MAJOR ICE SHEET RESPONSE IN EASTERN NEW ENGLAND TO A COLD NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, C. 16-15 CAL KA

A large ice sheet still covered almost all of Maine and eastern New England until c. 15 cal ka, reaching south of 45ºS, despite rising insolation and major ice recession elsewhere around the world. Furthermore, the well-studied moraine belt along eastern coastal Maine, including the prominent Pineo Ridge delta/moraine complex, indicates repeated readvances and stillstands between c. 16 and 15 cal ka. This moraine belt reflects a considerable ice sheet response over eastern North America during this time period. Concurrent with moraine deposition was reduced or elimination of North Atlantic meridional overturning, starting with the earlier onset of peak IRD and Heinrich Event 1. The existing ¹⁴C chronology suggests that the Pineo Ridge moraine complex and the coastal moraine belt, and the persistence of the ice sheet until ~15 cal ka, was a response and not a cause of the severe cooling of the North Atlantic region during this time.