Alpine Evidence for Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum

Florineth, Duri; Schlüchter, Christian

doi:10.1006/qres.2000.2169

Cited by 246 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…At that time, the polar front extended southwards, eventually reaching a latitude south of 40 o N on the Iberian coast at the LGM (Ruddiman and McIntye, 1981;Siani et al, 2001). Evidence for a southward movement of the polar front is also available from reconstructions of wind patterns in the Mediterranean (Florineth and Schlüchter, 2000). The southward movement of the polar front would allow a southward extension of winter sea ice during the last glacial.…”

Section: Past Seasonality In Sst At Gibraltarmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased seasonality in the Western Mediterranean during the last glacial from limpet shell geochemistry

Ferguson

Henderson

et al. 2011

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Editor: P. DeMenocalKeywords: mollusc seasonality Gibraltar palaeoclimate oxygen isotopesThe seasonal cycle is a fundamental aspect of climate, with a significant influence on mean climate and on human societies. Assessing seasonality in different climate states is therefore important but, outside the tropics, very few palaeoclimate records with seasonal resolution exist and there are currently no glacial-age seasonal-resolution sea-surface-temperature (SST) records at mid to high latitudes. Here we show that both Mg/Ca and oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) ratios in modern limpet (Patella) shells record the seasonal range of SST in the western Mediterranean -a region particularly susceptible to seasonal change. Analysis of a suite of fossil limpet shells from Gibraltar shows that SST seasonality was greater during the last glacial by~2°C as a result of greater winter cooling. These extra-tropical seasonal-resolution SST records for the last glacial suggest that the presence of large ice-sheets in the northern hemisphere enhances winter cooling. This result also indicates that seasonality in the Mediterranean is not well-represented in most palaeoclimate models, which typically show little change in seasonal amplitude, and provides a new test for the accuracy of climate models.

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Section: Past Seasonality In Sst At Gibraltarmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased seasonality in the Western Mediterranean during the last glacial from limpet shell geochemistry

Ferguson

Henderson

et al. 2011

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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“…The reconstructed Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice surface geometry based on glacial-geological mapping shows that the area was situated near the 'Engadine' ice dome culminating in the Upper Engadine [22,23]. Trimline and other erosional features indicate that during LGM the Albula pass formed a transfluence with ice flowing from the Engadine into the Rhine river system [24]. The Lateglacial footprint (moraine sequence) north to the ridge Piz da las Blais -Crasta Mora (Fig.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

A Combination of Relative-Numerical Dating Methods Indicates Two High Alpine Rock Glacier Activity Phases After the Glacier Advance of the Younger Dryas

Böhlert

Compeer

Egli

et al. 2011

TOGEOGJ

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To exploit the potential of rock glaciers as indicators of past climate condition it is first necessary to date them. The combined application of both relative and absolute dating techniques is a promising approach. In this study, we present Schmidt-hammer rebound value measurements and weathering rind thicknesses on four active and one relict rock glacier in the Albula area of the eastern Swiss Alps. Associated landforms such as the moraines in front of rock glaciers and glacially polished bedrock also were used to set up the temporal framework. This was done using soil chemical analyses, radiocarbon dating of the stable fraction of soil organic matter and surface exposure dating of boulders. Schmidt-hammer and weathering rind measurements showed, in most cases, well-pronounced trends with increasing surface ages. These values are in line with measurements from other nearby rock glaciers with comparable lithologies. Use of this information together with the numeric ages makes it possible to derive two main activity phases: one started soon after the ice retreat following the Younger Dryas, the main activity occurred most likely in the early Holocene and lasted approximately until the Holocene climate optimum. The second activity phase continues today and had an unclear start between 10 to 6 cal ky BP. Abstract: To exploit the potential of rock glaciers as indicators of past climate condition it is first necessary to date them. The combined application of both relative and absolute dating techniques is a promising approach. In this study, we present Schmidt-hammer rebound value measurements and weathering rind thicknesses on four active and one relict rock glacier in the Albula area of the eastern Swiss Alps. Associated landforms such as the moraines in front of rock glaciers and glacially polished bedrock also were used to set up the temporal framework. This was done using soil chemical analyses, radiocarbon dating of the stable fraction of soil organic matter and surface exposure dating of boulders. Schmidt-hammer and weathering rind measurements showed, in most cases, well-pronounced trends with increasing surface ages. These values are in line with measurements from other nearby rock glaciers with comparable lithologies. Use of this information together with the numeric ages makes it possible to derive two main activity phases: one started soon after the ice retreat following the Younger Dryas, the main activity occurred most likely in the early Holocene and lasted approximately until the Holocene climate optimum. The second activity phase continues today and had an unclear start between 10 to 6 cal ky BP.

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“…The unloading due to the melting of an ice body mostly located in large valleys over the entire belt (e.g. Florineth and Schlüchter (2000) is unlikely to produce the rock uplift in excess observed in the southern side of the Central Alps. Furthermore, the very slow active convergence across the Central Alps also fails to explain the excess of rock uplift there.…”

Section: Implications and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion-driven uplift of the modern Central Alps

et al. 2009

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We present a compilation of data of modern tectono-geomorphic processes in the Central European Alps which suggest that observed rock uplift is a response to climate-driven denudation. This interpretation is predominantly based on the recent quantification of basinaveraged Late Holocene denudation rates that are so similar to the pattern and rates of rock uplift rates as determined by geodetic leveling. Furthermore, a GPS data-based synthesis of Adriatic microplate kinematics suggests that the Central Alps are currently not in a state of active convergence. Finally, we illustrate that the Central Alps have acted as a closed system for Holocene redistribution of sediment in which the peri-Alpine lakes have operated as a sink for the erosional products of the inner Central Alps.While various hypotheses have been put forward to explain Central Alpine rock uplift (e.g. lithospheric forcing by convergence, mantle processes, or ice melting) we show with an elastic model of lithospheric deformation, that the correlation between erosion and rock uplift rates reflects a positive feedback between denudation and the associated isostatic response to unloading. Thus, erosion does not passively respond to advection of crustal material as might be the case in actively converging orogens. Rather, we suggest that the geomorphic response of the Alpine topography to glacial and fluvial erosion and the resulting disequilibrium for modern channelized and associated hillslope processes explains much of the pattern of modern denudation and hence rock uplift. Therefore, in a non-convergent orogen such as the Central European Alps, the observed vertical rock uplift is primarily a consequence of passive unloading due to erosion.

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Alpine Evidence for Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum

Cited by 246 publications

References 59 publications

Increased seasonality in the Western Mediterranean during the last glacial from limpet shell geochemistry

Increased seasonality in the Western Mediterranean during the last glacial from limpet shell geochemistry

A Combination of Relative-Numerical Dating Methods Indicates Two High Alpine Rock Glacier Activity Phases After the Glacier Advance of the Younger Dryas

Erosion-driven uplift of the modern Central Alps

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