Morphometric analysis of ice-walled lake plains in Northern Illinois: Implications of lake elongation by wind-induced dual-cycle currents

Ice-walled lake plains (IWLPs) are rounded, flat-topped mounds that formed in stagnant ice environments along the margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. We conducted detailed morphometric and statistical analyses of the shape, size, and orientation of more than 400 IWLPs identified from aerial photos aided with LiDAR data in DeKalb County, Illinois, USA. Lake elongation theories include extraterrestrial impact (e.g. the Carolina Bays), ice flow dynamics and crevasses, and wind induced currents that preferentially erode the shorelines perpendicular to the dominant wind direction. The results indicate that elliptical IWLPs with a perimeter greater than 3050 m have preferred orientations roughly normal to the paleo-wind direction as indicated by contemporaneous parabolic dunes located 50 km to the west. The orientations of the IWLPs with a perimeter less than 1220 m are scattered and show no apparent trend. The IWLP orientation is not related to ice flow dynamics or glacial crevasses because no statistically significant relationship exists with regard to the ice flow as proxied by the moraine direction. The orientation of large IWLPs in DeKalb County are consistent with wind-induced lake elongation observed in modern permafrost thaw lakes, suggesting that the prevailing wind also played an important role in controlling the orientation of IWLPs during the last glacial period and led to the preferred orientation we see today.