CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Coulthard, B.L.; and Smith, D.J.
Date : 2009.
Title : A dendroglaciological reconstruction of glacial history at the Confederation and Franklin Glaciers, central British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada.
Publication : 2009 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers. May 26-30, 2009. Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Dendroglaciological research was completed at the confluence of the Confederation and Franklin Glaciers in the central Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Most glaciers in this area reached their maximum Holocene downvalley extent during the late Little Ice Age (LIA) and have since experienced an interval of general retreat and downwasting. Today LIA landforms and deposits dominate the valleys of the Coast Mountains. At our study site, however, older Holocene-age deposits and wood detritus overrun and buried during preceding glacial advances are exposed within stream-side incisions and collapsing lateral moraines. Our study aims to provide a late Holocene history of glacial activity for Confederation Glacier, and to develop proxy climate and mass balance records from tree-rings in the vicinity of the Confederation-Franklin confluence. The advantages of both tree ring width and tree ring density are being explored. Field investigations in July 2008 focused on surveys of glacier forefields and proximal lateral moraine deposits. Our preliminary findings provide dendroglaciological evidence for the timing of the Tiedemann and early Little Ice Age advances. We expect that our research will assist with broader-scale reconstructions of late Holocene glacier activity in the British Columbia Coast Mountains, and establish links between significant climate forcing events and late Holocene glaciological responses.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology