Laurentide Ice Sheet Retreat from the Great Lakes Region

This project aims to precisely date the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet's southern margin following the Last Glacial Maximum, as our current understanding is limited by sparse data. By using cosmogenic nuclide exposure-age dating, the research will create a more accurate timeline of the retreat of the southernmost margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the Great Lakes region. Key components of this work include the involvement of undergraduate students in carrying out the research activities and the start-up of the Great Lakes Earth Exchange speaker series (aka the GLEE Club).

Status: Ramping up

Participants & Collaborators:

• Community Cosmogenic Facility @ University of Vermont

• PRIME Lab @ Purdue University

Funding Sources: 

• NSF EMBRACE-EAR-Growth: Dating ice retreat and advance along the lobate southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet with terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides:  NSF Award #2432698 (2024)

• EMU Faculty Research Fellowship: Facilitating community outreach efforts to find glacial erratics suitable for 10Be dating on Laurentide Ice Sheet moraines across Michigan (2024)