Deglaciation Phase Research Articles

Seesaw between the westerlies and Asian monsoon regulates vegetation and climate during the last deglaciation in southern Northeast China

The history and drivers of hydroclimate changes during the last deglaciation in Northeast China remain contentious. We present a high-resolution record of vegetation and climate changes from Lake Buridun in southern Northeast China (SNEC), spanning the last ∼16 kyr. Multi-proxy reconstruction reveals a slight increase in precipitation prior to the end of Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) and forest development during the middle Bølling warming, indicating that hydrothermal conditions regulated regional vegetation. Significant fluctuations in all millennial-scale climatic events underscore the high sensitivity of SNEC to climate change. Our record aligns with high-resolution data from both SNEC and North China, showing a persistent wetting trend during the Bølling-Allerød period. This trend coincides with changes in East Asian summer monsoon intensity and Indo-Pacific warm pool heat content but contrasts with the Greenland temperature records. During the HS1 and Younger Dryas, records show a cold-dry mode in SNEC, contrasting with the cold-wet pattern in central-eastern China caused by the prolonged Meiyu season, which corresponds to the retreat of the monsoon precipitation belt and an enhanced westerly jet. Our data, along with more comprehensive records from broader regions, suggest that hydroclimate in SNEC was dominated by the low-latitude monsoon and the high-latitude westerlies during the warm and cold phases of the last deglaciation, exhibiting a seesaw-like interaction.

Feedback mechanisms controlling Antarctic glacial-cycle dynamics simulated with a coupled ice sheet–solid Earth model

Abstract. The dynamics of the ice sheets on glacial timescales are highly controlled by interactions with the solid Earth, i.e., the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Particularly at marine ice sheets, competing feedback mechanisms govern the migration of the ice sheet's grounding line (GL) and hence the ice sheet stability. For this study, we developed a coupling scheme and performed a suite of coupled ice sheet–solid Earth simulations over the last two glacial cycles. To represent ice sheet dynamics we apply the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), and to represent the solid Earth response we apply the 3D VIscoelastic Lithosphere and MAntle model (VILMA), which, in addition to load deformation and rotation changes, considers the gravitationally consistent redistribution of water (the sea-level equation). We decided on an offline coupling between the two model components. By convergence of trajectories of the Antarctic Ice Sheet deglaciation we determine optimal coupling time step and spatial resolution of the GIA model and compare patterns of inferred relative sea-level change since the Last Glacial Maximum with the results from previous studies. With our coupling setup we evaluate the relevance of feedback mechanisms for the glaciation and deglaciation phases in Antarctica considering different 3D Earth structures resulting in a range of load-response timescales. For rather long timescales, in a glacial climate associated with the far-field sea-level low stand, we find GL advance up to the edge of the continental shelf mainly in West Antarctica, dominated by a self-amplifying GIA feedback, which we call the “forebulge feedback”. For the much shorter timescale of deglaciation, dominated by the marine ice sheet instability, our simulations suggest that the stabilizing sea-level feedback can significantly slow down GL retreat in the Ross sector, which is dominated by a very weak Earth structure (i.e., low mantle viscosity and thin lithosphere). This delaying effect prevents a Holocene GL retreat beyond its present-day position, which is discussed in the scientific community and supported by observational evidence at the Siple Coast and by previous model simulations. The applied coupled framework, PISM–VILMA, allows for defining restart states to run multiple sensitivity simulations from. It can be easily implemented in Earth system models (ESMs) and provides the tools to gain a better understanding of ice sheet stability on glacial timescales as well as in a warmer future climate.

Giant stem tetrapod was apex predator in Gondwanan late Palaeozoic ice age.

Current hypotheses of early tetrapod evolution posit close ecological and biogeographic ties to the extensive coal-producing wetlands of the Carboniferous palaeoequator with rapid replacement of archaic tetrapod groups by relatives of modern amniotes and lissamphibians in the late Carboniferous (about 307 million years ago). These hypotheses draw on a tetrapod fossil record that is almost entirely restricted to palaeoequatorial Pangea (Laurussia)1,2. Here we describe a new giant stem tetrapod, Gaiasia jennyae, from high-palaeolatitude (about 55° S) early Permian-aged (about 280 million years ago) deposits in Namibia that challenges this scenario. Gaiasia is represented by several large, semi-articulated skeletons characterized by a weakly ossified skull with a loosely articulated palate dominated by a broad diamond-shaped parasphenoid, a posteriorly projecting occiput, and enlarged, interlocking dentary and coronoid fangs. Phylogenetic analysis resolves Gaiasia within the tetrapod stem group as the sister taxon of the Carboniferous Colosteidae from Euramerica. Gaiasia is larger than all previously described digited stem tetrapods and provides evidence that continental tetrapods were well established in the cold-temperate latitudes of Gondwana during the final phases of the Carboniferous-Permian deglaciation. This points to a more global distribution of continental tetrapods during the Carboniferous-Permian transition and indicates that previous hypotheses of global tetrapod faunal turnover and dispersal at this time2,3 must be reconsidered.

Ecological “Windows of opportunity” influence biofilm prokaryotic diversity differently in glacial and non-glacial Alpine streams

In glacier-fed streams, the Windows of Opportunity (WOs) are periods of mild environmental conditions supporting the seasonal development of benthic microorganisms. WOs have been defined based on changes in biofilm biomass, but the responses of microbial diversity to WOs in Alpine streams have been overlooked. A two year (2017–2018) metabarcoding of epilithic and epipsammic biofilm prokaryotes was conducted in Alpine streams fed by glaciers (kryal), rock glaciers (rock glacial), or groundwater/precipitation (krenal) in two catchments of the Central-Eastern European Alps (Italy), aiming at testing the hypothesis that: 1) environmental WOs enhance not only the biomass but also the α-diversity of the prokaryotic biofilm in all stream types, 2) diversity and phenology of prokaryotic biofilm are mainly influenced by the physical habitat in glacial streams, and by water chemistry in the other two stream types. The study confirmed kryal and krenal streams as endmembers of epilithic and sediment prokaryotic α- and β-diversity, with rock glacial streams sharing a large proportion of taxa with the two other stream types. Alpha-diversity appeared to respond to ecological WOs, but, contrary to expectations, seasonality was less pronounced in the turbid kryal than in the clear streams. This was attributed to the small size of the glaciers feeding the studied kryal streams, whose discharge dynamics were those typical of the late phase of deglaciation. Prokaryotic α-diversity of non-glacial streams tended to be higher in early summer than in early autumn. Our findings, while confirming that high altitude streams are heavily threatened by climate change, underscore the still neglected role of rock glacier runoffs as climate refugia for the most stenothermic benthic aquatic microorganism. This advocates the need to define and test strategies for protecting these ecosystems for preserving, restoring, and connecting cold Alpine aquatic biodiversity in the context of the progressing global warming.

The last deglaciation in the central Pyrenees: The 47 ka Pllan d’Están paleolake record (Ésera valley)

Last deglaciation was a complex period in southern European mountains with several glacier advances associated to rapid climate changes which differ in terms of timing and intensity. The 46.7 ka BP lacustrine sequence of Pllan d’Están paleolake (1840 m a.s.l.) located in the Central Southern Pyrenees (northern Spain) provides new information about that deglaciation period for the first time in the Ésera valley. We present a multiproxy analysis including sedimentological, geochemical and biological (pollen and diatoms) indicators that, together with a chronological frame constrained by 14C and OSL dates, enabled the longest reconstruction of the glacier evolution, climate and environmental change made in the Pyrenees to date. This lacustrine sedimentary sequence (4.9 m) is composed of banded to finely laminated silts with few intercalations of massive sections where carbonatic, siliciclastic and organic facies appear from the bottom to the top, characterizing environmental changes from a subglacial/proglacial lake to the current peatbog. A cold and glacier dominated period from 46.7 to 15.9 ka BP was interrupted by a warmer period spanning from 38.2 to 34.8 ka BP. The vegetation succession determined by the palynological analyses is similar to other Pyrenean valleys but dates the onset of mesophytes expansion at 13.8 ka BP during the Allerød, pointing to a difference with other European sequences where temperate forest development took place earlier, associated to the Bølling period. The colder conditions of the Younger Dryas (13–11.7 ka BP) have been detected from cold tolerant diatom taxa that preceded a peatbog development during the Holocene (11.7 ka BP – present-day). These results, together with previously studied Pyrenean sequences, allow characterizing past environmental changes during last deglaciation phases in southern Europe.

The influence of fluvial and glacial watershed dynamics on Holocene sediment accumulation in Cariboo Lake, Columbia Mountains, British Columbia, Canada

Records of sedimentation collected from Cariboo Lake, situated in the northern Columbia Mountains, British Columbia, Canada, are analyzed to assess Holocene fluvial and glacial watershed dynamics. The aim of this study is to provide a proxy record of Holocene hydroclimate and glacier change from sediment archives at a higher temporal resolution compared to available records for the Interior Ranges of British Columbia. Deglacial and Holocene sediment accumulation is observed to reach a maximum thickness of 35 m in deep parts of the lake, using sub-bottom acoustic soundings. A transition from massive to well-stratified sediments is observed in the sub-bottom acoustic record during final phases of valley deglaciation in the region (~10.5–9 cal ka BP). Laminae couplets are interpreted to be deposited annually according to two 14C dates and a varve counting chronology. Two long cores, 2.9 and 3.8 m in length, were selected for analysis with estimated basal dates of 2 cal ka BP. Trends in downcore sediment characteristics were linked to environmental changes in the glaciated catchment headwaters at a temporal resolution of ~100 years. Upstream lake filtering of river floodplains and lakes prevented finding a higher temporal resolution linkage between the sediment characteristics and headwater fluvial and glacial activity. Despite some upstream filtering, the Cariboo River was found to be the primary source of sediment to the long core sites. Observed grain size and varve thickness from two long cores show above average trends, which are coincident with cooler temperatures and the primary glacier advances over the last 2 ka.

Simulation of a fully coupled 3D glacial isostatic adjustment – ice sheet model for the Antarctic ice sheet over a glacial cycle

Abstract. Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) has a stabilizing effect on the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet by reducing the grounding line migration following ice melt. The timescale and strength of this feedback depends on the spatially varying viscosity of the Earth's mantle. Most studies assume a relatively long and laterally homogenous response time of the bedrock. However, the mantle viscosity is spatially variable, with a high mantle viscosity beneath East Antarctica and a low mantle viscosity beneath West Antarctica. For this study, we have developed a new method to couple a 3D GIA model and an ice sheet model to study the interaction between the solid Earth and the Antarctic ice sheet during the last glacial cycle. With this method, the ice sheet model and GIA model exchange ice thickness and bedrock elevation during a fully coupled transient experiment. The feedback effect is taken into account with a high temporal resolution, where the coupling time steps between the ice sheet and GIA model are 5000 years over the glaciation phase and vary between 500 and 1000 years over the deglaciation phase of the last glacial cycle. During each coupling time step, the bedrock elevation is adjusted at every ice sheet model time step, and the deformation is computed for a linearly changing ice load. We applied the method using the ice sheet model ANICE and a 3D GIA finite element model. We used results from a regional seismic model for Antarctica embedded in the global seismic model SMEAN2 to determine the patterns in the mantle viscosity. The results of simulations over the last glacial cycle show that differences in mantle viscosity of an order of magnitude can lead to differences in the grounding line position up to 700 km and to differences in ice thickness of the order of 2 km for the present day near the Ross Embayment. These results underline and quantify the importance of including local GIA feedback effects in ice sheet models when simulating the Antarctic ice sheet evolution over the last glacial cycle.

Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Cantal Mountains and on the Cézallier Plateau (western Massif Central, France): Insights from glacial geomorphology and surface exposure dating

The aim of this work is to build a new chronology of the Late Pleistocene glacial fluctuations in the Cantal Mountains and on the Cézallier Plateau (western Massif Central, France). The study of glacial landform-sediment assemblages is supported by the production of new exposure ages (n = 48) from (i) forty-three erratic boulders (36Cl and 10Be) spread over twelve glacial landforms, (ii) two ages from polished bedrocks (10Be) and (iii) three ages from depth profiles (10Be and 26Al) in tills. The results indicate that the majority of glacial deposits are attributed to Marine Isotopic Stage 2 (29 to 11 ka). From this dataset, four glacial stadials are discriminated: the Early-Local Last Glacial Maximum at 29–24 ka, (ii) Late-Last Glacial Maximum at 24–20 ka, (iii) a glacial still stand at approximately 17 ka, during a general deglaciation phase between 20 and 16 ka and finally (iv) a cirque stadial localized only in the Cantal Mountains at <16 ka. This new chronology strengthens the chronostratigraphy of the western Massif Central and highlights the sensitivity of the area to atmospheric circulation changes.

Kungurian (Cisuralian) conifers and environmental changes: a negative δ13C shift in the flora of Tregiovo (Northern Italy)

The Le Fraine fossil locality, near the Tregiovo village (Trento Province, northern Italy) yields two of the best documented Kungurian (early Permian) plant fossil assemblages of eastern palaeoequatorial Pangea. Both plant assemblages (Tregiovo A and B) are dominated by walchian and voltzian conifers but differ in the relative abundance of the major plant groups. Analyses of the δ13C of the bulk organic carbon throughout the entire stratigraphic succession of Tregiovo show a negative trend towards the upper part of the succession. Several conifer taxa are recognized and taxon-specific δ13C analyses of the conifer remains in both plant fossil assemblages shows the same trend in all taxa. This correlation between the negative shift of the bulk organic carbon and the taxon-specific δ13C analysis shows that the negative δ13C shift recorded along the stratigraphic section is not the result of change in relative abundance within the plant assemblages but instead has an external cause, likely the δ13C values of atmospheric CO2. These results agree well with a negative shift observed in other Kungurian continental successions (e.g., China, South Africa, Australia), supporting a global perturbation in the carbon cycle. The negative shift in δ13C could very well record the last deglaciation phases of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age and the rise of the atmospheric pCO2.

Early Holocene thinning and final demise of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet across the main drainage divide of southern Norway

The thinning and final decay of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in the Gudbrandsdalen area in central southern Norway is described, based on (1) cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating of 25 glacially transported boulders, (2) radiocarbon dating of plant remains in the basal strata in four lakes and (3) mapping of large ice-dammed lakes that formed at different elevations and at different times during the last deglacation. We complement the new chronology with previously published 10Be-ages from the same region. The dated samples are spread from mountain summits 1800 m a.s.l. to the valley floor at 250 m a.s.l. Our results suggest that the ice sheet surface remained well above 1800 m a.s.l. in northern Gudbrandsdalen throughout the Younger Dryas. During the Early Holocene the ice sheet thinned rapidly, at rates estimated to 1.7–5.8 m yr−1. The final phase of deglaciation involved formation of large ice-dammed lakes, most notably the Store Dølasjø which was formed after 10.4 ka BP and finally drained around 10.0 ka BP. The ice-marginal landforms that characterize the mountain region of northern Gudbrandsdalen, i.e., moraine ridges, lateral meltwater channels, as well as deposits and shorelines from ice-dammed lakes, thus collectively originate from a period of rapid ice sheet downwasting over ca. 1600 years.

Facies sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of the carboniferous lower section of the Ansilta Formation, Calingasta-Uspallata Basin, NW Argentina

The Ansilta Formation is located 5 km southeast of the Astronomical Observatory El Leoncito near Barreal, San Juan Province, Argentina. It consists of glacimarine, nearshore, and fluvial systems deposited during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age along the eastern margin of the Calingasta-Uspallata Basin. Glacial environments are unique in that facies changes occur because of glacial ice margin fluctuations that may be independent from changes of eustatic sea-level. For this reason, an alternative conceptual framework outside of the traditional sequence stratigraphic approach is necessary to understand the genesis of these strata. The lower glacially influenced succession (0–427 m) records at least five glacial advances, where glacial dynamic signatures are interpreted using glacial sequence stratigraphy and glacial systems tracts (GST). The upper succession of the Ansilta Formation (427–700 m) consists of progradational shallow marine shelf, deltaic, and fluvial strata. This assemblage shows no direct evidence of ice contact deposition in the outcrop belt due to an absence of glacially shared diamictites and glacially modified clasts, representing a major deglaciation phase in western Argentina and is part of the stepped deglaciation across Gondwana that ended elsewhere during the late Permian.

Weak precipitation δ2H response to large Holocene hydroclimate changes in eastern North America

In eastern North America, annual precipitation increased by >40% over the Holocene, largely in response to melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The change substantially raised lake levels and transformed conifer-dominated ecosystems into mesic deciduous forests. δ2H values of terrestrially derived leaf-wax n-alkanes can facilitate diagnoses of the climate dynamics involved by reconstructing δ2H values of mean annual precipitation (δ2HMAP). However, competing influences on δ2HMAP values in the mid-latitudes, such as changes in moisture sources and in the seasonal distribution of precipitation, can generate confounding effects. To test δ2HMAP sensitivity to potential changes associated with the final Holocene phases of deglaciation in eastern North America, we used 14 fossil-pollen records to reconstruct monthly precipitation changes and to model δ2HMAP values during the Holocene. The pollen-inferred precipitation increased by 100–200 mm during both cold and warm seasons, but modeled δ2HMAP values changed by only ∼10‰, because isotopically-heavy summer precipitation increased by nearly as much as the cold-season isotopically-light winter precipitation. Three new leaf wax n-C29-alkane (δ2HC29) records spanning the Holocene from Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts closely follow modeled δ2HMAP trends and confirm only a small decline in δ2HMAP values over the Holocene. Because the shifts in precipitation seasonality accurately predict the n-alkane records, changes in moisture sources or pathways appear to play only a minor role in the regional δ2HMAP history despite the effects of deglaciation on atmospheric circulation. Soil evaporation also did not significantly alter δ2HC29 values from the values predicted using the pollen-derived reconstructions. The results affirm that δ2HC29 values faithfully detected anticipated isotopic changes in δ2HMAP values, but that important paleoclimate events may not always yield strong changes in δ2HMAP values.

Modelling feedbacks between the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and climate during the last glacial cycle

Abstract. During the last glacial cycle (LGC), ice sheets covered large parts of Eurasia and North America, which resulted in ∼120 m of sea level change. Ice sheet–climate interactions have considerable influence on temperature and precipitation patterns and therefore need to be included when simulating this time period. Ideally, ice sheet–climate interactions are simulated by a high-resolution Earth system model. While these models are capable of simulating climates at a certain point in time, such as the pre-industrial (PI) or the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 000 years ago), a full transient glacial cycle is currently computationally unfeasible as it requires a too-large amount of computation time. Nevertheless, ice sheet models require forcing that captures the gradual change in climate over time to calculate the accumulation and melt of ice and its effect on ice sheet extent and volume changes. Here we simulate the LGC using an ice sheet model forced by LGM and PI climates. The gradual change in climate is modelled by transiently interpolating between pre-calculated results from a climate model for the LGM and the PI. To assess the influence of ice sheet–climate interactions, we use two different interpolation methods: the climate matrix method, which includes a temperature–albedo and precipitation–topography feedback, and the glacial index method, which does not. To investigate the sensitivity of the results to the prescribed climate forcing, we use the output of several models that are part of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase III (PMIP3). In these simulations, ice volume is prescribed, and the climate is reconstructed with a general circulation model (GCM). Here we test those models by using their climate to drive an ice sheet model over the LGC. We find that the ice volume differences caused by the climate forcing exceed the differences caused by the interpolation method. Some GCMs produced unrealistic LGM volumes, and only four resulted in reasonable ice sheets, with LGM Northern Hemisphere sea level contribution ranging between 74–113 m with respect to the present day. The glacial index and climate matrix methods result in similar ice volumes at the LGM but yield a different ice evolution with different ice domes during the inception phase of the glacial cycle and different sea level rates during the deglaciation phase. The temperature–albedo feedback is the main cause of differences between the glacial index and climate matrix methods.

Asynchronous dynamics of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet along the Pomeranian ice-marginal belt: A new scenario inferred from surface exposure 10Be dating

We present a new set of 25 10Be surface exposure ages of boulders located on the Pomeranian moraines and of erratic boulders located directly upstream of the Pomeranian moraines in northern Poland. Together with recalculated 10Be surface exposure ages along the Pomeranian ice-marginal belt from Denmark to the west to Lithuania and Belarus to the east, the full data set (n = 86) enabled us to constrain the timing of the ice front standstill and its subsequent retreat. The investigated area consists of geomorphological record along ∼2000 km of the ice margin associated with the ice sheet limit correlated so far with the Late Weichselian Pomeranian Phase (Bælthav in Denmark, Baltija in Lithuania and Braslav in Belarus).We constrained deposition of the Pomeranian ice-marginal formations to discrete intervals: (1) ∼20–19 ka in the area of the Baltic Ice Stream, (2) ∼19–18 ka in the area of the Odra Ice Stream, (3) ∼20–19 ka in the interstream zone between the Odra and the Vistula Ice Streams, (4) ∼19–18 ka in the area of the Vistula Ice Stream, (5) ∼18–17 ka in the area of the Mazury Ice Stream, (6) ∼17–16 ka in the area of the Riga Ice Stream, and (7) ∼16–15 ka in the area of the Novgorod Ice Stream. Our best age estimates are based on: (1) a minimum age of the ice margin retreat inferred from new and recalculated 10Be ages of boulders as well as interpretation of available radiocarbon ages from organic deposits and OSL ages from sediments overlying tills, and (2) a maximum age of the ice margin stillstand and retreat inferred from interpretation of available OSL ages from sandur sediments deposited in front of the ice sheet. The asynchrony of the ice margin positions along the Pomeranian ice-marginal belt shows about 3–5 ka difference between the Bælthav ice margin in Denmark and the Braslav ice margin in Belarus. We propose a new scenario of the ice sheet evolution and a time-slice reconstruction of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet's southern fringe for the period ∼20–15 ka. We suggest that the term “Pomeranian Phase” should not be used but rather that the terms “Pomeranian moraines” or “Pomeranian ice-marginal belt” are adequate to describe geomorphological record of the palaeo-ice margin positions, which occurred during various phases of the last deglaciation.

Calibrated relative sea levels constrain isostatic adjustment and ice history in northwest Greenland

Relative Sea Levels (RSLs) derived primarily from marine bivalves near Petermann Glacier, NW Greenland, constrain past regional ice-mass changes through glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modeling. Oxygen isotopes measured on bivalves corrected for shell-depth habitat and document changing meltwater input. Rapid RSL fall of up to 62 m/kyr indicates ice loss at or prior to ∼9 ka. Transition to an RSL stillstand starting at ∼6 ka reflects renewed ice-mass loading followed by further mass loss over the past few millennia. GIA simulations of rapid early RSL fall suggest a low regional upper-mantle viscosity. Early loss of grounded ice tracks atmospheric warming and pre-dates the eventual collapse of Petermann Glacier's floating ice tongue near ∼7 ka, suggesting grounding zone stabilization during early phases of deglaciation. We hypothesize mid-Holocene regrowth of regional ice caps in response to cooling and increased precipitation, following loss of the floating shelf ice. Remnants of these ice caps remain present but are now melting.

Glacimarine sediments from outer Drygalski Trough, sub-Antarctic South Georgia – evidence for extensive glaciation during the Last Glacial Maximum

South Georgia, one of the largest sub-Antarctic islands, is located within the Southern Ocean and is influenced by the moisture-supplying Southern Westerlies and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which are highly susceptible to Southern Hemisphere climate variability. Its unique location causes South Georgia's remaining ice masses to react sensitively to climate change, resulting in highly dynamic ice cap waxing and waning, as well as in geomorphological and sedimentological changes on the island and its continental shelf. Sediments around the island have been archiving this ice cap behaviour since at least the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and are therefore an important target to investigate past ice cap evolution and climate. Despite several interdisciplinary studies on land and in coastal areas, much of the glacial history is still poorly constrained due to a lack of offshore data. This study presents the, thus far, most distal marine sediment succession from outer Drygalski Trough on the mid-continental shelf of South Georgia. Composite multi-proxy-analyses, together with radiocarbon dating, sub-bottom profiler and high-resolution bathymetric data provide first insights into the evolution of a large glacial trough south of South Georgia since the LGM. Several moraines close to the shelf edge indicate shelf-wide glaciation during the local LGM, which, based on extrapolation of the oldest reliable radiocarbon date, occurred before 30 ka BP at the earliest. Basal stratified diamicton at the core site was interpreted as waterlain till deposited in a subglacial cavity with restricted seawater access and suggests grounding zone-proximal sedimentation in the early phases of deglaciation. The ice margin remained stable until ∼17.5 cal ka BP, when ice quickly retreated from the mid-continental shelf and sedimentation at the core site was dominated by hemipelagic suspension settling with some iceberg melting. Further retreat was interrupted by a local ice readvance and associated increased hinterland erosion during the Antarctic Cold Reversal (14.5–12.8 ka), as indicated by peak sedimentation rates (>190 cm ka−1) between 13.4 and 12.4 cal ka BP. In contrast, the continuous deposition of ice-distal to open-marine mud at rates of only ∼30 cm ka−1 throughout the Holocene indicate that any other LGM-subsequent glacier readvances reached significantly lesser extents and were probably confined to the fjord. Our data provide new evidence in support of a shelf-wide glaciation during the LGM and suggest rapid, but stepwise ice retreat during deglaciation.

Late Pleistocene glacial advances, equilibrium-line altitude changes and paleoclimate in the Jakupica Mts (North Macedonia)

In the Jakupica Mts a plateau glacier was reconstructed (max. area ∼45 km2, max thickness: ∼260 m). The study area comprises six formerly glaciated valleys, five of which were fed by the plateau glacier and one had an independent cirque when local glaciation reached its maximum ice extent (MIE). The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the most extended glacial phase was at 2075+37/-25 m asl. The 10Be cosmic ray exposure (CRE) age of this phase was estimated at 19.3+1.7/-1.3 ka, conformable with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). CRE ages from the next moraine generation placed the first phase of deglaciation to 18.2+1.0/-3.0 ka. The samples from the moraine of the penultimate deglaciation phase provided CRE ages with large scatter and biased towards old ages, which is probably the result of inherited cosmogenic nuclide concentrations within the rock.Glacio-climatological modelling was performed for the MIE, which has a well-established LGM age. The degree-day model was used to calculate the amount of accumulation required to sustain the glaciological equilibrium assuming a certain temperature drop at the ELA. The degree-day model constrained by the pollen-based July paleo-temperature reconstructions yielded an annual total melt at the LGM ELA comparable to or slightly higher than the current mean annual precipitation at the same elevation. These wetter LGM conditions inferred from the paleo-glaciological evidence in Jakupica Mts suggest an enhanced moisture advection in the region.

Timing of the last deglaciation phases in the southern Baltic area inferred from Bayesian age modeling

A new chronology of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet retreat in the southern Baltic basin is proposed. Based on Bayesian age modeling, we show that the most likely ages of particular deglaciation phases are 16.5 ± 0.5 ka for the Gardno Phase, 15.6 ± 0.6 ka for the Słupsk Bank Phase, and 13.9 ± 0.5 ka for the Southern Middle Bank Phase. The Gardno moraines are correlated with the Halland Coastal moraines in southern Sweden and the Middle Lithuanian moraines in Lithuania and Latvia. Ice margin stillstands of the Słupsk Bank Phase and Souhern Middle Bank Phase are correlated with the Göteborg and Vimmerby moraines, and with the North Lithuanian (Haanja) and Otepää moraines. The average retreat rates of the ice margin is about 55 m/yr between the Gardno Phase and the Słupsk Bank Phase, and about 40 m/yr between the Słupsk Bank Phase and the Southern Middle Bank Phase. This suggests that the last deglaciation did not accelerate after the Gardno Phase when an extensive ice-dammed lake was formed in front of the retreating ice sheet. The ice margin was probably grounded rather than floating, which prevented its more rapid retreat. The timing of the two main ice margin stillstands at the Słupsk Bank and at the Southern Middle Bank corresponds to the cool periods around 15 and 14 ka interpreted from paleotemperatures of Greenland based on ice core GISP2. This suggests that the main phases of the last deglaciation in the southern Baltic region were at least partly triggered by climatic fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere.

Reconstructing the advance and retreat dynamics of the central sector of the last Cordilleran Ice Sheet

The advance of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) towards its Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) configuration and its subsequent retreat remain poorly understood. We use the glacial landform record to determine ice dynamics for the central sector of the CIS in northern British Columbia, Canada, beneath the LGM ice divide. We classify seventy ice-flow indicator flowsets based on morphology, elevation, orientation and cross-cutting relationships into one of three stages, whereby stage 1 is oldest and stage 3 youngest. Combined with ice-contact geomorphology, our reconstruction highlights complex changes in ice flow over time as a result of ice divide migrations through the LGM and deglacial phases. The orientation and distribution of landforms indicates active post-LGM ice retreat westward through the Cassiar and Omineca mountains. We map the regional distribution of independent mountain glaciers, ice caps, and ice fields that regrew during a cooling event in the Late Glacial and show that some of these readvance glaciers were subsequently overrun by advancing outlet glaciers of the CIS. We use the cross-cutting relationship between readvance glaciers and CIS outlet glaciers and available chronological data to reconstruct the eastern CIS margin during the Late Glacial for the first time.

Luminescence dating of late pleistocene glacial and glacio-fluvial sediments in the Central Himalaya, India

The late Quaternary glacier advances in the Himalayan orogen exhibit a complex interplay of insolation induced changes in summer monsoon and winter westerlies. However, the relative contributions of these moisture sources in driving the glacier advances in the Himalaya are still being debated. Additionally, uncertainties about the timing, and hence the processes, responsible for driving the penultimate Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Central Himalaya, still persist. The present study attempts to address some of these issues by employing detailed moraine stratigraphy supplemented with luminescence dating of three moraine and two relict lake sequences in the Kunti-Banar valley of the Central Himalaya, India. The study revealed that the penultimate glacier advance was significantly more extensive compared to its LGM counterpart. Stratigraphically and chronologically correlated sequences indicate that the penultimate glacial advance corresponded to the cool and dry Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4) and pluvial early to middle MIS 3. The restricted LGM glacier advance is dated to ∼23 ± 4 ka; while the youngest glacial advance is dated to ∼16.6 ± 0.4 ka and corresponds to the oldest Dryas (OD).Geomorphologically, the oldest Kunti-Banar glacier advance (KBGA)-I moraine was responsible for the obstruction of the meltwater stream leading to the formation of a proglacial lake around 30 ± 3 ka. Similarly, the KBGA-II moraine is overlain by relict lake sediments, with an age range of ∼15 ± 1 ka to present, implying that deglaciation has occurred prior to it. Evidence from the Dhauliganga valley resonates reasonably well with the pattern of glacier advances from Central Himalaya implying the influence of mid-latitude, synoptic-scale climatic perturbations. Particularly, there seems to be a coupling between the enhanced mid-latitude westerlies and phases of glacier advance, whereas the deglaciation phases correspond to the insolation driven enhanced monsoon periods.