A wall of ice dominated the landscape of Long Island thousands of years ago. During the Pleistocene Epoch, a large mass called the Laurentide ice sheet stretched across most of modern-day Canada and the northern United States. The melting of that glacier marked the birth of the island, with the geography from Brooklyn to Montauk taking shape under intense natural pressure.

Miranda Maliszka and Anthony Johnson, students at Hofstra University, join us today to discuss their research into this time period. Their Digital Elevation Model helped them study the factors effecting the melting of the glaicer and the surrounding area. We also look at the outstanding features that the glacier left behind.

Plus: a bonus Valentine’s Day message!

Further Research

• An Approach to Understanding the Landscape Exposure Rate for the Post-Wisconsin Late Stage Glaical Melting on Long Island, New York using a Glacial Withdrawal Simulation by Miranda Maliszka, Anthony Johnson, Denis Darnaud and Antonios Marsellos
• 27th Conference on Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York
• Ancient Climate Events: Pleistocene Glaciation