Significance of Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay Waters for growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

Abstract

Global ice-sheet growth from interglacial stage 5e to last glacial maximum stage 2 occurred in two major steps, at the isotope stage 5e/5d and 5a/4 transitions (e.g., Ruddiman et al. 1980). Although we do not know where ice accumulated during these times of increasing oceanic 8’0, one likely location is the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). This paper describes a hypothesis forwarding the possibility that Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea acted as moisture sources for LIS growth. Then competing interpretations of oceanic sediment cores are evaluated with regard to the potential of these areas as precipitation sources for ice growth at the stage 5a/4 transition. Finally, modelling of the global atmosphere at the stage 2 maximum suggests constraints on the location and timing of ice sheet growth.