Sangamonian Stage
Encyclopedia
The Sangamonian Stage, also known as the Sangamon interglacial, is the name used by Quaternary
geologist
s to designate the last interglacial
period in North America
from 125,000—75,000 years ago, a period of . The Sangamonian Stage precedes the Wisconsinan (Wisconsin) Stage
and follows the Illinoian Stage in North America.
, which is developed in contemporaneous colluvium
and older glacial till
s and loesses
and overlain by Wisconsinan loesses or tills. Although originally described from water wells in northwestern Sangamon County, Illinois
, the current type sections for the Sangamon Stage are the Rochester section in eastern Sangamon County and the Chapman section in Morgan County, Illinois. In the Rochester Section, the Sangamon Soil is developed in Sangamonian colluvial
sediments, called “accretion gley”, that accumulated contemporaneously with the development of the Sangamon Soil. In the Rochester section, the Sangamon Soil is developed directly in Illinoian glacial till and overlain by Roxana Silt, the oldest of the two regional Wisconsinan loesses.
5 between 75,000 and 125,000 BP
. Although it includes the same time span, the Sangamonian Stage (sensu lato) is not temporally equivalent to the Eemian in Europe
. In its much less common usage, the Sangamonian Stage (sensu stricto) is equivalent to Marine Isotope Substage 5e and the Eemian. In case of this usage, Marine Isotope Substages 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are collectively referred to as the Eowisconsinan Stage. In its broadest sense (sensu lato), the Sangamonian Stage precedes the Wisconsinan (Wisconsin) Stage
and follows the Illinoian Stage in North America.
Research concerning the age and degree of development of the Sangamon Soil demonstrates that it actively developed, at the least, over all of Marine Isotope Stage 5, which is a period of time from 125,000 to 75,000 BP. Unlike Europe, the development of ice sheets in Canada
was limited during Marine Isotope Substages 5b, 5c, and 5b and either completely disappeared or were greatly reduced in size during Marine Isotope Substage 5a. Because of the continuous development of the Sangamonian Soil in the Midwest and the limited development of ice sheets in North America during this marine isotope stage, the Sangamonian Stage, unlike the Eemian in Europe, is regarded as encompassing all of Marine Isotope Stage 5.
(OSL) dates obtained from fluvial deposits of the Pearl Formation and Illinoian glacial tills of the Glasford Formation, which fill an ancient and buried Mississippi River
valley in north-central Illinois. The age of fluvial sediments overlying the youngest glacial till (Radner Member) of the Glasford Formation yield optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates that averaged 131,000 BP. These OSL dates demonstrate that the Illinoian Stage ended and the Sangamonian Stage started about 125,000 BP. These dates refute older dates, i.e. between 220,000 and 450,000 BP, given by older publications for the start of the Sangamonian Stage.
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
s to designate the last interglacial
Interglacial
An Interglacial period is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age...
period in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from 125,000—75,000 years ago, a period of . The Sangamonian Stage precedes the Wisconsinan (Wisconsin) Stage
Last Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...
and follows the Illinoian Stage in North America.
Definition
The Sangamonian Stage, originally the Sangamon interglacial stage, is defined on the basis of the Sangamon Soil, a paleosolPaleosol
In the geosciences, paleosol can have two meanings. The first meaning, common in geology and paleontology, refers to a former soil preserved by burial underneath either sediments or volcanic deposits , which in the case of older deposits have lithified into rock...
, which is developed in contemporaneous colluvium
Colluvium
Colluvium is the name for loose bodies of sediment that have been deposited or built up at the bottom of a low-grade slope or against a barrier on that slope, transported by gravity. The deposits that collect at the foot of a steep slope or cliff are also known by the same name. Colluvium often...
and older glacial till
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
s and loesses
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
and overlain by Wisconsinan loesses or tills. Although originally described from water wells in northwestern Sangamon County, Illinois
Sangamon County, Illinois
Sangamon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 197,465, which is an increase of 4.5% from 188,951 in 2000...
, the current type sections for the Sangamon Stage are the Rochester section in eastern Sangamon County and the Chapman section in Morgan County, Illinois. In the Rochester Section, the Sangamon Soil is developed in Sangamonian colluvial
Colluvium
Colluvium is the name for loose bodies of sediment that have been deposited or built up at the bottom of a low-grade slope or against a barrier on that slope, transported by gravity. The deposits that collect at the foot of a steep slope or cliff are also known by the same name. Colluvium often...
sediments, called “accretion gley”, that accumulated contemporaneously with the development of the Sangamon Soil. In the Rochester section, the Sangamon Soil is developed directly in Illinoian glacial till and overlain by Roxana Silt, the oldest of the two regional Wisconsinan loesses.
Correlations
In its typical and broadest usage, the Sangamonian Stage is equivalent to all of Marine Isotope StageMarine isotope stage
Marine isotope stages , marine oxygen-isotope stages, or oxygen isotope stages , are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting changes in temperature derived from data from deep sea core samples...
5 between 75,000 and 125,000 BP
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
. Although it includes the same time span, the Sangamonian Stage (sensu lato) is not temporally equivalent to the Eemian in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In its much less common usage, the Sangamonian Stage (sensu stricto) is equivalent to Marine Isotope Substage 5e and the Eemian. In case of this usage, Marine Isotope Substages 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are collectively referred to as the Eowisconsinan Stage. In its broadest sense (sensu lato), the Sangamonian Stage precedes the Wisconsinan (Wisconsin) Stage
Last Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...
and follows the Illinoian Stage in North America.
Research concerning the age and degree of development of the Sangamon Soil demonstrates that it actively developed, at the least, over all of Marine Isotope Stage 5, which is a period of time from 125,000 to 75,000 BP. Unlike Europe, the development of ice sheets in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
was limited during Marine Isotope Substages 5b, 5c, and 5b and either completely disappeared or were greatly reduced in size during Marine Isotope Substage 5a. Because of the continuous development of the Sangamonian Soil in the Midwest and the limited development of ice sheets in North America during this marine isotope stage, the Sangamonian Stage, unlike the Eemian in Europe, is regarded as encompassing all of Marine Isotope Stage 5.
Dates
The start of the Sangamonian Stage is constrained by optically stimulated luminescenceOptically stimulated luminescence
In physics, optically stimulated luminescence is a method for measuring doses from ionizing radiation.The method makes use of electrons trapped between the valence and conduction bands in the crystalline structure of certain types of matter . The trapping sites are imperfections of the lattice -...
(OSL) dates obtained from fluvial deposits of the Pearl Formation and Illinoian glacial tills of the Glasford Formation, which fill an ancient and buried Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
valley in north-central Illinois. The age of fluvial sediments overlying the youngest glacial till (Radner Member) of the Glasford Formation yield optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates that averaged 131,000 BP. These OSL dates demonstrate that the Illinoian Stage ended and the Sangamonian Stage started about 125,000 BP. These dates refute older dates, i.e. between 220,000 and 450,000 BP, given by older publications for the start of the Sangamonian Stage.
See also
- Ice ageIce ageAn ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
- Interglacial period
- Timeline of glaciationTimeline of glaciationThere have been five known ice ages in the Earth's history, with the Earth experiencing the Quaternary Ice Age during the present time. Within ice ages, there exist periods of more severe glacial conditions and more temperate referred to as glacial periods and interglacial periods, respectively...
- Eemian (stage)
Further reading
- Ehlers, J., and P.L. Gibbard, 2004a, Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 2: Part II North America, Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 0-444-51462-7
- Gillespie, A.R., S.C. Porter, and B.F. Atwater, 2004, The Quaternary Period in the United States. Developments in Quaternary Science no. 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 978-0-444-51471-4
- Sibrava, V., Bowen, D.Q, and Richmond, G.M., eds., 1986, Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 5, pp. 1-514.
External links
- Muhs, D.R., 2006, Last Interglacial: Timing and Environment (LITE). U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, Denver, Colorado.
- Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, nd, Global correlation tables for the Quaternary (2007), Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.