10Be dating of the Narsarsuaq moraine in southernmost Greenland: evidence for a late-Holocene ice advance exceeding the Little Ice Age maximum

Abstract

In southernmost Greenland near Narsarsuaq, the terminal Narsarsuaq moraine was deposited well outside of a historical Little Ice Age (LIA) moraine adjacent to the modern ice margin. Using 10Be surface exposure dating, we determine Narsarsuaq moraine abandonment at 1.51 ± 0.11 ka. A second set of 10Be ages from a more ice-proximal position shows that ice has been within or at its historical (i.e., LIA) extent since 1.34 ± 0.15 ka. Notably, Narsarsuaq moraine abandonment was coincident with climate amelioration in southern Greenland. Southern Greenland warming at ∼1.5 ka was also concurrent with the end of the Roman Warm Period as climate along the northern North Atlantic sector of Europe cooled into the Dark Ages. The warming of southern Greenland and retreat of ice from the Narsarsuaq moraine is consistent with studies suggesting possible anti-phase centennial-scale climate variability between northwestern Europe and southern Greenland. Other southernmost Greenland ice-margin records do not preclude a pre-LIA ice-margin maximum, potentially concurrent with a Narsarsuaq advance prior to ∼1.51 ka, but also lack sufficient ice-margin control to confirm such a correlation. We conclude that there is a clear need to further determine whether a late-Holocene pre-LIA maximum was a local phenomenon or a regional southern Greenland ice maximum, and if this advance and retreat reflects a regional fluctuation in climate.