scholarly journals Rapid thinning of the Welsh Ice Cap at 20–19 ka Based on 10Be Ages

2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D. Hughes ◽  
Neil F. Glasser ◽  
David Fink
Keyword(s):  
Arithmetic Mean ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Vertical Range ◽  
North Wales ◽  
Complete Dataset ◽  
Exposure Ages

New 10Be ages from the summits of three mountain areas of North Wales reveal a very similar exposure timing as the Welsh Ice Cap thinned after the global Last Glacial Maximum. Eight bedrock and one boulder sample gave a combined arithmetic mean exposure age of 19.08 ± 0.80 ka (4.2%, 1σ). Similar exposure ages over a 320 m vertical range (824 to 581 m altitude) show that ice cap thinning was very rapid and spatially uniform. Using the same production rate and scaling scheme, we recalculated six published 10Be exposure ages from the nearby Arans, which also covered a similar elevation range from 608 to 901 m and obtained an arithmetic mean of 19.41 ± 1.45 ka (7.5%, 1σ). The average exposure age of all 15 accepted deglaciation ages is 19.21 ± 1.07 (5.6%, 1σ). The complete dataset from North Wales provides very strong evidence indicating that these summits became exposed as nunataks at 20–19 ka. This result provides important insight to the magnitude of ice surface lowering and behavior of the Welsh Ice Cap during the last deglaciation that can be compared to other ice masses that made up the British-Irish Ice Sheet.

Late Pleistocene Cosmogenic 36Cl Glacial Chronology of the Southwestern Ahklun Mountains, Alaska

2001 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason P. Briner ◽  
Terry W. Swanson ◽  
Marc Caffee
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Outlet Glacier ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Global Ice Volume ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Alpine Glaciers ◽  
Glacial Chronology ◽  
Glacier Advance ◽  
Exposure Ages

AbstractThirty-two cosmogenic 36Cl surface exposure ages constrain the timing of two late Pleistocene glacial advances in the western Ahklun Mountains, southwestern Alaska. Boulders were sampled from one early Wisconsin (sensu lato) and six late Wisconsin moraines deposited by ice-cap outlet glaciers and local alpine glaciers. Four moraine boulders deposited during an extensive early Wisconsin ice-cap outlet glacier advance have a mean surface exposure age of 60,300±3200 yr. A moraine deposited by an ice-cap outlet glacier during the restricted late Wisconsin advance has a mean surface exposure age of 19,600±1400 yr. Five moraines deposited by late Wisconsin alpine glaciers have mean ages that range between 30,000 and 17,000 yr. The 36Cl ages are consistent with limiting 14C and thermoluminescence ages from related deposits and indicate that Ahklun Mountains glaciers reached their most extensive position of the last glaciation early during the late Pleistocene, in contrast to the deep-sea isotopic record of global ice volume.1

Cosmogenic nuclide exposure age constraints on the glacial history of the Lake Wellman area, Darwin Mountains, Antarctica

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 603-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.C. Storey ◽  
D. Fink ◽  
D. Hood ◽  
K. Joy ◽  
J. Shulmeister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Model Interpretation ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
History Of ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Elevation Model ◽  
Exposure Ages

AbstractWe present direct terrestrial evidence of ice volume change of the Darwin and Hatherton glaciers which channel ice from the Transantarctic Mountains into the Ross Ice Shelf. Combining glacial geomorphology with cosmogenic exposure ages from 25 erratics indicates a pre-LGM ice volume at least 600 m thicker than current Hatherton ice elevation was established at least 2.2 million years ago. In particular, five erratics spread across a drift deposit at intermediate elevations located below a prominent moraine feature mapped previously as demarcating the LGM ice advance limits, give a well-constrained single population with mean 10Be age of 37.0 ± 5.5 ka (1σ). At lower elevations of 50–100 m above the surface of Lake Wellman, a further five samples from within a younger drift deposit range in exposure age from 1 to 19 ka. Our preferred age model interpretation, which is partly dependent on the selection of a minimum or maximum age-elevation model, suggests that LGM ice volume was not as large as previously estimated and constrains LGM ice elevation to be within ± 50 m of the modern Hatherton Glacier ice surface, effectively little different from what is observed today.

The last deglaciation of Cape Adare, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 581-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne S. Johnson ◽  
Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand ◽  
John L. Smellie ◽  
Sergio Rocchi
Keyword(s):  
Before Present ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
The Last Deglaciation ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractWe present two 10Be exposure ages from erratic boulders at Cape Adare, northern Victoria Land. The exposure ages obtained suggest that Cape Adare was covered by ice during the last glacial period, and the younger age points to deglaciation around 16.2 ka. Comparison of our younger 10Be exposure age with published radiocarbon dates for Adélie penguin occupation at Cape Adare suggests that the onset of penguin colonization (at 2–3 kyr before present) lagged behind the deglaciation by at least 11.5 kyr. These observations indicate that penguin colonization did not occur until several thousand years after ice free ground became available.

The timing of deglaciation from mountain summits to cirques in Wales: 10Be and 26Al exposure dates from Cadair Idris

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Hughes ◽  
Neil Glasser ◽  
David Fink ◽  
Jason Dortch ◽  
Reka Fülöp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Summit Area ◽  
Sheet Surface ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Heinrich Event ◽  
Level Ice ◽  
High Level ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
Later Phase

<p>Cosmogenic <sup>10</sup>Be and <sup>26</sup>Al exposure ages from 20 erratic samples collected from Cadair Idris (893 m), a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales, provide evidence for the timing of deglaciation from summits to cirques at the end of the Late Pleistocene. The summit of the mountain is characterised by intensely modified frost-shattered surfaces that have long been identified as a representing a former nunatak. Numerous glacially-transported quartz boulders on the highest ground indicate that ice overran the summit at some point in the Pleistocene. Two quartz boulders, one with preserved striations, sampled at c. 856 m near the summit of Cadair Idris yielded consistent <sup>10</sup>Be and <sup>26</sup>Al paired exposure ages of 75 ka to 60 ka (using a high-latitude sea level <sup>10</sup>Be spallation production rate of 4.20 at/g/y, scaled by the Lal/Stone scheme). A glacially polished bedrock quartzite outcrop at 735 m gave an age of 17.5 ka. Immediately below this, cirque and down-valley recessional moraine ages, covering an elevation of 480 m to 350 m ranged from 10 to 15 ka respectively.</p><p>These results confirm that Cadair Idris was overridden by the Welsh Ice Cap during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4, when ice was thicker than at the global last glacial maximum (LGM) in MIS 2. This is consistent with findings from northern Snowdonia. The highest Welsh summits, including Cadair Idris, emerged above a thinning Welsh Ice Cap (British Irish Ice Sheet) during the transition from MIS 4 to 3. The summit area above ~800 m then stood as nunataks above the LGM ice sheet surface in MIS 2. The Welsh Ice Cap then rapidly thinned over Cadair Idris at ~20-17 ka based on ages from high-level ice-moulded bedrockThis is supported by more new ages from high-level paired erratics and bedrock samples on several other mountains throughout Snowdonia, leading to a phase of alpine-style deglaciation. Valley glaciers initiated their retreat up-valley from ~17 to 14 ka after Heinrich Event 1. A later phase of glacier stabilisation or still stand formation produced classic cirque moraines near the rim of a present cirque lake basin (480 m elevation) yielding <sup>10</sup>Be ages of 13-10 ka during the Younger Dryas.</p>

scholarly journals Thinning of the Quelccaya Ice Cap over the last thirty years

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Chadwell ◽  
D. R. Hardy ◽  
C. Braun ◽  
H. H. Brecher ◽  
L. G. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Unit Volume ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Dual Frequency ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Quelccaya Ice Cap

Abstract. Direct measurements of the decadal response of Tropical glaciers to environmental changes are difficult to acquire within their accumulation zones. In 2013, we used dual-frequency kinematic GPS to re-measure the surface elevations at 46 sites, from the margin to across the summit of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, first measured in 1983 using terrestrial surveying methods. In 2015, six additional sites on the western margin, first observed in 1978, were remeasured. Over the past 30 years, the ice cap summit has thinned by 4.41 ± 0.23 m (2σ), with a maximum ice loss at one site near the margin of 63.4 ± 0.34 m (2σ) over 37 years. Using geophysical methods that located the sub-glacial bedrock, we estimate the unit-volume of ice in 1983 along a profile from the 1983 margin to the summit and then the change in volume from 1983 to 2013 by differencing the surface elevations. Over the past 30 years, 21.2 ± 0.3 % (2σ) of the ice unit-volume has been lost suggesting an average annual mass balance rate of −0.5 ± 0.1 m w.e. a−1 (2σ). Increasing air temperature at high elevations of the Andes is likely a major driver of the observed changes. Specifically, within the ablation zone, thinning is likely caused by a 1–2 m w.e. a−1 increase in melting and sublimation above steady-state.Within the accumulation zone, analysis of annual, dry-season summit pits suggests that surface lowering may be caused by both a slight decrease in net snow accumulation and an increase in firnification rate, though this interpretation yet lacks statistical significance. The role of ice flux changes since 1983/4 remains unconstrained, awaiting updated measurements of ice surface velocities across the ice cap.

Palaeoclimatic and morphodynamic implications of Holocene boulder-dominated periglacial and paraglacial landforms in Rondane, South Norway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Marr ◽  
Stefan Winkler ◽  
Svein Olaf Dahl ◽  
Jörg Löffler
Keyword(s):  
Slope Failure ◽  
Rock Slope ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Age Dating ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Holocene Thermal Maximum ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Thermal Maximum ◽  
Exposure Ages

<p>Periglacial, paraglacial and related boulder-dominated landforms constitute a valuable, but often unexplored source of palaeoclimatic and morphodynamic information. The timing of landform formation and stabilization can be linked to past cold climatic conditions which offers the possibility to reconstruct cold climatic periods. In this study, Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) was applied to a variety of boulder-dominated landforms (sorted stripes, blockfield, paraglacial alluvial fan, rock-slope failure) in Rondane, eastern South Norway for the first time. On the basis of an old and young control point a local calibration curve was established from which surface exposure ages of each landform were calculated. The investigation of formation, stabilization and age of the respective landforms permitted an assessment of Holocene climate variability in Rondane and its connectivity to landform evolution. The obtained SHD age estimates range from 11.15 ± 1.22 to 3.99 ± 1.52 ka which shows their general inactive and relict character. Most surface exposure ages of the sorted stripes cluster between 9.62 ± 1.36 and 9.01 ± 1.21 ka and appear to have stabilized towards the end of the ‘Erdalen Event’ or in the following warm period prior to ‘Finse Event’. The blockfield age with 8.40 ± 1.16 ka indicates landform stabilization during ‘Finse Event’, around the onset of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (~8.0–5.0 ka). The paraglacial alluvial fan with its four subsites shows age ranges from 8.51 ± 1.63 to 3.99 ± 1.52 ka. The old exposure age points to fan aggradation follow regional deglaciation due to paraglacial processes, whereas the younger ages can be explained by increasing precipitation during the onset neoglaciation at ~4.0 ka. Surface exposure age of the rock-slope failure with 7.39 ± 0.74 ka falls into a transitional climate period towards the Holocene Thermal Maximum (~8.0–5.0 ka). This indicates that climate-driven factors such as decreasing permafrost depth and/or increasing hydrological pressure negatively influence slope stability. Our obtained first surface exposure ages from boulder-dominated landforms in Rondane give important insights to better understand the palaeoclimatic variability in the Holocene.</p>

scholarly journals Cosmic Ray Exposure Age Determinations of Cosmic Spherules from Marine Sediments

1985 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 179-181
Author(s):  
Kazuo Yamakoshi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
High Energy Accelerator ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Cosmic Spherules ◽  
Inner Region ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
Cosmic Ray Exposure Age ◽  
Cosmic Ray Exposure Ages

AbstractThe cosmic ray exposure ages of deep sea metalic lie spherules were determined by various methods; low level countings (Ni-59), neutron activation analysis (Mn-53), high energy accelerator mass spectrometry (Be-10, Al-26) and mass spectrometry (K isotopes). The exposure ages of 0.3 - 50 Ma were obtained. According to Poynting-Robertson effect, the starting points (supplying sources) are located at inner region of the orbit of Saturn.

scholarly journals Interpretation of the anomalous growth of Austfonna, Svalbard, a large Arctic ice cap

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 373-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivienne Raper ◽  
Jonathan Bamber ◽  
William Krabill
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Maximum Growth Rate ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Airborne Laser ◽  
Surface Elevation Change ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Arctic Ice ◽  
Made In

AbstractAs previously reported, repeat-pass airborne laser altimetry measurements made in May 1996 and May 2002 show a large positive ice-surface elevation change rate over parts of the accumulation area of Austfonna, eastern Svalbard. The maximum growth rate is estimated to be equivalent to a 35–40% increase in snowfall over the area of thickening. Thinning is observed at lower elevations. Here we discuss in detail the possible causes of these elevation changes, including ice-cap dynamics and/or firn density changes, and conclude that sea-ice loss producing a localized increase in precipitation over Austfonna remains the most convincing explanation. This study highlights the problems of interpreting relatively short-term altimetry measurements where auxiliary data are limited in both spatial and temporal extent.

scholarly journals Ice-Cored Moraines in South-Western Ellesmere Island, N.W.T., Canada

1971 ◽  
Vol 10 (59) ◽  
pp. 245-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Souchez
Keyword(s):  
Outer Zone ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
North West ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The North ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Lithological Composition

AbstractThe north-west margin of the main ice cap in south-western Ellesmere Island is fringed by ice-cored moraines. The formation of these moraines seems to be more complex than simple upwarping of the foliation bands at the margin of the ice cap. At one locality, where outer and inner zones can be distinguished on the basis of lithological composition, debris in the outer zone is composed of material from farther back under the ice cap than debris in the inner zone. In another locality, localized ridges cross each other independently of the trend of the main ridge.The time required to obtain the quantity of debris forming the moraine at the ice surface is estimated to be between 65 and 300 years.

scholarly journals 3. Fragmentation of Asteroids and Delivery of Fragments to Earth

1977 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 283-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Wetherill
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Asteroid Belt ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Iron Meteorites ◽  
Exposure Age ◽  
Impact Rate ◽  
Dynamical Time ◽  
Spectrophotometric Data ◽  
Exposure Ages ◽  
Cosmic Ray Exposure Ages

Earth-impacting meteoroids are derived from both comets and asteroids, and some uncertainty still exists regarding with which of these bodies some stone meteorites should be identified. In contrast, the long cosmic ray exposure ages of iron meteorites strongly suggest a long-lived asteroidal source capable of providing ~108 g/yr of this material to the earth’s surface over at least much of solar system history. Spectrophotometric data show that differentiated asteroids are concentrated in the inner portion of the asteroid belt. The orbital histories of fragments of inner belt asteroids are investigated, considering the combined effects of close planetary encounters, secular perturbations, and secular resonances. Particular attention is given to the low inclination (<15°) objects with small semimajcr axis (2.1 to 2.6 A.U.), which can make fairly close approaches to Mars (<0.1 A.U.). It is found that the annual yield and dynamical lifetime of collision fragments of these asteroids is in agreement with the observed impact rate and exposure age of iron meteorites. A smaller yield of stone meteorites (-107 g/yr) is expected, because elimination of these objects by collision is probable on the long dynamical time scaTe. Achondrites could be produced in this way; the yield is probably too low to account for chondrites. Chondrites could possibly be derived indirectly from these bodies insofar as these asteroids are also sources of Apollo and Amor objects.

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