The glacial geomorphology of the Mackenzie Mountains region, Canada

During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Mackenzie Mountains region was glaciated by three distinct ice sources; the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, and independent montane glaciers. Rapid ice sheet thinning of the Laurentide-Cordilleran ice saddle in the south of this region contributed to rapid sea level rise events and influenced the style of deglaciation to the north. The current understanding of the glacial history of the broader region has been established through mapping from aerial imagery and early surveys between the early 1970s to the 2010s. The central portions of the Mackenzie Mountains have not yet been mapped. We present a new glacial geomorphological map for the Mackenzie Mountains region covering over 220,000 km2. This updated geomorphological map will form the basis of future work to reconstruct the former maximum ice extents, flow dynamics, and retreat pattern.

末次冰盛期（Last Glacial Maximum）期间，麦肯齐山脉区域受到三类独立冰源的冰川作用：劳伦泰德冰盖（Laurentide Ice Sheet）、科迪勒拉冰盖（Cordilleran Ice Sheet）以及独立山地冰川。该区域南部的劳伦泰德-科迪勒拉冰鞍发生快速冰盖变薄，不仅引发了快速海平面上升事件，还对北部区域的冰消作用模式产生了影响。目前学界对该更广区域冰川历史的认知，依托1970年代初至2010年代开展的航空影像制图与早期野外调查工作得以确立，但麦肯齐山脉的中部区域至今尚未完成制图。本研究构建了覆盖面积超22万平方千米的麦肯齐山脉区域全新冰川地貌图（glacial geomorphological map）。这份更新后的地貌图将为后续重建古冰最大覆盖范围、冰流动力学特征及冰退模式的研究奠定核心基础。