Research Mentor(s)
Flower, Aquila
Description
The topography of the Pacific Northwest, its fjords, inland waterways and islands, are a result of an extended period of glaciation and glacial retreat. This retreat influenced the physical features and the resulting succession of vegetation that led to the landscape we see today. Despite this importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet and the large volume of research on the topic, there lacks a good detailed animation of the movement of the entire ice sheet from the last glacial maximum to the present day. In this study, I used spatial data of the glacial extent at different periods of time during the Quaternary period to model and animate the movement of the Cordilleran ice sheet as it retreated from 18,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. I then used pollen data from lake sediment collection sites to model and animate the changing vegetation cover corresponding to the periods of glacial retreat. The visual result displays the temporal relationship between vegetation successions on a broad scale as a result of significant deglaciation. Fluctuations in the shape and size of the ice sheet are quantified and show how it lost and gained material over time. The visualization also revealed the sequential development of geologic events important to the region such as the opening of the Salish Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The resulting animation product can be used for educational and display purposes to illustrate the importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet on the development of the region’s physical identity.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
17-5-2017 9:00 AM
End Date
17-5-2017 12:00 PM
Department
Environmental Studies
Genre/Form
student projects; posters
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Geomorphology--Northwest, Pacific; Geology--Northwest, Pacific
Geographic Coverage
Northwest, Pacific
Type
Image
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this documentation for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Animating the Temporal Progression of Cordilleran Deglaciation and Vegetation Succession in the Pacific Northwest during the late Quaternary Period
The topography of the Pacific Northwest, its fjords, inland waterways and islands, are a result of an extended period of glaciation and glacial retreat. This retreat influenced the physical features and the resulting succession of vegetation that led to the landscape we see today. Despite this importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet and the large volume of research on the topic, there lacks a good detailed animation of the movement of the entire ice sheet from the last glacial maximum to the present day. In this study, I used spatial data of the glacial extent at different periods of time during the Quaternary period to model and animate the movement of the Cordilleran ice sheet as it retreated from 18,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. I then used pollen data from lake sediment collection sites to model and animate the changing vegetation cover corresponding to the periods of glacial retreat. The visual result displays the temporal relationship between vegetation successions on a broad scale as a result of significant deglaciation. Fluctuations in the shape and size of the ice sheet are quantified and show how it lost and gained material over time. The visualization also revealed the sequential development of geologic events important to the region such as the opening of the Salish Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The resulting animation product can be used for educational and display purposes to illustrate the importance of the Cordilleran ice sheet on the development of the region’s physical identity.