Cosmogenic radionuclide evidence for the limited extent of last glacial maximum glaciers in the Tanggula Shan of the central Tibetan Plateau

Cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) exposure ages provide evidence for the limited extent of last glacial maximum glaciers in the Tanggula Shan, central Tibetan Plateau. The most extensive advances occurred during or before marine oxygen isotope stage 6 (MIS-6) based on previous CRN exposure ages. The second most extensive advance occurred during or before MIS-4 based on previous ages and new ages of 41,400 ± 4300, and 66,800 ± 7100 ¹⁰Be yr. A MIS-2 advance of less than 3 km occurred between 31,900 ± 3400 and 16,000 ± 1700 ¹⁰Be yr.     

Last Glacial snowlines in the Tibetan Plateau: an argument against an extensive coalescing icesheet

Two opposing theories are circulating with regard to the extent of the Last Glacial ice cover in the Tibetan Plateau. One says that only less than 20% of plateau was covered with ice, and another insists that the plateau be completely covered with an extensive coalescing icesheet. The extent of the ice cover is thought to be significant in shaping global climatic systems, and a further discussion on this issue may help to understand the earth's surface feedback mechanisms to the global climates. This paper focuses on the Last Glacial snowline reconstruction and uses the reconstructed snowline to argue against the existence of an extensive coalescing icesheet. The reconstructed Last Glacial snowlines suggest that the snowlines dropped 500–700 m in the western and northern marginal mountains and about 1000 m in the southern and eastern marginal mountains of the Tibetan Plateau. However, the magnitude of the snowline dropping decreases dramatically towards the interior of the plateau, from 300–400 m in those mountains adjacent to the marginal mountains to about 100 m in the driest area in the interior. This means that the snowlines were too high and associated glaciers were too limited to extend to the vast intermountainous basins. To be blamed are weakened summer monsoons and lowered condensation elevations, both of which were probably responsible for not bringing in an adequate amount of precipitation into the interior for developing an extensive coalescing icesheet. The relatively high radiation in these relatively low latitudes could be a major negative force to prevent the snow and ice from forming a coalescing icesheet. In contrast, the enhanced plateau blockade to the monsoons may have helped to significantly lower the snowlines and expand the glaciers in the outer slopes of the southern and eastern marginal mountains. The westerlies may have greatly helped those glaciers in the western and northern marginal mountains. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for moraines in the Lago San Martin Valley, Argentina

At several times during the Quaternary, a major eastward-flowing outlet glacier of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet occupied the Lago San Martin Valley in Argentina (49°S, 72°W). We present a glacial chronology for the valley based on geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic nuclide (¹⁰Be) exposure ages (n = 10) of boulders on moraines and lake shorelines. There are five prominent moraine belts in the Lago San Martin Valley, associated with extensive sandar (glaciofluvial outwash plains) and former lake shorelines. Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for boulders on these moraines indicate that they formed at 14.3 ± 1.7 ka, 22.4 ± 2.3 ka, 34.4 ± 3.4 ka to 37.6 ± 3.4 ka (and possibly 60 ± 3.5 ka), and 99 ± 11 ka (1σ). These dated glacier advances differ from published chronologies from the Lago San Martin Valley based on ¹⁴C age determinations from organic sediments and molluscs in meltwater channels directly in front of moraines or in kettleholes within end moraine ridges. The moraine boulder ages also point to possible pre-LGM glacial advances during the last glacial cycle and a key observation from our data is that the LGM glaciers were probably less extensive in the Lago San Martin Valley than previously thought.     

The post to late glacial valley reconstruction on the Haramosh north side (Mani, Baska and Phuparash valleys)

The post to late glacial valley reconstruction is focused on the Mani- Baska and Phuparash valleys on the Rakaposhi- Haramosh Muztagh in the south Karakoram. The recently glaciated valleys join the Indus valley near Sassi at 1500 m. The knowledge of the tributary valley reconstruction can be seen in the context of the scientific discussion about the extent of glaciation along the main Indus valley. Today, the recent avalanche fed glaciers come down from high lying catchment areas with an average altitude of 6700–6800 m and terminate at 2700 m. Snow line runs at 4700–4800 m in the steep flanks which is common in the Karakoram Mountains. The postglacial extent is marked by the great lateral moraine (GLM) and reached down not more than 2.5–5 km away from the recent glaciers with a calculated snow line depression of 300 m in maximum. It can be shown that the valleys were already glaciated during the lastest Late Glacial down to the valley outlet at 1500 m. The snow line was depressed 600–700 m during that period. A high glacial ice filling of the Haramosh valley and glacial erosion of the flat top of the Darchan ridge as an intermediate valley head is strongly probable.     

Evidence for a 55-50 ka (early Wisconsin) glaciation of the Cordilleran ice sheet, Yukon Territory, Canada

Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on boulders of 54-51 ka (n = 4) on a penultimate Cordilleran ice sheet (CIS) drift confirm that Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (early Wisconsin) glaciation was extensive in parts of Yukon Territory, the first confirmed evidence in the Canadian Cordillera. We name the glaciation inferred from the mapped and dated drift the Gladstone. These results are in apparent contrast to the MIS 6 (Illinoian) age of the penultimate Reid glaciation to the east in central Yukon but are equivalent to exposure ages on MIS 4 drift in Alaska. Contrasting penultimate ice extents in Yukon requires that different source areas of the northern CIS in Yukon responded differently to climatic forcing during glaciations. The variation in glacier extent for different source areas likely relates to variation in precipitation during glaciation, as the northern CIS was a precipitation-limited system. Causes for a variation in precipitation remain unclear but likely involve the style of precipitation delivery over the St. Elias Mountains possibly related to variations in the Aleutian low.     

Last glacial maximum climate inferences from cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling of the western Uinta ice field, Uinta Mountains, Utah

During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the western Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah were occupied by the Western Uinta Ice Field. Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface-exposure ages from the terminal moraine in the North Fork Provo Valley and paired ²⁶Al and ¹⁰Be ages from striated bedrock at Bald Mountain Pass set limits on the timing of the local LGM. Moraine boulder ages suggest that ice reached its maximum extent by 17.4 ± 0.5 ka (± 2σ). ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al measurements on striated bedrock from Bald Mountain Pass, situated near the former center of the ice field, yield a mean ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratio of 5.7 ± 0.8 and a mean exposure age of 14.0 ± 0.5 ka, which places a minimum-limiting age on when the ice field melted completely. We also applied a mass/energy-balance and ice-flow model to investigate the LGM climate of the western Uinta Mountains. Results suggest that temperatures were likely 5 to 7°C cooler than present and precipitation was 2 to 3.5 times greater than modern, and the western-most glaciers in the range generally received more precipitation when expanding to their maximum extent than glaciers farther east. This scenario is consistent with the hypothesis that precipitation in the western Uintas was enhanced by pluvial Lake Bonneville during the last glaciation.     

青藏高原更新世冰期的天文气候学依据

青藏高原上更新世的三次冰期分别发生于深海氧同位素的第2—4,6和14—16阶段。介于它们之间的乃是间冰期。所以寒冷期不等于冰期,间冰期不等于温暖期。如果考察过去73万年以来全球所获得的北半球冬半年平均的太阳辐射量的变化,那么第2—4,6和14—16阶段乃是太阳辐射量比较低的时期。因此青藏高原的更新世冰期是服从天文气候学的基本规律的,是受天文因素的自然变化所控制的。     

Cosmogenic nuclide chronology of pre-last glacial maximum moraines at Lago Buenos Aires, 46°S, Argentina

At Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages range from 190,000 to 109,000 yr for two moraines deposited prior to the last glaciation, 23,000–16,000 yr ago. Two approaches, maximum boulder ages assuming no erosion, and the average age of all boulders and an erosion rate of 1.4 mm/10³ yr, both yield a common estimate age of 150,000–140,000 yr for the two moraines. The erosion rate estimate derives from ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al concentrations in old erratics, deposited on moraines that are >760,000 yr old on the basis of interbedded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dated lavas. The new cosmogenic ages indicate that a major glaciation during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 occurred in the mid-latitude Andes. The next five youngest moraines correspond to stage 2. There is no preserved record of a glacial advance during stage 4. The distribution of dated boulders and their ages suggest that at least one major glaciation occurred between 760,000 and >200,000 yr ago. The mid-latitude Patagonian glacial record, which is well preserved because of low erosion rates, indicates that during the last two glacial cycles major glaciations in the southern Andes have been in phase with growth and decay of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, especially at the 100,000 yr periodicity. Thus, glacial maxima are global in nature and are ultimately paced by small changes in Northern Hemisphere insolation.     

New radiometric and geomorphologic evidences of a last glacial maximum older than 18 ka in SW European mountains: the example of Redes Natural Park (Cantabrian Mountains,NW Spain)

Abstract

The first numerical age determinations from radiocarbon dating establish the chronology of glacial events in Redes Natural Park (Cantabrian Mountain, NW Spain). A core drilled in an ice-dammed deposit provided a minimum age of 28 990 ± 230 years BP for the maximum glacial expansion (phase I). Another core from a cirque bottom-fill provided organic sediment with 20 640 ± 300 years BP, a minimum age for the first glacial retreat (phase II). Radiometric dating of proglacial deposits interpreted as synchronous with the last glacial maximum phase in neighbouring Cornelia basin (Picos de Europa), yield ages of 40 480 ± 820 years BP. The chronological data presented in this work are consistent with the model of glacier evolution established in the Pyrénées, with a glacial maximum phase for the last glacial period older than 18 ka. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. AU rights reserved.     

著名地质学家李捷先生与第四纪研究——纪念李捷先生逝世30周年

李捷先生,字月三(1894.4.29~1977.1.30),河北成安县人。著名区域地质学家、矿产地质及工程地质学家。1916年毕业于农商部地质研究所讲习班,同年进入地质调查所,开始从事地质事业。他是我国地质界的老前辈,中国地质学会的创立会员,中国地质事业重要奠基人之一。早年在河北、山东等地,长期从事野外实地考察,并于1928年完成1 ∶ 100万中国地质图南京开封幅,是我国最早完成的3个图幅之一。1927年他参加周口店大规模的发掘工作,担任中方代表,为两年后\"北京人\"头盖骨的发现奠定基础。1928年调任原中央研究院地质研究所研究员,曾在湖北、四川、广西以及苏皖等地区,开创性的完成大量调查工作。解放后,他曾担任水利部勘探设计总局地质总工程师,水电部水电总局副总工程师,为新中国的水利水电事业做出了重要贡献。特别需要指出的是,李捷先生是我国最早参与第四纪冰川研究的少数老地质学家之一,对冰川研究造诣甚深。早在20世纪30年代,就在鄂西山区首次发现冰川遗迹,50年代又在三门峡以及北京附近发现冰川泥砾层的分布,对研究这些地区的水文地质、工程地质问题以及第四系划分,均有重要意义。     

Chronology of latest Pleistocene mountain glaciation in the western Wasatch Mountains, Utah, U.S.A.

Understanding the timing of mountain glacier and paleolake expansion and retraction in the Great Basin region of the western United States has important implications for regional-scale climate change during the last Pleistocene glaciation. The relative timing of mountain glacier maxima and the well-studied Lake Bonneville highstand has been unclear, however, owing to poor chronological limits on glacial deposits. Here, this problem is addressed by applying terrestrial cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure dating to a classic set of terminal moraines in Little Cottonwood and American Fork Canyons in the western Wasatch Mountains. The exposure ages indicate that the main phase of deglaciation began at 15.7 ± 1.3 ka in both canyons. This update to the glacial chronology of the western Wasatch Mountains can be reconciled with previous stratigraphic observations of glacial and paleolake deposits in this area, and indicates that the start of deglaciation occurred during or at the end of the Lake Bonneville hydrologic maximum. The glacial chronology reported here is consistent with the growing body of data suggesting that mountain glaciers in the western U.S. began retreating as many as 4 ka after the start of northern hemisphere deglaciation (at ca. 19 ka).     

冰期之青藏高原新研究

冰碛测年技术近些年有很大进展。古里雅冰芯底部3 6Cl测年和昆仑山垭口老冰碛ESR测年已表明 ,青藏高原在昆仑黄河运动之后的 70万年前就进入了当时的冰冻圈 ,与全球性的冰期旋回相耦合 ,发生了最早的冰川作用。最近的冰碛ESR测年表明 ,高原东北边缘的祁连山地区至少在 40多万年前的氧同位素 12阶段发生了冰川作用 ,天山高望峰冰碛测年显示了同样的结果。最近的研究进一步表明 ,高原第四纪冰川仍然是以横亘在高原上的高大山系为依托发育的 ,各地各次冰川作用的清晰界限和有限范围不允许作连续大冰盖的推断。稻城冰帽南面断陷谷地中深风化红色冰碛物粘土的硅铝率和硅铝铁率达到了红壤的水平 ,其北面理塘盆地灰岩风化壳也显示很深的风化 ,此二者海拔在40 0 0m上下 ,有相当老的年龄 ,说明它们从未受到大冰盖的袭劫。研究进一步表明 ,现代和冰期雪线由高原边缘向腹地升高 ,羌塘地区高出边缘 15 0 0m左右 ,生动表现了“亚洲干极”的作用。广泛分布的湖群说明羌塘地区是一个大江大河尚未伸入的内流地区 ,意味着青藏高原是个年青的高原 ,而不是什么大冰盖的证据。     

青藏高原第四纪冰川作用及其气候响应的讨论

关于青藏高原和周边山地第四纪冰川作用及其气候响应存在不同观点。一些学者认为老冰期主要发生在氧同位素奇数阶段; MIS 3和早全新世存在规模较大的冰川前进; 南亚季风对青藏高原冰川作用起主导作用(水汽驱动)。另一些学者则认为青藏高原冰川作用主要对应于氧同位素偶数阶段; 冰川发育是构造隆升-冰期气候耦合的产物(低温驱动)。本文基于现有的陆地生成宇宙核素(TCN)和光释光(OSL)等年代结果总结了不同时间尺度和不同类型冰川波动与气候变化历史的对比, 并对几个关键的争议问题做了讨论。结果表明, 在不同类型冰川区和不同时间尺度下, 冰川作用在湿润期和低温期都有可能发生, 但总体上主要与低温相对应。青藏高原冰川对气温的响应似乎更为敏感。MIS 3冰进规模较大可能是降水较多结合冷期(或冷事件)降温所致, 显示了印度季风降水和气温波动对高原冰川的共同作用。早全新世冰进也与印度季风和北半球冷事件关系密切。目前的测年数据还没有推翻\"冰期发生在氧同位素偶数阶段\"这种传统认识。当前急需更多精确的数字定年工作, 以不断更新对青藏高原冰期时代及其气候响应机制的了解。     

青藏高原的末次冰期与最大冰期——对M.Kuhle的大冰盖假设的否定

M.Kuhle把青藏高原外缘山地的山麓泥石洪流堆积误认为冰碛,推算出高原上末次冰期雪线普遍比今降低1100-1500m,已低于高原平均高度,以此推断在青藏高原形成了统一大冰盖。本文根据中国学者大量的研究事实和确凿的冰川作用遗迹,重建冰期雪线分布高度,提出了“分散的山地冰川”的观点,并从古气候学和高原构造隆升等方面分析了原因,以此论证了“大冰盖说”的主观性。     

第四纪中期青藏高原冰冻圈的演化及其与全球变化的联系

文章给出了冰冻圈的含义与组成,新生代４２Ｍａ前南极冰盖出现至中更新世,是地球上冰冰圈发展的漫长过程,青藏高原在早更新世只在个别高峰有冰川作用,直到１．１～０．６ＭａＢＰ的昆（仑）黄（河）运动,将高原面抬升至３５００ｍ左右高度的降温作用和同时期地球接受日射的轨道转型＊（由４．１万年周期的轨道倾斜率过渡为１０万年周期的轨道偏心率控制）及相伴的降温作用相耦合。形成了测年数据在０．６～０．８ＭａＢＰ间的倒