Sedimentary Geology, 88 (1994) 161-173 161

Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam

Intertidal boulder pavements in the northeastern Gulf of Alaska

and their geological significance

C.H. Eyles
Department of Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada

Received September 14, 1992; revised version accepted April 2, 1993

ABSTRACT

Striated boulder pavements, consisting of planar concentrations of clasts having striated upper surfaces, are a common
feature of glacigenic deposits but their origin is not well understood. Laterally extensive pavements are currently forming in
the intertidal zone west of Icy Bay in the Gulf of Alaska. Pavements comprise "armoured" layers of interlocking boulders, one
clast thick, that have been eroded from underlying outcrops of Late Cenozoic glaciomarine diamictites; they originate
essentially as lag surfaces along a high energy, storm-dominated, mesotidal shoreline.
Boulder pavements are either flat or show a "nucleated" plan form where successively smaller boulders have been
accreted around a large core boulder. Nucleation imparts a hummocky surface topography to the pavements and
suggests that some form of size sorting of clasts has occurred. Packing is promoted by repeated tamping of the clast lag
by floating masses of glacier ice which become grounded across the intertidal zone at low tide. Repeated abrasion of
the pavement surface by debris contained within ice blocks produces smooth, flattened clast upper surfaces and short,
randomly oriented striations.
Data from Icy Bay can be used to constrain the origin of laterally extensive boulder pavements exposed in Late
Cenozoic glaciomarine sediments on Middleton Island, The significance of such pavements in the geologic record is
that they form along erosional unconformities and may identify sequence boundaries.

I. Introduction n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t ways, t h r o u g h a b r a s i o n b y
o v e r r i d i n g glacia l ice, ice b e r g s , i c e - s h e l v e s o r
S t r i a t e d b o u l d e r p a v e m e n t s , c o n s i s t i n g o f lat - s e a s o n a l ice.
e r a l l y e x t e n s i v e p l a n a r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f clasts Thi s p a p e r is c o n c e r n e d wit h b o u l d e r p a v e -
wit h s t r i a t e d u p p e r surfaces , a r e d e s c r i b e d f r o m a m e n t s t h a t d e v e l o p specificall y o n glaciall y influ -
wide range of glaci e n c e d c o n t i n e n t a l shelve s a n d w h i c h o c c u r w i t h i n
genic depositional sequences g l a c i o m a r i n e successions . M o d e m i n t e r t i d a l stri -
( D r e i m a n i s , 1976; K r u g e r , 1979; O j a k a n g a s a a t e db o u l d e r pavements are de
n d M a t s c h , 1981; G r a v e n o r a n d R o c h a - C a m p o scribed fo r the

s , 1983; G r a v e n o r a n d M o n t e i r o , 1983; V i s s e r a first t i m e f r o m two sites n e a r Ic y B a y in t h e n o r t h e

n d H a l l , 1985; Eyles , 1988). H o w e v e r , p a v e m e n t s a s t e r n G u l f o f A l a s k a (Fig . 1) w h e r e t h e o r i g i
var y in t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e i r p r e c i s e o r nanddepositionalsettingofthesepave-
i g i n is m e n t s is wel l c o n s t r a i n e d . Boulder
pavements
p o o r l y u n d e r s t o o d a n d o f t e n difficul t to d e t e r - m i
r e p o r t e d h e r e a r e l a g c o n c e n t r a t e s f o r m e d as c l
n e a n d , in t h e c a s e o f p a v e m e n t s d e p o s i t e d b e l o
ast-richsubstratesedimentsareerodedandwi
w ice sheets , is c o n t r o v e r s i a l (e.g. C l a r k , 1991; M i c k
n n o w e d by m a r i n e p r o c e s s e s . L a g b o u l d e r s a r e
e l s o n et al., 1992). C l a s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s c a n d e v e l
s u b j e c t to s t r o n g t i d a l a n d s t o r m c u r r e n t s a n d
o p in g l a c i g e n i c s e d i m e n t s in m a n y ways, e i t h e r b
r e p e a t e d a b r a s i o n by d e b r i s - r i c h g l a c i e r ice b e r g s g r o
y s e l e c t i v e d e p o s i t i o n d u r i n g t r a n s p o r t by w a t e
u n d i n g at low tide . S i m i l a r p a v e m e n t s c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d
r o r ice, o r b y e r o s i o n o f s u r r o u n d i n g m a t e r i - als r
in t h e a n c i e n t r e c o r d w i t h i n t h e L a t e C e n o z o i c Y a k a t a
e s u l t i n g in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a lag . F u r t h e r - m o
g a F o r m a t i o n o f A l a s k a (Eyles,
r e , suc h clas t h o r i z o n s m a y b e s t r i a t e d in a

0037-0738/94/$07.00 © 1994 - Elsevier Science B.V. All rights

reserved SSD1 0037 - 0738(93)E0062 - K
162 C.H. EYLES

1988). Th e importance of these pavement s is that they
record episodes of relative sea-level lowering and, w h
e r e correctly identified in ancient
glaciomarine strata, indicate sequence boundaries
representing sea-level low stands.
2. Geological setting
Th e Gul f of Alaska lies across the complex
collision zone between the Pacific and North
America n plates. Compressive forces generate d
between the subducting Pacific plate and the
North America n plate have resulted in the ex-
t r e m e uplift of the Chugach and St. Elias Moun -
tains in the northeastern Gulf of Alaska (Fig. 1).
Strong uplift is reflected in the deposition of over
5 km of glacially influenced marine strata (Yakataga
Formation) during the past 6 M a in the offshore Gul f
of Alaska basin (Eyles et al.,
1991). Th e study area, comprising the coastline
between Yakatag a R e e f and Icy Bay (Fig. 1), is in
one of the most seismically active areas in North
Americ a and experiences frequent high-magni-
tude e a r t h q u a k e s (Plafker, 1986). T
h e r e is
widespread geologic evidence for strong vertical
ground motions accompanying such earthquakes

L ~,~o ~

Fig. 1. Location maps. (A) Northeastern Gulf of Alaska region with outcrop of the Yakataga Formation shown (heavy
stipple). (B) Detail of the coastal area between Yakataga Reef and Icy Bay. Well developed boulder pavements occur
in the intertidal zone at Umbrella Reef and along the western shore of Icy Bay (locations marked with asterisks).
Successive positions of the retreating margin of Guyot Glacier in Icy Bay over the past 100 years are shown.
I N T E R T I D A L B O U L D E R P A V E M E N T S IN T H E N O R T H E A S T E R N G U L F O F A L A S K A 163

in the Gulf (Plafker, 1990); uplift rates of 40 m in ments is well constrained and they provide very
5000 years are documented for Middleton Island important data regarding the depositional setting of
which lies 80 km offshore in the Gulf (Fig. 1; Plafker the Middleton Island examples.
and Rubin, 1978) and similar rates have been
suggested for the Yakataga coastline (Bruns and
Schwab, 1983).
The coastal plain between Yakataga Reef and Icy
Bay forms a series of raised marine terraces up to 150
m above sea level, which are the result of recent
episodic uplift caused by high-magni-tude
earthquakes (Plafker, 1986) and post-glacial glacio-
isostatic recovery. Raised marine terraces on the
coastal plain indicate repeated uplift of between 7.5
and 17 m, reflecting an earthquake frequency of
about 1400 years (Plafker, 1986). The Yakataga
district last experienced a major earthquake in 1899
and is currently in an aseismic condition (Nishenko
and Jacob, 1990). This part of the Alaskan coastline
was unaffected by the 1964 Good Friday earthquake
(Jacob, 1987). De-velopment of the modern intertidal
pavements is constrained by this uplift history to
within the past 100 years.

As a result of repeated uplift events the coastal

mountains surrounding the northeastern Gulf of
Alaska expose Late Miocene to Pliocene rocks of the
Yakataga Formation (Eyles et al., 1991). These strata
consist dominantly of glaciomarine diamictites,
marine sandstones and mudstones and record the
initiation and development of Late Cenozoic
i?
glaciation in the Gulf of Alaska (Lagoe, 1983; Eyles
et al., 1991; Lagoe et al., 1993). Coastal outcrops of
the Yakataga Forma-tion diamictites provide a source
iilii ~--
of boulders for well-developed boulder pavements at
Umbrella Reef and Icy Bay (Fig. 1); these diamictites
are not well lithified and are easily weathered. Eyles
(1988) described boulder pavements from Pleis-
tocene Yakataga strata exposed on Middleton Island
(Fig. 1) and proposed a model for their development
involving the formation of lag de-posits during low
sea-level stands and their subse-quent abrasion by
tidewater glaciers. This model was tentative and was Fig. 2. Boulder pavements exposed along the western shore of Icy
unconstrained by modern analogs. The modern Bay. (A) Lateral view of elongate "hummock" on pave-ment.
intertidal pavements de-scribed in this paper show Note flatter pavement form in background and ice bergs (bergy
similar and dissimilar characteristics to those exposed bits) resting on pavement surface. (B) Oblique view of pavement
"hummock" showing well flattened clast upper surfaces. Sand
on Middleton Island. However, the origin of the
covers the pavement in between hum-mocks. (C) Lengthwise
modern pave- view of "hummock" showing more rounded "stoss" end pointing
seaward (top of picture).
164 c.H. EYL,t'~S

3. Description of pavements lithified diamictite b e d r o c k an d f o r m a smooth , a r

Modern striated b o u l d e r p a v e m e
nts wer e ob -
served at two sites along th e G u l f of Alask a coastline n
e a r Icy Bay an d at U m b r e l l a R e e f (Fig. 1). O n the
wester n shore o f Icy Bay close to Carso n C r e e k (Figs.
1, 2) some 600 m 2 o f the intertidal z o n e consists o f a
one - clast - thick ve-nee r o f closely p a c k e d clasts
lying o n a diamictite b e d r o c k platform; the largest
boulder s in the p a v e m e n t f o r m elongat e " h u m m
o c k s " o r i e n t e d p e r p e n d i c u l a r to th e
shoreline (Fig. 3). A t Um-brella Reef (Figs. 1, 3)
extensive (0.05 k m 2) boul - de r p a v e m e n t s show a
variety o f form s including u n o r i e n t e d h u m m o c k
s an d flat surfaces (Fig. 4).
A t b o t h localities p a v e m e n t s occu r b e t w e e n
b e d r o c k o u t c r o p s in the intertidal zone, an d in
som e cases extend alongshor e for several hun - dre d m e
t r e s an d up to 100 m in a shor e norma l direction (e.g.
Fig. 3). T h e y rest directly on poorly
m o u r e d surface which is eithe r flat, or shows slight
undulation s an d hummocks . P a v e m e n t s re-semble a
cobble d r o a d w a y an d a vehicle ca n be driven over
their surface with ease. Intertida l b e d r o c k platform s
are flat to gently undulatin g an d slope seawar d at b e t w
e e n 1° a n d 2 ° (Fig. 5). P a v e m e n t s are c o m m o n
l y " p r o t e c t e d " f r o m the o p e n sea by a rim o f
exposed b e d r o c k lying close to low wate r m a r k a n d
are c o v e r e d in a landwar d direction by mobile b e a c
h sands (Figs. 3, 5); they are best exposed in the central p
o r t i o n o f the intertidal zone . A b o u l d e r beac h
occurs at high tide level at U m b r e l l a R e e f (Fig. 5).
3.1. Clast shape and organisation
Clasts formin g the p a v e m e n t s vary in size f r o m
0.1 m to 2 m d i a m e t e r and generally have flat-tene d u
p p e r surfaces (Fig. 6); A-axis orientatio n

Fig. 3. Aerial view of pavements at Umbrella Reef; sea lies toward lower left, land toward upper right. Width of pavement
(in a land to sea direction) is approximately 100 m; pavements are covered by sand in landward direction. Horizontally
bedded fine-grained Yakataga Formation rocks outcrop in the central part of the photograph and at lower left. Note
"nucleated" forms on pavements.
I N T E R T I D A L B O U L D E R P A V E M E N T S IN T H E N O R T H E A S T E R N G U L F OF ALASKA
Fig. 4. Boulder pavements at Umbrella Reef. (A) Areas of
well developed fiat pavement lying between boulder hum-
mocks. (B) Irregular hummock forms and areas of fiat pave-ment
(covered by tidal pools and thin sand veneer).
is random. Clast lithologies are highly variable; most
are sedimentary rocks of the Yakataga For-mation
(diamictites, sandstones, conglomerates and shales)
but occasional volcanic and granitic rock types also
occur. Fine striations are visible on many fine-
grained rocks especially on the sea-ward-pointing
ends of clasts (Fig. 6); striae tend
Outcropof
Hoiocene
glaciomarine
sediment
HWM
A - ~ ~ -
":~'~'~:'~:'~?-~.i.:.~..:~.:.:. .
0 20 m
I I
Fig. 5. Schematic cross-section of the intertidal zone at Umbrella Reef.
165
to be short (less than 5 cm long) and form a criss-
crossing pattern.
Clast organisation within the pavements varies
between being extremely well developed to poorly
developed. Well developed pavements consist of
tightly packed clasts tessellated with smaller peb-bles
so that no intraclast movement is possible (Fig. 6).
Clasts within these pavements have rounded edges
and flattened upper surfaces. Oc-casionally loose
clasts may be observed on the top of the pavements.
Poorly developed pavements are less well organised
with many clasts poorly packed and loose and have
irregular upper sur-faces (Fig. 7). Individual
pavements may pass from being well developed to
poorly developed over a distance of a few metres.
3.2. Pavement relief
Boulder pavements form either flat surfaces
extending for several tens of metres (Figs. 4A, 6A),
or "hummocky" surfaces with a relief of up to 1 m
(Figs. 2, 4B). Flat pavements occur most extensively
at Umbrella Reef where they separate irregularly
spaced boulder hummocks (Fig. 4). Individual
hummocks consist of several large boulders (up to 2
m diameter) in the centre, surrounded by smaller
clasts (Fig. 8). A well developed lateral size grading
is shown away from the centre of each hummock
towards the margin (Fig. 8), resulting in side slopes
of between 25 and 30°; the underlying bedrock
surface may be either flat or gently undulating (Fig.
5). Most hummocks contain extremely well packed
clasts and their upper surfaces are highly smoothed
Umbrella Reef
.~
Boulde r P a v e m e n t s •
LWM
~-Z°~ YakatagaFon~ation
166
(Fig. 8). Hummocky forms at Umbrella R e e f are
irregularly shaped whereas those comprising pavements
at lcy Bay are elongate mounds ap-
Fig. 6. Detail of clasts within pavements. (A) Area of flat
pavement at Umbrella Reef showing tightly packed clasts with
flattened upper surfaces. (B) Closely packed clasts "tessel-lated"
with smaller clasts and coarse sand. Clast surfaces are faceted; no
preferred A-axis alignment can be seen. (C) Striations on the
upper surface of a fine sandstone clast within the pavement at
Icy Bay. Note variable direction and crossing of striae; striae are
rarely more than a few centime-tres long.
C.H, EYLES
Fig. 7. Poorly developed pavement; boulder lag lying on
poorly lithified Yakataga Formation sediments at Umbrella
Reef. Some boulders have been packed together and their
surfaces flattened but overall this lag is irregular and poorly
arganised. Largest boulder in foreground is approximately 80 cm
diameter
proximately 5 m wide and 10 to 15 m long, oriented
perpendicular to the shore. Oriented mounds resemble
small drumlins with their blunt "stoss-sides" facing
seaward (Fig. 2). Th e largest boulders in the pavement
tend to be concen-trated in the central and seaward
portions of the mounds (Fig. 2).
Depressions in the boulder pavements at Um-brella
R e e f and Icy Bay are covered either by small tidal
pools in which red calcareous algae or seaweed grow,
or by a thin cover of sand (Figs. 2B, 4). Algae and
seaweed may attach to the lateral margins of clasts
forming the pavement, although clast upper surfaces are
always kept clear. A variety of marine organisms,
including mussels, barnacles and gastropods were also
ob-served in the tidal pools and on clast margins.
4. Pavement formation
The intertidal boulder pavements described above
closely resemble those reported from sub-Arctic and
sub-Antarctic coastal settings, in which pavement
formation occurs as marine lag surfaces are abraded by
the grounding of ice bergs or seasonal pack ice (e.g.
Araya and Herve, 1972; Hansom, 1983, 1986). The
restriction of boulder pavements to areas where clast-
rich Yakataga Formation sediments crop out, suggests
that a
INTERTIDAL B O U L D E R PAVEMENTS IN THE NORTHEASTERN G U L F OF ALASKA
'Nucleated'Boulder Pavements
0 lm
I _ _ l
A A'
i
Fig. 8. "Nucleated" boulder pavements. Upper: sketch show-ing
plan view and cross-section of a nucleated boulder bum-mock on
the pavement at Umbrella Reef. Note progressive size grading of
clasts away from centre of hummock. Lower: photograph of
nucleated hummock at Umbrella Reef and
surrounding fiat pavement.
supply of boulder-sized material in the intertidal zone is
critical to their formation. Pavements have not
developed on fine-grained Yakataga Formation
sediments exposed in the intertidal zone (Fig. 3). This
condition of a local boulder source has also been
identified as necessary for the formation of pavements
in James Bay (Martini, 1981), the sub-Antarctic
(Hansom, 1983) and Iceland (Hansom, 1986). Hansom
(1983, 1986) argues that a substrate slope of less than 3°
is also
167
critical to pavement development; the pavements in the
Gulf of Alaska all occur on slopes of less than 2 °. The
nature of marine erosion processes in the study area,
their influence on the develop-ment and organisation of
boulder lags and the role of grounding ice in the
formation of pave-ments will be examined below.
4.1. Marine erosion processes
Erosion of Yakataga Formation diamictites to
produce a boulder lag is readily accomplished in the
intertidal zone by wave and tidal processes. Tidal range
in this part of the Gulf of Alaska is approximately 3 m
and the coast is considered to be mesotidal; tidal
currents cause localised ero-sion in the intertidal zone
and probably enhance the erosional effects of storm
waves.
Storm waves are particularly powerful along the
Gulf of Alaska coastline and have resulted in high rates
of coastal erosion and retreat. The Gulf of Alaska has
one of the highest winter storm frequencies in the
Northern Hemisphere and experiences storms with
energy levels compa-rable to Caribbean hurricanes
(Nummedal and Stephen, 1978). The theoretical 100
year storm wave for the Gulf of Alaska has a height of
over 30 m (Anderson and Molnia, 1989). The mean
annual wave power in the study area is about 2 4 × 103
W S -1, identifying it as one of the highest wave energy
environments in the world (Nummedal and Stephen,
1978). Along the coast-line between Icy Bay and
Yakataga Reef prevail-ing winds are from the east and
southeast. Wave power calculations show a dominantly
westward wave power vector with corresponding
westward net sediment transport directions.
The erosional effects of such powerful storm waves
are apparent around the entrance to Icy Bay. Between
1922 and 1988 the eastern side of the mouth of Icy Bay
receded more than 2 km (an average of 30 m yr-~); the
western margin re-treated by almost 5 km between 1922
and 1976 (an average of 92.5 m yr-1; Anderson and
Mol-nia, 1989). High erosion rates are the result of a
combination of high wave energies and poorly
consolidated sediments. Computations of long-shore
sediment transport for the region indicate
168
an annual average gross sediment transport of about 2 x
106 m 3 ( N u m m e d a l and Stephen, 1978).
Winnowing and transport of fine-grain sizes from
the heterogeneou s Yakatag a Formation di-amictites
exposed at Icy Bay and Umbrella R e e f leaves a lag of
clasts resting on a low gradient, wave-cut bedroc k
platform . Simple marine lags of this type are
widespread in the intertidal zone surrounding
Middleton Island (Fig. 9), which is also underlain by
poorly lithified Yakatag a For-mation sediments (Eyles
and Lagoe, 1990). Bedrock exposed around Middleton
Island is fre-quently eroded into shore - normal,
elongate hum-mocks similar to the boulder pavemen t
hum-mocks observed at Icy Bay (Figs. 2, 9). These
erosional forms may be a product of strong wave and
tidal currents in the intertidal zone.
4.2. Organisation of the boulder lags
Simple marine boulder lags developed through
erosion of heterogeneou s sediment in the inter-
Fig, 9. Boulder lag lying on Yakataga Formation sediments in the intertidal zone of Middleton Island (see Fig. 1 for location). Clast
lags are not organised into pavement forms on Middleton Island as the island is not affected by seasonal ice or floating glacier ice.
(!.H. EYLES
tidal zone must undergo subsequent size sorting,
packing and abrasion to produce the organised
pavements occurring at Icy Bay and Umbrella Reef.
Size sorting of boulders into the hummock y forms
observed on the pavement s may, in part, be the result
of "nucleation " of progressively smaller clasts around a
single large boulder eroded out of the substrate. Large
clasts act as obstacles to strong currents and are known
to shield smaller particles and prevent motion even at
velocities higher than that required for their m o v e m e
n t (Schumm and Stevens, 1973). This process could
eventually lead to progressively smaller clasts be-ing
stabilised on the lag surface away from a central large "
c o r e " boulder.
The hummocky relief observed on intertidal
pavements developed in the sub - Antarctic and sub-
Arctic has been attributed to the "wallowing" action of
grounded ice blocks (Araya and Herve, 1972; Dionne,
1978; Martini, 1981; H a n s o m and Kirk, 1989). Th e
in-situ rotation of grounded ice blocks by tide or wave
processes is thought to
INTERTIDAL BOULDER PAVEMENTS IN THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF ALASKA 169

displace larger clasts outwards, producing a raised
"rim" or hummocky margin. This may be a con-
tributory process to the formation and size sort-ing of
boulder hummocks on the Alaskan inter-tidal
pavements (see below).
Enhanced packing of clasts on a boulder lag
surface may also result from wave action. Tightly
packed, "fitting" boulders are described from beaches
in New Zealand where long-continued small
movements of the clasts are induced by wave action
(Hills, 1970). Schumm and Stevens (1973) report
flume experiments simulating flow in a stream with
coarse bed material and con-clude that a tightly
packed armoured bed may develop as a result of fine
sediment migrating down between the coarsest
particles. Packing is further enhanced by the in-situ
vibration of clasts caused by combined lift and drag
forces exerted on the clasts during high velocity
flows. Such vibration also causes significant abrasion
and rounding of clasts in place (Schumm and
Stevens, 1973).
The climatic regime of the coastal plain, however, is
remarkably temperate with average annual
temperatures of about 6°C. In winter, sea ice only
forms at the heads of fiords and does not develop
along the open coastline (Powell and Molnia, 1989);
the coast is never closed to winter naviga-tion
because of ice. During the first decade of this
century, however, glaciers were much more extensive
along the southern flanks of the coastal mountains.
Guyot Glacier completely filled Icy Bay at this time
and has since retreated over 40 km up-fiord (Fig. 1).
The four separate glaciers presently at the head of Icy
Bay calve large vol-umes of ice into the bay, but ice
bergs are rarely seen on the open coast. Extremely
rapid calving of ice fronts in Icy Bay has occasionally
given rise to dense masses of drifting glacial ice
bergs on the open coast; large masses of glacial ice
from

Wave action could have similar effects on coarse-

grained lag surfaces in the intertidal zone of the Gulf
of Alaska, producing tightly packed pavement forms.
However, modern intertidal boulder lags on
Middleton Island show no great degree of packing or
organisation into pavements (Fig. 9), yet are
subjected to considerable wave energies. This
suggests that wave action alone cannot account for
the sorting and packing char-acteristics of the boulder
pavements at Icy Bay and Umbrella Reef. The only
significant differ-ence between the mainland coast
and Middleton Island is that the intertidal zone
surrounding the island has not been affected by
seasonal or float-ing ice since it emerged from the sea
about 5000 years ago (Plafker, 1990); it is probable
that the grounding of floating ice masses is critical to
the formation of intertidal boulder pavements in this
region.

4. 3. The role of grounding ice

The coastal mountains flanking the northeast-ern
Gulf of Alaska are extensively glaciated as a result of
their elevation, high precipitation values and tectonic
setting (Anderson and Molnia, 1989).
Fig. 10. Ice bergs (bergy bits) on th e western shore o f Icy Bay.
(A) Strande d ice bergs lying o n th e b e a c h adjacent to th e boulde
r p a v e m e n t at Icy Bay. T h e s e bergs were washe d on-shore
during a s u m m e r storm . (B) Debris - rich ice berg resting
on p a v e m e n t at Icy Bay.
 170
Icy Bay were washed ashore at Yakataga R e e f
following the 1964 Goo d Friday earthquake .
Floating glacier ice is normally contained within Icy
Bay as a result of local longshore currents which
produce eastward net transport along the bayshore past
Claybluff Point (Fig. 1; Nummedal and Stephen, 1978).
Th e shore to the north of Claybluff Point is invariably
covered with stranded ice bergs, most of which contain
abun-dant debris (Fig. 10B). Tabular bergs up to 6 m
diameter (bergy b i t s - - h e r e i n refered to as ice
bergs) were observed on the boulder pavements exposed
along the western shores of Icy Bay following a
summer storm (Fig. 10A). Although ice bergs are rarely
transported alongshore as far as Umbrella R e e f under
present conditions, this would be more common in the
recent past when Guyot Glacier filled Icy Bay.
The repeated grounding and tide- and wave-
STRIATED BOULDER PAVEMENT FORMATION IN MARINE SETTINGS
A. Modem intertidal pavements:
Umbrella Reef and Icy Bay
(i) Development of armoured boulder lag surface
• ~ ~ waveand tidal
~ Yakataga Formation
(ii) Packing and abrasion by grounding ice bergs
Tid
ran!
p=V=mUllL=U~,a~¢
(iii) Final pavement form
~ c r o s s i n g striae
i
Fig. 11. Contrasting models of striated boulder pavement formation in marine settings.
C.H EYLES
induced movement of ice bergs on a boulder lag surface
is probably responsible for the develop-ment of tightly
packed boulder pavements with flattened and striated
upper surfaces (e.g. Figs. 6, 11). Grounding ice bergs
push clasts together and pound them into the poorly
lithified bedrock sub-strate; abrasion occurs as debris-
rich ice blocks and loose clasts are dragged across the
boulder surfaces (Fig. 11A). Th e short, criss-crossing
striae observed on clast upper surfaces at Icy Bay and
Umbrella R e e f (Fig. 6C) are typical of those resulting
from abrasion by grounding ice bergs or ice floes as
they are moved across the substrate by wave and tidal
action (Dionne, 1973, 1985; Hansom, 1983, 1986). The
seaward ends of boul-ders are particularly prone to
abrasion by shore-ward-moving ice blocks. Boulder
upper surfaces are also kept free of algae and weed as a
result of frequent abrasion by grounding ice bergs or
loose
B. Ancient subtidal(?) pavements:
Middleton Island
(i) Development of armoured boulder lag surface
waveand tidal
erosion
(subtidal)
~ Yakataga Formation
(ii) Packing and abrasion by grounding ice sheet
(iii) Final pavement form
I N T E R T I D A L B O U L D E R P A V E M E N T S IN T H E N O R T H E A S T E R N G U L F O F ALASKA
boulders (Fig. llA) . Size sorting of "nucleated" forms
may also result from the outward pushing of large
clasts as stranded bergs rotate and wal-low on the
boulder lag surface (Araya and Herve, 1972; Dionne,
1978; Martini, 1981; Hansom and Kirk, 1989).
Similar boulder pavements to those described here
are described from low energy subarctic intertidal,
lacustrine and fluvial envi-ronments. These subarctic
pavements form as clasts are tightly packed by the
rocking of ice cakes on a clast-rich substrate and are
subse-quently abraded by drift ice (Dionne, 1976,
1978, 1979; Martini, 1981; Gilbert et al., 1984).
In summary, the striated boulder pavements at Icy
Bay and Umbrella Reef probably formed as a result
of the combined effects of marine erosion and the
grounding of floating ice bergs. Wave processes are
particularly important in eroding underlying clast-
rich bedrock to release boulders directly to the shore
zone and may contribute towards the size sorting of
clasts into "nucleated" forms (Fig. llA) . Grounding
glacial ice bergs are responsible for the packing and
stabilisation of boulders and for flattening, polishing
and striat-ing clast upper surfaces.
5. Discussion
The intertidal boulder pavements described in this
paper are well constrained in terms of their
depositional setting and the processes that led to their
formation. Striated boulder pavements pre-served in
the rock record, however, are often difficult to
interpret and can lead to controversial
palaeoenvironmental reconstructions (e.g. Clark,
1991; Mickelson et al., 1992).
Eyles (1988) described a series of ancient stri-ated
boulder pavements contained within the thick
glaciomarine diamictite stratigraphy of the Early
Pleistocene Yakataga Formation (ap-proximately 2
Ma) exposed on Middleton Island, Alaska. These
pavements form extensive bedding plane surfaces
within fossiliferous glaciomarine diamictites and
show abruptly truncated and stri-ated clast upper
surfaces with parallel striae; each pavement in the
succession showed a consis-tent north-south striation
direction (Fig. llB). Pavements are associated with
shallow water
171
foraminiferal biofacies indicating formation in water
depths of less than 50 m (Eyles and Lagoe, 1990).
The boulder pavements are interpreted as marine lag
surfaces which formed by wave and tidal erosion in
relatively shallow water depths; similar lags are
found on shallow water shoals and banks on the
modern Gulf of Alaska conti-nental shelf (e.g. Tarr
Bank, Fig. 1; Molnia and Carlson, 1980). These
marine lags were subse-quently abraded and striated
by a grounding ice sheet that expanded offshore at
times of lowered sea level (Fig. llB; Eyles, 1988).
The planar form of the Middleton Island pave-
ments exposed in stratigraphic section, and the
parallel and consistent striation direction pre-served
on clast surfaces suggest abrasion by an extensive
and unidirectional ice mass rather than randomly
moving ice bergs or ice floes (Fig. llB). The excellent
state of preservation of striae on the clast surfaces
also suggests rapid burial of the pavements following
formation. These character-istics may differentiate
pavements formed in glacially influenced subtidal
environments in off-shore areas of sedimentary
basins from those formed in intertidal settings along
basin margins.
Marine boulder pavements displaying short,
crossing striae may also be used as evidence for the
former presence of grounding ice bergs. Al-though
the effects of floating ice are well known on modern
cold-climate shallow marine shelves (e.g. Barnes,
1987; Lewis and Woodworth-Lynas, 1990),
identification of ice berg scours in sedi-mentary
successions is problematical and few are reported in
the literature (e.g. Eyles and Clark, 1988;
Woodworth-Lynas and Guigne, 1990). In contrast,
striated boulder pavements are well rep-resented in
glaciomarine strata and may provide the only means
of identifying ice berg and ice floe activity in the
rock record. Furthermore, the stri-ated boulder
pavements described in this paper are significant
features of temperate glaciated coastlines; as such,
they may be considered as elements of the proglacial
depositional system rather than as uniquely
periglacial (cold climate) features.
Striated boulder pavements have been de-scribed
from many ancient glacigenic successions and are
often used as evidence for terrestrial
172
subglacial deposition (Dreimanis, 1976; Gravenor
and Rochas-Campos, 1983; Fairchild and Ham-
brey, 1984; Visser and Hall, 1985). However, it is
now increasingly recognised that striated boulder
pavements are commonly preserved in glacioma-
rine successions and record significant erosional
episodes resulting from lowered sea levels
(Theron and Blignault, 1975; Ojakangas and
Matsch, 1981; Eyles, 1988; Matsch and Ojakan-
gas, 1991). Such boulder pavements can be con-
sidered as significant erosional unconformities
and therefore identify "bounding surfaces" for
the subdivision of glacigenic successions into al-
lostratigraphic units (NACSN, 1983). This form of
stratigraphic subdivision, based on identifica-tion
of features recording significant sea-level
variation, is critical both for the reconstruction of
glacial palaeoenvironmental change and for the
discrimination of isostatic and eustatic sea-level
fluctuations. Thorough description and interpre-
tation of boulder pavements from many different
environmental settings is necessary for accurate
assessment of the erosional significance of such
features.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by an NSERC Uni-
versity Research Fellowship and Operating
Grant. I would like to thank Don and Lahoma
Leis-chmann for their hospitality at Cape
Yakataga and Will Jones for his skillful operation
of our helicopter. Nick Eyles gave valuable field
assis-tance and greatly improved the manuscript.
The helpful reviews of Jim Hansom and an
anony-mous reviewer are also gratefully
acknowledged. Mike Doughty kindly drafted the
figures. This paper is a contribution to IGCP 260,
Earth's Glacial Record.
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