Introduction

Essays published on the geomorphologyresearch.com website are written from the perspective of the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm, which uses a fundamentally different perspective from the commonly accepted geology paradigm perspective. Paradigms are frameworks of ideas that provide a perspective or way of viewing observable evidence and by themselves are neither correct nor incorrect. Some paradigms or perspectives are more useful than other paradigms, meaning some perspectives explain the observed evidence much better than other perspectives. Scientists who have been trained to see evidence from the perspective of one paradigm often have a difficult time seeing the evidence from the perspective of a different paradigm, which means there is almost always resistance when a new paradigm is proposed–even if the new paradigm provides superior explanations of the observable evidence. However, if the new paradigm really does explain the observable evidence better the new paradigm probably will be adopted, especially if the new paradigm results in simpler explanations of the observed evidence. Likewise, if the new paradigm cannot explain the observable evidence any better than the old paradigm then the old paradigm will continue to be preferred.

The “thick ice sheet that melted fast’ paradigm perspective begins with the assumption that most of North American continent northern half was once covered by a thick continental ice sheet comparable in geographic extent and in thickness to the present day Antarctic Ice Sheet. The geographic region covered by this thick North American ice sheet from the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm perspective is approximately the same as the geographic region covered by continental ice sheets hypothesized to have existed by the commonly accepted geology paradigm perspective. In other words, there is no significant difference between the two fundamentally different paradigms in terms of where North American ice sheets were located. Differences between the two paradigms are in the number of continental ice sheets and in how the continental ice sheets changed the North American landscape and the timing of those ice sheets. This essay compares and contrasts the two fundamentally different paradigms to help readers of essays on this website better understand the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm.

How were the two fundamentally different paradigms constructed?

How was the commonly accepted geology paradigm constructed? The commonly accepted geology paradigm has been put together over a period of approximately 250 years and is based on the work of tens of thousands of geologists. Work by these geologists usually consists of descriptions and interpretations of observed evidence, although some geologists primarily interpret evidence observed by others. Often descriptions and interpretations of observed evidence are intertwined and it is difficult to separate the two, however where descriptions can be separated from interpretations the descriptions usually are as accurate as the geologists involved could make them and the reported evidence actually exists (or existed) as described. Interpretations of geologic evidence almost always are directly or indirectly based on interpretations made by earlier geologists who may have traveled on horseback and who did not have access to modern resources and tools. Even when present day geologists use sophisticated high technology instruments to obtain new geologic evidence and interpretations those instruments have often been calibrated using assumptions based on thinking that can be traced back to the work of much earlier geologists. In other words, the commonly accepted geology paradigm is like a tall building where additional rooms keep being added on top of the previously existing structure. As new rooms get added to the previously constructed building the assumption is constantly being made that the structure underneath those new rooms is sound and the new additions are logical extensions of that existing structure.

How was the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm constructed? Topographic maps represent a type of geologic report where vast quantities of observable landform evidence is illustrated without any interpretation. By the late 1960s topographic maps at various scales for the entire United States and most of Canada were available for purchase and/or for inspection at map depository libraries. While geologists frequently use topographic maps systematic studies of topographic map erosional landform evidence are rare. The geology research community’s failure to study topographic map erosional landform evidence is unfortunate because topographic maps contain no interpretations of the landform evidence they illustrate so the topographic maps, unlike the geologic literature, are paradigm neutral sources of erosional landform evidence. The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm was developed almost entirely from topographic map evidence by systematically studying drainage networks, drainage divides, erosional escarpments, eroded mountain ranges and plateau areas, buttes, mesas, water gaps, wind gaps, through valleys, mountain passes, elbows of capture, barbed tributaries, drainage alignments, erosion surfaces, drainage patterns, and many other erosional landform features in most of the United States and much of southern Canada.

One scientist (this author) constructed the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm over a period of approximately 30 years. Missouri River drainage basin landform origins research project essays on this geomorphologyresearch.com website illustrate how drainage divides and drainage basins were systematically studied during the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm construction process. Essay interpretations are based almost entirely on the topographic map evidence shown. Three other essays, which do not show the topographic maps on which they are based, demonstrate how the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm explains New England drainage system development. These essays are: “Evolution of the New Hampshire drainage network”, “Evolution of the Vermont drainage network”, and “Evolution of the southern New England drainage network”. At this time the priority is to finish the Missouri River drainage basin essays and additional essays for eastern United States regions are not planned, although the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm can definitely be applied to those eastern United States regions. The “About the ‘thick ice sheet that melted fast‘ geomorphology paradigm” essay, also published on this website, describes evidence that led to “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm development.

Nature of the pre-glacial North American drainage network

Commonly accepted geology paradigm interpretation of the pre-glacial drainage network: The commonly accepted geology paradigm assumes the pre-glacial North American drainage network looked somewhat like the present day North American drainage network, especially south of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys. North oriented Missouri and Ohio River tributaries are assumed to have flowed across present day Missouri and Ohio River valley locations and then to have crossed regions subsequently covered by North American ice sheets. The Missouri and Ohio Rivers are interpreted to have formed when an advancing ice sheet blocked these pre-glacial north-oriented drainage routes and diverted their flow along the ice sheet margin. Maps of regions north of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys showing routes of what are interpreted to be pre-glacial river valleys are used to support this interpretation. The north oriented valleys definitely exist and some workers have described an extensive pre-glacial North American drainage system that is hypothesized to have existed north of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys, although it is unclear if this pre-glacial drainage network predates the first of several continental ice sheets to advance across the region or if this pre-glacial drainage network only dates back to the last interglacial period.

“Thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm interpretation of pre-glacial drainage network: The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm assumes there is little or no evidence remaining to show what the pre-glacial North American drainage network south of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys looked like. The paradigm assumes immense melt water floods flowed across all United States regions south of the thick ice sheet and that most if not all present day river valleys were eroded by massive south oriented melt water floods. North oriented Missouri and Ohio River tributary valleys and extensions of those valleys north of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys are interpreted to have been eroded during gigantic flood flow reversals as the immense south oriented melt water floods were captured by headward erosion of deep north oriented valleys from the deep “hole” in which the thick ice sheet had been located. As the ice sheet melted, especially along its southern margin, space formerly occupied by the ice sheet was opened up, which enabled the deep “hole” to capture south oriented ice marginal melt water floods coming from the northwest (west of the developing Mississippi River drainage basin) and from the northeast (east of the developing Mississippi River drainage basin). In time ice sheet melting permitted these north oriented drainage routes to flow in north directions across the thick ice sheet floor as reversed flow in giant ice-walled and bedrock-floored canyons, which had originally been carved into the decaying ice sheet surface by south oriented supra-glacial melt water rivers. The reversal of south oriented melt water floods, which had been flowing to the Gulf of Mexico, so as to flow across the decaying thick ice sheet floor to the North Atlantic Ocean completely changed the climate, causing north oriented melt water floods to freeze around decaying thick ice sheet remnants. The resulting thin ice sheet then blocked north oriented drainage routes so as to complete formation of the present day North American drainage network.

Origin of North American mountain ranges

Commonly accepted geology paradigm interpretation of origin of North American mountain ranges: Dates when North American mountain ranges achieved their present elevations and landscape features vary, although most commonly accepted interpretations assume many if not all North American mountain ranges looked somewhat like they look today by the time ice sheets covered much of North America’s northern half. Some interpretations see at least some North American mountain ranges as having gone through at least two stages of formation. First were geologic events that resulted in the formation of geologic structures (folds and faults) seen in those mountain ranges. This first stage is interpreted to have formed high mountains, which were then eroded and buried in their own debris. The second stage involved what may have been completely independent regional uplifts, which resulted in new erosion cycles. During these new erosion cycles, which are usually interpreted to have occurred at some point during the Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene time span, much of the debris that had previously buried the mountain ranges was removed, with the present day mountain ranges gradually being exposed to form the topographic features we see today. While no good correlations have been made, most geologic interpretations assume alpine glaciation, which occurred in some North American mountain ranges, was caused during Pleistocene time by the same climate changes and conditions responsible for North American continental glaciation. If correct these interpretations require the mountain ranges involved, at the time alpine glaciers developed, to have looked somewhat similar to the way those mountain ranges look today. Because North America’s mountain ranges are assumed to have existed prior to and during North American continental glaciation, the commonly accepted geology paradigm sees no relationship between North American continental ice sheets and mountain range formation.

“Thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm interpretation of origin of North American mountain ranges: The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm sees a close relationship between the thick North American ice sheet and North American mountain range formation, especially the regional uplift responsible for the erosion cycles that produced the mountain range topography seen today. The weight of the thick North American ice sheet is hypothesized to have caused crustal down warping that depressed regions underneath the ice sheet and that in turn caused crustal up warping elsewhere on the continent, including uplift of mountain ranges and of continental margins. Probably many geologic structures, seen in North American mountain ranges, were formed prior to the thick ice sheet formation and the subsequent ice sheet caused crustal warping, although some geologic structures could be related to thick ice sheet related crustal warping. The crustal warping that raised North America’s mountain ranges and high plateau areas was not instantaneous and occurred as gigantic south oriented melt water floods flowed across what were at that time rising mountain range and plateau areas. Melt water floods deeply eroded those mountain ranges and plateau areas, causing crustal unloading that further accelerated the mountain range and plateau area uplifts. At the same time floodwaters deposited sediments in adjacent basins, which caused localized down warping that contributed to uplift of the nearby mountain ranges. As seen in the discussions below the thick ice sheet is interpreted to have been formed and to have melted during the Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene time span when the commonly accepted geology paradigm usually interprets the most recent mountain range uplifts to have occurred, however the Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene time periods may have been significantly shorter in terms of absolute time than the commonly accepted geology paradigm assigns to those time periods.

How and why North American continental ice sheets formed

Commonly accepted geology interpretations of how and why North American continental ice sheets formed: There is no real consensus as to how and why North American continental ice sheets formed, although most geologists probably consider North American continental ice sheets to somehow be related to the continent’s position on the globe, which slowly changes over time due to plate movements. Once North America was in the right global location conditions were ripe for continental ice sheet formation, which was then controlled by astronomic cycles. In other words, this hypothesis assumes at some point during the late Cenozoic the North American continent reached a global location where under the right climatic conditions continental ice sheets could form. The hypothesis then assumes there are climatic cycles driven by astronomic cycles, which when the North American continent is positioned in the right location, can produce North American continental ice sheets. This hypothesis further assumes there have been twenty or more such climatic cycles during which North American continental ice sheets could have formed. The exact number of such continental ice sheets that actually formed and the geographic extent of those ice sheets is debated, although most geologists believe there were periods during which continental ice sheets formed (called glacial periods) which were separated by interglacial periods during which no continental ice sheet existed, and absolute dating methods have been used to obtain precise dates for the hypothesized glacial and interglacial periods. Many geologists consider the present time to simply be an interglacial period and believe a return of continental ice sheet climatic conditions at some future date is probable.

The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm interpretation of how and why North American continental ice sheets formed: The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm makes no statement as to why a thick ice sheet formed on the North American continent. Once the thick North American ice sheet was formed the paradigm does make a strong statement about why the ice sheet melted fast and how thick ice sheet melting led to climatic change that eventually produced a thin ice sheet and alpine glaciers in North American mountain ranges. The thick continental ice sheet caused continental warping or buckling that raised continental margins especially on the east and west continental margins. As it was being formed and after it had formed the thick ice sheet at least on a seasonal basis produced immense volumes of melt water. Because the eastern and western continental margins were raised this melt water was funneled in a south direction to the Gulf of Mexico, although some melt water also spilled across the continental margins to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The large volumes of melt water entering the Gulf of Mexico displaced warm Gulf of Mexico water, which then moved into the Atlantic Ocean and then northward into the North Atlantic Ocean. Movement of warm Gulf of Mexico water into the North Atlantic Ocean gradually warmed the Northern Hemisphere, which created climatic conditions that caused the thick North American ice sheet to melt faster. The increased ice sheet melting then resulted in more melt water flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, which in turn led to more warm Gulf of Mexico water moving into the North Atlantic Ocean, which in turn led to faster ice sheet melting. This ever-increasing thick ice sheet melt down process probably took considerable time to fully develop, but as it was developing, and once it was fully in action, there were gigantic melt water floods flowing in south directions across the North American continent. These melt water floods greatly exceeded in magnitude any previously described flood events and were captured by headward erosion of present day river valleys and their tributary valleys as those valley systems eroded headward from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The thick ice sheet caused crustal warping which combined with deep glacial erosion (underneath the thick ice sheet) created a deep North American “hole” where the thick ice sheet was located. South oriented melt water floods eroded the deep “hole’s” southern rim almost as fast as the rim was formed as headward erosion of the deep Mississippi River valley and its tributary valleys captured the massive south oriented melt water flood flow. In time however ice sheet melting and ice sheet related crustal warping reached a point where immense south oriented ice marginal floods west and east of the deeper south oriented and evolving Mississippi River drainage basin were flowing on bedrock surfaces higher in elevation than space in the deep “hole” being opened up by the rapidly melting thick ice sheet. Deep north oriented valleys then eroded headward from the deep “hole” to capture the gigantic south oriented ice marginal melt water floods (southeast oriented west of the Mississippi River valley and southwest oriented east of the Mississippi River valley). Today those north oriented valleys are north oriented Missouri and Ohio River tributary valleys south of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys and their extensions north of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys are the so-called pre-glacial north-oriented drainage routes north of the Missouri and Ohio River valleys. The Missouri River drainage basin in Montana and northern Wyoming is the deep “hole’s” deeply eroded southwest wall and the Canadian Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia are a remnant of the deeply eroded deep “hole’s”  western rim.

At first the deep “hole’s” captured melt water floods were confined to the deep “hole’s” southern end and eventually drained to the rapidly eroding Mississippi River valley and tributary valley network. However, in time thick ice sheet melting opened up shorter routes across the decaying ice sheet floor to the North Atlantic Ocean. As new north oriented melt water flood flow routes opened up they gradually captured the massive south oriented melt water floods and diverted vast quantities of melt water from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Atlantic Ocean. This melt water diversion from south to north ended the warm ocean currents that were driving the thick ice sheet’s rapid melt down and at the same time created new cold ocean currents that cooled the North American continent. The new climatic conditions caused the north oriented melt water floods to freeze on the thick ice sheet floor and to create a wet based thin ice sheet surrounding rejuvenated remnants of what had been the decaying thick ice sheet. At the same time the changed climatic conditions were right for development of alpine glaciers in what were then newly uplifted and eroded North American mountain ranges. In time the thin ice sheet gradually began to melt, with melt water initially using the newly developed Mississippi River drainage basin valley system to reach the Gulf of Mexico. Climatic conditions may have oscillated as melt water first moved in south directions to the Gulf of Mexico, and then as thin ice sheet melting opened up shorter north oriented routes the melt water was diverted to flow in north directions to northern ocean basins, but the gigantic melt water floods of the thick ice sheet rapid melt down were not repeated. Such melt water diversions may have caused climatic oscillations, and if they existed, might account for at least some of the evidence geologists have used to claim there were 20 or more glacial and interglacial periods.

How deeply did continental ice sheets erode the North American continent?

The commonly accepted geology paradigm continental ice sheet deep glacial erosion interpretation: While there have been attempts to suggest deep glacial erosion by North American continental ice sheets those attempts have failed for several reasons. First, the volume of reported Pleistocene sediments in ocean basins and elsewhere is not adequate to support significant continental ice sheet deep erosion of the continent (or of deep melt water flood erosion of the continent). Based on this observation the commonly accepted geology paradigm requires major North American continent erosion events to have occurred prior to the Pleistocene (which represents most of Quaternary time and is the time period during which the North American continental ice sheets are thought to have occurred). Second, there are relatively thin Pliocene, Miocene, and Oligocene sedimentary deposits found in the Great Plains region adjacent to former continental ice sheet margins and which imply those Great Plains regions have experienced little or no erosion since sometime before the Oligocene (or for more than 30 million years in absolute time). Third, a north oriented pre-glacial drainage network consisting of identifiable valleys can be mapped extending across regions the continental ice sheets once covered. At least some of the pre-glacial valleys in the glaciated regions contain glacially deposited debris, which supports their pre-glacial origin. The presence of these pre-glacial valleys suggests the continental ice sheets did not deeply erode regions underneath them. While deep glacial erosion has been suggested for the origin of some lake basins, generally the commonly accepted geology paradigm sees little or no evidence of deep continental ice sheet erosion.

The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm continental ice sheet deep glacial erosion interpretation: A basic” thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm concept is the thick ice sheet deeply eroded the underlying continent surface to create a deep “hole” where the ice sheet was located. The present day Canadian Shield was exposed by thick ice sheet deep glacial erosion and is located at what is interpreted to have been the deep “hole’s” center. Another “thick ice sheet that melted fast” basic concept is the North American drainage network (south of the ice sheet) was formed as deep valleys eroded headward to capture immense south-oriented melt water floods and implies deep melt water flood erosion of most non glaciated continental regions. While requiring evidence from sources other than topographic maps the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm requires the thick ice sheet and melt down to have occurred during what geologists call the Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene time periods (and possibly even earlier), so Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene sediments need to be interpreted as glacial and melt water flood erosion products (see discussion about continental ice sheet dates below). As described in the how and why continental ice sheets formed discussion above the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm sees a north oriented drainage network developing across the decaying thick ice sheet’s floor just prior to a major climate change that produced a subsequent thin ice sheet. The thin ice sheet did not deeply erode underlying regions and evidence of the north oriented drainage routes was not destroyed. Further, the thin ice sheet did not produce the gigantic melt water floods the thick ice sheet produced and consequently thin ice sheet melting did not significantly alter drainage routes established during the thick ice sheet rapid melt down. The thin ice sheet, which during its melting history may have produced oscillating climatic conditions, is interpreted to have existed throughout Pleistocene time, although the Pleistocene time period may have been significantly shorter in terms of absolute time than the 2.6 million years the geologic community assigns to it.

North American continental ice sheets age dates

Commonly accepted North American continental ice sheet age dates: Most geologists think North American continental ice sheets occurred over a period of approximately three million years with the last continental ice sheet retreating approximately 10,000 years ago. The Quaternary, or the last 2.6 million years of Earth history, is usually referred as the time period during which North American continental ice sheets occurred (with the Pleistocene time period representing almost all Quaternary time except the last 10,000 years). There is geologic literature suggesting the continental ice sheets began during the Pliocene, which is the time period previous to the Quaternary, although at least some geologic literature suggests those early ice sheets were small relative to the later Pleistocene ice sheets. There is also geologic literature suggesting the Antarctic Ice Sheet began developing during the middle Cenozoic (perhaps during the Miocene which preceded the Pliocene or even earlier during the Oligocene which preceded the Miocene). There is no suggestion in the geologic literature of extensive North American continental ice sheets during the Eocene, Oligocene, or Miocene and the geologic literature almost always interprets Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene sediments and fossils in the lower forty-eight states in ways that do not suggest the presence of a nearby continental ice sheet. Quaternary geologists have developed precise absolute dates for many sediments and fossils, and those dates are used to identify and date glacial and interglacial periods. Similar precise dates have been published for Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, and Eocene sediments and fossils and published reports about those sediments and fossils make no suggestion of extensive North American continental ice sheets during those time periods, which absolute dating techniques suggest extend back more than fifty million years.

Dates of the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm events: The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm as presented in the Missouri River drainage basin landform origins research project essays makes no statement as to when the thick ice sheet developed and subsequently melted, although the essays provide relative sequences of erosional events, which can be determined from the topographic map evidence. The essays also state landscapes in many North American regions have changed little since the thick ice sheet melted, which implies the thin ice sheet formed following the thick ice sheet melt down may correlate with what the commonly accepted geology paradigm considers to be the most recent of the North American continental ice sheets. If so, and if dating of that last continental ice sheet retreat is correct, the thin ice sheet that formed following the thick ice sheet’s rapid melt down may have melted approximately 10,000 years ago. The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm as developed from topographic map evidence provides a rough sequence of events prior to that thin ice sheet melting event, which begins with the thick ice sheet formation and subsequent melt down and then continues to the thin ice sheet formation, although there is no way to use topographic map evidence to correlate those events with events described in the geologic literature. However, by introducing knowledge from sources other than topographic maps some rough correlations are possible.

1. The  “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm describes a thick ice sheet that deeply eroded the North American continent, both by deep glacial erosion and by deep melt water flood water erosion. Materials removed by this deep glacial erosion and melt water flood erosion were transported by ice and water and deposited somewhere else. The total volume of Quaternary sediments reported in the geologic literature is not great enough to account for the volume of debris removed by thick ice sheet deep glacial erosion and then by deep melt water flood erosion, which means from the” thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm perspective Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, and probably some Eocene sediments were transported and deposited during the thick ice sheet rapid melt down and need to be restudied and reinterpreted from the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm perspective.

1. Previous deep glacial erosion hypotheses critics have cited Pliocene, Miocene, and Oligocene (and even Eocene) sediments found in the Great Plains region as evidence continental ice sheets did not deeply erode the North American continent. Vertebrate paleontologists have described these sediments when interpreting fossils the sediments contain. The fossil and sediment interpretations have been used as evidence when constructing commonly accepted geology paradigm relative and absolute time scales. The sediments also contain coarse-grained alluvium, including cobbles and small boulders that can be traced to distant source areas (which have been misidentified in several published reports). The significance of this coarse-grained alluvium, the source areas locations, and routes the alluvium traveled to reach the Great Plains Pliocene, Miocene, and Oligocene sediment sites has been down played in most published reports, suggesting vertebrate paleontologists cannot or do not want to explain the coarse-grained alluvium in the context of their published fossil and sediment interpretations. The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm implies immense melt water floods deposited the Great Plains Pliocene, Miocene, and Oligocene sediments (and perhaps some Great Plains and Rocky Mountain region Eocene sediments) and suggests those sediments and fossils need to be restudied and reinterpreted from the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm perspective.

1. If the thick ice sheet formed and then melted during what the commonly accepted geology paradigm considers to be the Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene, then the subsequent thin ice sheet occurred during what the commonly accepted geology paradigm considers to be the Pleistocene. In the context of the commonly accepted geology paradigm absolute dates this rough correlation means it took more than 50 million years for the thick ice sheet to form and then melt and that the thin ice sheet existed for approximately 2.6 million years. At this point in its development the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm has no way to determine absolute dates, although it is probable the time spans for events described by the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm were much shorter in terms of absolute dates than the commonly accepted geology paradigm absolute dating methods suggest. It is possible there was rapid seasonal melting during summers followed by ice sheet regrowth during winter seasons, which continued for long periods of time. But it is much more likely the commonly accepted absolute age dates are incorrect and the thick ice sheet formation and melting took much less than 50 million years and the thin ice sheet existed for a significantly shorter time period than 2.6 million years. In any case the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm suggests a very different North American Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene history than has been described by the commonly accepted geology paradigm.

Concluding comment

Adoption of the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm requires reinterpretation of Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary sedimentary deposits and fossils and probably requires significant rethinking and reconstruction of absolute age dating methods and will probably be initially rejected by the geology research community for those reasons. However, Missouri River drainage basin landform origins research project essays demonstrate the “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm can explain paradigm neutral topographic map evidence the commonly accepted geology paradigm either has not previously explained or cannot explain.  The time has come for the geology research community to either demonstrate the commonly accepted geology paradigm can explain that paradigm neutral topographic map evidence or to adopt a new paradigm that can explain the topographic map evidence.  The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm perspective explains the topographic map evidence with a much simpler North American glacial history than the commonly accepted geology paradigm explanation and also appears to be able explain sedimentary deposits in their proper sequences. The “thick ice sheet that melted fast” paradigm provides a much simpler explanation for North American continental ice sheet history than the commonly accepted geology paradigm and for that reason alone merits serious consideration by the geology research community.