The Little Ice Age history of the Glacier des Bossons (Mont Blanc massif, France): a new high-resolution glacier length curve based on historical documents

The Late Holocene was characterized by several centennial-scale climate oscillations including the Roman Warm Period, the Dark Ages Cold Period, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. The detection and investigation of such climate anomalies requires paleoclimate archives with an accurate chronology as well as a high temporal resolution. Here, we present 230Th/U-dated high-resolution multi-proxy records (δ13C, δ18O and trace elements) for the last 2500 years of four speleothems from Bunker Cave and the Herbstlabyrinth cave system in Germany. The multi-proxy data of all four speleothems show evidence of two warm and two cold phases during the last 2500 years, which coincide with the Roman Warm Period and the Medieval Warm Period, as well as the Dark Ages Cold Period and the Little Ice Age, respectively. During these four cold and warm periods, the δ18O and δ13C records of all four speleothems and the Mg concentration of the speleothems Bu4 (Bunker Cave) and TV1 (Herbstlabyrinth cave system) show common features and are thus interpreted to be related to past climate variability. Comparison with other paleoclimate records suggests a strong influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation at the two caves sites, which is reflected by warm and humid conditions during the Roman Warm Period and the Medieval Warm Period, and cold and dry climate during the Dark Ages Cold period and the Little Ice Age. The Mg records of speleothems Bu1 (Bunker Cave) and NG01 (Herbstlabyrinth) as well as the inconsistent patterns of Sr, Ba and P suggests that the processes controlling the abundance of these trace elements are dominated by site-specific effects rather than being related to supra-regional climate variability.

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Mangrove dynamics in the southwestern Caribbean since the ‘Little Ice Age’: A history of human and natural disturbances

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683610365941 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (6) ◽

pp. 849-861 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Catalina González ◽

Ligia Estela Urrego ◽

José Ignacio Martínez ◽

Jaime Polanía ◽

Yusuke Yokoyama

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Natural Disturbances ◽

History Of ◽

Mangrove Dynamics

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High‐resolution proglacial lake records of pre‐Little Ice Age glacier advance, northeast Greenland

Boreas ◽

10.1111/bor.12361 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 535-550 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kathryn Adamson ◽

Timothy Lane ◽

Matthew Carney ◽

Thomas Bishop ◽

Cathy Delaney

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Proglacial Lake ◽

Glacier Advance

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Neoglacial history of Robson Glacier, British Columbia

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjes-2016-0187 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 54 (11) ◽

pp. 1153-1164 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

B.H. Luckman ◽

M.H. Masiokas ◽

K. Nicolussi

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Tree Line ◽

Canadian Rockies ◽

The Holocene ◽

Forest Sites ◽

History Of ◽

Subfossil Wood ◽

Glacier Advance

As glaciers in the Canadian Rockies recede, glacier forefields continue to yield subfossil wood from sites overridden by these glaciers during the Holocene. Robson Glacier in British Columbia formerly extended below tree line, and recession over the last century has progressively revealed a number of buried forest sites that are providing one of the more complete records of glacier history in the Canadian Rockies during the latter half of the Holocene. The glacier was advancing ca. 5.5 km upvalley of the Little Ice Age terminus ca. 5.26 cal ka BP, at sites ca. 2 km upvalley ca. 4.02 cal ka BP and ca. 3.55 cal ka BP, and 0.5–1 km upvalley between 1140 and 1350 A.D. There is also limited evidence based on detrital wood of an additional period of glacier advance ca. 3.24 cal ka BP. This record is more similar to glacier histories further west in British Columbia than elsewhere in the Rockies and provides the first evidence for a post-Hypsithermal glacier advance at ca. 5.26 cal ka BP in the Rockies. The utilization of the wiggle-matching approach using multiple 14C dates from sample locations determined by dendrochronological analyses enabled the recognition of 14C outliers and an increase in the precision and accuracy of the dating of glacier advances.

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Lichenometry and Schmidt hammer tests in the Kaunertal glacier foreland (Ötztal Alps) during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation

Miscellanea Geographica ◽

10.1515/mgrsd-2017-0027 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 190-196

Author(s):

Jan Czempiński ◽

Maciej Dąbski

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Schmidt Hammer ◽

Mars Mission ◽

Frontal Part ◽

Glacier Foreland ◽

Glacier Front ◽

Relative Stabilization ◽

History Of ◽

Mission Simulation

AbstractThe aim of this article is to show the results of the lichenometrical and Schmidt hammer measurements performed in 2015 during the AMADEE-15 Mars Mission Simulation in the Ötztal Alps in order to test the capabilities of analogue astronauts and collect information on the geomorphic history of the study area since the Little Ice Age (LIA). The results obtained differ significantly from our expectations, which we attribute to differences in the field experience of participants and the astronauts’ technical limitations in terms of mobility. However, the experiments proved that these methods are within the range of the astronauts’ capabilities. Environmental factors, such as i) varied petrography, ii) varied number of thalli in test polygons, and iii) differences in topoclimatic conditions between the LIA moraine and the glacier front, further inhibited simple interpretation. The LIA maximum of the Kaunertal glacier occurred in AD 1850, and relative stabilization of the frontal part of the rock glacier occurred in AD 1711.

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The geographical interest of historical documents to interpret the scientific evolution of the glacier existing in the Veleta cirque (Sierra Nevada, Spain) during the Little Ice Age

Cuadernos de Investigación Geográfica ◽

10.18172/cig.3415 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 267 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

A. Gómez-Ortiz ◽

M. Oliva ◽

F. Salvador-Franch ◽

M. Salvà-Catarineu ◽

J. Plana-Castellví

Keyword(s):

Sierra Nevada ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Landscape Evolution ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Ice Age ◽

Historical Documents ◽

Origin And Evolution ◽

Microclimate Conditions ◽

Written Sources

Historical documents have shown their potential to infer the origin and evolution of the glacier existing in the Veleta cirque, in the massif of Sierra Nevada (Spain). This information encompasses written sources spanning from the 17th to the mid-20th centuries, and provides valuable knowledge about the Little Ice Age. These new data complement the already existing geomorphological knowledge about the natural system and landscape evolution in Sierra Nevada, particularly with regards to glacial geomorphic events in the summit areas. From a transdisciplinary methodological approach, the results show that the Veleta glacier was a singular geomorphic event that owed its existence to the particular environmental conditions of the high lands of Sierra Nevada, besides the favourable morpho-topographical setting, altitude, aspect as well as microclimate conditions prevailing in this area.

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Estimating the longevity of glaciers in the Xinjiang region of the Tian Shan through observations of glacier area change since the Little Ice Age using high-resolution imagery

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2020.24 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (257) ◽

pp. 471-484

Author(s):

Julia Liu ◽

Daniel E. Lawson ◽

Robert L. Hawley ◽

Jonathan Chipman ◽

Brian Tracy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Relative Loss ◽

High Resolution Imagery ◽

High Resolution Satellite Imagery ◽

Kaidu River ◽

Tian Shan

AbstractGlacial retreat in response to warming climates in the arid Xinjiang region of northwestern China directly impacts downstream water resources available for local communities. We used high-resolution satellite imagery from 1969 to 2014 to delineate spatial changes in 54 active glaciers in the upper Kaidu River Basin in the Tian Shan as well as their past expanses during the Little Ice Age (LIA). We manually delineated their boundaries based on the interpretation of glacial, geomorphic and topographic features. From the total glacier surface area, we estimated glacier volume and mass. From 1969 to 2014, glacier area decreased by 10.1 ± 1.0 km2 (relative loss of 34.2 ± 3.5%) and mass by 1.025 ± 0.108 Gt (relative loss of 43 ± 4.6%). From the LIA maximum (est. 1586 CE) to 1969, relative losses were less (25.7 ± 4.3% area loss and 33.1 ± 5.7% mass loss). Our results indicate that glacier recession is accelerating over time and that the glaciers are currently losing over 1.5 times more relative area than elsewhere in the Tian Shan. Using linear and non-linear projections, we estimate that these glaciers may disappear between 2050 and 2150 CE if climatic warming continues at the same pace.

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Climate and social change at the start of the Late Antique Little Ice Age

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683620941079 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (11) ◽

pp. 1643-1648 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter N Peregrine

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

High Resolution ◽

Little Ice Age ◽

Historical Data ◽

Ice Age ◽

Late Antique ◽

Social Disruption ◽

Epidemic Disease ◽

Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽

The Relationship

The Late Antique Little Ice Age, spanning the period from 536 CE to roughly 560 CE, saw temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere drop by a degree C in less than a decade. This rapid cooling is thought to have caused widespread famine, epidemic disease, and social disruption. The relationship between cooling and social disruption is examined here using a set of high-resolution climate and historical data. A significant link between cooling and social disruption is demonstrated, but it is also demonstrated that the link is highly variable, with some societies experiencing dramatic cooling changing very little, and others experiencing only slight cooling changing dramatically. This points to variation in vulnerability, and serves to establish the Late Antique Little Ice Age as a context within which naturalistic quasi-experiments on vulnerability to climate change might be conducted.

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Simulated retreat of Jakobshavn Isbræ since the Little Ice Age controlled by geometry

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-12-2249-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 2249-2266 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Nadine Steiger ◽

Kerim H. Nisancioglu ◽

Henning Åkesson ◽

Basile de Fleurian ◽

Faezeh M. Nick

Keyword(s):

Little Ice Age ◽

Ice Age ◽

Climate Forcing ◽

Relative Role ◽

Regional Warming ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Term Response

Abstract. Rapid retreat of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers coincides with regional warming trends, which have broadly been used to explain these rapid changes. However, outlet glaciers within similar climate regimes experience widely contrasting retreat patterns, suggesting that the local fjord geometry could be an important additional factor. To assess the relative role of climate and fjord geometry, we use the retreat history of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in 1850 as a baseline for the parameterization of a depth- and width-integrated ice flow model. The impact of fjord geometry is isolated by using a linearly increasing climate forcing since the LIA and testing a range of simplified geometries. We find that the total length of retreat is determined by external factors – such as hydrofracturing, submarine melt and buttressing by sea ice – whereas the retreat pattern is governed by the fjord geometry. Narrow and shallow areas provide pinning points and cause delayed but rapid retreat without additional climate warming, after decades of grounding line stability. We suggest that these geometric pinning points may be used to locate potential sites for moraine formation and to predict the long-term response of the glacier. As a consequence, to assess the impact of climate on the retreat history of a glacier, each system has to be analyzed with knowledge of its historic retreat and the local fjord geometry.

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