The Development and Impact of an Ice-Contact Proglacial Lake During the Last Glacial Termination, Palaeolake Riada, Central Ireland

Delaney, Catherine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5846-2377 (2022) The Development and Impact of an Ice-Contact Proglacial Lake During the Last Glacial Termination, Palaeolake Riada, Central Ireland. Journal of Quaternary Science, 37 (8). pp. 1422-1441. ISSN 0267-8179

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Abstract

The retreat of the last Irish Ice Sheet across the Irish Midlands resulted in formation of an ice-contact lake, Paleolake Riada, along its eastern margin during recession. However, the full extent and characteristics of the lake and its impact on ice dynamics are unknown, as glacigenic landforms and deposits relating to the lake have not been mapped in sufficient detail to allow reconstruction of ice marginal behaviour. This paper presents new mapping of subglacial, ice-marginal and glaciolacustrine landforms and deposits in the Irish midlands. Glacial landforms and landform associations across this wide area have been identified using aerial photographs and high-resolution digital elevation models derived from LiDAR and radar data. Reconstructions of successive ice margin retreat positions are combined with glacio-isostatically adjusted DEMs to identify the probable position of lake outflows and reconstruct the development of the proglacial Paleolake Riada through time. These reconstructions indicate that at its largest, Paleolake Riada had an ice-contact margin of 113km, and covered an area of over 2,300km2. Initially ice recession was concentrated around meltwater discharge outlets, but these became less important as the lake expanded and thermo-mechanical erosion occurred along the entire subaqueous margin.