Geomorphologic and paleoclimatic evidence of Holocene glaciation on Mount Olympus, Greece

Abstract

International audienceThis study investigates the possibility of Holocene glaciation on Mount Olympus (Greece) with a respective local temperature–precipitation equilibrium line altitude (TP-ELA) at c. 2200m a.s.l., based on geomorphologic and paleoclimatic evidence. At present, the local TP-ELA is situated above the mountain’s summit (c. 2918 m a.s.l.), but permanent snowfields and ice bodies survive within Megala Kazania cirque between c. 2400 and c. 2300 m a.s.l., because of the cirque’s maritime setting that results from its close proximity (c. 18km) to the Aegean Sea and of the local topographical controls. The snow and ice bodies occupied a considerably larger area and attained a stabilization phase between AD 1960 and 1980, also manifested from aerial photographs, a period characterized by increased winter precipitation (Pw) with subsequent TP-ELA depression to c. 2410m a.s.l. Mid- to late-20th- century Pw and TP-ELA variations exhibit negative correlations with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index (NAOw) at annual and multidecadal (30 years) timescales. Late Holocene (AD 1680–1860) reconstructed summer mean temperatures were lower by Ts < 1.1°C in relation to the reference period between AD 1960 and 1980 and were also superimposed to negative NAOw phases, thus bracketing this time interval as a favorable one to glacial formation and/or advance. Millennial-scale annual precipitation reconstructions at the hypothesized TP-ELA (c. 2200m a.s.l.) point the period between 8 and 4 kyr BP as another glacier-friendly candidate. The mid-Holocene rather simplistic sequence of potential glacial advance phase was disturbed by short-lived cold climatic deteriorations, well-documented over the northern Aegean region that may partly explain the multicrested shape of the highest (c. 2200 m a.s.l.) morainic complex of Megala Kazania cirque

Quaternary glaciation in the Mediterranean mountains: a new synthesis

“…However, Smith et al (1997) suggested that cirque moraines on Mt Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece, were Holocene 'Neoglacial' in age. Recent research by Styllas et al (2016) has confirmed the presence of permanent snow fields in the northern cirque of Megali Kazania on Mt Olympus and these researchers use this evidence to argue that Holocene glaciers formed in this cirque. The presence of Holocene glaciers on Mt Olympus is plausible given the recent findings from Montenegro and Albania, although there is currently no unequivocal evidence for Holocene glaciers in Greece.…”

The glacial history of Greece: a comprehensive review

“…Mount Olympus is the highest mountain of Greece and the second highest of the Balkan peninsula reaching an elevation of 2918 m a.s.l. It is located in north Greece just 18 km west of the Aegean Sea shoreline and comprises a relatively small (surface area: 550 km 2 ) and isolated massif separated from adjacent lower mountains by shallow topographic depressions (Styllas et al 2016). The lithology of the massif is characterized by a metamorphosed and deformed sequence of limestones of Triassic and Cretaceous-to-Eocene age, overlain by a late Eocene flysch, while high Pleistocene uplift rates up to 6 mm/year have been reported (Nance 2010).…”

“…Mavrovouni Leontaritis et al (unpublished data) 6. Olympus (Cvijić (1917); Wiche (1956) Messerli (1967); Faugeres (1969); Smith et al (1997); Manz (1998) Styllas et al (2016, 2018) 7. Lakmos Sestini (1933 8.…”

Late-glacial and Holocene history of the northeast Mediterranean mountain glaciers - New insights from in situ-produced 36Cl-based cosmic ray exposure dating of paleo-glacier deposits on Mount Olympus, Greece

“…The results of more recent studies that followed this pioneering attempt, suggest that the Mediterranean paleoglaciers generally advanced during two periods after the global LGM (c. 27.5-23.3ka, Hughes and Gibbard, 2015), confined between 16-15 ka and 13-10 ka, and in phase with the GS-2a and GS-1 stadials in the Greenland oxygen isotope record (Ribollini et al, 2017 and references therein). proximity to the sea as expressed by the short distance (18km) of its highest peaks from the shore, has a pronounced impact on the local climate, with increased supply of moisture and high precipitation and temperature gradients (Styllas et al, 2016). Fig.…”