LGM ice extent and deglaciation history in the Gurktal and Lavantal Alps (eastern European Alps): first constraints from <sup>10</sup>Be surface exposure dating of glacially polished quartz veins

Wölfler, Andreas; Hampel, Andrea; Dielforder, Armin; Hetzel, Ralf; Glotzbach, Christoph

doi:10.1002/jqs.3399

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 62 publications

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“…Despite the probably cold winters, glaciers in the Alps responded to the warmer summers after 16 ka 20 and retreated to higher elevations. Several recent studies have investigated the pace of post-LGM deglaciation in selected inner-alpine pass regions by applying surface exposure dating to bedrock sections along transects [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] . Results indicate that major ice trans uence zones, for instance, the Gotthard, the Grimsel, and the Simplon passes became ice-free between ca.…”

Section: Pre-bølling To Bølling Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Braumann

Schaefer

Neuhuber

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Climate is currently warming due to anthropogenic impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. To better understand the processes and feedbacks within the climate system that underlie this accelerating warming trend, it is useful to examine past periods of abrupt climate change that were driven by natural forcings. Glaciers provide an excellent natural laboratory for reconstructing the climate of the past as they respond sensitively to climate oscillations. Therefore, we study glacier systems and their behavior during the transition from colder to warmer climate episodes, focusing on the period between 15 and 10 ka. Using a combination of geomorphological mapping and beryllium-10 surface exposure dating, we reconstruct ice extents in two glaciated valleys of the Silvretta Massif in the Austrian Alps and find that the general ice retreat during the deglaciation after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was interrupted by glacier stabilization during the Oldest Dryas to Bølling transition (moraine age: 14.4 ± 1.0 ka), during the Younger Dryas (YD; 12.9-11.7 ka), and during the Early Holocene (EH; 12–10 ka). The first moraine age group indicates a lateral stable ice margin that postdates the ‘Gschnitz’ stadial (ca. 17–16 ka) and predates the YD. It shows that local inner-alpine glaciers were larger than during the subsequent YD until the onset of the Bølling warm phase (ca. 14.6 ka), or possibly even into the Bølling. The second age group ca. 80 m below the (pre-)Bølling moraine indicates ice extents during the YD cold phase and captures the spatial and temporal fine structure of glacier retreat during this period. The ice surface lowered by 50–60 m through the YD, which is indicative of milder climate conditions at the end of the YD compared to its beginning. Finally, the third age group falls into a period of more substantial warming, the YD–EH transition, and shows discontinuous warming during the glacial to interglacial transition. The new geochronologies synthesized with pre-existing moraine records from the Silvretta Massif evidence three cold phases that punctuated the general post-LGM warming trend, and illustrate the sensitive response of Silvretta glaciers to abrupt climate oscillations in the past.

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Section: Pre-bølling To Bølling Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Braumann

Schaefer

Neuhuber

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Coupled climate-glacier modelling of the last glaciation in the Alps

Jouvet,

Cohen,

Russo

et al. 2023

J. Glaciol.

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Our limited knowledge of the climate prevailing over Europe during former glaciations is the main obstacle to reconstruct the past evolution of the ice coverage over the Alps by numerical modelling. To address this challenge, we perform a two-step modelling approach: First, a regional climate model is used to downscale the time slice simulations of a global earth system model in high resolution, leading to climate snapshots during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS4). Second, we combine these snapshots and a climate signal proxy to build a transient climate over the last glacial period and force the Parallel Ice Sheet Model to simulate the dynamical evolution of glaciers in the Alps. The results show that the extent of modelled glaciers during the LGM agrees with several independent key geological imprints, including moraine-based maximal reconstructed glacial extents, known ice transfluences and trajectories of erratic boulders of known origin and deposition. Our results highlight the benefit of multiphysical coupled climate and glacier transient modelling over simpler approaches to help reconstruct paleo glacier fluctuations in agreement with traces they have left on the landscape.

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Moraines in the Austrian Alps record repeated phases of glacier stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Braumann

Schaefer

Neuhuber

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate is currently warming due to anthropogenic impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. To better understand the processes and feedbacks within the climate system that underlie this accelerating warming trend, it is useful to examine past periods of abrupt climate change that were driven by natural forcings. Glaciers provide an excellent natural laboratory for reconstructing the climate of the past as they respond sensitively to climate oscillations. Therefore, we study glacier systems and their behavior during the transition from colder to warmer climate phases, focusing on the period between 15 and 10 ka. Using a combination of geomorphological mapping and beryllium-10 surface exposure dating, we reconstruct ice extents in two glaciated valleys of the Silvretta Massif in the Austrian Alps. The mountain glacier record shows that general deglaciation after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was repeatedly interrupted by glacier stabilization or readvance, perhaps during the Oldest Dryas to Bølling transition (landform age: 14.4 ± 1.0 ka) and certainly during the Younger Dryas (YD; 12.9–11.7 ka) and the Early Holocene (EH; 12–10 ka). The oldest landform age indicates a lateral ice margin that postdates the ‘Gschnitz’ stadial (ca. 17–16 ka) and predates the YD. It shows that local inner-alpine glaciers were more extensive until the onset of the Bølling warm phase (ca. 14.6 ka), or possibly even into the Bølling than during the subsequent YD. The second age group, ca. 80 m below the (pre-)Bølling ice margin, indicates glacier extents during the YD cold phase and captures the spatial and temporal fine structure of glacier retreat during this period. The ice surface lowered approximately 50–60 m through the YD, which is indicative of milder climate conditions at the end of the YD compared to its beginning. Finally, the third age group falls into a period of more substantial warming, the YD–EH transition, and shows discontinuous glacier retreat during the glacial to interglacial transition. The new geochronologies synthesized with pre-existing moraine records from the Silvretta Massif evidence multiple cold phases that punctuated the general post-LGM warming trend and illustrate the sensitive response of Silvretta glaciers to abrupt climate oscillations in the past.

show abstract

LGM ice extent and deglaciation history in the Gurktal and Lavantal Alps (eastern European Alps): first constraints from ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of glacially polished quartz veins

Cited by 3 publications

References 62 publications

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Coupled climate-glacier modelling of the last glaciation in the Alps

Moraines in the Austrian Alps record repeated phases of glacier stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

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LGM ice extent and deglaciation history in the Gurktal and Lavantal Alps (eastern European Alps): first constraints from 10Be surface exposure dating of glacially polished quartz veins

Cited by 3 publications

References 62 publications

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Moraines in the Austrian Alps Record Repeated Phases of Glacier Stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Coupled climate-glacier modelling of the last glaciation in the Alps

Moraines in the Austrian Alps record repeated phases of glacier stabilization through the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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LGM ice extent and deglaciation history in the Gurktal and Lavantal Alps (eastern European Alps): first constraints from ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of glacially polished quartz veins