Abstract
A brief review of the movements of Alpine glaciers throughout the Holocene in the Northern Hemisphere (European Alps) and in the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand Southern Alps) is presented. It is mainly based on glacier studies where 14C dating, dendrochronology and surface exposure dating with cosmogenic isotopes is used to establish the chronology of advances and retreats of glaciers. An attempt is made to draw some general conclusions on the temperature and climate differences between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.
Highlights
It is well known that the Holocene, i.e. the geological time period following the end of the Last Ice Age, enjoyed relatively stable temperatures
The comparison of glacier movements throughout the Holocene from Alpine mountain ranges in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) revealed some interesting differences
The opposite temperature development from the Early to the Late Holocene in the two hemispheres is established by a number of proxies and supported by the Milankovic theory
Summary
It is well known that the Holocene, i.e. the geological time period following the end of the Last Ice Age, enjoyed relatively stable temperatures. The globally observed retreat of Alpine glaciers and polar ices sheets since about 1850 AD (the end of the socalled Little Ice Age and interrupted by three re-advances) has been linked to the temperature increase caused by human activities, due to the continuous increase of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere [1]. The atmospheric CO2 concentration was remarkably constant during the last 10,000 years, changing by only 20 ppm [1] Such small CO2 variations are unlikely to trigger the observed glacier movements. The current work cannot give an answer to these important questions Rather it will present evidence for the waxing and waning of Alpine glaciers in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres throughout the Holocene. Even though the complexity of the climate may only allow crude estimates of those principles, we follow the advice of the late Murray Gell-Man: “Nature is most described by a sequence of approximations,” [28]
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