Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Antarctic Science

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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Publication Date

3-1-2001

First Page

53

Last Page

60

Issue Number

1

Volume Number

13

Abstract/ Summary

We report evidence of a large proglacial lake (Glacial Lake Wright) that existed in Wright Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica at the last glacial maximum (LGM) and in the early Holocene. At its highstands, Glacial Lake Wright would have stretched 50 km and covered c. 210 km(2). Chronology for lake-level changes comes from 30 AMS radiocarbon dates of lacustrine algae preserved in deltas, shorelines, and glaciolacustrine deposits that extend up to 480 m above present-day lakes. Emerging evidence suggests that Glacial Lake Wright was only one of a series of large lakes to occupy the McMurdo Dry Valleys and the valleys fronting the Royal Society Range at the LGM. Although the cause of such high lake levels is not well understood, it is believed to relate to cool, dry conditions which produced fewer clouds, less snowfall, and greater amounts of absorbed radiation, leading to increased meltwater production.

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Hall, BL, Denton, GH, and Overturf, B, 2001, Glacial Lake Wright, a High-Level Antarctic Lake During the LGM and Early Holocene: Antarctic Science, v. 13, p. 53-60. Available on publisher's site at: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=217055&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0954102001000086

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© Copyright 2001 by Cambridge University Press

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