Neoglacial gelifluction in the Jostedalsbreen Region, Western Norway: Evidence from dated buried palaeopodsols

Abstract

AbstractRadiocarbon dating of thin palaeopodsols buried beneath turf‐banked gelifluction lobes at four localities in the low alpine mountain zone in the Jostedalsbreen region, western Norway, show that gelifluction processes were initiated subsequent to the late Subboreal Chronozone. Although large age‐depth gradients have been demonstrated from buried palaeosols in southern Norway, evidence is presented that the palaeosols in this study show only moderate age‐depth gradients. The age estimates from these buried palaeosols give maximum dates of burial, but the error is not thought to be large. Gelifluction processes were probably initiated close to the time of the climatic deterioration, which led to the formation of the present glaciers during the Subatlantic Chronozone. The processes may have been most active during the peak of the Little Ice Age, during which a periglacial climate was established to low levels in this mountainous region.