Abstracts
Abstract
In papers published in 1895 and 1901, and in undated notes for a 1907 paper he did not deliver or publish, Robert Bell of the Geological Survey of Canada interpreted the pattern of glacial striae, stossing of rock knobs, and surficial sediment composition along the margins of Hudson Strait, between Labrador, Ungava Bay and Baffin Island, as evidence of what he called an ice-stream, a long river-like glacier, fed from Hudson Bay and Foxe Basin, that had moved eastward along the Strait during the Late Glacial period. This was the earliest mention of such a glaciological feature within the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). It was not until ice-streams were recognized in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 1970’s that Bell’s concept was revived in the next decade and subsequently, in recognition of several ice-streams within the Late Wisconsinan LIS.
Résumé
Dans des articles publiés en 1895 et 1901, et des notes inédites pour lesquelles il n’a pas donné suite ou publié, Robert Bell de la Commission géologique du Canada a interprété le patron des stries glaciaires, le profilage des collines rocheuses et la composition des dépôts superficiels le long des marges du détroit d’Hudson, entre la péninsule du Labrador, la baie d’Ungava et l’île de Baffin, comme étant les indices d’un fleuve de glace, un glacier s’apparentant à une rivière, comme il l’a nommé, alimenté par la baie d’Hudson et le bassin de Foxe, et s’est écoulé vers l’est à travers le détroit pendant la période glaciaire. Il s’agit alors de la première mention d’un tel phénomène pour l’inlandsis laurentidien. Il faudra attendre que les courants de glace de la calotte antarctique-ouest soient reconnus dans les années soixante-dix pour que le concept de Bell soit repris dans les années quatre-vingt et par la suite, par l’identification des nombreux courants de glace de la calotte laurentidienne au Wisconsinien supérieur.
Appendices
References
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10.7202/032681ar