Late Quaternary deglaciation of Prince William Sound, Alaska

Abstract To understand the timing of deglaciation northernmost marine-terminating glaciers Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), we obtained 26 10 Be surface-exposure ages from glacially scoured bedrock surfaces in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. We sampled six elevation transects between sea level and 620 m spanning a distance 14 to 70 km along ice flow paths. Most transect age–elevation patterns could not be explained by simple model thinning ice; provide evidence for lingering cover possible inheritance. A reliable set 20 ranges 17.4 ± 2.0 11.6 2.8 ka indicates receded northwestern PWS around 14.3 1.6 ka, thinned at rate ~120–160 m/ka, retreated sea-level sites 12.9 1.1 m/yr. The retreat likely slowed as into northern PWS. These results are consistent with growing body reported deglacial constraints on collapse sheets Alaska margin indicating CIS soon after 17 ka. data paleotemperature that warming North Pacific Ocean caused catastrophic this part CIS.