1976 Study Reveals Catastrophic Laurentide Ice Sheet Collapse at Hudson Bay. 1976 paper by J.T. Andrews (University of Colorado) and W.R. Peltier (University of Toronto) on Hudson Bay Ice Center collapse Collapse of central dome of Laurentide ice sheet between 12,000-10,000 years before present Ice sheet thickness reached approximately 2,800 meters (1.75 miles) at center
A groundbreaking 1976 study by Andrews & Peltier revealed the Laurentide ice sheet — roughly the size of Antarctica — collapsed catastrophically. Its central dome reached 2,800 meters thick before melting between 12,000-10,000 years ago, cutting a 200-meter deep seaway through Hudson Bay. The ice weight removal triggered glacio-isostatic rebound, with two residual centers remaining over Keewatin and Labrador. 🏔️❄️
Key Facts
- 1976 paper by J.T. Andrews (University of Colorado) and W.R. Peltier (University of Toronto) on Hudson Bay Ice Center collapse
- Collapse of central dome of Laurentide ice sheet between 12,000-10,000 years before present
- Ice sheet thickness reached approximately 2,800 meters (1.75 miles) at center
- Glacio-isostatic rebound occurred as ice weight was removed
- Laurentide ice sheet was roughly the size of the Antarctic ice sheet
- Rapid cutting of 200-meter deep seaway through Hudson Bay during deglaciation
- Two residual ice centers remained over Keewatin and Labrador after dome collapse
- Paper has been cited 54 times, including citations as recent as 2021
Source: The Inexplicable Thaw: The Younger Dryas Enigma by The Randall Carlson