A chronology of the Little Ice Age in the tropical Andes of Bolivia (16°S) and its implications for climate reconstruction

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Rabatel ◽  
Bernard Francou ◽  
Vincent Jomelli ◽  
Philippe Naveau ◽  
Delphine Grancher
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tropical Andes ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Glacier Recession

AbstractDating moraines by lichenometry enabled us to reconstruct glacier recession in the Bolivian Andes since the Little Ice Age maximum. On the 15 proglacial margins studied, we identified a system of ten principal moraines that marks the successive positions of glaciers over the last four centuries. Moraines were dated by performing statistical analysis of lichen measurements based on the extreme values theory. Like glaciers in many mid-latitude mountain areas, Bolivian glaciers reached their maximal extent during the second half of the 17th century. This glacier maximum coincides with the Maunder minimum of solar irradiance. By reconstructing the equilibrium-line altitude and changes in mass-balance, we think the glacier maximum may be due to a 20 to 30% increase in precipitation and a 1.1 to 1.2 °C decrease in temperature compared with present conditions. In the early 18th century, glaciers started to retreat at varying rates until the late 19th to early 20th century; this trend was generally associated with decreasing accumulation rates. By contrast, glacier recession in the 20th century was mainly the consequence of an increase in temperature and humidity. These results are consistent with observations made in the study region based on other proxies.

scholarly journals Glacier recession on Cerro Charquini (16° S), Bolivia, since the maximum of the Little Ice Age (17th century)

2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (176) ◽  
pp. 110-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Rabatel ◽  
Abraham Machaca ◽  
Bernard Francou ◽  
Vincent Jomelli
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Glacier Recession ◽  
Recession Rates ◽  
Cordillera Real ◽  
The 19Th Century

AbstractCerro Charquini, Bolivia (Cordillera Real, 5392 ma.s.l.) was selected as a site to reconstruct glacier recession since the maximum of the Little Ice Age (LIA) in the central Andes. Five glaciers, located on differently exposed slopes, present comprehensive and well-preserved morainic systems attributed to former centuries. The moraines were dated by lichenometry and show a consistent organization on the different slopes. The past geometry of the glaciers was reconstructed using ground topography and aerophotogrammetry. Lichenometric dating shows that the LIA maximum occurred in the second half of the 17th century, after which the glaciers have receded nearly continuously. Over the last decades of the 20th century (1983–97), recession rates increased by a factor of four. On the northern and western slopes, glaciers receded more than on the southern and eastern slopes (by 78% and 65% of their LIA maximum area, respectively). The mean equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) rose by about 160 m between the LIA maximum and 1997. Recession rates were analysed in terms of climatic signal, suggesting that glacier recession since the LIA maximum was mainly due to a change in precipitation and that the 19th century may have been drier. For the 20th century, a temperature rise of about 0.6°C appears to be the main cause of glacier recession. Recent climatic conditions from 1983 to 1997 correspond to a mass deficit of about 1.36m w.e.a–1. If such conditions persist, the small glaciers below 5300ma.s.l. in the Cordillera Real should disappear completely in the near future.

Recent, rapid and profound changes to glacier morphology and dynamics, Juneau Icefield, Alaska

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethan Davies ◽  
Jacob Bendle ◽  
Robert McNabb ◽  
Jonathan Carrivick ◽  
Christopher McNeil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Regional Warming ◽  
Geomorphological Mapping ◽  
Glacier Recession ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
High Resolution Satellite Imagery ◽  
Global Sea Level

<p>The Alaskan region (comprising glaciers in Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon) contains the third largest ice volume outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and contributes more to global sea level rise than any other glacierised region defined by the Randolph Glacier Inventory. However, ice loss in this area is not linear, but in part controlled by glacier hypsometry as valley and outlet glaciers are at risk of becoming detached from their accumulation areas during thinning. Plateau icefields, such as Juneau Icefield in Alaska, are very sensitive to changes in Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) as this can result in rapidly shrinking accumulation areas. Here, we present detailed geomorphological mapping around Juneau Icefield and use this data to reconstruct the icefield during the “Little Ice Age”. We use topographic maps, archival aerial photographs, high-resolution satellite imagery and digital elevation models to map glacier lake and glacier area and volume change from the Little Ice Age to the present day (1770, 1948, 1979, 1990, 2005, 2015 and 2019 AD). Structural glaciological mapping (1979 and 2019) highlights structural and topographic controls on non-linear glacier recession.  Our data shows pronounced glacier thinning and recession in response to widespread detachment of outlet glaciers from their plateau accumulation areas. Glacier detachments became common after 2005, and occurred with increasing frequency since then. Total summed rates of area change increased eightfold from 1770-1948 (-6.14 km<sup>2</sup> a<sup>-1</sup>) to 2015-2019 (-45.23 km<sup>2</sup> a<sup>-1</sup>). Total rates of recession were consistent from 1770 to 1990 AD, and grew increasingly rapid after 2005, in line with regional warming.</p>

Holocene Glacial and Tree-Line Variations in the White River Valley and Skolai Pass, Alaska and Yukon Territory

1977 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. Denton ◽  
Wibjörn Karlén
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
White River ◽  
Glacier Recession

Complex glacier and tree-line fluctuations in the White River valley on the northern flank of the St. Elias and Wrangell Mountains in southern Alaska and Yukon Territory are recognized by detailed moraine maps and drift stratigraphy, and are dated by dendrochronology, lichenometry,14C ages, and stratigraphic relations of drift to the eastern (123014C yr BP) and northern (198014C yr BP) lobes of the White River Ash. The results show two major intervals of expansion, one concurrent with the well-known and widespread Little Ice Age and the other dated between 2900 and 210014C yr BP, with a culmination about 2600 and 280014C yr BP. Here, the ages of Little Ice Age moraines suggest fluctuating glacier expansion between ad 1500 and the early 20th century. Much of the 20th century has experienced glacier recession, but probably it would be premature to declare the Little Ice Age over. The complex moraine systems of the older expansion interval lie immediately downvalley from Little Ice Age moraines, suggesting that the two expansion intervals represent similar events in the Holocene, and hence that the Little Ice Age is not unique. Another very short-lived advance occurred about 1230 to 105014C yr BP. Spruce immigrated into the valley to a minimum altitude of 3500 ft (1067 m), about 600 ft (183 m) below the current spruce tree line of 4100 ft (1250 m), at least by 802014C yr BP. Subsequent intervals of high tree line were in accord with glacier recession; in fact, several spruce-wood deposits above current tree line occur bedded between Holocene tills. High deposits of fossil wood range up to 76 m above present tree line and are dated at about 5250, 3600 to 3000, and 2100 to 123014C yr BP. St. Elias glacial and tree-line fluctuations, which probably are controlled predominantly by summer temperature and by length of the growing and ablation seasons, correlate closely with a detailed Holocene tree-ring curve from California, suggesting a degree of synchronism of Holocene summer-temperature changes between the two areas. This synchronism is strengthened by comparison with the glacier record from British Columbia and Mt. Rainier. Likewise, broad synchronism of Holocene events exists across the Arctic between the St. Elias Mountains and Swedish Lappland. Finally, two sequences from the Southern Hemisphere show similar records, in so far as dating allows. Hence, we believe that a preliminary case can be made for broad synchronism of Holocene climatic fluctuations in several regions, although further data are needed and several areas, particularly Colorado and Baffin Island, show major differences in the regional pattern.

High sensitivity of North Iceland (Tröllaskagi) debris-free glaciers to climatic change from the ‘Little Ice Age’ to the present

The Holocene ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1187-1200 ◽  
Author(s):  
José María Fernández-Fernández ◽  
Nuria Andrés ◽  
Þorsteinn Sæmundsson ◽  
Skafti Brynjólfsson ◽  
David Palacios
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
The Mean

The Tröllaskagi peninsula is located in northern Iceland, between meridian 19°30′W and 18°10′W, jutting out into the North Atlantic to latitude 66°12′N. The aim of this research is to study recent glacier changes in relation to climatic evolution of the Gljúfurárjökull and Tungnahryggsjökull debris-free valley glaciers in Tröllaskagi. Glacier extent mapping and spatial analysis operations were performed with ArcGIS (ESRI), using analysis of aerial photographs from 1946, 1985, 1994 and 2000, and a 2005 SPOT satellite image. The results show that these glaciers lost a quarter of their surface area between the ‘Little Ice Age’ and 2005. In this paper, the term ‘Little Ice Age’ follows Grove (2001) as the most recent period when glaciers extended globally between the medieval period and the early 20th century. The abrupt climatic transition of the early 20th century and the 25-year warm period 1925–1950 triggered the main retreat and volume loss of these glaciers since the end of the ‘Little Ice Age’. Meanwhile, cooling during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s altered the trend, with advances of the glacier snouts. Between the ‘Little Ice Age’ and the present day, the mean annual air temperature and mean ablation season air temperature increased by 1.9°C and 1.5°C, respectively, leading to a 40–50 m rise in the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the glaciers during this period. The response of these glaciers depends not only on the mean ablation season air temperature evolution but also on other factors such as winter precipitation. The models applied show a precipitation increase of up to more than 700 mm since the ‘Little Ice Age’.

scholarly journals Little Ice Age summer temperatures in western Norway from a 700-year tree-ring chronology

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1609-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Løvstrand Svarva ◽  
Terje Thun ◽  
Andreas Joachim Kirchhefer ◽  
Atle Nesje
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Spatial Uncertainty ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Outlet Glacier ◽  
Western Norway ◽  
Early 18Th Century

A ring-width Pinus sylvestris chronology from Sogndal in western Norway was created, covering the period AD 1240–2008 and allowing for reconstruction of monthly mean July temperatures. This reconstruction is the first of its kind from western Norway and it aims to densify the existing network of temperature-sensitive tree-ring proxy series to better understand past temperature variability in the ‘Little Ice Age’ and diminish the spatial uncertainty. Spatial correlation reveals strong agreement with temperatures in southern Norway, especially on the western side of the Scandinavian Mountains. Five prominent cold periods are identified on a decadal timescale, centred on 1480, 1580, 1635, 1709 and 1784 and ‘Little Ice Age’ cooling spanning from 1450 to the early 18th century. High interannual and decadal agreement is found with an independent temperature reconstruction from western Norway, which is based on data from grain harvests and terminal moraines. The reconstructed temperatures also correlate with other tree-ring-based temperature reconstructions from Fennoscandia, most strongly with data from central Sweden. Tree growth in Sogndal is correlated to the Scandinavian teleconnection index in the summer months, at least in the last half of the 20th century, and is positively correlated to the summer expression of the North Atlantic Oscillation in the early half of the 20th century. A significant response to major volcanic forcing in the Northern Hemisphere was found, and extreme years seem to be related to the dominance of high and low geopotential height that in turn represents variability in the path of the storm tracks over Fennoscandia. When compared with the variation in frontal positions with time of Nigardsbreen, an eastern outlet glacier from the Jostedalsbreen glacier in western Norway, cold summers in the early 18th century relates to the culmination of a rapid glacial advance that lead up to the 1748 ‘Little Ice Age’ maximum extent.

Rates of Deglaciation during the Last Glaciation and Holocene in the Cordillera Vilcanota-Quelccaya Ice Cap Region, Southeastern Perú

2002 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan G. Mark ◽  
Geoffrey O. Seltzer ◽  
Donald T. Rodbell ◽  
Adam Y. Goodman
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
The West ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Quelccaya Ice Cap ◽  
Over Time

AbstractMoraine chronology is combined with digital topography to model deglacial rates of paleoglacier volumes in both the Huancané Valley on the west side of the Quelccaya Ice Cap and the Upismayo Valley on the northwest side of the Cordillera Vilcanota. The fastest rates of deglaciation (39×10−5 to 114×10−5 km3 yr−1 and 112×10−5 to 247×10−5 km3 yr−1 for each valley, respectively) were calculated for the most recent paleoglaciers, corresponding to the last few centuries. These results are consistent with observations in the Venezuelan Andes showing high rates of deglaciation since the Little Ice Age. These rates also fall within the range of 20th century rates of deglaciation measured on the Quelccaya Ice Cap (29×10−5 to 220×10−5 km3 yr−1, Brecher and Thompson, 1993; Thompson, 2000). These results imply that rates of deglaciation may fluctuate significantly over time and that high rates of deglaciation may not be exclusive to the late 20th century. Equilibrium line altitude (ELA) depressions for the ice volumes of the last glaciation modeled here were computed as 230 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap and 170 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota. Maximum ELA depressions are lower than previously published: <500 m for the Cordillera Vilcanota and <400 m for the Quelccaya Ice Cap. These lower values could imply a topographic control over paleoglacier extent.

scholarly journals Skaftafellsjökull, Iceland: glacial geomorphology recording glacier recession since the Little Ice Age

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. A. Evans ◽  
Marek Ewertowski ◽  
Chris Orton
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacial Geomorphology ◽  
Glacier Recession

scholarly journals Glacier equilibrium line altitude variations during the “Little Ice Age” in the Mediterranean Andes (30◦–37◦ S)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro González-Reyes ◽  
Claudio Bravo ◽  
Mathias Vuille ◽  
Martin Jacques-Coper ◽  
Maisa Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. The "Little Ice Age" (LIA; 1500–1850 Common Era (CE)), has long been recognized as the last period when mountain glaciers in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) recorded extensive growth intervals in terms of their ice mass and frontal position. The knowledge about this relevant paleoclimatic interval is vast in mountainous regions such as the Alps and Rocky Mountains in North America. However, in extra-tropical Andean sub-regions such as the Mediterranean Andes of Chile and Argentina (MA; 30º–37º S), the LIA has been poorly documented. Paradoxically, the few climate reconstructions performed in the MA based on lake sediments and tree rings do not show clear evidence of a LIA climate anomaly as observed in the NH. In addition, recent studies have demonstrated temporal differences between mean air temperature variations across the last millennium between both hemispheres. This motivates our hypothesis that the LIA period was not associated with a significant climate perturbation in the MA region. Considering this background, we performed an experiment using daily climatic variables from three Global Climate Models (GCMs) to force a novel glaciological model. In this way, we simulated temporal variations of the glacier equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) to evaluate the glacier response during the period 1500–1848 CE. Overall, each GCM shows temporal changes in annual ELA, with anomalously low elevations during 1640–1670 and 1800–1848 CE. An interval with high ELA values was identified during 1550–1575 CE. The spectral properties of the mean annual ELA in each GCM present significant periodicities between 2–7 years, and also significant decadal to multi-decadal signals. In addition, significant and coherent cycles at interannual to multi-decadal scales were detected between modeled mean annual ELAs and the first EOF1 extracted from Sea Surface Temperature (SST) within the El Niño 3.4 of each GCM. Finally, significant Pearson correlation coefficients were obtained between the mean annual ELA and Pacific SST on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. According to our findings, we propose that Pacific SST variability was the main modulator of temporal changes of the ELA in the MA region of South America during 1500–1848 CE.

scholarly journals Climate reconstruction since the Little Ice Age by modelling Koryto glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (184) ◽  
pp. 125-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoru Yamaguchi ◽  
Renji Naruse ◽  
Takayuki Shiraiwa
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Kamchatka Peninsula ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Glacier Terminus ◽  
Tree Ring Data

AbstractBased on the field data at Koryto glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, we constructed a one-dimensional numerical glacier model which fits the behaviour of the glacier. The analysis of meteorological data from the nearby station suggests that the recent rapid retreat of the glacier since the mid-20th century is likely to be due to a decrease in winter precipitation. Using the geographical data of the glacier terminus variations from 1711 to 1930, we reconstructed the fluctuation in the equilibrium-line altitude by means of the glacier model. With summer temperatures inferred from tree-ring data, the model suggests that the winter precipitation from the mid-19th to the early 20th century was about 10% less than that at present. This trend is close to consistent with ice-core results from the nearby ice cap in the central Kamchatka Peninsula.

scholarly journals Mapping glaciers in Jotunheimen, South-Norway, during the "Little Ice Age" maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Baumann ◽  
S. Winkler ◽  
L. M. Andreassen
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Southern Norway ◽  
Elevation Model

Abstract. The maximum glacier extent during the "Little Ice Age" (mid 18th century AD) in Jotunheimen, southern Norway, was mapped using remote sensing techniques. Interpretation of existing glaciochronological studies, analysis of geomorphological maps, and own GPS-field measurements were applied for validation of the mapping. The length of glacier centrelines and other inventory data were determined using a Geographical Information System (GIS) and a Digital Elevation Model. "Little Ice Age" maximum extent for a total of 233 glaciers comprising an overall glacier area of about 290 km2 was mapped. Mean length of the centreline was calculated to 1.6 km. Until AD 2003, the area and length shrank by 35% and 34%, respectively, compared with the maximum "Little Ice Age" extent.

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