Introduction

Ice-sheet research over the last two decades has particularly focused on the dynamics of ice streams (e.g. Reference BennettBennett, 2003) and their role in the behaviour and stability of ice sheets (Reference HughesHughes, 1998). In particular, recent estimates of balance velocity fields over the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets by means of synthetic aperture radar revealed a more complex picture of ice-sheet flow than previously envisaged (Reference Bamber, Vaughan and JoughinBamber and others, 2000; Reference Rémy, Legrésy and TestutRémy and others, 2001). These studies showed that flow within the grounded parts of these ice sheets is largely dominated by the interplay between narrow zones of enhanced flow, i.e. streaming flow, and wider zones of markedly slower ice, i.e. sheet flow, forming a remarkable large-scale dendritic pattern. In addition, ice-stream paths could be traced deep into the interior of ice sheets along continuous flowlines, with lateral transitions between sheet and streaming flow being generally abrupt near ice-sheet margins and progressively smoother towards the onsets, where the border between flow types becomes indistinct.

The wealth of new evidence on contemporary ice-stream patterns offers a solid background for the interpretation of inferred flow patterns of ancient ice sheets. In fact, recent reconstructions of the Fennoscandian ice sheet (FIS; Reference Boulton, Hagdorn and HultonBoulton and others, 2003) and parts of the Laurentide ice sheet (LIS; Reference Clark, Knight and GrayClark and others, 2000; Reference Kleman, Fastook and StroevenKleman and others, 2002) showed flow patterns that are comparable to those in modern glacier systems, including fast flow emanating from the deep ice-sheet interiors. Furthermore, considering the increasing ability of thermomechanical models to reproduce streaming flow (Reference Marshall, Clarke, Dyke and FisherMarshall and others, 1996; Reference Takeda, Cox and PayneTakeda and others, 2002), deciphering the location, extent and temporal relationships of ancient ice streams becomes a key issue for model validation and palaeo-ice-sheet research (Reference Stokes and ClarkStokes and Clark, 2001). This paper describes mapping of palaeo-ice streams by means of remote sensing on the northern Keewatin and Boothia Peninsula region, Nunavut, Canada (Fig. 1). The aim was to produce a comprehensive palaeo-ice-stream map of this area formerly covered by the northernmost Keewatin sector of the LIS, which has been previously poorly constrained in terms of palaeo-ice-stream dynamics.

Fig. 1.

Map of northeastern Canadian Arctic showing study area (black box). The arrows indicate the main ice export routes (from Reference Dyke and PrestDyke and Prest, 1987; Reference HughesHughes, 1998), the dotted line the Last Glacial Maximum ice margin (Reference Dyke, Moore and RobertsonDyke and others, 2003) and the grey area the Keewatin ice-divide zone (Reference Aylsworth and ShiltsAylsworth and Shilts, 1989). Abbrevations: BB: Baffin Bay; BD: Borden Peninsula; BI: Baffin Island; BP: Boothia Peninsula; BR: Brodeur Peninsula; CB: Committee Bay; DI: Devon Island; FB: Foxe basin; GB: Gulf of Boothia; HB: Hudson Bay; HS: Hudson Strait; KW: King William Island; LS: Lancaster Sound; MC: M’Clintock Channel; MP: Melville Peninsula; NK: northern Keewatin; PW: Prince of Wales Island; SH: Southampton Island; SS: Somerset Island; VI: Victoria Island; and VM: Viscount Melville Sound.

Study Area

The region selected for this study is bounded by the parallels 65˚ N and 75˚ N and the meridians 106˚W and 80˚ W, having an area of 1.27 × 10⁶ km² (Figs 1 and 2). In terms of topographic controls for ice streams, two physiographically distinct sectors can be recognized, with the division between the two approximating a line from northern Victoria Island to Southampton Island (Fig. 2). To the southwest of this line, relief is generally low, whereas to the northeast the terrain is divided into topographically distinct blocks on the 100-200 km scale. Prominent troughs like Peel Sound, the Gulf of Boothia, Admiralty Inlet and Lancaster Sound separate islands and peninsulas (Somerset Island and Borden, Brodeur, Melville and Boothia Peninsulas) (Fig. 2). Bedrock is composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks and early Palaeozoic carbonates (Reference DykeDyke, 1984). Regional geomorphology is dominated by landscapes of areal scouring, especially over northern Keewatin and southern Boothia Peninsula. Landscapes of little or no glacial erosion occur on Somerset Island, northern Baffin Island and northern Boothia and Melville Peninsulas. In these areas, highly developed pre-Quaternary fluvial landscapes were preserved under cold-based ice (Reference DykeDyke, 1983; Reference Kleman and HättestrandKleman and Hattestrand, 1999; Fig. 3b). In general, till cover in the region is discontinuous and thin (Reference DykeDyke, 1984), but bears a variety of directional landforms including highly attenuated drumlins, flutes and mega-scale glacial lineations (Reference ClarkClark, 1993). Eskers, sometimes >100km long, outwash terraces, ribbed moraine and crag-and-tails are also widespread (Reference Aylsworth and ShiltsAylsworth and Shilts, 1989). Except for Devon Ice Cap and several smaller glaciers on northern Baffin Island, the region is presently devoid of perennial ice cover. Vegetation is entirely lacking or extremely sparse. Postglacial modification by coastal and permafrost processes is locally severe, but landforms are generally well preserved, facilitating the reconstruction of former ice-flow patterns.

Fig. 2.

Digital elevation model of the study area indicating coverage by Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery (white polygons) and track of the Northwest Passage Transit 2003 multibeam sonar survey of the Ocean Mapping Group, University of New Brunswick, Canada (dashed line). Abbrevations as in Figure 1, with the additions of: SP: Simpson Peninsula; PS: Peel Sound; and AI: Admiralty Inlet.

According to several reconstructions of the LIS (Reference Dyke and PrestDyke and Prest, 1987; Reference HughesHughes, 1998; Reference Kleman, Fastook and StroevenKleman and others, 2002), regional ice flow proceeded roughly northward from the Keewatin ice dispersal centre and, north of Somerset Island, diverged to the Arctic Ocean via the Viscount Melville Sound and to Baffin Bay through the Lancaster Sound (Fig. 1). The eastern parts of the region were also affected by westward flow from a spreading centre over the Foxe basin, the Foxe sector, overriding the Melville Peninsula and pouring ice into the Gulf of Boothia-Lancaster Sound trough (Fig. 2). Palaeo-ice streams have been previously identified on the Boothia Peninsula (Reference DykeDyke, 1984), Prince of Wales Island (Reference Dyke and MorrisDyke and Morris, 1988), the Melville Peninsula (Reference DredgeDredge, 2000), M’Clintock Channel (Reference Clark and StokesClark and Stokes, 2001) and western Keewatin (Reference Stokes and ClarkStokes and Clark, 2003).

Materials and Methods

Geomorphological mapping was performed through the interpretation of Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data. The panchromatic band (band 8; 0.52-0.90 μm) was selected due to its high resolution (15 m pixel size). We used a total of 51 scenes, covering an area of 1.06 × 10⁶ km². These were downloaded from the GeoGratis website (http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/clf/en) maintained by Natural Resources Canada. All images were georeferenced to the corresponding Universal Transverse Mercator zones, referred to the North American Datum 1983 (NAD83), by using the accompanying meta-information file and a nearest-neighbour resampling method.

Mapping was performed on individual images by manual digitization of landforms into vector layers within a Geographic Information System. We mapped three groups of features: (i) landforms indicative of ice-flow direction (Fig. 3a): flutes, drumlins, mega-scale glacial lineations, streamlined bedrock and crag-and-tails; (ii) landforms indicative of ice-marginal position: moraines and outwash plains; and (iii) landforms indicative of wet-based deglaciation: eskers (Fig. 3a). We also mapped carbonate dispersal plumes because they are useful indicators of palaeo-ice flow direction (Fig. 3b). These plumes are formed by the downstream transport and deposition of light-coloured Palaeozoic carbonate debris that becomes highly visible due to its contrast against the darker granitic till (Reference DredgeDredge, 2000).

Fig. 3.

(a) Section of Landsat 7 ETM+ (path/row 037/014, 27 July 2001) panchromatic band showing cross-cutting relation between two lineation systems of different age in northern Keewatin and an esker (E). Younger drumlins (full arrows) superimpose and partially modify the older ones (dashed arrows). Image centre is approximately at 65˚13^’ N, 98˚05^’ W. (b) Section of Landsat 7 ETM+ (path/ row 036/009, 2 August 2000) panchromatic band showing carbonate erratic plumes (white circles) at the onset of an ice stream on the Brodeur Peninsula, Baffin Island. The ice stream (IS) flowed southwestwards draining a frozen-bed area (FB). Note the preglacial fluvial network on the palaeo-frozen bed zone. Image centre is approximately at 71˚36^’ N, 87˚11^’ W. (c) Section of Landsat 7 ETM+ (path/row 040/012, 29 July 2000) panchromatic band showing a palaeo-ice-stream margin on King William Island. The black dashed line indicates the position of the shear margin moraine that separates the former frozen-bed area (FB) from the ice stream (IS). Two ice palaeo-flow directions are recognized, with the dashed arrow indicating the older one. Image centre is approximately at 68˚39^’ N, 97˚34^’ W.

In practice, it is difficult to map all existent directional landforms because of the extreme expense of time required and because data reduction is necessary before interpretation. Therefore, we adopted the generic mapping principle of representativity: mapping was undertaken with the objective of achieving a good representation of the flow patterns, so any line on the map may represent a small group of nearby real landforms having similar direction. Mapping of directional landforms in the 0.21 × 106km² not covered by satellite imagery was completed using two different data sources. For terrestrial areas we extracted features from the Glacial Map of Canada (Reference Prest, Grant and RamptonPrest and others, 1968), whereas for some submerged areas we used the track of the Northwest Passage Transit 2003 multibeam sonar survey made by the Ocean Mapping Group, University of New Brunswick, Canada (http://chamcook.omg.unb.ca/∼arcticnet/) (Fig. 2).

Once individual images were mapped, we reprojected the digitized features onto a map covering the whole region. To keep geometrical uniformity with Canadian cartography, a Lambert Conformal Conic projection referred to the NAD83 datum was selected. Standard parallels are located at 49˚ N and 77˚N and projection origin at 70˚ N, 93˚W. This dataset was completed by a digital elevation model (DEM) compiled with topographic information from the Global Land One-Km Base Elevation model (GLOBE; Reference HastingsHastings and others, 1999) and bathymetry from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO; Reference Jakobsson, Cherkis, Woodward, MacNab and CoakleyJakobsson and others, 2001). Integration of these two datasets required resampling of the 1 arcmin IBCAO grid into a 30arcsec grid, in order to match GLOBE grid spacing and subsequent replacement of the IBCAO topographic information by that contained in GLOBE. These procedures were performed using Generic Mapping Tools software (Reference Wessel and SmithWessel and Smith, 1998). The complete database including DEM and mapped geomorphological features is shown in Figure 4a and b.

Fig. 4.

(a) Glacial lineations and (b) eskers (thin lines) and moraines (thick lines). Abbreviations as in Figure 1. MacAlpine (MAM) and Chantrey (CHM) moraine systems are also indicated.

Interpretation of the landform pattern was guided by a glaciological inversion model, i.e. a model that formalizes the procedure of using the landform record to reconstruct ice-sheet configurations (Reference Kleman and BorgströmKleman and Borgström, 1996). This model was originally developed for the reconstruction of the Weichselian FIS (Reference Kleman, Hättestrand, Borgström and StroevenKleman and others, 1997) and has been described in its revised form by Kleman and others (in press), so only a brief explanation is given here. The model uses glacial geological and geomorphological information, i.e. the spatial distribution of directional landforms (e.g. striae, flutes, drumlins and crag-and-tails), ice-marginal positions (e.g. moraines and outwash plains) and deglaciation evidence (e.g. lateral meltwater channels and eskers). The theoretical framework for this model is that landform creation, destruction and preservation are controlled by the location of the phase boundary of water/ice at or under the ice-sheet bed, i.e. the thermal state of the bed. It is assumed, therefore, that landform creation or reorganization requires a thawed bed, while a frozen bed inhibits the rearrangement of the landscape. The procedure involves the interpretation of landform assemblages that form a coherent glaciological pattern. Once recognized, landform assemblages are integrated into map entities denominated ‘geomorphic swarms’. Swarms are defined on the basis of spatial continuity and resemblance to a glaciologically plausible pattern following the least complex possible solution. They are drawn by following lines that are parallel to the visually coherent landform pattern, having transverse up- and downstream limits (Reference Kleman, Hättestrand, Borgström and StroevenKleman and others, 1997). Conceptually, these swarms represent the first level of abstraction in the regional interpretation scheme and they serve to reduce the map information into a manageable number of entities.

In this work we use three different types of swarms: (i) ice-stream, (ii) event and (iii) wet-based deglaciation. Ice-stream swarms are defined following the criteria proposed by Reference Stokes and ClarkStokes and Clark (1999) to identify palaeo-ice streams in the landform record. These include the recognition of convergent flow patterns, Boothia-type dispersal trains (Reference Dyke and MorrisDyke and Morris, 1988), attenuated landforms, abrupt lateral margins and the presence of lateral shear moraines (Reference Stokes and ClarkStokes and Clark, 2002) (Fig. 3c). Event swarms are defined as landform systems with abundant flow traces but lacking aligned eskers (Reference Kleman, Hättestrand, Borgström and StroevenKleman and others, 1997). In our case they are not treated as ice streams, because they do not fulfil morphological criteria for ice streams, or are of such small size that classification is difficult. Although they are treated here as wet-based sheet flow, we acknowledge the possibility that some of these swarms may represent fragments of ice streams. Wet-based deglaciation swarms are defined and interpreted as in Reference Kleman, Hättestrand, Borgström and StroevenKleman and others (1997). These are systems of directional landforms and aligned meltwater traces that are interpreted to be the result of the retreat of a wet-based ice sheet. Inferred palaeo-frozen bed areas were also mapped because of their important role in controlling the distribution of streaming patterns. The criteria used for their identification were defined by Reference Kleman and HättestrandKleman and Hättestrand (1999) and comprise the recognition of preserved landscapes (Fig. 3b), landforms indicative of thermal transition (e.g. ribbed moraines) and landforms of cold-based deglaciation, such as lateral meltwater channels. Relative chronology for geomorphic swarms and inferred palaeo-ice streams was established on the basis of existent cross-cutting relationships. These are formed after the partial modification of basal landforms due to changes in flow direction (Reference ClarkClark, 1993; see also Fig. 3a). The interpreted geomorphic swarms, frozen-bed areas and age relationships are shown in Figure 5. In this work we do not attempt to establish an absolute chronological framework for ice-stream evolution. Reported radiocarbon ages (in thousands of years before present (kyr BP)) were obtained from published studies and are given for reference purposes only.

Fig. 5.

Location and geometry of ice-stream swarms (white), event swarms (black), wet-based deglaciation swarms (dotted black) and cold-based patches (stippled areas). The white symbol denotes relative age determinations, with the internal line being parallel to the younger flow system. The numbers identify swarms mentioned in the text. Abbreviations as in Figure 1.

Finally, based on the information contained in Figure 5, we produced a palaeo-ice-stream map for the northern Keewatin sector of the LIS. This involved establishing links between geomorphic swarms forming coherent and glaciologically plausible scenarios (e.g. the ice-stream swarms on Prince of Wales and Victoria Islands that delineate the track of M’Clintock Channel Ice Stream (Reference Clark and StokesClark and Stokes, 2001)). Our interpretations were guided by the conceptual framework given above and the general principles of glacier and ice-sheet dynamics expressed in Reference PatersonPaterson (1994) and Reference HughesHughes (1998). The final result is shown in Figure 6, and the reasoning behind it is described in detail in the following section.

Fig. 6.

Location and relative age of inferred palaeo-ice streams. Abbreviations as in Figure 1. Except for the small deglacial ice streams (white), the remaining tones are only intended to distinguish different ice-stream tracks. Interpreted (full lines) and inferred (dashed lines) margins are shown. Stippled areas denote frozen-bed zones. The two square windows on frozen-bed zones on Prince of Wales and Victoria Islands show coverage of older ice-stream tracks. The white symbol denotes relative age determinations, with the internal line being parallel to the younger flow system.

Results and Discussion

An overview of Figure 4a and b shows that, on a regional scale, glacial landforms are concentrated on northern Keewatin, King William, Prince of Wales and Victoria Islands. Conversely, wide areas are largely devoid of glacial landforms, such as Brodeur and Borden Peninsulas, in Baffin Island, Somerset Island and northern Boothia and Melville Peninsulas. This distribution is remarkable since it follows the regional physiographic distinction made above in terms of topographic controls and indicates two styles of glaciation within the northern Keewatin sector of the LIS.

Conclusions

Based on the geomorphological interpretation of Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery and using a glaciological inversion model, we produced a palaeo-ice-stream map of the northernmost Keewatin sector of the Laurentide ice sheet.

We recognized two physiographically distinct sectors, in terms of topographic control for ice-stream flow, with the division between the two approximating a line from northern Victoria Island to Southampton Island. To the southwest of this line, relief is generally low, while to the northeast the terrain is divided into topographically distinct blocks on the 100–200km scale. On the subregion lacking strong topographic controls, we found evidence for pure ice streams, especially on Prince of Wales and King William Islands, where three ice-stream configurations, representing three flow generations, are recognized. Analysis of the landform record indicates that the location of streaming flow within this subregion was controlled by the temporary location of frozen-bed areas. Lacking marked topographic controls, the pattern of ice-stream evolution reveals that ice flow was likely regulated by the switching on and off of these ice streams, probably as a consequence of changes in the thermal state of the bed or the rheological properties of the substratum. On the subregion with strong topographic controls, glaciation was dominated by a constellation of frozen-bed sectors drained by a number of warm-based ice streams concentrated in the topographic troughs. Due to the topographical guidance, this basal thermal configuration was likely to be geometrically stable, in contrast to conditions in the southwestern subregion. In addition, the imprint of a massive convergent palaeo-ice flow pattern is recognized south of Committee Bay, at the head of the Gulf of Boothia–Lancaster Sound trough. According to evidence presented here and elsewhere, it is very likely that this system was one of the main gateways of the LIS.

Finally, our results reveal widespread streaming flow on the northern Keewatin sector of the LIS, from close to the northern margin to within 200 km of the proposed ice-divide region. This confirms partial reconstructions of the southern Keewatin sector of the LIS and demonstrates that ice flow within the LIS developed patterns that are similar to those present on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.