Discrimination of stagnation moraine from end and ground moraine on the Missouri du Coteau and Coteau des Prairies of North Dakota

Author

William Clarence Johnson

Publication Date

1971

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

McConnell, Harold

Degree Name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Geography

LCSH

Glaciers--North Dakota; Moraines

Abstract

Until recently, landforms produced as a result of massive glacial stagnation had commonly been mapped as end moraine, ground moraine, or other features of active ice deposition. Once the complexity of large-scale stagnation had been realized, recognition of a separate morainal type resulting from glacial stagnation occurred. Even though similar to active-ice features, stagnant ice terrain possesses different internal and overall patterns, in addition to unique smaller-scale landforms, and can, therefore, be differentiated from resultant landforms of active ice. To distinguish hummocky stagnation moraine from active ice moraines, i.e., end and ground moraine, six quantitative morphometric measures were used: local relief, depression density, knoll density, percent area in depressions, percent area in knolls, and lineation of topographic elements. That these six measures can successfully discriminate hummocky stagnation moraine from end moraine and ground moraine is hypothesized. Morphometric data were taken from 7.5 minute series U. S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangles of selected areas within North Dakota. Multiple discriminant analysis was the statistical technique utilized to analyze the data. The procedure indicated three of the original six measures to be statistically significant. Specifically, local relief, percent area in depressions, and percent area in knolls successfully discriminate among the three classes of moraine.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-86)

Recommended Citation

Johnson, William Clarence, "Discrimination of stagnation moraine from end and ground moraine on the Missouri du Coteau and Coteau des Prairies of North Dakota" (1971). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 2259.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/2259

Extent

86 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text