Christian Schlüchter

Interhemispheric correlation of Late Pleistocene glacial events.

A radiocarbon chronology shows that piedmont glacier lobes in the Chilean Andes achieved maxima during the last glaciation at 13,900 to 14,890, 21,000, 23,060, 26,940, 29,600, and ≥33,500 carbon-14 years before present (14C yr B.P.) in a cold and wet Subantarctic Parkland environment. The last glaciation ended with massive collapse of ice lobes close to 14,00014C yr B.P., accompanied by an influx of North Patagonian Rain Forest species. In the Southern Alps of New Zealand, additional glacial maxima are registered at 17,72014C yr B.P., and at the beginning of the Younger Dryas at 11,050 14C yr B. P. These glacial maxima in mid-latitude mountains rimming the South Pacific were coeval with ice-rafting pulses in the North Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, the last termination began suddenly and simultaneously in both polar hemispheres before the resumption of the modern mode of deep-water production in the Nordic Seas. Such interhemispheric coupling implies a global atmospheric signal rather than regional climatic changes caused by North Atlantic thermohaline switches or Laurentide ice surges.

High-frequency Holocene glacier fluctuations in New Zealand differ from the northern signature.

Vive La Différence How closely do climate changes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres resemble each other? Much discussion has concentrated on the Holocene, the warm period of the past 11,500 years in which we now live, which represents a baseline to which contemporary climate change can be compared. Schaefer et al. (p. 622; see the Perspective by Balco) present a chronology of glacial movement over the last 7000 years in New Zealand, which they compare to similar records from the Northern Hemisphere. Clear differences are observed between the histories of glaciers in the opposing hemispheres, which may be owing to regional controls. Thus, neither of two popular arguments—that the hemispheres change in-phase or that they change in an anti-phased manner—appear to be correct. The patterns of glacial advances and retreats in New Zealand during the Holocene contrast markedly with those of the Northern Hemisphere. Understanding the timings of interhemispheric climate changes during the Holocene, along with their causes, remains a major problem of climate science. Here, we present a high-resolution 10Be chronology of glacier fluctuations in New Zealand’s Southern Alps over the past 7000 years, including at least five events during the last millennium. The extents of glacier advances decreased from the middle to the late Holocene, in contrast with the Northern Hemisphere pattern. Several glacier advances occurred in New Zealand during classic northern warm periods. These findings point to the importance of regional driving and/or amplifying mechanisms. We suggest that atmospheric circulation changes in the southwest Pacific were one important factor in forcing high-frequency Holocene glacier fluctuations in New Zealand.

Near-Synchronous Interhemispheric Termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in Mid-Latitudes

Isotopic records from polar ice cores imply globally asynchronous warming at the end of the last glaciation. However, 10Be exposure dates show that large-scale retreat of mid-latitude Last Glacial Maximum glaciers commenced at about the same time in both hemispheres. The timing of retreat is consistent with the onset of temperature and atmospheric CO2 increases in Antarctic ice cores. We suggest that a global trend of rising summer temperatures at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum was obscured in North Atlantic regions by hypercold winters associated with unusually extensive winter sea ice.

The Alps with little ice: evidence for eight Holocene phases of reduced glacier extent in the Central Swiss Alps.

Glacially deformed pieces of wood, organic lake sediments and clasts of reworked peat have been collected in front of Alpine glaciers since AD 1990. The palaeoglaciological interpretation of these organic materials is related to earlier phases of glacier recession surpassing that of todays shrunken glaciers and to tree growth and peat accumulation in the valleys now occupied by the glaciers. Glacial transport of the material is indicated by wood anatomy, incorporated silt, sand and gravel particles, missing bark and deformed treerings. A total of 65 samples have been radiocarbon dated so far, and clusters of dates provide evidence of eight phases of glacier recession: 9910-9550, 9010-7980, 7250-6500, 6170-5950, 5290-3870, 3640-3360, 2740-2620 and 1530-1170 calibrated years BP. Allowing for the timelag between climatic fluctuations, glacier response and vegetation colonization, these recession phases may lag behind climatic changes by 100-200 years.

Cosmogenic noble gas studies in the oldest landscape on earth: surface exposure ages of the Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Extraordinarily high surface exposure ages have been determined for Sirius Group tillites of Mt. Fleming and Mt. Feather as well as at localities in the Inner Dry Valleys using cosmogenic helium and neon. Ages of 10 Ma at Mt. Fleming, 5.3 Ma at Mt. Feather and 6.5 Ma at Insel Mountain are among the highest nominal exposure ages published so far. These values are minimal ages as they are based on the assumption of zero erosion and uplift. The Mt. Feather sample independently confirms the pre-Pliocene age of the Sirius Group sediments in the Dry Valleys as previously determined at Mt. Fleming. The Insel Mountain samples provide evidence for a landscape formation of the Inner Dry Valleys not later than Late Miocene time. Assuming conservatively low values of 2.5 cm Ma−1 for erosion rate and 50 m Ma−1 for uplift rate we infer that the Sirius Group tillites at Mt. Fleming were deposited earlier than 20 Ma ago. This indicates that the overriding of the Dry Valleys block of the Transantarctic Mountains by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet occurred not later than the Early Miocene. Maximum long-term erosion rates in the Inner Dry Valleys must be <15 cm Ma−1 down to altitudes <1000 m. Since such low erosion rates require permanently cold and hyperarid conditions, the response of Antarctica to the Pliocene warm climatic episode must have been small. Cosmogenic nuclide data from both the Inner Dry Valleys and the Sirius Group sediment localities support the hypothesis of a stable East Antarctic Ice Sheet since at least Late Miocene time, implying that the climate of Antarctica was decoupled from that of lower southern latitudes. We present also new elemental 21Ne production rates of P21(Mg) = 196 atoms g−1 yr−1 and P21(Al) = 55 atoms g−1 yr−1 at sea level and high geomagnetic latitude. These figures are consistent with a 3He production rate of P3 = 110 atoms g−1 yr−1, similar to previously published values. This consistency provides evidence that pyroxene is retentive for both helium and neon over at least 10 Ma. Cosmogenic Ne in quartz and pyroxene has a (22Ne/21Ne)cos ratio of 1.266 ± 0.040 and 1.159 ± 0.040, respectively.

10BE AND 26AL PRODUCTION RATES DEDUCED FROM AN INSTANTANEOUS EVENT WITHIN THE DENDRO-CALIBRATION CURVE, THE LANDSLIDE OF KOFELS, OTZ VALLEY, AUSTRIA

Surface exposure dating requires the knowledge of cosmogenic nuclide production rates. When determining time-integrated production rates the exposure ages of the calibration samples need to be accurately known. The landslide of Kofels (Austria) is very well suited for this purpose. It is the largest landslide in the crystalline Alps of Austria dating back to 7800±100 years BC (AMS 14C dating of buried wood), which is well within the 14C dendro calibration curve. Exposed quartz veins were sampled from the tops of large boulders from the toe of the landslide for analysis of 10Be and 26Al. To calculate sea level, high geomagnetic latitude (≥60°), open sky radionuclide production rates, corrections were applied for altitude and latitude, for shielding by surrounding mountains, for sample geometry, vegetation and snow cover, and for sample thickness. The production rates for an exposure age of 10,000 years are 5.75±0.24 10Be atoms/yr g SiO2 and 37.4±1.9 26Al atoms/yr g SiO2. A 26Al/10Be ratio of 6.52±0.43 can be calculated. The influence of the geomagnetic field on these production rates has been estimated using two different geomagnetic field records. Our production rates should be a good approximation for the use of surface exposure dating between about 5000 and 13,000 years BP.

Geomorphology, Stratigraphy, and Radiocarbon Chronology of LlanquihueDrift in the Area of the Southern Lake District, Seno Reloncaví, and Isla Grande de Chiloé, Chile

Glacial geomorphologic features composed of (or cut into) Llanquihue drift delineate former Andean piedmont glaciers in in the region of the southern Chilean Lake District,Seno Reloncavi, Golfo de Ancud, and northern Golfo Corcovado during the last glaciation. These landforms include extensive moraine belts, main and subsidiary outwash plains, kame terraces, and meltwater spillways. Nt Numerous radiocarbon dates document Andean ice advances into the moraine belts during the last glacial maximum (LGM) at 29,363-29,385 14 C yr BP, 26,797 14 C yr BP, 22,295-22,570 14 C yr BP, and 14,805-14,869 14 C yr BP.Advances may also have culminated at close to 21,000 14 C yr BP, shortly before 17,800 14 C yr BP, and shortly before 15,730 14 C yr BP. The maximum at 22,295-22,567 14 C yr BP was probably the most extensive of the LGM in the northern part of the field area, whereas that at 14,805-14,869 14 C yr BP was the most extensive in the southern part. Snowline depression during these maxima was about 1000 m. Andean piedmont glaciers did not advance into the outer Llanquihue moraine belts during the portion of middle Llanquihue time between 29,385 14 C yr BP and more than 39,660 14 C yr BP. In the southern part of the field area, the Golfo de Ancud lobe, as well the Golfo Corcovado lobe, achieved a maximum at the outermost Llanquihue moraine prior to 49,892 14 C yr BP. Pollen analysis of the Taiquemo mire,which is located on this moraine, suggests that the old Llanquihue advance probably corresponds to the time of marine isotope stage 4. The implication is that Andean snowline was then depressed as much as during the LGM. A Llanquihue-age glacier expansion into the outer moraine belts also occurred more than about 40,000 14 C yr BP for the Lago Llanquihue piedmont glacier.

The limited influence of glaciations in Tibet on global climate over the past 170 000 yr

Extensive ice cover on the Tibetan Plateau would significantly influence Earth’s climate in general and the Asian monsoon system in particular, but extent and timing of Quaternary glaciations in Tibet remain highly controversial. We dated erratics on top of moraines in the climatic key areas of Central and East Tibet using cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, and 21Ne. Consistent exposure ages obtained by various nuclides indicate a continuous period of exposure since the deposition of the samples. Our data imply that glacial advances were restricted to a few 10 km during the last 170 kyr in Central Tibet and during the peak of the last glaciation (∼24–13 kyr ago) in Eastern Tibet. Advances of Tibetan glaciers were much less prominent than elsewhere in the northern hemisphere most likely due to very arid conditions and high sublimation rates. A proposed ice-dome covering the entire Plateau can be excluded. Thus, albedo increase of Tibet most likely did trigger neither northern hemisphere ice ages nor paleomonsoon changes during the last two glacial cycles. The glacial advance during Marine Isotope Stage 2 in East Tibet and the absence of significant glacial events during the Holocene suggest a relation of snowline lowering in East Tibet to North Atlantic cooling events rather than to periods of high precipitation by an intensified monsoon.

Regional insolation forcing of late Quaternary climate change in the Southern Hemisphere

In agreement with the Milankovitch orbital forcing hypothesis it is often assumed that glacial–interglacial climate transitions occurred synchronously in the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth. It is difficult to test this assumption, because of the paucity of long, continuous climate records from the Southern Hemisphere that have not been dated by tuning them to the presumed Northern Hemisphere signals. Here we present an independently dated terrestrial pollen record from a peat bog on South Island, New Zealand, to investigate global and local factors in Southern Hemisphere climate changes during the last two glacial–interglacial cycles. Our record largely corroborates the Milankovitch model of orbital forcing but also exhibits some differences: in particular, an earlier onset and longer duration of the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results suggest that Southern Hemisphere insolation may have been responsible for these differences in timing. Our findings question the validity of applying orbital tuning to Southern Hemisphere records and suggest an alternative mechanism to the bipolar seesaw for generating interhemispheric asynchrony in climate change.

The oldest ice on Earth in Beacon Valley, Antarctica: new evidence from surface exposure dating

Abstract Beacon Valley, Antarctica, contains unique remnants of glacier ice underneath a till layer covering the valley floor. To constrain the age and evolution of this important indicator of Antarctic paleoclimate, we analyzed two dolerite erratics from the till surface and one from within the ice for cosmogenic helium and neon. A conservative minimum exposure age of the older surface sample is 2.3 Ma, but taking into account erosion, the true exposure age of this boulder is likely to be considerably higher. The buried sample contains more than 20 times less cosmogenic noble gases than the old surface sample, although its current shielding would imply only a three times lower production rate. This indicates that the ice level has slowly been lowered by sublimation at the rate of a few m/Ma. The high exposure age of the surface sample as well as the very low sublimation rate of the relict ice both support the conclusion that the remnant ice in Beacon Valley was deposited many million years ago [Sugden et al., Nature 376 (1995) 412–414] and has never been thinner than at present. In addition, we found that cosmogenic helium and neon are released quantitatively from pyroxene at temperatures of 1000°C, respectively.