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Rea, B. R., Whalley, W. B., Evans, D. J. A., Gordon, J. E., and
McDougall, D. A. (1998). Plateau icefields: Geomorphology
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District, northern England. Transactions of the Royal Society
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the Lake Pukaki area, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of
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Stokes, C. R., and Clark, C. D. (2002). Ice stream shear margin
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Glacifluvial Landforms of
Erosion
A E Kehew, Western Michigan University, MI, USA
M L Lord, Western Carolina University, NC, USA
A L Kozlowski, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove,
PA, USA
ª 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Introduction
The vast amount of meltwater released from glaciers
has enormous erosional capacity. Temporary
impoundments of meltwater occur on top of, within,
at the base of, and in front of the ice. The magnitude
and intensity of erosion is greatest when these
impoundments release sediment-deficient meltwater
suddenly or rapidly in the form of outbursts. Erosion
is facilitated by high hydraulic potential caused by the
cryostatic pressure of the ice or the hydraulic head
developed behind a barrier in a proglacial lake. The
type and resistance of bed material underlying a region
also controls the form and size of erosional landforms
produced by these meltwater discharges.
Most glacifluvial landforms of erosion were
formed when the great Pleistocene ice sheets of
North America and Eurasia produced and ponded
vast quantities of meltwater. The erosional landforms
included vast channel systems, both subglacial and
proglacial, and a variety of forms attributed to sub-
glacial sheet floods. In some cases, subglacial flows
switched from an erosional to a depositional regime
upon reaching the glacier terminus, typified by
aggrading braided streams, sandar, or subaqueous
fans of various types.
The discharges that formed large-scale glacifluvial
erosional forms had significant, global impacts
because they were of such high magnitude. Many
large-scale drainage systems in areas affected by gla-
ciation were formed or largely modified by discrete-
event, high-discharge meltwater flows. In places
these channels constitute important aquifer systems,
some of which are buried beneath multiple sheets of
glacial drift from earlier glaciations. In addition,
numerous studies have argued that the sudden release
of vast quantities of cold meltwater correlates with
periods of climatic change, possibly by altering ocea-
nic circulation patterns.
Four categories of processes and landforms are con-
sidered in this article because they account for the
majority of large-scale glacifluvial erosional forms:
(1) proglacial lake channel systems formed by glacial
lake outbursts, (2) tunnel channels formed by channe-
lized subglacial flows, (3) ice marginal (lateral) melt-
water channels associated primarily with cold-based
glaciers, and (4) a variety of erosional forms hypothe-
sized to have been formed by massive subglacial sheet
floods. This review of erosional landforms and related
processes includes ideas that are universally accepted,
such as a catastrophic flood origin of the Channeled
Scabland in the USA, and a discussion of subglacial
landforms attributed to fluvial erosion, which is
actively debated and controversial.
Glacial Lake Outbursts
Overview
Glacial lake outbursts, or jökulhlaups, are very high
magnitude floods caused by the sudden drainage of
water from a glacial lake. Glacial lakes form on, in,
under, or in front of glaciers and are inherently
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion 819

Figure 1 Upstream view of jökulhlaup on Skeiará river, Iceland.

This flood occurred in 1996 and was triggered by a subglacial
volcanic eruption. Photograph by Magnus T. Gudmundsson.
unstable. Outbursts occur in many present-day gla-
ciated regions, such as Iceland, Alaska, the
Himalayas, and the Andes (Fig. 1). Flood discharges
typically exceed background rates by orders of mag-
nitude and, during the Pleistocene, carved out spec-
tacular landscapes by flows of unparalleled
magnitude. In fact, glacial lake outbursts account
for the top seven floods ever known to have occurred
in the world (O’Connor and Costa, 2004).
Floodwaters from Pleistocene glacial lake outbursts
were highly erosive and created a characteristic suite
of landforms, now widely accepted to have been
formed by catastrophic floods. The geomorphic
record of outbursts is most significant from
Pleistocene glaciations because of the high magnitude
of flows, up to 18  106 m3 s 1 (Baker et al., 1993).
The emphasis here, therefore, is on Pleistocene glacial
lake outburst erosional landforms, although valuable
insights into outburst processes have been gained by
observations of modern jökulhlaups (Cenderelli and
Wohl, 2003).
Figure 2 Waterfalls (about 60 m high) in cataract and gorge
eroded by the Spokane Floods of the Channeled Scabland.
Eroded basalt and loess landscape is in the background.
Photograph by Mark Lord.
the Columbia Plateau of northwestern United
States. Bretz, based on years of fieldwork, was com-
pelled to argue for a catastrophic flood, the Spokane
Flood, to explain the eroded basalt and loess land-
scape containing a network of proglacial channels,
bedrock cataracts, streamlined islands, dry valleys,
and boulder deposits (Fig. 2). His hypothesis was
widely rejected for some scientific reasons, including
the lack of a known water source for the flood, but
more importantly because the idea of a catastrophic
origin to a landscape was viewed as an assault on the
principle of uniformitarianism – the foundation of
modern geology. In the 1960s, Bretz’s outrageous
hypothesis became widely accepted, now well sup-
ported by, among other things, a water source
(Glacial Lake Missoula), giant current ripples, and
high-altitude imagery (Fig. 3). This fascinating story

Recognition of Pleistocene Glacial

Lake Outbursts
For more than a century, the incongruity in size
between underfit present-day streams and overfit
valleys has been apparent. Furthermore, numerous
studies suggested that the overfit valleys were paleo-
channels – not valleys, as evidenced by uniformity in
size over long distances and regular meander wave-
lengths, that conveyed much higher discharges than
present during the Pleistocene. Many of these same
channels are now widely recognized to have been
formed by glacial lake outbursts. This acceptance
was not the case when Bretz (1923) first proposed a
catastrophic flood origin for the Channeled
Scabland: an anastomosing network of channels, Figure 3 Landsat image of Channeled Scabland, WA, USA.
covering an area of appoximately 40,000 km2, in Flood flows were from the northeast toward the southwest.
820 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion
Figure 4 Proglacial lakes and spillways along the southwestern margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. From Kehew AE and Teller JT
(1994) History of late glacial runoff along the southwestern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews 13: 859–877.
in the evolution of scientific ideas is well described
(e.g., Baker et al. (1987)).
Today, dozens of investigations have shown that
glacial lake outbursts were not unique to the
Channeled Scabland; they were a common, if not
inevitable, process during Pleistocene glaciations as
the land, ice sheets, water sources, and drainage path-
ways were in a continuous state of flux. Channel
systems, mostly glacial lake spillways, have been
attributed to glacial lake outbursts throughout the
glaciated interior of North America (Fig. 4), Siberia,
Scandinavia, and elsewhere.
Glacial Lake Outburst Erosional Landforms
The Channeled Scabland is clearly the most-studied
area formed by outburst floods. Many landforms
now used as indicators of catastrophic floods were
first described in this region (Baker, 1973). Although
the landforms of the Scablands are accepted to be
formed by very high magnitude flows, several aspects
relating to the origin of the Channeled Scabland are
actively studied and questioned, such as the number
of outbursts, the magnitude of each flood event, the
erosional capability of the outbursts, the timing of
the floods, and the source of flood waters (Benn and
Evans, 1998). Spillway systems that formed by out-
bursts along the southern margins of the Laurentide
Ice Sheet, though not as dramatic as the Scabland
landscapes, share many of the erosional landforms
and have been well documented (Kehew and Lord,
1987). The most ubiquitous erosional landform cre-
ated by outburst floods is a trench-shaped channel
with steep sides, and a relatively uniform width and
depth (Fig. 5). The size of the channel varies with
flow magnitude, geologic setting, and flow history
among other things. Spillways that formed by out-
bursts in the Great Plains of North America are typi-
cally 1–3 km wide and 25–100 m deep (Kehew and
Lord, 1987). Common erosional landform types pro-
duced by outbursts are summarized in Table 1.
General models for the sequence of development of
flood-eroded landscapes have been developed based
on studies of the Channeled Scabland, outburst spill-
ways in the Great Plains, and experimental flume
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion 821

Table 1 Erosional landforms produced by glacial lake outbursts

Landforms Characteristics

Trench-shaped channels Commonly parallel to ice margins

Figure 5 Oblique aerial photograph of inner channel and
shallow, anastomosing channels on scoured uplands, Souris
Spillway, southeastern Saskatchewan. Flow was to the east (top
to bottom). Photograph by Mark Lord.
studies (Baker et al., 1987; Kehew and Lord, 1987;
and Shepard and Schumm, 1974, respectively). Initial
stages of flooding overwhelm the landscape and
cause broad scouring, shallow anastomosing chan-
nels, and, in some cases, transverse erosional ripples.
With increased duration, the flow becomes more
organized as the bed deforms, which is reflected in
longitudinal grooves and streamlined hills.
Continued flow leads to selective deepening to form
inner channels, which progressively enlarge by cap-
ture of more flow laterally and by upstream knick-
point migration. A spillway formed by a long
duration or repeated outburst floods can convey all
flow in one channel and may contain only a few very
well streamlined hills (Fig. 6).
Hydrologic Characteristics of Pleistocene
Glacial Lake Outbursts
The cataclysmic failure of ice dams impounding large
glacial lakes released huge volumes of water, more
than 2,000 km3 in the Channeled Scabland, in a mat-
ter of days to weeks (O’Connor and Baker, 1992).
Outburst flows were highly erosive and, at least in
much of the Great Plains spillway systems, became
hyperconcentrated as they ripped through generally
weak, fine-grained materials that underlie the region
(Lord and Kehew, 1987). The sedimentary record of
outburst floods is scarce in spillways, is present in
some glacial lakes that received floodwaters, but is
mostly present in the marine offshore.
The largest documented outburst flood occurred in
south-central Siberia in the Altay Mountains, which
carved out gorges and produced megaripples in huge
gravel bars analogous to those in the Channeled
Scabland (Baker et al. 1993). Peak discharge is esti-
mated to have been 18  106 m3 s 1 with flows up to
(Fig. 5) and connect or bisect glacial lake
beds
Anastomosing channel Network of channels may be from 1
pattern to 100’s of kilometers wide
Streamlined erosional Erosional residuals, given long
residuals (islands) enough flow, will assume a
(Fig. 6) lemniscate form that minimizes
fluid drag
Dry valleys (channels) Variable sizes, commonly on upland
areas above deeper inner
channels
Perched (hanging) Variable sizes
channels
Longitudinal grooves Flow parallel grooves interpreted to
(Fig. 5) be formed by secondary circulation
cells; up to 3 m high in Scablands
and up to 2 m high in Great Plains
Cataracts (Fig. 2) Dry falls in the Channeled Scabland
is 5.5 km wide and 120 m high,
probably formed by the
coalescence of potholes eroded by
vertical vortices (Baker et al.,
1987)
Potholes and obstacle Occur at scales of meters to
scour depressions hundreds of meters
Transverse erosional Scarce landform present in well-
ripples preserved parts of Great Plains
outburst flow paths (up to 1.2 m
high with about 40 m wavelengths)
Erosional scarps Commonly cut into terraces or valley
sides
Compiled from Baker VR (1973) Paleohydrology and
sedimentology of the Lake Missoula flooding in eastern
Washington. Geological Society of America Special Paper 144.
Geological Society of America; Kehew AK and Lord ML (1987)
Glacial-lake outburst along the mid-continent margins of the
Laurentide Ice Sheet. In: Mayer L and Nash D (eds.) Catastrophic
flooding. Proceedings of 18th Annual Binghamton Symposia in
Geomorphology, pp. 95–120; Baker VR, Greeley R, Komar PD,
Swanson DA, and Waitt RB Jr. (1987) Coloumbia and Snake
River Plains. In: Graf WL (ed.) Geomorphic systems of North
America, Centennial Special Volume 2, pp. 403–468. Boulder,
CO: Geological Society of America.
500 m deep and velocities up to 45 m s 1; the unit
stream power generated by this flood is estimated to
have been 106 W m 2. Paleohydrologic studies of
lower magnitude outbursts typically estimate dis-
charges to be between 104 and 106 m3s 1 (see Benn
and Evans (1998) for summary). The specific char-
acteristics of the erosional landscapes carved by these
tremendous flows varied not just with discharge, but
with flow mechanics (e.g., flow regime, cavitation,
and secondary circulation), flow boundary materials,
sediment availability, flow duration, flood hydro-
graph, and flow history (Baker, 1973; Kehew and
Lord, 1987; O’Connor and Baker, 1992; Cenderelli
822 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion
Figure 6 Oblique aerial photograph of streamlined hill in the
Souris-Hind spillway, southern Manitoba; flow was to north (upper
right to lower left). Photograph by Mark Lord.
and Wohl, 2003). For example, unit stream power has
been used successfully to relate hydraulic conditions to
different types of erosional processes and landforms.
Tunnel Channels
Overview
Tunnel channels, or tunnel valleys (also known as
tunneldale or rinnentaler), are large meltwater chan-
nels eroded into sediment or rock at the base of an ice
sheet. Channel dimensions reach >30 m deep, 4 km
wide, and more than 100 km long. Tunnel channels
have a wide variety of morphologies and associated
landforms, and occur in drainage systems covering
extensive areas.
The widespread distribution of tunnel channels in
the area of the Laurentide and Scandinavian Ice
Sheets has important implications for ice-sheet
dynamics and glacial meltwater regimes (Clayton
et al., 1999; Brennand and Shaw, 1994; Mooers,
1989; Wright, 1973). Although literature on tunnel
channels is abundant, controversy exists around the
mechanism of tunnel channel genesis and the impli-
cations of meltwater volumes associated with chan-
nel size. As yet no unified theory on their formation
can adequately explain the observed diverse
morphologies, landform associations, and substrate
lithologies (O’Cofaigh, 1996).
The terms ‘tunnel valley’ and ‘tunnel channel’ have
often been used interchangeably to denote subgla-
cially eroded drainage courses. However, these
terms may also have genetic implications (Clayton
et al., 1999; Mooers, 1989). In this discussion the
term ‘tunnel channel’ is used to describe landforms
interpreted as large subglacial channels without a
specific genetic origin.
Morphology
Despite a general orientation subparallel to longitu-
dinal flow lines of the glacier, tunnel channel drai-
nage patterns are highly variable, including
predominantly single isolated straight channels,
braided networks, dendritic networks, radial, sub-
parallel channels (Fig. 7) and anastomosing and ana-
branching systems (Fig. 8; Sjogren et al., 2002;
Clayton et al., 1999; Brennand and Shaw, 1994;
Mooers, 1989; Wright, 1973).
Channel morphologies are equally diverse and
include straight-walled channels of uniform width
(Figs. 9 and 10), crenulated channels that expand
and contract, and subtle channels only recognizable
as linear chains of lakes or depressions (Fig. 10).
Many tunnel channels display steep walls similar to
outburst spillways, but other channels display irregu-
lar widths and depths associated with pressurized
subglacial meltwater flow and variable degrees of
posterosional infill. Longitudinal profiles of flow
paths may be undulating and have convex-up or
reverse gradients that flow uphill, cross drainage
divides, and trend oblique to the regional slope
(Fig. 11) (Kozlowski et al., 2005; Clayton et al.,
1999; Wright, 1973). In other areas, tunnel channels
occur as isolated, hanging, channel sections adorning
uplands without integration to other channels or
modern drainage.
Channel dimensions range from 0.15 to 6 km in
width and 2 to 150 km in length, but the majority of
channels are 0.5–2.5 km wide and 5–40 km long.
Channel depths of 10–50 m are common, with most
ranging between 20 and 30 m, although subsurface
studies of deeply buried tunnel channels document
depths in excess of 100 m (Piotrowski (1993) and
references therein). Other subsurface investigations
have indicated that the subtle surface expression of
some channels is attributed to burial or partial burial
by thick sequences of younger sediment that obscures
the true depth of the channel bottoms (Clayton et al.,
1999), as illustrated in Figure 12. Despite a general
lack of adequate subsurface information and a scar-
city of exposures, available studies suggest that a
wide range of sedimentary sequences fills or partially
fills tunnel channels (Benn and Evans, 1998;
Brennand and Shaw, 1994; Piotrowski, 1993).
Landform Associations
Tunnel channels are often closely associated with
drumlins, eskers, moraines, glacifluvial meltwater
fans, and hummocky topography. For example,
Clayton et al. (1999) and Cutler et al. (2002) proposed
that tunnel channels develop beneath a frozen submar-
ginal zone by the sudden release of meltwater
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion 823

Sn
ak
e

M I N

River
N E S
St . C
Lake Finlayson

r oi
O T A
M Mille Lacs

x
or
ain
e

Location Map Sandstone

Kn
ife
Ke
ttl
e
Hinckley

Riv
er

Rive
r
Snake Pine City
r
ve
Ri

Ru
m

St. Croix
Ri
ve
r

Princeton Cambridge River

Sunrise
St. Cloud

M
iss
iss
ip
M

pi
iss
iss
ip
pi

Tunnel valley
Ri
ve Esker
r
Drumlin
Ri
ve
r SCAL E
terrace 0 5 10 Miles
Elk River
0 5 10 Kilometers

Figure 7 Subparallel tunnel channels and associated landforms of the Superior Lobe, Minnesota, USA. From Wright HE Jr. (1973)
Tunnel Valleys, glacial surges, and subglacial hydrology of the Superior Lobe , Minnesota. In: Black R, Goldthwait R, and Willman H
(eds.) The Wisconsinan Stage, Geological Society of America Memoir 136, pp. 251–276.

42° 15′

0 100 Km

10 km
Break in slope
Lineaments
Drumlins
Hills with >25′ relief
N
85° 15′

Upland
Lowland

42°

Figure 8 Anabranching system of tunnel channels and associated landforms of the Saginaw Lobe, south-central Michigan, USA.
Modified from Sjogren DB, Fisher TG, Taylor LD, Jol HM, and Munro-Stasiuk MJ (2002) Incipient tunnel channels. Quaternary
International 90: 41–56.
824 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion

12
00
L

1150
Location 120
0 E
25
0 100 km S 119
3
T 11
11
55 BM
50
A R 1100

35 T I 10
80
10
73 10
1050 76
E 1100
V
S
E 30 Bois

B Sto R
10 Sp lue ne Brule
River 16 rin
gs La s Br
10
nd idg
25 ing e
F
1050 36 O 110
0
R 1180
10
94
E 29

11
50
S
Jerset

L
X1
77 To
wn T NO
2 4
ha RT 12
G
ll H 13

H
0 .5 1 mi
G 31
0 .5 1 km 12

G
N 07 CO
UN
120
0
TR
Y

12
11

I
00
76
0
120 NA
12 TIO
07 NA

H
L
Cree

Figure 9 Straight-walled tunnel channel of uniform width in northwestern Wisconsin with post-formational gullies (G). Channel is
located in the Lake Minnesuing 7.5 min. quadrangle, contour interval 10 ft (approx. 3 m). Modified from Clayton L, Attig JW, and
Mickelson DM (1999) Tunnel channels formed in Wisconsin during the last glaciation. In: Mickelson DM and Attig JW (eds.) Glacial
Processes Past and Present. Geological Society of America Special Paper 337, 69–82. Geological Society of America.

Flow
Flow
Flow

500 m 500 m 500 m

(A) Contour interval - 3 m (B) Contour interval - 3 m (C) Contour interval - 5 m

Idealized cross section Idealized cross sections Idealized cross section

? esker
? ? ?

Diamicton Bedrock (sandstone) Profile in depression Boulder lags

Figure 10 Topographic examples from digital elevation models of three common channel forms and idealized channel cross sections
associated with tunnel channels; (A) Linear chains of lakes or depressions; (B) crenulated channels that expand or contract; and
(C) straight-walled channels. From Sjogren DB, Fisher TG, Taylor LD, Jol HM, and Munro-Stasiuk MJ (2002) Incipient tunnel channels.
Quaternary International 90: 41–56.
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion 825

Figure 11 Digital elevation model of south-central Michigan displaying a series of anastomosing Saginaw Lobe tunnel channels (red
lines) with segments that flowed uphill and crossed drainage divides (dashed white lines on DEM and inset profiles) to feed a subaerial
outburst flood in the Central Kalamazoo River Valley. Modified from Kozlowski AL, Kehew AE, and Bird BC (2005) Outburst flood origin of
the Central Kalamazoo River Valley, Michigan, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 24: 2354–2374.

impounded upglacier in the thawed-bed zone where
drumlins occur (Fig. 13). These channels cut through
the terminal moraine, where they end at the apex of
large, coarse-grained glacifluvial fans (Figs. 13 and
14). Where active ice margins were in close proximity
but not necessarily in synchronicity, some tunnel chan-
nels display crosscutting relationships with younger
landforms and have been interpreted as palimpsest
tunnel channels (Kehew et al., 1999). These crosscut-
ting relationships may be used to establish or constrain
relative timing of glacial events in complex glaciated
regions where the chronology of events is poorly con-
strained (Kozlowski et al., 2005; Kehew et al., 1999).
Although widely varying in morphology, drainage
pattern, and associated landforms, there is a general
consensus that tunnel channels:
 are usually straight and lack tributaries except for
postglacial gullies;
 are most distinct within several kilometers of the
ice margin;
 have undulatory longitudinal profiles with uphill
reaches; and
 often breach moraines and terminate at large,
coarse-grained glacifluvial fans.
Origin
Most of the controversy surrounding tunnel channels
centers on the models proposed to explain their
formation (O’Cofaigh, 1996) and relationships to
various landform associations (Benn and Evans,
1998). There is a fundamental difference in interpre-
tation between those who use the term ‘tunnel chan-
nel’ to represent bankfull meltwater flow during one
or more discharge events (Clayton et al., 1999) and
those who use the term ‘tunnel valley,’ which implies
826 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion

Moraine Hummocky terrain

Tunnel channel
Fan
Ice
Dru
mli
ns
Tunnel
river Paleozoic rock

Tunnel Figure 13 Idealized block model of tunnel channels and spatial

channel relationships of associated landforms observed in Wisconsin,
USA. Note uphill flow path and termination of channel at an out-
(A) wash fan through a breach in a moraine. Modified from Clayton L,
Attig JW, and Mickelson DM (1999) Tunnel channels formed in
Wisconsin during the last glaciation. In: Mickelson DM and Attig
JW (eds.) Glacial Processes Past and Present. Geological
Society of America Special Paper 337, 69–82. Geological
Society of America.
Outwash

Ice
Tunnel
channel

(B)

Partly buried tunnel channel

Outwash

Tunnel
channel

(C)
Figure 12 Schematic cross-sectional diagram of: (A) tunnel
channel formation; (B) preservation; and (C) modification during
and after burial by younger deposits. From Clayton L, Attig JW,
and Mickelson DM (1999) Tunnel channels formed in Wisconsin
during the last glaciation. In: Mickelson DM and Attig JW (eds.)
Glacial Processes Past and Present Geological Society of
America Special Paper 337, 69–82. Geological Society of
America.

Figure 14 Digital elevation model of a Saginaw Lobe tunnel

gradual erosion by flows much smaller than the
dimensions of the valley (Mooers, 1989; Boulton
and Hindmarsh, 1987).
Although multiple models of formation have been
proposed, most fall into four categories: (1) cata-
strophic meltwater floods; (2) time-transgressive ero-
sion; (3) subglacial sediment deformation and piping;
and (4) polygenetic origin (Fig. 15). Catastrophic
meltwater release (Fig. 15A) is the most commonly
suggested mechanism for tunnel channel formation
and, although differences in opinion exist over the
exact nature of the flow regime, most authors argue
channel fan in south-central Michigan, USA. Note channel
ascends in elevation to the apex of the fan, which is the highest
feature on the landscape and delineates a former ice margin.
Also, the collapsed appearance of the channel extending through
the medial and distal portions of the fan suggests the channel
extended beyond this margin and had been occupied prior to
burial.
for large-scale transient events. Several researchers
have suggested that formation of tunnel channels is
largely controlled by glacier-bed conditions and the
presence of a permafrost seal at the glacier margin
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion
Tunnel
Ice Air
channel
Water
(A)
Tunnel
Ice Air
Water valley
(B)
Ice Air
Tunnel
Water valley
(C)
Collapsed
Ice Air pipe
Water
(D)
Figure 15 Schematic diagram illustrating proposed models of
tunnel channel formation. (A) Catastrophic meltwater floods; (B)
time-transgressive erosion; (C) subglacial deformation; and (D)
hydraulic sapping or piping and collapse. From Clayton L, Attig
JW, and Mickelson DM (1999) Tunnel channels formed in
Wisconsin during the last glaciation. In: Mickelson DM and Attig
JW (eds.) Glacial Processes Past and Present. Geological Society
of America Special Paper 337, 69–82. Geological Society of
America.
(Hooke and Jennings, in press; Clayton et al., 1999;
Wright, 1973). The source of meltwater remains a
contentious issue and significant subglacial reservoirs
of meltwater are required for rapid erosion of chan-
nels in the scale of those observed.
Alternatively, Mooers (1989) suggested that the for-
mation of large erosional troughs in Minnesota
resulted from time-transgressive discharge of seasonal
supraglacial meltwater that accessed the subglacial
system via crevasses and moulins. Valley formation,
as opposed to channel formation, resulted incremen-
tally from vertical and lateral planation of subglacial
meltwater streams (Fig. 15B). This model, which
accounts for the association of eskers and meltwater
fans sometimes observed with tunnel channels, does
not require catastrophic flows, and does not require
permafrost to act as a hydraulic seal. In this model,
small subglacial flows gradually eroded the observed
valleys as the ice margin retreated.
Subglacial deformation in conjunction with piping,
or groundwater sapping, is another formational model
827
that has been suggested for the development of tunnel
valleys (Boulton and Hindmarsh, 1987). In this model,
steady-state meltwater flow over deforming subglacial
sediment is unable to infiltrate into subjacent aquifers
because of the low transmissivity of the deforming
beds. As a result of high fluid pressure, piping is
initiated in the substrate to sustain meltwater dis-
charge and maintain glacier equilibrium. Sediment
that enters the meltwater conduit by creep or piping
is entrained and transported downglacier initiating the
formation of a depression or channel (Fig. 15C). In
time, this process leads to the gradual formation of a
valley much larger than the hydraulic conduit.
The diversity in tunnel channel morphology, drai-
nage patterns, and substrate suggests a polygenetic
origin for some channels, which may involve pregla-
cial, subglacial, and subaerial erosion (Sjogren et al.,
2002; Clayton et al., 1999; Benn and Evans, 1998;
O’Cofaigh, 1996; Brennand and Shaw, 1994). Once
formed, tunnel channels may be reoccupied during
multiple glacial advances or glaciations (Benn and
Evans, 1998). Finally, one or more of the basic
mechanisms acting in tandem may explain some tun-
nel channels. Hooke and Jennings (in press), for
example, propose the combination of piping and cat-
astrophic flow for the formation of tunnel channels
in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Ice Marginal (Lateral) Meltwater Channels
Overview
Channels eroded along or adjacent to former ice
margins are referred to as lateral meltwater channels.
These channels often occur in parallel, inset
sequences, delimiting the gradual retreat of a former
glacier. Although not completely restricted to cold-
based glaciers, lateral meltwater channels are best
developed where glaciers are frozen to their beds.
Occurrence and Origin
Cold-based glaciers are most common in polar
regions such as the Canadian Artic Islands. Dyke
(1993) mapped the landforms on several islands
that supported ice caps during the last glaciation.
The ice caps are now thought to be part of the innui-
tian Ice Sheet (Dyke et al., 2002), which was conflu-
ent with the Greenland and Laurentide Ice Sheets.
The thermal regime of these glaciers at the time of
their maxium extents consisted of cold-based inter-
iors and warm-based marginal areas. During degla-
ciation, they became entirely cold-based. Because
cold-based glaciers have minimal subglacial melt-
water, melting and meltwater production is confined
to the ice surface. During the ablation season,
828 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion
Figure 16 A series of sub-parallel, nested lateral meltwater
channels, Melville Peninsula, Nunavut, Arctic Canada. Channels
developed adjacent to a cold-based ice margin. (Photograph by
Lynda Dredge; Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of
Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2006 and
Courtesy of Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of
Canada.)
meltwater from the ice and adjacent areas, if the
topography slopes toward the glacier, drains toward
the ice margin and then along the margin in the
direction of land slope. Channels are eroded by this
meltwater flow. As the ice margin retreats, new chan-
nels replace those from the last period of meltwater
flow, perhaps even forming on an annual basis
(Dyke, 1993). In this way, a series of meltwater
channels develops as the ice retreats (Figure 16).
As a result of the very minor amount of subglacial
erosion and deposition performed by cold-based gla-
ciers, lateral meltwater channels represent the most
significant landforms produced by these ice masses.
The closely spaced, parallel orientation of the chan-
nels suggests frequent abandonment in favor of new
ice marginal channels during orderly ice margin
retreat, and the channels are therefore useful in map-
ping and defining the pattern of glacial retreat.
Although most common in cold-based glaciers,
lateral meltwater channels may also form adjacent
to temperate glaciers. Dyke (1993) attributes these
occurrences to deflection of surface water to the mar-
gin by high subglacial meltwater fluid pressures or to
intermittently or permanently frozen basal conditions
during ice retreat.
Subglacial Sheetfloods – The Meltwater
Hypothesis
Overview
Erosion of glacial substrates by subglacial sheet-
floods, also known as the meltwater hypothesis, pro-
vides an alternative explanation for the formation of
many glacial landforms that are traditionally
interpreted as the result of direct action of glaciers
upon their beds. A historical summary of the melt-
water hypothesis (Shaw, 2002) reviews the major
points of the hypothesis and includes a comprehen-
sive citation of the literature.
Bedrock Erosional Forms
Glacier beds composed of hard bedrock exhibit a wide
variety of erosional marks and forms. Some, such as
striations, were clearly formed by glacial abrasion.
Other exposures, in which the bedrock surface is
shaped into an assemblage of smoothed, streamlined
forms, are more difficult to interpret. The name ‘P-
forms’ (plastically molded) has been applied to these
features, with the interpretation that they were pro-
duced primarily by the action of plastically deforming
ice. Kor et al. (1991) concluded instead that these
forms were the product of a turbulent, viscous fluid
– sediment-rich subglacial meltwater – and suggested
the generic term ‘S-forms’ (sculpted). In their study
area on the northeastern side of Georgian Bay, Lake
Huron, the forms range in size from centimeters to
tens of meters. Their classification of the forms is
shown in Figure 17. Formation by meltwater, rather
than plastically deforming ice, or till, is based on form
analogy to marks produced by experimental erosion
of cohesive or hard substrates by turbulent fluid flows.
The process envisioned for the formation of S-forms
by meltwater involves the action of vortices and other
flow structures impinging on an irregular bed (Kor
et al., 1991). One of these flow structures, the horse-
shoe vortex (Shaw, 1994), is illustrated in Figure 18,
and an exposure of sculpted bedrock on Kelley’s
Island, Lake Erie is shown in Figure 19. The
Georgian Bay flood was estimated by Kor et al.
(1991) to have been 70 km wide and 10 m deep, with
a velocity of 5–10 m s 1, producing a discharge of
(0.4–0.7)  107 m3 s 1.
Pair (1997), in a study of bedrock erosional forms
in northern New York, reached the conclusion that,
although many of the forms were indicative of melt-
water erosion, they were limited to bedrock valleys in
which channelized subglacial drainage would have
been concentrated. Pair also points out that plastic
deformation of basal ice over an irregular bedrock
surface would prevent the kind of broad decoupling
of the ice from its bed required by the meltwater
hypothesis.
Drumlins, Rogens, Hummocky Terrain,
and Megaflutes
Although the immense discharges required by the
meltwater hypothesis attract continued criticism,
there is general agreement that at least some of the
 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion 829

Transverse Forms Nondirectional Forms

rs
ssf
r
If

(H) Undulating surface

(D) Transverse Stoss-side

trough furrow
(A) Muschelbruch
Longitudinal Forms
r mf
mr
(I) Pothole
If spindle
Open

(E) Spindle flutes

(B) Sichelwanne

spindle
Closed

(C) Comma form (G) Furrow

(F) Cavetto

Figure 17 Classification of S-forms, interpreted to be eroded on rock surfaces by subglacial meltwater. From Kor PSG, Shaw J, and
Sharpe DR (1991) Erosion of bedrock by subglacial meltwater, Georgian Bay, Ontario: A regional view. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 28: 623–642.

Remnant
ridge

Vortex instability
Free flow
Obstacle
Shoulder

Free flow

Boundary
layer Rim

Horseshoe
Vortex vortex
line
Vortex amalgamation
Groove Maximum
scour
Figure 18 Erosion of bedrock by a horseshoe vortex in subglacial meltwater. From Shaw J (1994) Hairpin erosional marks, horseshoe
vortices and subglacial erosion. Sedimentary Geology 91: 269–283.

S-forms observed on bedrock surfaces were eroded
by turbulent subglacial meltwater. The meltwater
hypothesis encounters an even greater degree of con-
troversy, however, in the explanation of drumlins,
rogens, and hummocky terrain, landforms occurring
in mostly unconsolidated materials and traditionally
attributed to direct glacial action as the result of
subglacial megafloods. This extension of the hypoth-
esis was initially applied to the Livingstone Lake
drumlin field in northern Saskatchewan. Form
830 GLACIAL LANDFORMS/Glacifluvial Landforms of Erosion
Figure 19 Exposure of a sculpted bedrock surface on Kelley’s
Island, Lake Erie. Photograph by Alan Kehew.
analogy of the drumlins to the inverted sole of a
turbidite bed led to the inference that the drumlins
formed by infilling of erosional marks scoured
upward into the base of the ice sheet, perhaps during
the waning phases of the flood (Shaw and Kvill,
1984). Shaw et al. (1989) estimated the total volume
of water released as 84  103 km3.
The recognition of drumlins with truncated inter-
nal structure at land surface led to the broadening of
the meltwater hypothesis to include drumlins formed
by scour of the subglacial bed by the sheetflood,
rather than scour of the base of the ice (Shaw and
Sharpe, 1987). Form analogy is also used here as a
basis for the process, in this case to the large-scale,
streamlined erosional hills of the Channeled Scabland
and elsewhere. Interpretation of landforms other
than drumlins by similar mechanisms was soon to
follow. Rogen moraine was explained by infill of
scours in basal ice oriented transverse to the flow
direction of the sheetflow (Fisher and Shaw, 1992).
Munro and Shaw (1997) added hummocky terrain to
the hypothesis. This interpretation was based on
landscapes in Alberta where hummocks, covered
with boulder lags, have internal structures that are
truncated at the land surface. The hummocky terrain
occurs adjacent to incised ‘flood tracts’; the hum-
mocky terrain itself is attributed to less-severe ero-
sion on the flanks of the main channels or tracts.
Spirited debate continues on the meltwater hypoth-
esis (Evans et al., 2006). Form analogy as the most
fundamental evidence for landforms produced by
subglacial sheetfloods has been challenged on several
grounds. In the case of cavity infill landforms, con-
firmation of process by form analogy requires extra-
polation over orders of magnitude; in addition, Benn
and Evans (1998) have pointed out that dissimilar
processes can produce similar landforms. The forma-
tion of drumlins, rogen moraine, and megaflutes by
bed deformation by glacial ice is well established in
the literature, although details continue to be
controversial. Other problematical aspects of the
meltwater hypothesis include the lack of erosional
landforms beyond the ice margins from which mega-
floods emerged, and the lack of evidence for the huge
meltwater reservoirs necessary for the generation of
megafloods. Clarke et al. (2005) contend that both
the production of sufficient meltwater and its storage
on top of or beneath ice sheets are unlikely without
special circumstances.
See also: Fluvial Environments: Sediments. Glacial
Landforms: Introduction; Glacial Land Systems. Glacial
Landforms, Sediments: Glacifluvial Landforms of
Deposition; Glacigenic Lithofacies.
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Glacitectonic Structures and
Landforms
D J A Evans, Durham University, Durham, UK
ª 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Introduction
The deformation of bedrock and Quaternary sedi-
ment into large moraines has been widely reported
from glaciated terrains and is often responsible for
some of the most conclusive evidence for former
glacier extent in the Quaternary geological record
(see Aber et al., 1989; van der Wateren 1995; Benn
and Evans, 1998 for reviews). Four types of glacitec-
tonic sediment–landform association are recognized:
(1) hill-hole pairs; (2) composite ridges and thrust-
block moraines; (3) cupola hills; and (4) megablocks
and rafts. Benn and Evans (1998) proposed that
glacitectonic moraine ridges are those in which gla-
ciotectonized pre-tectonic and syn-tectonic sediments
constitute >25% of the unit area of the moraine.
Other types of moraine, such as push moraines,
may contain small amounts of glacitectonized sedi-
ment (see Moraine forms and Genesis). Glacitectonic
landforms may be composed of pre-Quaternary bed-
rock, pre-existing Quaternary sediments, or contem-
poraneous sediment and where they have been
overridden by glacier ice after construction they
may be covered by a carapace of glacitectonite or
till (see Tills). More prolonged and active glacier
overriding will result in the streamlining and molding
of glacitectonic features to produce subglacial bed-
forms.
Glacitectonic Processes
Proglacial glacitectonics involves the large-scale dis-
placement of proglacial materials due to stresses
imposed by glacier ice, and involves ductile or brittle
deformation or a combination of the two. Ductile
deformation involves the production of large, open
folds in the sediments or rocks in front of an advan-
cing glacier, which may develop into overfolds or