A lacustrine-based Neoglacial record for Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Munroe, Jeffrey S.; Crocker, Thomas A.; Giesche, Alena; Rahlson, Lukas E.; Duran, Logan T.; Bigl, Matthew F.; Laabs, Benjamin J.C.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.08.005

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Leonard (1997) suggests that on timescales of centuries to millennia, the highest sedimentation rates may be associated with glacier maximum stands. In Glacier National Park, increased carbonate flux in lakes downstream from glaciers has been observed during periods of known glacier advances, such as the Little Ice Age (1350 to 1850 AD; Munroe et al, 2012). This supports our interpretation that higher %TIC values are indicative of an expansive Grinnell Glacier in the valley, which could have intensified erosion of the underlying bedrock and increased down valley dolomite transport (MacGregor et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Glacial fluctuations during the Holocene have also been identified through changing concentrations of mineral tracers (e.g. CaCO 3 ) in down-valley lake cores (Leonard and Reasoner, 1999;Munroe et al, 2012). While these ice-proximal records document the glacial geomorphic response to climate fluctuations during minor climate fluctuations such as the Little Ice Age (~AD 1400-AD 1850; Munroe et al, 2012), there are few investigations of lacustrine records in the northern Rocky Mountains that track glacier response during major climate shifts in the late Pleistocene and offer a well constrained record of the YD cooling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lake core record of Grinnell Glacier dynamics during the latest Pleistocene deglaciation and the Younger Dryas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

et al. 2015

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Few records in the alpine landscape of western North America document the geomorphic and glaciologic response to climate change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. While moraines can provide snapshots of glacier extent, high-resolution records of environmental response to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, Younger Dryas cooling, and subsequent warming into the stable Holocene are rare. We describe the transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene using a ~ 17,000-yr sediment record from Swiftcurrent Lake in eastern Glacier National Park, MT, with a focus on the period from ~ 17 to 11 ka. Total organic and inorganic carbon, grain size, and carbon/nitrogen data provide evidence for glacial retreat from the late Pleistocene into the Holocene, with the exception of a well-constrained advance during the Younger Dryas from 12.75 to 11.5 ka. Increased detrital carbonate concentration in Swiftcurrent Lake sediment reflects enhanced glacial erosion and sediment transport, likely a result of a more proximal ice terminus position and a reduction in the number of alpine lakes acting as sediment sinks in the valley.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake core record of Grinnell Glacier dynamics during the latest Pleistocene deglaciation and the Younger Dryas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

et al. 2015

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“…Baker, Washington ( 31 ), and reappeared in Glacier National Park, Montana, for the first time following their disappearance in the early Holocene ( Fig. 1 ) ( 32 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alpine glacier resilience and Neoglacial fluctuations linked to Holocene snowfall trends in the western United States

2020

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Geological evidence indicates that glaciers in the western United States fluctuated in response to Holocene changes in temperature and precipitation. However, because moraine chronologies are characteristically discontinuous, Holocene glacier fluctuations and their climatic drivers remain ambiguous, and future glacier changes are uncertain. Here, we construct a continuous 10-thousand-year (ka) record of glacier activity in the Teton Range, Wyoming, using glacial and environmental indicators in alpine lake sediments. We show that Teton glaciers persisted in some form through early Holocene warmth, likely as small debris-covered glaciers or rock glaciers. Subsequent Neoglacial ice expansion began ~6.3 ka, with two prominent glacier maxima at ~2.8 and 0.1 ka that were separated by a multicentennial phase of ice retreat. Comparison with regional paleoclimate records suggests that glacier activity was dominantly controlled by winter precipitation variability superposed on long-term Holocene temperature trends, offering key insights into western U.S. glacier resilience and vulnerability to future warming.

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“…Geologic evidence shows that ∼20,000 y ago, at the Last Glacial Maximum, GNP was almost completely covered by glacier ice (37). Approximately 11,500 y ago, GNP was nearly ice free, and since ∼6,500 y ago, small glaciers have been present and active (38). The most recent ice advance culminated with the Little Ice Age (LIA) glacial maxima near the mid-19th century, around 1850 (19).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation

Muhlfeld

Cline

Giersch

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Glaciers are important drivers of environmental heterogeneity and biological diversity across mountain landscapes. Worldwide, glaciers are receding rapidly due to climate change, with important consequences for biodiversity in mountain ecosystems. However, the effects of glacier loss on biodiversity have never been quantified across a mountainous region, primarily due to a lack of adequate data at large spatial and temporal scales. Here, we combine high-resolution biological and glacier change (ca. 1850–2015) datasets for Glacier National Park, USA, to test the prediction that glacier retreat reduces biodiversity in mountain ecosystems through the loss of uniquely adapted meltwater stream species. We identified a specialized cold-water invertebrate community restricted to the highest elevation streams primarily below glaciers, but also snowfields and groundwater springs. We show that this community and endemic species have unexpectedly persisted in cold, high-elevation sites, even in catchments that have not been glaciated in ∼170 y. Future projections suggest substantial declines in suitable habitat, but not necessarily loss of this community with the complete disappearance of glaciers. Our findings demonstrate that high-elevation streams fed by snow and other cold-water sources continue to serve as critical climate refugia for mountain biodiversity even after glaciers disappear.

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A lacustrine-based Neoglacial record for Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Cited by 14 publications

References 60 publications

Lake core record of Grinnell Glacier dynamics during the latest Pleistocene deglaciation and the Younger Dryas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Lake core record of Grinnell Glacier dynamics during the latest Pleistocene deglaciation and the Younger Dryas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Alpine glacier resilience and Neoglacial fluctuations linked to Holocene snowfall trends in the western United States

Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation

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