LIDAR INTERPRETATION OF A UNIQUE NETWORK OF RETICULATED LANDFORMS IN THE ONEIDA BASIN, CENTRAL NEW YORK

In recent years, advances in remote sensing technologies have allowed for the observation and study of previously unknown or inaccessible landforms. LiDAR in particular has proved useful in the identification and interpretation of small-scale surficial features, especially in forested areas. In this poster, the results of a recently completed LiDAR survey in the Oneida Lake Basin near Rome, New York are explored, and a preliminary analysis of a polygonal network of previously unknown surficial ridges is presented. It is proposed that the landforms are crevasse-squeeze ridges from a surge lobe of the Oneida Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the very earliest stages of Glacial Lake Iroquois. Indeed the angles and orientations of the ridges closely mirror the crevasse pattern observable on many present day surging glaciers. In addition, the soft lake bed sediment upon which the glacier advanced, combined with high subglacial pore fluid pressure, are thought to have created an environment conducive to the formation of crevasse-squeeze ridges.