PacificNorth America, with only a single moraine dating to 1363identified on Mt. Rainier (Sigafoos and Hendricks 1972).

Corresponding evidence for a 15th century advance (1443–1458) in the British Columbia Coast Mountains is abundant(Ryder 1987; Desloges and Ryder 1990; Clague and Mathewes1996; Lewis 2001). Synchronous advances in the KenaiMountains (Bering: 1420; Gravingk: 1442; Tustemana: 1460;

Bear, Exit, and Yalik glaciers: 1460) highlight the widespreadnature of this activity.

LIA moraines dating to 1506–1524 and 1562–1575 in theMt. Waddington area may correlate to a high-water stage ofglacially dammed Lake Alsek in 1582 (Clague and Rampton1982). Evidence for advanced terminal positions at Mt. Baker(Heikkinen 1984) and Mt. Rainier (Sigafoos and Hendricks1972) in Washington State, at Hubbard Glacier in the KenaiMountains (Wiles and Calkin 1994; Barclay et al. 2001), andat Guerin Glacier in the White River Valley (Denton andKarlén 1977) (Table 8) point to the probability that this wasa regional event.

Table 8 presents estimates of end and lateral morainesdated by means of dendrochronology and lichenometry, whichallows for a direct comparison with the dates we obtainedfrom moraines in the Mt. Waddington area. From the 1600suntil the end of the LIA, the periods of glacial activity recordedin the Mt. Waddington area are well replicated at sites alongthe Pacific Coast of western North America. Evidence ofcomparable events in the British Columbia Coast Mountains,in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, and in southernAlaska, suggests that climate-forcing mechanisms in the PacificOcean resulted in regionally synchronous glacial responses.

The 20th century behaviour of most glaciers within theMt. Waddington area is characterized by an extended periodof general retreat and downwasting. An exception to thisresponse occurred between 1915 and 1928, when a period of

Glacial periods Datesa

620 620 (TG)925–933 925 (TG), 933 (LG)

1031? 1031 (OG)1118? 1118 (TG)1146? 1146 (EG)1203–1226 1203 (CG), 1203 (PG), 1226 (SG)1260–1275 1260 (WG), 1275 (HG)1344–1362 1344 (RG), 1359 (SG), 1362 (CG)1392–1405? 1392 (TG), 1405 (BG)1443–1458 1443 (OG), 1450 (NG), 1458 (CG)1506–1524 1506 (LG), 1511 (WG), 1524 (SG)1562–1575 1562 (RCG), 1562 (EG), 1575 (TG)1597–1621 1597 (AG), 1601 (OG), 1614 (HG), 1616 (RG),

1621 (TG)1657–1660 1657 (SG), 1660 (PG), 1660 (CG)1702? 1702 (RCG)1741? 1741 (LG)1767–1784 1767 (AG), 1782 (SG), 1784 (RG)1806? 1806 (CG)1821–1837 1821 (WG), 1830 (OG), 1837 (BG)1871–1900 1871 (RG), 1871 (HG), 1881 (SG), 1895 (AG),

1900 (LG)1915–1928 1915 (HG), 1921 (SG), 1924 (EG), 1928 (OG)1942–1946 1942 (AG), 1942 (SG), 1946 (RCG)

Note: The dates are given in years A.D., with question marks indicatingsuspicious moraine-building episodes. Sites: AG, Astarte Glacier; BG,Byamee Glacier; CG, Cathedral Glacier; EG, Escape Glacier; HG, HopeGlacier; LG, Liberty Glacier; NG, Nirvana Glacier; OG, Oval Glacier;PG, Pagoda Glacier; RCG, Razor Creek Glacier; RG, Ragnarok Glacier;SG, Siva Glacier; TG, Tiedemann Glacier; WG, Whitesaddle Glacier.

aDates of events are followed by the site where glacial activity wasrecorded.

Table 5. Dated glacial events in the Mt. Waddington area.

Sub-regions Earliest response Latest response N

Pantheon Range 8 3 20Niut Range 6 5 14Waddington Range 2 3 7Homathko Icefield 1 3 4

Note: The number of earliest and latest regional responses to glacialevents recognized in the area (Table 5) are presented. The total number ofmoraine-building episodes recorded for the specific sub-region is repre-sented by N. Pantheon Range: Astarte, Byamee, Escape, Nirvana,Ragnarok, and Siva glaciers; Niut Range: Hope, Liberty, Pagoda, RazorCreek, and Whitesaddle glaciers; Waddington Range: Oval and Tiedemannglaciers; Homathko Icefield: Cathedral Glacier.

Table 6. Relative response time estimated from glaciers of differentmountain ranges of the Mt. Waddington area.

Glacier type1 Earliest response Latest response N

Small 2 3 7Medium, NW 5 5 15Medium, N 2 3 5Medium, NE 3 2 8Medium, E 5 0 7Large 1 2 3

Note: The number of earliest and latest regional responses to glacialevents recognized in the area (Table 5) are presented. The total number ofmoraine-building episodes recorded for the specific glacier type is repre-sented by N. Small: Cathedral, Escape, and Nirvana glaciers; Medium,NW: Byamee, Hope, Pagoda, and Siva glaciers; Medium, N: Liberty andRazor Creek glaciers; Medium, NE: Oval and Ragnarok glaciers; Medium,E: Astarte and Whitesaddle glaciers; Large: Tiedemann Glacier.

Table 7. Relative response time estimated from glaciers of differentsizes and aspects in the Mt. Waddington area.



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moraine construction at many sites attests to either a minorreadvance or a persistent stillstand. Similar findings elsewherein the Pacific Northwest (Heusser 1957; Viereck 1967;Heikkinen 1984; Desloges and Ryder 1990; Wiles and Calkin1994; Wiles et al. 1999; Lewis 2001) emphasize the regionalnature of this positive mass balance episode. A second, perhapsshort-lived, stillstand or minor readvance in the 1940s atAstarte, Siva, and Razor Creek glaciers may correspond toobservations of advancing ice termini in Washington Stateduring the same period (Tangborn 1980; Burbank 1981; Harper1993).

Conclusion

The findings of our study draw attention to the synchronousbehaviour of glaciers along the Pacific Coast of North America.Within the Mt. Waddington area, moraine-building episodeswere described using a combination of lichenometric anddendrochronologic techniques. From the fourteen mountainglaciers studied, periods of glacial activity were recorded bymoraine-building episodes dated to before A.D. 620, and inA.D. 925–933, 1203–1226, 1260–1275, 1344–1362, 1443–1458, 1506–1524, 1562–1575, 1597–1621, 1657–1660, 1767–1784, 1821–1837, 1871–1900, 1915–1928, and 1942–1946.

Although this shared response matches that at glacier sitesfrom Alaska to Washington State and hints at the long-termrole of regional climate forcing on glacier mass balance inthe Pacific Northwest, a preliminary analysis of the roleplayed by factors such as glacier size and aspect highlightsthe important impact local conditions have on the glaciologicalresponses of individual glaciers.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Laurel George, Ryan Hourston,Alexis Johnson, and Ryan Stohmann for their assistance inthe field and in the laboratory. We appreciate the commentsmade by B. Luckman and G. Osborn to an earlier version ofthe manuscript. We thank Dawn Loewen and Colin Laroquefor reviewing a revised version of the manuscript. The successof our research was due in part to the Chilkotin hospitalityshown Dave and Lori King of Bluff Lake, B.C. and to theextraordinary efforts that Mike and Audrey King, WhitesaddleAir Services, made on our behalf. This research was fundedby Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council ofCanada and Inter-American Institute for Global Change grantsto D. Smith.

Glacial episode South Coast Mountains, B.C. Cascade Mountains, Washington State Southern Alaska

1260–1275 128417

1506–1524 151913, 152813 150021

1562–1575 15598

1597–1621 161313, 162313, 16278

1657–1660 165015, 165513, 166113 165018

1767–1784 17602, 17705, 17785 176113, 176313, 177113 175916, 176722, 177022, 177723,177822

1821–1837 18183, 18211, 18351,18365 181714, 182213, 182311, 182312, 18366,184013, 184113, 184313

181316, 181823, 182416, 182515,182516,182519, 182816, 1835–184520

1871–1900 18692, 18741, 18742, 18751, 18771,18851, 18881, 18904, 18931, 18941,18961, 18981, 18985, 19001, 19002

18698, 187613, 18787, 187813, 188012,188611,190113, 190212

187216, 187217, 187423, 187816,187916, 188020, 1880*22,1881*16, 188516, 188623,188816, 188916, 1889*23,1891*23, 1893*23, 189423,1895–189920, 189916, 189922,1903*16, 190416, 190516,189622, 189717

1915–1928 19281, 19311, 19345, 19355 191212, 19207, 19209, 192112, 192211,19258, 192610

191216, 191223, 191316, 191416,191516, 191723, 1917–192220,191816, 191823, 192016,192116, 192416, 192616,192716, 192722, 192916,193016, 193022, 193322

1942–1946 19478, 194410 193916, 1951*16

Note: Minimum dates (in years A.D.) for glacial retreat in plain lettering are derived using tree-rings, in bold from lichen dating, and in italics fromboth techniques. Asterisks correspond to multiple sites sharing the same date. 1Desloges and Ryder (1990); 2Smith and Desloges (2000); 3Smith andLaroque (1996); 4Ricker and Tupper (1979); 5Lewis (2001); 6Porter (1981); 7Burke (1972) and Easterbrook and Burke (1972) (referenced by Heikkinen1984); 8Easterbrook and Burke (1971) and Fuller (1980) (referenced by Heikkinen 1984); 9Easterbrook and Burke (1971) (referenced by Heikkinen 1984);10Fuller (1980) (referenced by Heikkinen 1984); 11Heikkinen (1984); 12Burbank (1981); 13Sigafoos and Hendricks (1972); 14Heusser (1957); 15Calkin et al.(1998); 16Wiles and Calkin (1994); 17Calkin et al. (2001); 18Reid (1970) (referenced by Calkin et al. 2001); 19Barclay et al. (2001); 20Viereck (1967);21Denton and Karlén (1977); 22Wiles et al. (2002); 23Wiles et al. (1999).

Table 8. LIA moraines dated using dendrochronological and lichenometric techniques along the Pacific Coast of North America duringthe glacial episodes estimated in the Mt. Waddington area.



© 2003 NRC Canada


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Appendix on following page



© 2003 NRC Canada


Site Locationa Lichen date Tree-ring date Site Locationa Lichen date Tree-ring date

Astarte A1 1609 (–40;+51)* N/A Razor Cr. A2 1952 (–10;+12) N/AAstarte A2 1767 (–46;+35)* N/A Razor Cr. A3 N/A N/AAstarte A3 1895 (–23;+26)* N/A Razor Cr. B1 1702 (–44;+42)* N/AAstarte B1 1597 (–40;+52)* N/A Razor Cr. B2 1951 (–10;+13) N/AAstarte B2 1903 (–20;+25)* N/A Razor Cr. C1 1562 (–39;+56)* N/AAstarte B3 1942 (–12;+15)* N/A Razor Cr. C2 1952 (–8;+11) N/AByamee A1 1405 (–32;+72)* N/A Razor Cr. C3 N/A 1946 (–33;+18)*Byamee A2 1954 (–9;+12) 1931 (–33;+18) Razor Cr. d N/A 1732 (–33;+18)*Byamee A3 1960 (–8;+10) 1936 (–33;+18) Ragnarok A1 1396 (–32;+73)* 1939 (–33;+18)Byamee B1 1837 (–42;+28)* N/A Ragnarok A2 1829 (–43;+28)* N/ACathedral A1 1203* N/A Ragnarok A3 1869 (–33;+27) N/ACathedral A2 1694 (–44;+42)* N/A Ragnarok A4 1923 (–16;+20) N/ACathedral A3 1698 (–44;+35)* N/A Ragnarok B1 1400 (–33;+72)* N/ACathedral B1 1212* 1692c Ragnarok B2 1340 (–31;+81) N/ACathedral B2 1362 (–31;+76)* 1939 (–33;+18) Ragnarok B3 1695 (–44;+42)* 1907 (–33;+18)Cathedral B3 1543 (–38;+57)* N/A Ragnarok B4 1784 (–47;+33)* N/ACathedral B4 1660 (–42;+46)* 1898 (–33;+18) Ragnarok C1 1344 (–31;+77)* 1851 (–33;+18)Cathedral C1 1441 (–34;+68) N/A Ragnarok C2 1616 (–41;+50)* 1880 (–33;+18)Cathedral C2 1458 (–34;+67)* N/A Ragnarok C3 1812 (–48;+31)* N/ACathedral C3 1806 (–48;+31)* 1929 (–33;+18) Ragnarok C4 1823 (–48;+29)* N/AEscape A1 1146* N/A Ragnarok C5 1937 (–13;+16) N/AEscape A2 1693 (–43;+43)* N/A Ragnarok D1 N/A N/AEscape A3 1932 (–13;+18)* N/A Ragnarok D2 N/A N/AEscape A4 1960 (–8;+14) N/A Ragnarok D3 1818 (–49;+29)* N/AEscape B1 1428 (–33;+70)* N/A Ragnarok D4 1793 (–47;+32) N/AEscape B2 1562 (–39;+56)* 1911 (–33;+18) Ragnarok D5 1787 (–46;+33) 1871 (–33;+18)*Escape B3 1927 (–15;+19) 1924 (–33;+18)* Siva A1 1529 (–37;+59) N/AEscape B4 1962 (–10;+12) N/A Siva A2 1391 (–32;+74)* 1756 (–33;+18)Hope > A1 N/A 1753 (–33;+18) Siva A3 1810 (–48;+31)* N/AHope A1 N/A N/A Siva > B1 N/A 1741 (–33;+18)Hope A2 1305* N/A Siva B1 1448 (–34;+68)* 1756 (–33;+18)Hope A3 1631 (–42;+48) N/A Siva B2 1630 (–42;+48)* 1796 (–33;+18)Hope A4 1614 (–40;+51)* N/A Siva B3 1692 (–43;+43)* 1933 (–33;+18)Hope A5 1871 (–32;+27)* N/A Siva B4 1881 (–28;+26)* N/AHope A6 1915 (–17;+22)* N/A Siva C1 N/A N/AHope B1 N/A N/A Siva C2 1226* 1817 (–33;+18)Hope B2 1275* 1635 (–33;+18) Siva C3 1525 (–37;+60) N/AHope B3 1724 (–44;+40)* 1873 (–33;+18) Siva C4 1359 (–31;+77)* 1843 (–33;+18)Hope B4 1904 (–20;+25) 1898 (–33;+18)* Siva C5 1524 (–37;+60)* 1855 (–33;+18)Hope B5 1948 (–11;+13) 1925 (–33;+18)* Siva C6 1657(–42;+46)* 1866 (–33;+18)Hope B6 N/A N/A Siva C7 1724 (–45;+39)* 1909 (–33;+18)Hope C1 N/A N/A Siva C8 1814 (–48;+30)* 1926 (–33;+18)Hope C2 1396 (–32;+73)* N/A Siva C9 1893 (–23;+26)* 1931 (–33;+18)Hope C3 1691 (–43;+43)* 1812 (–33;+18) Siva D1 N/A 1619 (–33;+18)Hope C4 1930 (–14;+19) 1912 (–33;+18)* Siva D2 1600 (–10;+52)* N/AHope C5 1957 (–9;+10) 1929 (–33;+18)* Siva D3 1617 (–41;+49) N/ALiberty A1 1638 (–41;+48)* N/A Siva D4 1830 (–48;+29) N/ALiberty A2 1782 (–47;+33) N/A Siva D5 1782 (–47;+33)* N/ALiberty A3 1771 (–46;+34)* N/A Siva D6 1841 (–40;+28)* N/ALiberty A4 1904 (–20;+25)* N/A Siva D7 1921 (–16;+20)* N/ALiberty A5 1900 (–20;+27)* N/A Siva D8 N/A 1928 (–33;+18)*Liberty A6 1965 (–7;+9) N/A Siva D9 N/A 1942 (–33;+18)*Liberty A7 N/A N/A Siva e 1677 (–42;+44)* N/ALiberty B1 933* 1742 (–33;+18) Siva f 1578 (–39;+55)* N/A

Table A1. Lichenometric and tree-ring dates (years A.D.) obtained on lateral and end moraines from 14 glaciers of the Mt. Waddington area.

Appendix A



© 2003 NRC Canada


Site Locationa Lichen date Tree-ring date Site Locationa Lichen date Tree-ring date

Liberty B2 1506 (–36;+62)* 1812 (–33;+18) Siva g N/A 1906 b*Liberty B3 1570 (–39;+55)* 1948 (–33;+18) Tiedemann A1 1176* 1742 (–33;+18)Liberty B4 1963 (–8;+9) 1941 (–33;+18) Tiedemann A2 1392 (–32;+73)* 1830 (–33;+18)Liberty c 1741 (–46;+37)* N/A Tiedemann A3 1575 (–39;+54)* 1857 (–33;+18)Nirvana A1 1450 (–34;+67)* N/A Tiedemann A4 1780 (–47;+34)* N/ANirvana b 1860 (–36;+25) N/A Tiedemann B1 1310* 1721 (–33;+18)Oval A1 1755 (–46;+36)* N/A Tiedemann B2 1454 (–35;+66)* 1796 (–33;+18)Oval A2 1843 (–40;+27)* N/A Tiedemann B3 1575 (–39;+54)* 1816 (–33;+18)Oval B1 1205* 1760 (–33;+18) Tiedemann B4 1661 (–47;+34)* 1869 (–33;+18)Oval B2 1455 (–35;+66)* N/A Tiedemann C1 1118* N/AOval B3 1739 (–46;+37)* N/A Tiedemann C2 N/A N/AOval C1 1031* 1801 (–33;+18) Tiedemann C3 1641 (–42;+47) N/AOval C2 1703 (–44;+41)* N/A Tiedemann C4 1757 (–46;+36) 1624 (–33;+18)*Oval C3 1889 (–25;+27)* N/A Tiedemann D1 1499 N/AOval C4 1928 (–14;+18)* N/A Tiedemann D2 947* 1774 (–33;+18)Oval C5 N/A N/A Tiedemann D3 1608 (–41;+51)* N/AOval C6 N/A N/A Tiedemann D4 1621 (–40;+50)* N/AOval D1 1286 1931 (–33;+18) Tiedemann E1 684* N/AOval D2 1219* N/A Tiedemann E2 1583 (–39;+54)* N/AOval D3 1501 (–36;+62)* N/A Tiedemann > F1 N/A 1479 (–33;+18)Oval D4 1770 (–46;+34) 1739 (–33;+18)* Tiedemann F1 620* N/AOval D5 1868 (–33;+27)* 1944 (–33;+18) Tiedemann F2 1281* 1696 (–33;+18)Oval D6 1866 (–33;+27)* N/A Tiedemann F3 N/A 1880 (–33;+18)Oval E1 1443 (–34;+67)* 1890 (–33;+18) Tiedemann G1 925* 1698 (–33;+18)Oval E2 1601 (–40;+52)* 1914 (–33;+18) Tiedemann G2 1600 (–40;+52) 1779 (–33;+18)Oval E3 1830 (–42;+29)* N/A Tiedemann G3 1472 (–40;+52)* N/AOval f 1894 (–13;+17)* 1899 (–33;+18) Tiedemann G4 1677 (–42;+44)* N/AOval g N/A 1952 (–33;+18)* Tiedemann H1 N/A 1663 (–33;+18)Oval h 1933 (–13;+17)* N/A Tiedemann H2 930* N/AOval I1 1762 (–47;+35)* N/A Whitesaddle A1 1260* 1825 (–33;+18)Oval I2 1797 (–47;+32)* N/A Whitesaddle A2 1521 (–37;+60)* N/APagoda a 1203* 1907 (–33;+18) Whitesaddle A3 1821 (–48;+30)* 1944 (–33;+18)Pagoda b 1660 (–42;+46)* N/A Whitesaddle B1 3573 BP N/APagoda c 1678 (–42;+44)* N/A Whitesaddle B2 N/A 1848 (–33;+18)Pagoda d 1958 (–8;+11) N/A Whitesaddle C1 1372 (–31;+75)* N/ARazor Cr. A1 1621 (–41;+49)* N/A Whitesaddle C2 1511 (–37;+61)* N/A

Whitesaddle C3 1554 (–39;+56)* N/A

Note: The dates followed by an asterisk were considered the most reliable estimates for each moraine. In a few cases, moraine dates were not assigned (e.g., dis-turbance, younger estimate than subsequent moraine, small lichen population). The bolding highlights the minimum date assigned to specific moraine-buildingevents at each site.

a> moraine: location distal to the outermost moraine.bKill date.

Table A1. Lichenometric and tree-ring dates (years A.D.) obtained on lateral and end moraines from 14 glaciers of the Mt.Waddington area.



little ice age glacial activity in the mt. waddington area ... · 1413 little ice age glacial...

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