Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier fluctuations in western Canada

We summarize evidence of the latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Canadian Cordillera. Our review focuses primarily on studies completed after 1988, when the first comprehensive review of such evidence was published. The Cordilleran ice sheet reached its maximum extent about 16 ka and then rapidly decayed. Some lobes of the ice sheet, valley glaciers, and cirque glaciers advanced one or more times between 15 and 11 ka. By 11 ka, or soon thereafter, glacier cover in the Cordillera was no more extensive than at the end of the 20th century. Glaciers were least extensive between 11 and 7 ka. A general expansion of glaciers began as early as 8.4 ka when glaciers overrode forests in the southern Coast Mountains; it culminated with the climactic advances of the Little Ice Age. Holocene glacier expansion was not continuous, but rather was punctuated by advances and retreats on a variety of timescales. Radiocarbon ages of wood collected from glacier forefields reveal six major periods of glacier advance: 8.59–8.18, 7.36–6.45, 4.40–3.97, 3.54–2.77, 1.71–1.30 ka, and the past millennium. Tree-ring and lichenometric dating shows that glaciers began their Little Ice Age advances as early as the 11th century and reached their maximum Holocene positions during the early 18th or mid-19th century. Our data confirm a previously suggested pattern of episodic but successively greater Holocene glacier expansion from the early Holocene to the climactic advances of the Little Ice Age, presumably driven by decreasing summer insolation throughout the Holocene. Proxy climate records indicate that glaciers advanced during the Little Ice Age in response to cold conditions that coincided with times of sunspot minima. Priority research required to further advance our understanding of late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation in western Canada includes constraining the age of late Pleistocene moraines in northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory, expanding the use of cosmogenic surface exposure dating techniques, using multi-proxy paleoclimate approaches, and directing more of the research effort to the northern Canadian Cordillera.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene alpine glacier fluctuations in Scandinavia

During the early Holocene abrupt, decadal to centennial-scale climate variations caused significant glacier variations in Norway. Increased freshwater inflow to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans has been suggested as one of the most likely mechanisms to explain the abrupt and significant Lateglacial and early Holocene climatic events in NW Europe. The largest early Holocene glacier readvances occurred 11,200, 10,500, 10,100, 9700, 9200 and 8400–8000 cal. yr BP. The studied Norwegian glaciers apparently melted away at least once during the early/mid-Holocene. The period with the most contracted glaciers in Scandinavia was between 6600 and 6000 cal. yr BP. Subsequent to 6000 cal. yr BP the glaciers started to advance and the most extensive glaciers existed at about 5600, 4400, 3300, 2300, 1600 cal. yr BP, and during the ‘Little Ice Age’. Times with overall less glacier activity were apparently around 5000, 4000, 3000, 2000, and 1200 cal. yr BP. It has been proposed that several glacier advances occurred in Scandinavia (including northern Sweden) at 8500–7900, 7400–7200, 6300–6100, 5900–5800, 5600–5300, 5100–4800, 4600–4200, 3400–3200, 3000–2800, 2700–2000, 1900–1600, 1200–1000, and 700–200 cal. yr BP. Glaciers in northern Sweden probably reached their greatest ‘Little Ice Age’ extent between the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. Evidence for early Holocene glacier advances in northern Scandinavia, however, has been questioned by more recent, multi-disciplinary studies. The early to mid-Holocene glacier episodes in northern Sweden may therefore be questioned.Most Norwegian glaciers attained their maximum ‘Little Ice Age’ extent during the mid-18th century. Cumulative glacier length variations in southern Norway, based on marginal moraines dated by lichenometry and historic evidence, show an overall retreat from the mid-18th century until the 1930s–40s. Subsequently, most Norwegian glaciers retreated significantly. Maritime outlet glaciers with short frontal time lags (<10–15 years) started to advance in the mid-1950s, whereas long outlet glaciers with longer frontal time lags (>15–20 years) continued their retreat to the 1970s and 1980s. However, maritime glaciers started to advance as a response to higher winter accumulation during the first part of the 1990s. After 2000 several of the observed glaciers have retreated remarkably fast (annual frontal retreat > 100 m) mainly due to high summer temperatures. The general glacier retreat during the early Holocene and the Neoglacial advances after 6000 cal. yr BP are in line with orbital forcing, due to the decrease of Northern Hemisphere summer solar insolation and the increase in winter insolation. In addition, regional weather modes, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO), play a significant role with respect to decadal and multi-decadal climate variability.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Himalaya and Tibet

The timing and extent of latest Pleistocene and Holocene alpine glacier fluctuations in the Himalaya and Tibet are poorly defined due to the logistical and political inaccessibility of the region, and the general lack of modern studies of the glacial successions. Nevertheless, renewed interest in the region and the aid of newly developing numerical dating techniques have provided new insights into the nature of latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacier oscillations. These studies provide abundant evidence for significant glacial advances throughout the Last Glacial cycle. In most high Himalayan and Tibetan regions glaciers reached their maximum extent early in the Last Glacial cycle. However, true Last Glacial Maximum glacier advances were significantly less extensive. Notable glacier advances occurred during the Lateglacial and the early Holocene, with minor advances in some regions during the mid-Holocene. There is abundant evidence for multiple glacial advances throughout the latter part of the Holocene, although these are generally very poorly defined, and were less extensive than the early Holocene glacier advances. The poor chronological control on latest Pleistocene and Holocene glacial successions makes it difficult to construct correlations across the region, and with other glaciated regions in the world, which in turn makes it hard to assess the relative importance of the different climatic mechanisms that force glaciation in this region. The Lateglacial and Holocene glacial record, however, is particularly well preserved in several regions, notably in Muztag Ata and Kongur, and the Khumbu Himal. These successions have the potential to be examined in detail using newly developing numerical dating methods to derive a high-resolution record of glaciation to help in paleoclimatic reconstruction and understanding the dynamics of climate and glaciation in the Himalaya and Tibet.     

Holocene and latest Pleistocene climate and glacier fluctuations in Iceland

Multiproxy climate records from Iceland document complex changes in terrestrial climate and glacier fluctuations through the Holocene, revealing some coherent patterns of change as well as significant spatial variability. Most studies on the Last Glacial Maximum and subsequent deglaciation reveal a dynamic Iceland Ice Sheet (IIS) that responded abruptly to changes in ocean currents and sea level. The IIS broke up catastrophically around 15 ka as the Polar Front migrated northward and sea level rose. Indications of regional advance or halt of the glaciers are seen in late Alleröd/early Younger Dryas time and again in PreBoreal time. Due to the apparent rise of relative sea level in Iceland during this time, most sites contain evidence for fluctuating, tidewater glacier termini occupying paleo fjords and bays. The time between the end of the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal was characterized by repeated jökulhlaups that eroded glacial deposits. By 10.3 ka, the main ice sheet was in rapid retreat across the highlands of Iceland. The Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) was reached after 8 ka with land temperatures estimated to be 3 °C higher than the 1961–1990 reference, and net precipitation similar to modern. Such temperatures imply largely ice-free conditions across Iceland in the early to mid-Holocene. Several marine and lacustrine sediment climate proxies record substantial summer temperature depression between 8.5 and 8 ka, but no moraines have been detected from that time. Termination of the HTM and onset of Neoglacial cooling took place sometime after 6 ka with increased glacier activity between 4.5 and 4.0 ka, intensifying between 3.0 and 2.5 ka. Although a distinct warming during the Medieval Warm Period is not dramatically apparent in Icelandic records, the interval from ca AD 0 to 1200 is commonly characterized by relative stability with slow rates of change. The literature most commonly describes Little Ice Age moraines (ca AD 1250–1900) as representing the most extensive ice margins since early Holocene deglaciation, with temperature depressions of 1–2 °C compared to the AD 1961–1990 average. Steep north–south and west–east temperature gradients are reconstructed in the Holocene records of Iceland, suggesting a strong maritime influence on the terrestrial climate of Iceland.     

Holocene and latest Pleistocene alpine glacier fluctuations: a global perspective

Alpine glacier fluctuations provide important paleoclimate proxies where other records such as ice cores, tree rings, and speleothems are not available. About 20 years have passed since a special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews was published to review the worldwide evidence for Holocene glacier fluctuations. Since that time, numerous sites have been discovered, new dating techniques have been developed, and refined climatic hypotheses have been proposed that contribute to a better understanding of Earth's climate system. This special volume includes 12 papers on Holocene and latest Pleistocene alpine glacier fluctuations that update the seven review papers from 1988.Major findings of these 12 papers include the following: many, but certainly not all, alpine areas record glacier advances during the Younger Dryas cold interval. Most areas in the Northern Hemisphere witnessed maximum glacier recession during the early Holocene, with some glaciers disappearing, although a few sites yield possible evidence for advances during the 8.2 ka cooling event. In contrast, some alpine areas in the Southern Hemisphere saw glaciers reach their maximum post-glacial extents during the early to middle Holocene. In many parts of the globe, glaciers reformed and/or advanced during Neoglaciation, beginning as early as 6.5 ka. Neoglacial advances commonly occurred with millennial-scale oscillations, with many alpine glaciers reaching their maximum Holocene extents during the Little Ice Age of the last few centuries. Although the pattern and rhythm of these glacier fluctuations remain uncertain, improved spatial coverage coupled with tighter age control for many events will provide a means to assess forcing mechanisms for Holocene and latest Pleistocene glacial activity and perhaps predict glacier response to future impacts from human-induced climate change.     

Holocene glacier fluctuations in Alaska

This review summarizes forefield and lacustrine records of glacier fluctuations in Alaska during the Holocene. Following retreat from latest Pleistocene advances, valley glaciers with land-based termini were in retracted positions during the early to middle Holocene. Neoglaciation began in some areas by 4.0 ka and major advances were underway by 3.0 ka, with perhaps two distinct early Neoglacial expansions centered respectively on 3.3–2.9 and 2.2–2.0 ka. Tree-ring cross-dates of glacially killed trees at two termini in southern Alaska show a major advance in the AD 550s–720s. The subsequent Little Ice Age (LIA) expansion was underway in the AD 1180s–1320s and culminated with two advance phases respectively in the 1540s–1710s and in the 1810s–1880s. The LIA advance was the largest Holocene expansion in southern Alaska, although older late Holocene moraines are preserved on many forefields in northern and interior Alaska.Tidewater glaciers around the rim of the Gulf of Alaska have made major advances throughout the Holocene. Expansions were often asynchronous with neighboring termini and spanned both warm and cool intervals, suggesting that non-climatic factors were important in forcing these advances. However, climatic warming appears to have initiated most rapid iceberg-calving retreats. Large glaciers terminating on the forelands around the Gulf of Alaska may have had tidewater termini early in the Holocene, but have progressively become isolated from the adjacent ocean by the accumulation and subaerial exposure of their own sediments.     

Pleistocene and Holocene glacier thicknesses, transport histories and dynamics inferred from SEM microtextures on quartz particles

Recent analyses of microtextures on quartz particles (63–2000 μm) from Quaternary tills in Antarctica, Germany, southern Ontario, western Wyoming, Tibet, the Austrian Alps, and Mount Kenya show that glacial fracture and abrasion microfeatures may be used to infer the thickness, transport history and ice dynamics of Pleistocene and Holocene glaciers. Quartz sands emplaced by continental and mountain ice were studied by SEM after transport over variable distances in glaciers estimated to range from 150 m to 1500 m in thickness. Relative differences in ice thicknesses, distances of transport, and/or ice dynamics appear to have determined the frequency of occurrence and type of microtextures occurring on sand-size particles. Subparallel fracture microfeatures tend to increase in frequency over a greater proportion of particle surfaces with increasing ice thickness and distance of transport. Conchoidal fractures, the most typical in quartz, and to some degree crescentic gouges abound on fragments emplaced by continental ice. Other possible fracture and fragmentation mechanisms, producing features of generally glacial origin, involve low velocity impacts induced by stick-slip mechanisms, under variable cryostatic stresses, producing fracturing and abrasion across particle surfaces. Their generation implies high local contact stresses associated with high strain rates.     

Pleistocene/Holocene climate change, re-establishment of fluvial drainage network and increase in relief in the Swiss Alps

ABSTRACT Data are presented about modern sediment discharge of the Swiss rivers and related to the size of catchments. The information reveals that the Central Alps have experienced denudation rates of ≈0.15 mm yr⁻¹ in the foreland, and ≈0.5 mm yr⁻¹ in the Alpine core. Mapping, however, indicates that modern erosion only affects 30–50% of the Alpine surface, and that fluvial and associated hillslope processes have focused erosion in 50–200-m-deep valleys. These valleys are incised into the glacial surface. If this limited spatial extent of erosion is considered, then effective erosion rates are significantly higher than average denudation rates. These effective rates equal or locally exceed modern rates of rock uplift. This implies that the modification of erosional processes related to the Pleistocene/Holocene climate change has resulted in an increase in the relief at a local scale. At a drainage basin scale, however, the relief appears not to change at present.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation of Baffin Island, Arctic Canada: key patterns and chronologies

Melting glaciers and ice caps on Baffin Island contribute roughly half of the sea-level rise from all ice in Arctic Canada, although they comprise only one-fourth of the total ice in the region. The uncertain future response of arctic glaciers and ice caps to climate change motivates the use of paleodata to evaluate the sensitivity of glaciers to past warm intervals and to constrain mechanisms that drive glacier change. We review the key patterns and chronologies of latest Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation on Baffin Island. The deglaciation by the Laurentide Ice Sheet occurred generally slowly and steadily throughout the Holocene to its present margin (Barnes Ice Cap) except for two periods of rapid retreat: An early interval 12 to 10 ka when outlet glaciers retreated rapidly through deep fiords and sounds, and a later interval 7 ka when ice over Foxe Basin collapsed. In coastal settings, alpine glaciers were smaller during the Younger Dryas period than during the Little Ice Age. At least some alpine glaciers apparently survived the early Holocene thermal maximum, which was several degrees warmer than today, although data on glacier extent during the early Holocene is extremely sparse. Following the early Holocene thermal maximum, glaciers advanced during Neoglaciation, beginning in some places as early as 6 ka, although most sites do not record near-Little Ice Age positions until 3.5 to 2.5 ka. Alpine glaciers reached their largest Holocene extents during the Little Ice Age, when temperatures were 1–1.5 °C cooler than during the late 20th century. Synchronous advances across Baffin Island throughout Neoglaciation indicate sub-Milankovitch controls on glaciation that could involve major volcanic eruptions and solar variability. Future work should further elucidate the state of glaciers and ice caps during the early Holocene thermal maximum and glacier response to climate forcing mechanisms.     

Spatial patterns of Holocene glacier advance and retreat in Central Asia

Glaciers in the southern Himalayas advanced in the early Holocene despite an increase in incoming summer solar insolation at the top of the atmosphere. These glacier advances are in contrast to the smaller alpine glaciers in the western and northern regions of Central Asia. Two different glacier mass-balance models are used to reconcile this Holocene glacier history with climate by quantifying the change in equilibrium-line altitudes (ELA) for simulated changes in Holocene climate. Both ELA models clearly show that the lowering of ELAs in the southern Himalayas is largely due to a decrease in summer temperatures, and that an increase in monsoonal precipitation accounts for less than 30% of the total ELA changes. The decrease in summer temperatures is a dynamic response to the changes in solar insolation, resulting in both a decrease in incoming shortwave radiation at the surface due to an increase in cloudiness and an increase in evaporative cooling. In the western and northern zones of Central Asia, both ELA models show a rise in ELAs in response to a general increase in summer temperatures. This increase in temperatures in the more northern regions is a direct radiative response to the increase in summer solar insolation.     

Palynostratigraphy of some Pleistocene deposits in the Western Alps: A review

In the Alps, interglacial and interstadial deposits are rarely preserved due to the intense erosive effect of glaciers in the valleys. Fortunately, some outcrops and cored sequences located in the field area ranging from Lyon to Evian provided sedimentary profiles datable by palynostratigraphy in a highly documented geomorphological context. An overview of several palynological sequences studied in this large area is proposed, and their position in a general chronostratigraphical pattern is discussed. Particular attention is paid to palynostratigraphical evidence whose relevance is tested with systematic comparisons with long reference European pollen sequences spanning several glacial cycles. Minimum ages are suggested for non-glacial episodes corresponding to the deposits studied.     

Using multidimensional analysis and information functions for macro description of European natural complexes in the second part of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

This article analyzes the effect of geographic factors on variations in the species diversity of mammals and plants for the European territory. Multidimensional analysis and a number of information parameters have been applied for the first time, which allowed identifying objective indicators of mammal and plant diversity for different time periods in the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.     

Terraced fills of Pleistocene and Holocene age in the Rheidol Valley,Wales

The legacy of repeated Pleistocene glaciations has endowed many Welsh river valleys with locally thick successions of glacial and alluvial sediments. Investigations of a well-preserved flight of terraced sediments with good exposures at Capel Bangor, on the Afon Rheidol, mid-Wales, has allowed its Quaternary valley fill stratigraphy to be examined in detail. Study has revealed five terraced fills consisting of seven distinct sedimentary units. These range from Late Devensian ice-contact and ice-marginal deposits, to Holocene high-sinuosity stream sediments with episodes of man-induced accelerated deposition of fine-grained alluvium, and to aggradation and subsequent incision associated with historic metal mining. Examination of general sedimentary properties (e.g., granulometry, sedimentary structures, terrace surface morphology) show both differences in the pattern and controls of deposition and also progressive changes over Late Devensian and Holocene times. The sediments of the Rheidol Valley record the response and subsequent recovery of a drainage basin to glaciation, and the increasing influence of man on sediment yields, channel processes, and sediment quality.     

Holocene variations of monsoon rainfall in Rajasthan

Two reconstructed histories of the monsoon rainfall in Rajasthan show that the monsoon was weak or absent in latest glacial time. With the advent of Holocene climatic patterns, fresh water lakes formed in dune fields and the pollen rain preserved in these reservoirs provides a basis for the reconstruction of the monsoon history. The two reconstructions, separated by only 150 km, have some features in common and some striking differences. Both show maximum monsoon amounts in the early Holocene, with a roughly two-thirds decrease to the present. Both show salinization in sub-Boreal time. Both show long intervals of near complete desiccation in the last four millennia. The shorter term variations, however, are not closely parallel. These shorter term variations may be explained in terms of the behavior of the present day interannual variability.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation history of the Bale Mountains,Ethiopia

A sediment core recovered from Garba Guracha, a glacial lake at 3950 m altitude in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, at the boundary of the Ericaceous and Afroalpine vegetation belts, provides a 16,700-year pollen record of vegetation response to climatic change. The earliest vegetation recorded was sparse and composed mainly of grasses, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia, indicating an arid climate. At 13,400 cal BP, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae pollen declined sharply and Cyperaceae increased, suggesting a change to moister conditions. The Younger Dryas interval is represented by a small increase in Artemisia and reduced Cyperaceae, indicating aridity. Just after the start of the Holocene (11,200 cal BP), the upper altitudinal limit of the Ericaceous belt rose, and woody Ericaceous vegetation extended across the Sanetti plateau, in response to increased moisture and temperature. The marked change from clastic to organic lake sedimentation at this time reflects the increase in woody vegetation cover in the lake catchment, accompanied by soil stabilisation, and increased leaf litter and soil humus content. From about 6000 cal BP, and especially after 4500 cal BP, mid-altitude dry Afromontane Juniper–Podocarpus forests developed on the northern slopes of the mountains in response to reduced rainfall in a shortened wet season. Erica shrub and forest decreased in area and altitude, and the Afroalpine ecosystem expanded on the plateau. Podocarpus declined from about 2000 cal BP, as Juniperus increased to its present dominance at 2500–3300 m altitude. Human impact on the high-altitude Afroalpine and Ericaceous vegetation has been relatively minor, confirming that the endemic biodiversity of the Ethiopian mountains is a legacy of natural Holocene vegetation change, following repeated expansion and contraction of the upland ecosystems during the Quaternary.     

The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in marine deposits from the Oslofjord area

Feyling-Hanssen, R. W.: The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in marine deposits from the Oslofjord area. Boreas, Vol. 1, pp. 241–246. Oslo 1st September, 1972.
In marine deposits from the southern Oslofjord area in Norway the boundary between Holocene and Pleistocene is found within a formation characterized by Arctic species, the so-called Yoldia Clay or zone A in the foraminiferal stratigraphy. The fossil assemblage on the Holocene side of the boundary is even poorer than that on the Pleistocene side, which is explained by the rapid Preboreal ice recession. The boundary is not conspicuously reflected in the faunas but still discernible and applicable.     

Fluctuations of local glaciers in Greenland during latest Pleistocene and Holocene time

This paper is the first to summarize research on fluctuations of local glaciers in Greenland (e.g. ice caps and mountain glaciers independent of the Greenland Ice Sheet) during latest Pleistocene and Holocene time. In contrast to the extensive data available for fluctuations of the Greenland Ice Sheet, surprisingly little data exist to constrain local glacier extents. Much of the available research was conducted prior to wide-spread use of AMS radiocarbon dating and the advent of surface-exposure and luminescence dating. Although there is a paucity of data, generally similar patterns of local glacier fluctuations are observed in all regions of Greenland and likely reflect changes in paleoclimate, which must have influenced at least the margins of the Inland Ice. Absolute-age data for late-glacial and early Holocene advances of local glaciers are reported from only two locations: Disko (island) and the Scoresby Sund region. Subsequent to late-glacial or early Holocene time, most local glaciers were smaller than at present or may have disappeared completely during the Holocene Thermal Maximum. In general, local glacier advances that occurred during Historical time (1200–1940 AD) are the most extensive since late-glacial or early Holocene time. Historical documents and more recent aerial photographs provide useful information about local glacier fluctuations during the last 100 yrs. In all but one area (North Greenland), local glaciers are currently receding from Historical extents.     

Multiarchive paleoseismic record of late Pleistocene and Holocene strong earthquakes in Switzerland

A multiarchive approach has been applied to the investigation of the late Pleistocene and Holocene record of strong earthquakes in Switzerland. The geological archives used for this study include active faults, lake deposits, slope instabilities, and caves. In the Basle area, eight trenches were opened across the Basle–Reinach fault, nearby rockfall deposits were systematically investigated, sediment cores were taken from two lakes, and nine caves were studied. In Central Switzerland, five lakes were investigated by means of high-resolution seismic lines and sediment cores. Furthermore, three caves were studied in Central Switzerland. Altogether, the investigations are based on more than 350 km of high-resolution reflection seismic lines, 450 m of core samples, 260 m of trenches, and 245 radiocarbon age determinations. The measured co-seismic displacements along the Basle–Reinach fault supply independent information for the magnitude of the AD 1356 Basle earthquake exclusively based on geological evidence. Deformation features related to three well-documented strong historic earthquake shocks were identified. Deformation features of the AD 1774 Altdorf and AD 1601 Unterwalden earthquakes can be used to calibrate paleoseismic evidence in Central Switzerland. Altogether, traces of 13 earthquakes could be found in the two study areas, all of them with magnitudes M_w  6 or greater. For the first time, the earthquake catalogue for Switzerland can be extended back beyond historic records, into the late Pleistocene, spanning 15,000 years.