Late Quaternary glaciation in the tropics: future research directions

Abstract

Glacier snowline depressions in the tropics of 800–1000 m indicate an atmospheric cooling of 5–7°C during the late Pleistocene. Such a temperature depression and the presence of large glaciers in the tropics in the past suggests that on glacial–interglacial time scales the tropics have undergone substantial climatic and hydrologic change. However, uncertainties in the chronology of glaciation, the response of glacial mass balance in the tropics to a variety of climate forcings, and the relation of proxy records in alpine regions to synoptic tropical paleoclimate, limit the full utility of the snowline proxy. Future research in these three areas will provide information on the phasing of climate change in the tropics in comparison to higher latitude regions and the correspondence of tropical glaciation to large-scale changes in precipitation, temperature, and solar radiation.