Abstract
Abstract. As a contribution to the palaeoenvironmental history reconstruction of the Alpine periglacial domain, this study focuses on the Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) of (peri-)glacial landforms using rebound-value (R-value) calibrations for 10 stations in the Scaradra glacier forefield (north-eastern part of the Ticino Canton, Lepontine Alps) and for 13 stations in the Splügenpass region (located between Switzerland and Italy, Rhaetian Alps). Linear calibration based on the known age of several moraines of the Scaradra glacier assessed by historical cartography allowed the reconstruction of the glacier fluctuations around the end of the Little Ice Age. Timing of deglaciation and of rock glacier development was defined in the Splügenpass region using the calibration of exposure ages based on two mule tracks built in 300 CE and 1250 CE, respectively. Discussion on R-value analysis and calibration improves the knowledge on the potential use of SHD for numerical-age dating in Alpine geomorphological studies.
Highlights
Over the last decades, an increasing number of studies about the evolution of glacial and periglacial landforms during the Late Glacial and Holocene have been carried out, in order to better understand how high-mountain regions respond to climate change (e.g. Scapozza, 2016; Scotti et al, 2017; Lambiel, 2021; and references therein)
In order to contribute to the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental history of the Alpine periglacial domain, this research has focused on the morphostratigraphy of Late Holocene glacial deposits of the upper part of the Scaradra Valley and of Late Glacial and Holocene periglacial and glacial landforms of the Splügenpass region
By using Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating (SHD), this study aims to define (1) the age of the glacial deposits around the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) of the Scaradra glacier and of the moraines of supposed Early and Mid-Holocene age in the Splügenpass region and (2) the development phases of the Splügenpass relict rock glacier, which has the special feature of being crossed by two historical mule tracks
Summary
An increasing number of studies about the evolution of glacial and periglacial landforms during the Late Glacial and Holocene have been carried out, in order to better understand how high-mountain regions respond to climate change (e.g. Scapozza, 2016; Scotti et al, 2017; Lambiel, 2021; and references therein). An increasing number of studies about the evolution of glacial and periglacial landforms during the Late Glacial and Holocene have been carried out, in order to better understand how high-mountain regions respond to climate change Scapozza, 2016; Scotti et al, 2017; Lambiel, 2021; and references therein). The number of dates on Alpine glacial, periglacial, and paraglacial landforms available today has greatly increased This is the case for the Southern Swiss Alps, where studies related to the landscape evolution after the Last Glacial Maximum have increased in the last decade with the revision of already published radiocarbon and cosmogenic nuclide dates, new cosmogenic nuclide dating, and the large number of exposure ages derived from Schmidt hammer rebound values This is the case for the Southern Swiss Alps, where studies related to the landscape evolution after the Last Glacial Maximum have increased in the last decade with the revision of already published radiocarbon and cosmogenic nuclide dates, new cosmogenic nuclide dating, and the large number of exposure ages derived from Schmidt hammer rebound values (e.g. Scapozza, 2016; Kamleitner et al, 2020; Scapozza and Ambrosi, 2021).
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