Little Ice Age fluctuations of Glaciar Río Manso in the North Patagonian Andes of Argentina

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.H. Masiokas ◽  
B.H. Luckman ◽  
R. Villalba ◽  
A. Ripalta ◽  
J. Rabassa
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Lateral Moraine ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Subfossil Wood ◽  
Moraine Ridge ◽  
Patagonian Andes

Little Ice Age (LIA) fluctuations of Glaciar R"o Manso, north Patagonian Andes, Argentina are studied using information from previous work and dendrogeomorphological analyses of living and subfossil wood. The most extensive LIA expansion occurred between the late 1700s and the 1830"1840s. Except for a massive older frontal moraine system apparently predating ca. 2240 14C yr BP and a small section of a south lateral moraine ridge that is at least 300 yr old, the early nineteenth century advance overrode surficial evidence of any earlier LIA glacier events. Over the past 150 yr the gently sloping, heavily debris-covered lower glacier tongue has thinned significantly, but several short periods of readvance or stasis have been identified and tree-ring dated to the mid-1870s, 1890s, 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, and the mid-1970s. Ice mass loss has increased in recent years due to calving into a rapidly growing proglacial lake. The neighboring debris-free and land-based Glaciar Fr"as has also retreated markedly in recent years but shows substantial differences in the timing of the peak LIA advance (early 1600s). This indicates that site-specific factors can have a significant impact on the resulting glacier records and should thus be considered carefully in the development and assessment of regional glacier chronologies.

Cuban stalagmite suggests relationship between Caribbean precipitation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation during the past 1.3 ka

The Holocene ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1405-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Fensterer ◽  
Denis Scholz ◽  
Dirk Hoffmann ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
Jesús M Pajón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Rainfall Intensity ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Southward Shift ◽  
The North Atlantic

Here we present the first high-resolution δ18O record of a stalagmite from western Cuba. The record reflects precipitation variability in the northwestern Caribbean during the last 1.3 ka and exhibits a correlation to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). This suggests a relationship between Caribbean rainfall intensity and North Atlantic sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies. A potential mechanism for this relationship may be the strength of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC). For a weaker THC, lower SSTs in the North Atlantic possibly lead to a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and drier conditions in Cuba. Thus, this Cuban stalagmite records drier conditions during cold phases in the North Atlantic such as the ‘Little Ice Age’. This study contributes to the understanding of teleconnections between North Atlantic SSTs and northern Caribbean climate variability during the past 1.3 ka.

scholarly journals Fluctuations of Glaciar Esperanza Norte in the north Patagonian Andes of Argentina during the past 400 yr

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1079-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ruiz ◽  
M. H. Masiokas ◽  
R. Villalba
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Data ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Patagonian Andes

Abstract. The number of studies of Little Ice Age (LIA) glacier fluctuations in southern South America has increased in recent years but is largely biased towards sites in the south Patagonian Andes. In this paper we present a detailed record of length and areal fluctuations of Glaciar Esperanza Norte (GEN) in the north Patagonian Andes of Argentina during the past four centuries. The GEN record was reconstructed through the dendro-geomorphological dating of moraines and the analysis of satellite imagery, aerial photographs and documentary material complemented with extensive field surveys. The maximum LIA extent at GEN was associated with an outer moraine dated to the mid 17th century. At least 19 subsequent readvances or standstills evidenced by morainic ridges were identified inside the most extensive LIA moraine. The dating and spacing of these moraines and the additional information available indicate that the ice front retreated much more rapidly during the 20th century than during earlier centuries. Comparison with the record of LIA fluctuations of Glaciar Frías, an ice mass of similar characteristics located 110 km to the north of GEN, shows a similar pattern of recession over the past 400 yr. Both glacier records have the peak LIA event occurring roughly during the same interval (early-mid 17th century) and show a minor readvance during the 1970s, but there are still a few discrepancies in the dating of some inner moraines. These differences may be due to local, specific factors or associated with the inherent uncertainties in the dating of the moraines. The chronologies of GEN and Frías are among the most detailed currently available in Patagonia, but a larger number of study sites is needed to develop robust, regionally representative glacier chronologies. Detailed glaciological, geomorphological and meteorological data are also needed to understand the glacier-climate relationships in this region and develop reliable paleoclimatic reconstructions.

scholarly journals Fluctuations of Glaciar Esperanza Norte in the North Patagonian Andes of Argentina during the past 400 yr

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 4073-4104
Author(s):  
L. Ruiz ◽  
M. H. Masiokas ◽  
R. Villalba
Keyword(s):  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Patagonian Andes

Abstract. The number of studies of Little Ice Age (LIA) glacier fluctuations in Southern South America has increased in recent years but is largely biased towards sites in the South Patagonian Andes. In this paper we present a detailed record of length and areal fluctuations of Glaciar Esperanza Norte (GEN), in the North Patagonian Andes of Argentina, during the past four centuries. The GEN record was reconstructed through the dendro-geomorphological dating of moraines and the analysis of satellite imagery, aerial photographs and documentary material complemented with extensive field surveys. The maximum LIA extent at GEN was associated with an outer moraine dated to the mid 17th century. At least 19 subsequent readvances or standstills evidenced by morainic ridges were identified inside the most extensive LIA moraine. The dating and spacing of these moraines and the additional information available indicate that the ice front retreated much more rapidly during the 20th century than during earlier centuries. Comparison with the record of LIA fluctuations of Glaciar Frías, an ice mass of similar characteristics located 110 km to the north of GEN, shows a similar pattern of recession over the past 400 yr. Both glacier records have the peak LIA event occurring roughly during the same interval and show a minor readvance during the 1970s, but there are still a few discrepancies in the dating of some inner moraines. These differences may be due to local, specific factors or associated with the inherent uncertainties in the dating of the moraines. The chronologies of GEN and Frías are among the most detailed currently available in Patagonia, but a larger number of study sites is needed to develop robust, regionally representative glacier chronologies. Detailed glaciological, geomorphological and meteorological data are also needed to understand the glacier-climate relationships in this region and develop reliable paleoclimatic reconstructions.

scholarly journals Global Signatures and Dynamical Origins of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly

Science ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 326 (5957) ◽  
pp. 1256-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Mann ◽  
Zhihua Zhang ◽  
Scott Rutherford ◽  
Raymond S. Bradley ◽  
Malcolm K. Hughes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Medieval Climate Anomaly ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Global temperatures are known to have varied over the past 1500 years, but the spatial patterns have remained poorly defined. We used a global climate proxy network to reconstruct surface temperature patterns over this interval. The Medieval period is found to display warmth that matches or exceeds that of the past decade in some regions, but which falls well below recent levels globally. This period is marked by a tendency for La Niña–like conditions in the tropical Pacific. The coldest temperatures of the Little Ice Age are observed over the interval 1400 to 1700 C.E., with greatest cooling over the extratropical Northern Hemisphere continents. The patterns of temperature change imply dynamical responses of climate to natural radiative forcing changes involving El Niño and the North Atlantic Oscillation–Arctic Oscillation.

Late Holocene glacial activity of Bridge Glacier, British Columbia Coast Mountains

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1753-1773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra M Allen ◽  
Dan J Smith
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Lateral Moraine ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Subfossil Wood

Bridge Glacier is a prominent eastward-flowing valley glacier located on the east side of the Pacific Ranges within the southern British Columbia Coast Mountains. The terminus of Bridge Glacier has retreated at rates up to 125 m/year over the last 50 years and currently calves into proglacial Bridge Lake. Field investigations of the recently deglaciated terrain and moraines led to the discovery of detrital boles and glacially sheared stumps. Dendroglaciological analyses of this subfossil wood produced five radiocarbon-controlled floating tree-ring chronologies. The relative age and stratigraphic location of these samples revealed that Bridge Glacier experienced at least four periods of significant advance during the late Holocene: a Tiedemann-aged advance ca. 3000 14C years BP, an unattributed advance ca. 1900 14C years BP, a first millennium advance ca. 1500 14C years BP, and a Little Ice Age advance beginning ca. 700 14C years BP. Lichenometric investigations at eight terminal and lateral moraine complexes identified early Little Ice Age moraine stabilization during the late 13th to early 14th centuries, with subsequent ice-front oscillations ending in the middle 15th, early 16th, middle to late 17th, early 18th, middle to late 19th, and early 20th centuries. These investigations build upon previous research and compliment recent geobotanical evidence emerging from other glaciers in this region that describe multiple late Holocene glacier advances. The discovery of a glacially sheared whitebark pine stump dating to 1500 ± 50 14C years BP provides irrevocable proof for an advance of Bridge Glacier during a time when glaciers throughout Pacific North America were also expanding.

scholarly journals Continental atmospheric circulation over Europe during the Little Ice Age inferred from grape harvest dates

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Yiou ◽  
I. García de Cortázar-Atauri ◽  
I. Chuine ◽  
V. Daux ◽  
E. Garnier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Atmospheric Flow ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Harvest Dates ◽  
The 19Th Century

Abstract. Estimates of climate conditions before the 19th century are based on proxy data reconstructions or sparse meteorological measurements. The reconstruction of the atmospheric circulation that prevailed during the European Little Ice Age (∼1500–1850) has fostered many efforts. This study illustrates a methodology, combining historical proxies and modern datasets to obtain detailed information on the atmospheric circulation that prevailed over the North Atlantic region during the Little Ice Age. We used reconstructions of temperature gradients over France based on grape harvest dates to infer the atmospheric circulation. We found that blocking situations were more likely in summer, inducing a continental atmospheric flow. This study advocates that the reconstructions of the past atmospheric circulation should take this regime into account.

Dendroglaciological investigations of mid- to late-Holocene glacial activity in the Mt. Waddington area, British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada

The Holocene ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Coulthard ◽  
Dan J Smith ◽  
Terri Lacourse
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Lateral Moraine ◽  
Valley Bottom ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Subfossil Wood

Dendroglaciological investigations near Mt. Waddington in the central British Columbia Coast Mountains provide an enhanced perspective of Holocene glacial activity. Field investigations at Confederation, Franklin, and Jambeau glaciers led to the discovery of subfossil wood mats encased in glacial deposits and glacially sheared stumps buried beneath till. Radiocarbon-dated wood collected from valley-bottom and lateral moraine sites at Confederation Glacier suggest that an early-Holocene advance occurred at c. 5665 cal. yr BP, followed by succeeding intervals of glacier expansion at c. 3700 and 3500 cal. yr BP. At Jambeau Glacier detrital wood mats buried close to the contemporary lateral moraine crests document glacier expansion at c. 3000 cal. yr BP. Detrital subfossil wood buried in lateral moraines at the confluence of Confederation and Franklin glaciers records distinct episodes of ‘Little Ice Age’ glacier expansion as early as c. 1212 cal. yr ad, and suggests the glacier surface continued to thicken until at least c. 1330–1410 cal. yr ad. An interval of downwasting and retreat followed, before late ‘Little Ice Age’ advances such as those at Jambeau Glacier were overwhelming valley-bottom forests by c. 1740 cal. yr ad. With the exception of the previously unrecognized advance of Confederation Glacier at c. 3700 cal. yr BP, our dendroglaciological findings corroborate the emerging record of Holocene glacier activity in the British Columbia Coast Mountains.

scholarly journals Neoglacial history of Robson Glacier, British Columbia

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 1153-1164 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Climatic variability and human impact during the last 2000 years in western Mesoamerica: evidence of late Classic (AD 600–900) and Little Ice Age drought events

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rodríguez-Ramírez ◽  
M. Caballero ◽  
P. Roy ◽  
B. Ortega ◽  
G. Vázquez-Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
High Pressure Cell ◽  
Western Mexico ◽  
The North

Abstract. We present results of analysis of biological (diatoms and ostracodes) and non-biological (Ti, Ca / Ti, total inorganic carbon, magnetic susceptibility) variables from an 8.8 m long, high-resolution (~ 20 yr sample−1) laminated sediment sequence from Lake Santa María del Oro (SMO), western Mexico. This lake lies at a sensitive location between the dry climates of northern Mexico, under the influence of the North Pacific subtropical high-pressure cell and the moister climates of central Mexico, under the influence of the seasonal migration of the intertropical convergence zone and the North American monsoon (NAM). The sequence covers the last 2000 years and provides evidence of two periods of human impact in the catchment, shown by increases in the diatom Achnanthidium minutissimum. The first from AD 100 to 400 (Early Classic) is related to the shaft and chamber tombs cultural tradition in western Mexico, and the second is related to Post-Classic occupation from AD 1100 to 1300. Both periods correspond to relatively wet conditions. Three dry intervals are identified from increased carbonate and the presence of ostracodes and aerophilous Eolimna minima. The first, from AD 500 to 1000 (most intense during the late Classic, from AD 600 to 800), correlates with the end of the shaft and chamber tradition in western Mexico after ca. AD 600. This late Classic dry period is the most important climatic signal in the Mesoamerican region during the last 2000 years, and has been recorded at several sites from Yucatan to the Pacific coast. In the Yucatan area, this dry interval has been related with the demise of the Maya culture at the end of the Classic (AD 850 to 950). The last two dry events (AD 1400 to 1550 and 1690 to 1770) correspond with the onset of, and the late, Little Ice Age, and follow largely the Spörer and Maunder minima in solar radiation. The first of these intervals (AD 1400 to 1550) shows the most intense signal over western Mexico; however this pattern is different at other sites. Dry/wet intervals in the SMO record are related with lower/higher intensity of the NAM over this region, respectively.

scholarly journals Bunker Cave stalagmites: an archive for central European Holocene climate variability

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1687-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fohlmeister ◽  
A. Schröder-Ritzrau ◽  
D. Scholz ◽  
C. Spötl ◽  
D. F. C. Riechelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Central European ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Meteoric Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

Abstract. Holocene climate was characterised by variability on multi-centennial to multi-decadal time scales. In central Europe, these fluctuations were most pronounced during winter. Here we present a new record of past winter climate variability for the last 10.8 ka based on four speleothems from Bunker Cave, Western Germany. Due to its central European location, the cave site is particularly well suited to record changes in precipitation and temperature in response to changes in the North Atlantic realm. We present high resolution records of δ18O, δ13C values and Mg/Ca ratios. We attribute changes in the Mg/Ca ratio to variations in the meteoric precipitation. The stable C isotope composition of the speleothems most likely reflects changes in vegetation and precipitation and variations in the δ18O signal are interpreted as variations in meteoric precipitation and temperature. We found cold and dry periods between 9 and 7 ka, 6.5 and 5.5 ka, 4 and 3 ka as well as between 0.7 to 0.2 ka. The proxy signals in our stalagmites compare well with other isotope records and, thus, seem representative for central European Holocene climate variability. The prominent 8.2 ka event and the Little Ice Age cold events are both recorded in the Bunker cave record. However, these events show a contrasting relationship between climate and δ18O, which is explained by different causes underlying the two climate anomalies. Whereas the Little Ice Age is attributed to a pronounced negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, the 8.2 ka event was triggered by cooler conditions in the North Atlantic due to a slowdown of the Thermohaline Circulation.

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