CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Batterson, M.; Liverman, D.G.E.; Catto, N.T.; and Bell, T.
Date : 2001.
Title : The Quaternary geology of Newfoundland - A review.
Publication : St. John's 2001. Geological Association of Canada - Mineralogical Association of Canada 2001 Joint Annual Meeting / l'Association géologique du Canada - l'Association minéralogique du Canada réunion annuelle conjointe. Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, May 27-30 2001.
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Abstract
In the decade since the last comprehensive review of Newfoundland Quaternary geology, research on several fronts has resulted in confirmation of some existing ideas, revision of others, and raised some new questions. The main areas of change reflect detailed ice-flow and surficial mapping of Newfoundland, application of new dating methods, a renewed focus on the coastal geology, and an expanded data set of both raised and submerged sea-level records. Ice flow mapping confirms and refines the hypothesis of multiple island-based ice centres, allowing better definition of the location of these ice centres, as well as outlining the sequence of disintegration and deglaciation. Ice flow mapping, offshore mapping and absence of pre-Late Wisconsinan dated material tend to favour maximum models of ice extent. There is increasing evidence of ice filling the Gulf of Lawrence, and extending out towards the edge of the Continental Shelf. Cosmogenic dating of areas thought to be nunataks on the West Coast suggests cover by cold-based ice during the last glaciation, although biological evidence points to the existence of refugia somewhere in the region. Widespread interest in the Younger Dryas cooling event has resulted in the re-appraisal of palaeoevironmental records. The Younger Dryas is clearly documented in pollen and diatom records, but dating of known glacial re-advances indicates that while the Ten Mile Lake re-advance might relate to the Younger Dryas, the Robinson's Head re-advance is older, and is likely not climatically controlled. The identification of a sea-level low stand over much of the southern and northeastern parts of the Island has resulted in revision and clarification of the sea-level history, and an increasing number of radiocarbon dates and detailed studies allow regional patterns to be identified. The application of these records to archaeological survey has led to the discovery of some important new sites on the Northern Peninsula, including the oldest site yet discovered on the Island. Current sea-levels are rising in most parts of the Island, and research on coastal geomorphology and evolution suggests that rates of sea-level rise might be increasing.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology