Moraine Formation Research Articles

Отложения среднего неоплейстоцена в нижнем течении р. Печоры

The results of lithological studies of Quaternary deposits in the coastal outcrops of the valley of the lower course of the river are presented. Pechora. In the latitudinal section of the Pechora, two horizons of boulder loams (moraines) and underlying horizons, dividing or overlapping the moraine strata, are exposed to intermoraine sediments of fluvial genesis. Based on the results of lithological studies of textural, granulometric and mineralogical features of fine earth of deposits and petrographic composition of coarse material, it was concluded that material was supplied during the formation of moraines from different terrigenous-mineralogical provinces. The formation of the lower Pechora (Dnieper) moraine is associated with the North-Eastern feeding province, and the upper Moscow (Vychegda) moraine, with the North-West Fennoscandian center of glaciation. The glacial genesis of boulder loams has been confirmed.

Особенности трансформации и самоорганизации нивально-гляциальных горных геосистем

The Munku-Sardyk mountain range (3,491 m) represents the territory of the modern glaciation of The East Sayan. Different forms of transformation of nival-glacial geosystems have been preserved in this range. The processes of transformation and self-organization of geosystems are considered on the example of the Radde glacier and the unique stone glacier. Due to climate change, the glacier has shrunk considerably. Its area has decreased over 100 years from 0.3 to 0.19 km2, and over the last 20 years from 0.19 to 0.09 km2. However, the glacier has processes of self-preservation, slowing down the process of melting the glacier. This transformation of the glacier is manifested as the reservation of surface moraines. The peculiarities of the formation of surface moraines are considered. In the past century, the formation rate of moraines was 0.001 km2/year. Recently, the rate of formation of moraines has increased to 0.02 km2/year. In the second case, the unique stone stream (stone glacier) is an example of the transformation of the classical glacier into a new structure, which at this stage does not depend significantly on the observed warming, and can exist as an independent object for quite some time. The material is supplied by the rock of mountain range, and the transport by the ice bed is formed in winter from groundwater at the level of indigenous rocks, like subsurface ice. The structure of this stone stream is presented as an independent geosystem. It is assumed that the nival-glacial geosystems behave like lag systems. From the analysis of freezing and thawing of soils it follows that the increase and degradation of glaciers should be subject to the law of hystiresis.

Antarctic blue-ice moraines: Analogue for Northern Hemisphere ice sheets?

This paper reviews the distribution, character and age of blue-ice moraines in Antarctica and asks whether there are implications for the study of former Pleistocene ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Blue-ice forms where acceleration of downslope katabatic winds removes snow and causes ice to ablate. Upward ice flow compensates for the surface ablation and in some places brings rock debris to the surface to form a blue-ice moraine. Blue-ice moraines occur where topography focuses katabatic winds, notably outlet glaciers cutting through mountains and in the lee of nunataks and escarpments nearer the coast. Many Antarctic blue-ice moraines have been accumulating for millions of years. The cyclic growth and decay of Pleistocene ice sheets and the dominance of surface ablation near the ice-sheet margins are clearly different, yet there are aspects that apply to Pleistocene ice sheets. Based on Antarctic blue-ice deposits, equivalent deposits associated with former Pleistocene ice sheets are likely to: (1) lie in topographic sediment traps such as in side valleys or embayments next to outlet glaciers, (2) occur in the lee of mountains, (3) display a morphology indicating ice flow into the embayment or towards the mountain front, (4) include a wide range of lithologies derived from the inland ice sheet, yet consist wholly of local debris in places, (5) accumulate a thick deposit perhaps over successive glaciations. Further, (6) the location and intensity of moraine formation will change spatially and vertically in response to changes in the relative elevation of the surrounding mountains and its effect on ice flow. The extent to which these criteria will help in interpreting the behaviour of Pleistocene ice sheets is uncertain. But we use examples from the Greenland, Laurentide and Eurasian ice sheets to suggest that the concept of enhanced ablation by katabatic winds encouraging surface moraine formation helps resolve several puzzles.

Holocene glacier change in the Silvretta Massif (Austrian Alps) constrained by a new 10Be chronology, historical records and modern observations

Mountain glaciers are important water resources in Alpine regions and are sensitive to climate change. Reconstructing glacier oscillations improves our understanding of the amplitude and the frequency of climate variability and resolves time periods when the climate system was in transition – from glacial to interglacial conditions at the beginning of the Holocene, and from a naturally controlled system to an anthropogenically influenced system in the course of industrialization.With this study, we contribute a new Holocene mountain glacier chronology from the Eastern European Alps. The study area, the Ochsental in the Silvretta Massif, features pronounced Holocene moraine ridges and is an important catchment for hydropower production. We present 18 new 10Be exposure ages of bedrock outcrops (n = 2) and boulders (n = 16). We complement the 10Be glacier chronology with historical records and instrumental time series and correlate it with pre-existing climate proxy records for capturing ice margin positions at different times during the Holocene. The Ochsental chronology is compared to cosmogenic nuclide moraine records across the European Alps to provide an Alpine-wide perspective on the transition from the Younger Dryas (YD; c. 12.9 to 11.7 ka) to the Holocene (c. 11.7 ka to present).Results show that glaciers in the Ochsental stabilized at the position of a preserved Holocene moraine c. 9.9 ± 0.7 ka after retreating from their Late Glacial position. This Holocene moraine formation interval is concurrent with a cold spell detected in some climate proxy records in the Swiss and Austrian Alps, the Central European Cold Phase 1 (CE-1). Glaciers were presumably much smaller during the Mid-Holocene and readvanced to a position close to the preserved Early Holocene moraine during the Little Ice Age (LIA; c. 1250 to 1850 CE). LIA 10Be ages range from 390 ± 20 yrs to 135 ± 5 yrs and point to multiple advances within this time period with most robust evidence for a culmination during the 18th century. The 10Be record and the historical glacier records overlap and are remarkably consistent, which demonstrates that 10Be surface exposure dating produces reliable ages even for young glacial deposits. Within the last c. 170 years, Ochsentaler glacier has retreated c. 2.3 km, which highlights the impact of recent warming on Alpine mountain glaciers.

Mountain glacier fluctuations during the Lateglacial and Holocene on Clavering Island (northeastern Greenland) from 10Be moraine dating

Despite an increasing interest in Greenlandic mountain glaciers over recent decades, their evolution during the Lateglacial and Holocene still needs to be better constrained. Here we present 25 10Be cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) ages of boulders collected on moraines from three glaciers located on Clavering Island (northeastern Greenland). CRE ages span 16.29±0.79 to 0.37±0.05 ka and reveal three periods of moraine formation during the Lateglacial, the Early and the Late Holocene. Data show a multi‐modal distribution of the ages during the Lateglacial with exposure ages spanning from 16.29±0.79 to 12.31±1.3 ka. At least two glaciers experienced a greater expansion at the beginning of the Holocene than at the end of the Holocene, dated to 11.3±0.3 and 10.8±0.6 ka, respectively. At the end of the Holocene, glacial advances occurred during the Dark Ages Cold Period and during the Little Ice Age (LIA), synchronous with glacial advances documented in nearby lake sediments. This new CRE chronology highlights that the LIA extent is not the largest glacier advance in the Late Holocene in Clavering Island. This broadly corresponds with other mountain glaciers of western and northern Greenland, and does not appear to reflect northern high latitude summer insolation that would suggest progressive temperature decrease, but instead mimics recent regional continental temperature reconstructions that show a long term warming driven by different forcing.

Glacier expansion on Baffin Island during early Holocene cold reversals

The North Atlantic was a key locus for circulation-driven abrupt climate change in the past and could play a similar role in the future. Abrupt cold reversals, including the 8.2 ka event, punctuated the otherwise warm early Holocene in the North Atlantic region and serve as useful paleo examples of rapid climate change. In this work, we assess the cryospheric response to early Holocene climate history on Baffin Island, Arctic Canada, using cosmogenic radionuclide dating of moraines. We present 39 new 10Be ages from four sets of multi-crested early Holocene moraines deposited by cirque glaciers and ice cap outlet glaciers, as well as erratic boulders along adjacent fiords to constrain the timing of regional deglaciation. The age of one moraine is additionally constrained by in situ14C measurements, which confirm 10Be inheritance in some samples. All four moraines were deposited between ∼9.2 and 8.0 ka, and their average ages coincide with abrupt coolings at 9.3 and 8.2 ka that are recorded in Greenland ice cores. Freshwater delivery to the North Atlantic that reduced the flux of warm Atlantic water into Baffin Bay may explain brief intervals of glacier advance, although moraine formation cannot be definitively tied to centennial-scale cold reversals. We thus explore other possible contributing factors, including ice dynamics related to retreat of Laurentide Ice Sheet outlet glaciers. Using a numerical glacier model, we show that the debuttressing effect of trunk valley deglaciation may have contributed to these moraine-building events. These new age constraints and process insights highlight the complex behavior of the cryosphere during regional deglaciation and suggest that multiple abrupt cold reversals—as well as deglacial ice dynamics—likely played a role in early Holocene moraine formation on Baffin Island.

Glacier–Permafrost Interaction at a Thrust Moraine Complex in the Glacier Forefield Muragl, Swiss Alps

The internal structures of a moraine complex mostly provide information about the manner in which they develop and thus they can transmit details about several processes long after they have taken place. While the occurrence of glacier–permafrost interactions during the formation of large thrust moraine complexes at polar and subpolar glaciers as well as at marginal positions of former ice sheets has been well understood, their role in the formation of moraines on comparatively small alpine glaciers is still very poorly investigated. Therefore, the question arises as to whether evidence of former glacier–permafrost interactions can still be found in glacier forefields of small alpine glaciers and to what extent these differ from the processes in finer materials at larger polar or subpolar glaciers. To investigate this, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were carried out in the area of a presumed alpine thrust moraine complex in order to investigate internal moraine structures. The ERT data confirmed the presence of a massive ice core within the central and proximal parts of the moraine complex. Using GPR, linear internal structures were detected, which were interpreted as internal shear planes due to their extent and orientation. These shear planes lead to the assumption that the moraine complex is of glaciotectonic origin. Based on the detected internal structures and the high electrical resistivity values, it must also be assumed that the massive ice core is of sedimentary or polygenetic origin. The combined approach of the two methods enabled the authors of this study to detect different internal structures and to deduce a conceptual model of the thrust moraine formation.

The glacial landsystem of Fjallsjökull, Iceland: Spatial and temporal evolution of process-form regimes at an active temperate glacier

This study assesses the spatial and temporal evolution of the glacial landsystem signature at Fjallsjökull, southeast Iceland, using (a) mapping of the glacial geomorphology and surficial geology and (b) repeat uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys. A small-scale (1: 15,000 scale) landsystem map has been compiled using LiDAR data (2011−2012) and historical aerial photographs (1945–1998), along with a large-scale (1: 2000 scale) map based on UAV imagery from May 2019. From our mapping and UAV surveys, we identify sediment-landform assemblages that are typical of active temperate glacial landsystems, including recessional push/squeeze moraines and intervening flutings, overridden moraine arcs, proglacial outwash (sandur) fans and linear/ribbon sandar. We recognize three landform zones that are defined by changes in moraine morphology and the nature of proglacial outwash deposition: (1) the outer foreland is characterized by proglacial outwash fans, overridden moraine arcs and broadly linear recessional moraines; (2) the middle foreland contains sawtooth moraines and linear sandar; and (3) the innermost zone comprises extremely sawtooth and hairpin moraines as well as associated crevasse-squeeze ridge limbs. This landform zonation reflects spatio-temporal changes in moraine-forming processes and outwash deposition as determined by changes in snout morphology and proglacial drainage characteristics. Within this general tripartite zonation, we also identify localized (azonal/intrazonal) sediment-landform assemblages that are not typically found at active temperate glaciers, including ice-cored/hummocky terrain and localized kame and kettle topography. Repeat UAV surveying in 2016–2019 has allowed us to capture and quantify recent intrazonal landsystem change at the southern glacier margin. We identify a switch from moraine formation to the development of ice-cored terrain and an ice-cored esker complex in association with the uncovering of a depositional overdeepening. Our study demonstrates the important role that variations in local boundary conditions (e.g. topography) can play in the process-form response of individual active temperate outlet glaciers, contributing to the expanding database on modern glacial landsystems.

Sub‐annual moraine formation at an active temperate Icelandic glacier

AbstractThis paper presents detailed geomorphological and sedimentological investigations of small recessional moraines at Fjallsjökull, an active temperate outlet of Öræfajökull, southeast Iceland. The moraines are characterized by striking sawtooth or hairpin planforms, which are locally superimposed, giving rise to a complex spatial pattern. We recognize two distinct populations of moraines, namely a group of relatively prominent moraine ridges (mean height ~1.2 m) and a group of comparatively low‐relief moraines (mean height ~0.4 m). These two groups often occur in sets/systems, comprising one pronounced outer ridge and several inset smaller moraines. Using a representative subsample of the moraines, we establish that they form by either (i) submarginal deformation and squeezing of subglacial till or (ii) pushing of extruded tills. Locally, proglacial (glaciofluvial) sediments are also incorporated within the moraines during pushing. For the first time, to our knowledge, we demonstrate categorically that these moraines formed sub‐annually using repeat uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. We present a conceptual model for sub‐annual moraine formation at Fjallsjökull that proposes the sawtooth moraine sequence comprises (i) sets of small squeeze moraines formed during melt‐driven squeeze events and (ii) larger push moraines formed during winter re‐advances. We suggest the development of this process‐form regime is linked to a combination of elevated temperatures, high surface meltwater fluxes to the bed and emerging basal topography (a depositional overdeepening). These factors result in highly saturated subglacial sediments and high porewater pressures, which induces submarginal deformation and ice‐marginal squeezing during the melt season. Strong glacier recession during the summer, driven by elevated temperatures, allows several squeeze moraines to be emplaced. This process‐form regime may be characteristic of active temperate glaciers receding into overdeepenings during phases of elevated temperatures, especially where their englacial drainage systems allow efficient transfer of surface meltwater to the glacier bed near the snout margin. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

On the influence of debris cover on glacier morphology: How high-relief structures evolve from smooth surfaces

Debris-covered glaciers receive increasing attention during the current period of sustained negative mass balance and expanding debris cover. The debris cover induces various feedback mechanisms that shape the evolution of the glacier geometry, and also the glacier surface. Although the surface morphology of many debris-covered glaciers is markedly different from that of debris-free glaciers, only a few studies have combined different processes to investigate these characteristic glacier surfaces in order to improve our knowledge of glacier evolution on a wider spatial and temporal scale. Debris-covered glacier tongues can consist of parts with a smooth surface as well as surfaces of high local relief with abundant ice cliffs in the lower end. In this study we analysed the evolution of the surface features of Zmuttgletscher, a debris-covered glacier in Switzerland, over a period of 140 years using time series of historic maps, high resolution digital elevation models and glacier velocities, as well as data on debris cover extent and thickness. Our results reveal insights into the up-glacier expansion of the debris cover over time and the formation of medial moraines in the prolongation of the uppermost areas where debris emerged on the glacier surface. Moraine ridge prominence increased during periods of negative mass balance, and troughs developed in debris-free areas between ridges, persisting even after a continuous debris cover had developed. The changing surface morphology inhibits across-glacier meltwater flow, both supra- and subglacially. Accordingly, we found that large cryo-valleys with ice cliffs have formed down-glacier of the troughs where meltwater runoff accumulates. The meanders of these valleys have enlarged over time, especially by ice cliff backwasting at steep slopes, and most of the glacier width today is affected by such high-relief erosion features. We find that about 75% of all ice cliffs are located in this high-relief zone. The volume lost at these erosion features has increased by a factor of five since the 1980s, but is still very small in comparison to the high glacier-wide thinning rates.

Development of push moraines in deeply frozen sediment adjacent to a cold‐based glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

AbstractPrevious studies of push moraines have concluded that structural architecture is controlled by a combination of stress exerted by flowing ice and the rheology of the deforming sediment. However, the relationship between deformation processes and the thermal/hydrologic conditions within the sediment remains ambiguous. Using a combination of surface mapping, logging exposures and ground penetrating radar we examine the relationships between surface morphology, material properties and development of deformation structures in deeply frozen sediment that has been deformed by Joyce Glacier, a cold‐based glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The structural architecture of the push moraines is characterized by a combination of brittle and ductile deformation structures that have produced a structurally complex pattern of thrust faults, low angle listric thrusts and recumbent folds that extend 400 m beyond the glacier margin. Deformation is ductile where the ice concentration exceeds c. 65% volume and predominantly brittle where the ice concentration is less than c. 65%. The change in rheology reflects transition in behaviour from the material having a predominantly frictional character when the ice is limited to pore spaces to a non‐frictional character in which strength is primarily determined by the cohesive strength of the ice. This work shows that glaciotectonic deformation can occur in deeply frozen permafrost where there is no liquid pore water. We conclude that the presence of liquid porewater is not a necessary condition for the development of glaciotectonic deformation or for the formation of push moraines. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Late-glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations in North Island, New Zealand

Geological records of past glacier extent can yield important constraints on the timing and magnitude of pre-historic climate change. Here we present a cosmogenic 3He moraine chronology from Mt. Ruapehu in central North Island, New Zealand that records fluctuations of New Zealand's northernmost glaciers over the last 14,000 years. In the Mangaehuehu Glacier catchment, exposure ages and geomorphic observations at our most distal moraine site, relative to the current glacier margin, show that glacial retreat during the last glacial termination was interrupted by one or more readvances between 14 and 11 ka. Further up-valley, moraine boulders deposited at 4.5 ka indicate that glaciers were more extensive during the mid-Holocene than at any later time. The youngest exposure ages in our study, 150–450 years, constrain the formation of moraines situated within 500 m from the present-day Mangaehuehu Glacier terminus. These ages are in agreement with historic sources that show the glacier close to these moraine limits approximately 100 years ago. Overall our data show that glaciers on Mt. Ruapehu retreated c. 3 km since 14 ka, in response to a net rise in the local equlibrium line altitude of c. 400 m. The magnitude of post-industrial snowline rise and glacier retreat on Mt. Ruapehu is also consistent with instrumental temperature data that record approximately 0.9 ∘C of warming during the 20th century.

Micromorphological evidence for the role of pressurised water in the formation of large-scale thrust-block moraines in Melasveit, western Iceland

AbstractPressurised meltwater has a major impact on ice dynamics, as well as on sedimentary and deformational processes occurring below/in front of glaciers and ice sheets, but its role in glaciotectonic processes is yet to be fully understood. This study explores micro- and macroscale structures developed within décollements in two thrust-block moraines of Late Weichselian age in Melasveit, western Iceland. The aim is to investigate how pressurised subglacial meltwater can aid the dislocation and transport of large, unfrozen and unlithified sediment blocks by glaciers. A detailed model is constructed for the development of the thrust-block moraines and the microscale processes occurring along their detachments during thrusting. The detachments are characterized by relatively thin zones of crosscutting hydrofractures, which reflect fluctuating water pressures during glaciotectonism. Little evidence of shearing is observed along the leading edges of the thrusts in both moraines. This is supported by high water pressures along the detachments and indicates that the thrust blocks were initially decoupled from the underlying deposits. As the thrust moraines evolved, an increased amount of shear occurred in between events of sediment liquefaction, hydrofracturing, and fluid escape. This was followed by progressive locking up of the detachments and eventual cessation in the accretion of the thrust blocks.

Evolution of the Norwegian plateau icefield Hardangerjøkulen since the ‘Little Ice Age’

The maximum ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) glacier extent provides a significant baseline to assess long-term glacier change and to place currently observed rates of glacier recession in a broader temporal context. To that end, we examine the evolution of the plateau icefield Hardangerjøkulen since the LIA. First, we reconstruct Hardangerjøkulen’s maximum LIA extent (~AD 1750) and subsequent recession based on the glacial landform record and aided by historical map interpretation. Ice-marginal moraines, glacial drift limits, trimlines, and identifiable erosion and weathering boundaries provide evidence of a LIA icefield with an area of 110 km2. Existing LIA model simulations of Hardangerjøkulen are not yet fully able to reproduce our reconstructed extent. Second, we compile a set of remotely sensed icefield outlines from successive time points in the 20th and 21st century to calculate icefield area and length change since the LIA. This reveals a substantial reduction in icefield size, with a total area loss of 41 km2 (37%; 2% 10 a–1) by 2010 and a cumulative frontal retreat averaging 1.3 km (29%; 5 m a–1) by 2013. Icefield recession has been greatest since the end of the 20th century, when rates of areal shrinkage increased to 6.5–10% 10 a–1 in 1995–2010, and the rate of average terminus retreat accelerated to 17 m a–1 in 2003–2010. Third, we present a relative dating approach, based on the known age of the different icefield outlines, that allows bracketing ages to be assigned to all ice-marginal landforms between any two outlines. This approach shows that episodes of moraine formation vary temporally between individual outlet glaciers of Hardangerjøkulen, suggesting that the moraine record of a single outlet glacier alone may not be sufficient to derive an icefield-wide picture of past ice advances, and thereby climate fluctuations.

Evidências Geomorfológicas de Mudanças Ambientais na Baía Esperança, Península Antártica

A geomorphological interpretation of the glacial geomorphology of the proglacial environments of the Buenos Aires, Kenney and Flora glaciers in Hope Bay, Antarctica, between the coordinates 63° 23'S and 63° 26'S latitude and 56° 8'W and 57° 4'W longitude. Sedimentary, granulometric and morphological analyzes were carried out on 15 samples collected in 2017 for the identification of depositional geomorphological features and subsequent geomorphological mapping. The glacier fronts were delineated from Sentinel-2 and Quickbird images of 1988, 2008 and 2017 using the ArcGIS® software to identify the landforms chronology of the shapes. The higher number of coarse grains, low selection, and high values of C40 in all samples indicate modification by erosive processes in supraglacial environment and/or transport distance after substrate quarrying process and grain fracturing by post-depositional physical weathering. The reconstruction of the Hope Bay’s Holocene landscape of indicates glaciers with tens of meters of advance compared to the current front during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The geomorphological mapping and sedimentary analyzes showed recent environmental changes in the proglacial system, with formation of hummocky moraines indicating the retreat/stabilization of the glaciers in the LIA. Furthermore, they set evidences of recent recession moraines, which prevail in the Buenos Aires Glacier predominate in the 2008-2017 phase, on the Flora Glacier in 1988-2008 period and the Kenney Glacier in the 2008-2017 period.

Особенности формирования и физикомеханические свойства флювиогляциальных отложений Беларуси как грунтовых толщ

Рассмотрены особенности формирования и физико-механические свойства флювиогляциальных отложений Беларуси. Минерально-петрографический состав отложений близок к составу моренных образований, так как сформировался в результате размыва моренного материала талыми ледниковыми потоками. Установлено значительное разнообразие гранулометрического состава – от гравийногалечных до супесчано-суглинистых фракций c преобладанием песков. Характерна высокая и закономерная изменчивость состава как по простиранию, так и в разрезе. В целом флювиогляциальные грунты обладают вполне удовлетворительными строительными свойствами и могут служить надежным основанием и средой для различных инженерных сооружений любого класса ответственности.

Reconciling the onset of deglaciation in the upper Rangitata valley, Southern Alps, New Zealand

Enquiry into the detailed timing of paleoclimate events depends on well-resolved and reliable chronologies. A recently published set of 10Be surface-exposure ages for moraine boulders in the upper Rangitata valley was interpreted to indicate a gradual reduction in glacier surface height between c. 21 and c. 17 ka, without rapid glacier recession beginning c. 18 ka as reported from other valleys. The dating results were suggested to be consistent with moraine geomorphology and an interpreted lack of post-glacial lake formation in the valley. In contrast, we argue that the geomorphology is consistent with sustained glacier recession and we highlight evidence for a post-glacial lake. Furthermore, the upper Rangitata moraine chronology was encumbered by inaccurate altitude values assigned to many of the sample sites. Recalculation of the 10Be ages using accurate elevations produces values that are as much as 3000 years younger than originally reported. The recalculated values indicate no significant age difference across the c. 300-m relative altitudinal spread of sample locations, with mean age of all samples c. 17.7 ± 0.3 ka. The previous inference of slow late-glacial ice retreat is not supported by the recalculated chronology. Rather, the revised glacial chronology implies that substantial ice-surface lowering of the Last Glacial Maximum Rangitata glacier was in progress shortly after c. 18 ka. The revised upper Rangitata chronology is compatible with dating from other eastern valleys of the Southern Alps, indicating moraine formation at c. 18 ka, followed by sustained glacier recession associated with regional climatic amelioration.

Glacial dynamics in pre-Alpine narrow valleys during the Last Glacial Maximum inferred by lowland fluvial records (northeast Italy)

Abstract. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), most of the major glaciated basins of the European Southern Alps had piedmont lobes with large outwash plains; only a few glaciers remained within the valley. Piedmont glaciers have left well-preserved terminal moraines, which allow for investigations to be carried out and inferences to be made regarding their evolution and chronology. Valley glaciers' remnants, on the contrary, are often scantly preserved, and changes can only be detected through correlations with glaciofluvial deposits in downstream alluvial basins. The Brenta glacial system's dynamics in the glacier's terminal tract have been inferred through a wide range of sediment analysis techniques on an alluvial stratigraphic record of the Brenta megafan (northeast Italy), and via the mapping of in-valley glacial/glaciofluvial remnants. Glaciers flowing across narrow gorges could possibly be slowed/blocked by such morphology, and glacial/sediment fluxes may then be diverted to lateral valleys. Moreover, narrow valleys may induce glaciers to bulge and form icefalls at their front, preventing the formation of terminal moraines. The Brenta Glacier was probably slowed/blocked by the narrow Valsugana Gorge downstream of Primolano and was effectively diverted eastwards across a wind gap (Canal La Menor Valley), joining the Cismon/Piave glaciers near Rocca and ending ∼2 km downstream. The Cismon and Piave catchments started to contribute to the Brenta system just after 27 ka cal BP until at least ∼19.5 ka cal BP. After the glaciers collapsed, the Piave River once again flowed into its main valley, whilst the Cismon continued to merge with the Brenta. This investigation shows that glacial catchments may vary significantly over time during a single glaciation in rugged Alpine terrains. Sand petrography and the chemical/mineralogical composition of sediments are powerful proxies for tracing such variations, as they propagate through the glacial and glaciofluvial systems and can be recognized in the alluvial stratigraphic record far downstream from the glacier front.

Litho- and Biostratigraphy of the Middle Neopleistocene of the European Northeast of Russia

The materials on litho- and biostratigraphy (collared lemming, Dicrostonyx) of the Middle Neopleistocene of the northeast Russia were revised and litho- and biostratigraphic methods were mutually tested for determination of the age of geological bodies. The reasonable stratigraphic division and correlation of the Neopleistocene are especially topical because of the current preparation of a new common stratigraphic chart of Quaternary sediments. The petrographic composition of the coarse-clastic material and the orientation of clasts in moraines are regionally consistent lithostratigraphic criteria. In the Pechora (Dnieper) moraine, the elongated rock clasts are oriented in a sector of 20°–60° in contrast to an azimuth of 270°–360° of the Vychegda (Moscow) moraine, which, in addition to petrographic composition of rocks, indicates the contribution of terrigenous material from different glacial provenances during formation of moraines. Certain differences were revealed also in assemblages of heavy minerals. The Middle Neopleistocene rodent fauna was found between the Pechora and Vychegda moraines. The stratigraphic position of microtheriofauna is identified on the basis of evolution level of molars of collared lemmings. By proportion of simplicior and henseli morphotypes for M1 and M2, all fossils belong to three groups corresponding to three evolution stages of a tooth system: Late Pechora (Late Dnieper, MIS 8), Rodionovo (Shklov, MIS 7), and Early Vychegda (Early Moscow, MIS 6). They include D. simplicior morph 2 (Gavrilovka, Bol’shaya Sluda, Akis’, Laya-4 localities), D. simplicior morph 3 (Sercheiyu-1, Laya-3 localities), and D. ex gr. simplicior—gulielmi (Shapkina-4, Chuley, lower horizon of Kipievo localities) morphs. These evolution stages correspond to Late Pechora (Late Dnieper, MIS 8), Rodionovo (Shklov, MIS 7), and Early Vychegda (Early Moscow, MIS 6) intervals. Taking into account the paleoclimate data, the presence of the lemmings in the region during the Rodionovo time is rather plausible.

Simulated retreat of Jakobshavn Isbræ since the Little Ice Age controlled by geometry

Abstract. Rapid retreat of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers coincides with regional warming trends, which have broadly been used to explain these rapid changes. However, outlet glaciers within similar climate regimes experience widely contrasting retreat patterns, suggesting that the local fjord geometry could be an important additional factor. To assess the relative role of climate and fjord geometry, we use the retreat history of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in 1850 as a baseline for the parameterization of a depth- and width-integrated ice flow model. The impact of fjord geometry is isolated by using a linearly increasing climate forcing since the LIA and testing a range of simplified geometries. We find that the total length of retreat is determined by external factors – such as hydrofracturing, submarine melt and buttressing by sea ice – whereas the retreat pattern is governed by the fjord geometry. Narrow and shallow areas provide pinning points and cause delayed but rapid retreat without additional climate warming, after decades of grounding line stability. We suggest that these geometric pinning points may be used to locate potential sites for moraine formation and to predict the long-term response of the glacier. As a consequence, to assess the impact of climate on the retreat history of a glacier, each system has to be analyzed with knowledge of its historic retreat and the local fjord geometry.