Articles | Volume 20, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-625-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-625-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Mar 2024
Research article |
| 21 Mar 2024
| 21 Mar 2024
Abrupt warming and alpine glacial retreat through the last deglaciation in Alaska interrupted by modest Northern Hemisphere cooling
Berkeley Geochronology Center, 2455 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA 94709, USA
Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, 126 Cooke Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Jason P. Briner
Department of Geology, University at Buffalo, 126 Cooke Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Nicolás E. Young
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
Joerg M. Schaefer
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
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Caleb K. Walcott, Jason P. Briner, Joseph P. Tulenko, and Stuart M. Evans
Clim. Past, 20, 91–106, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-91-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-91-2024, 2024
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Available data suggest that Alaska was not as cold as many of the high-latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere during the Last Ice Age. These results come from isolated climate records, climate models, and data synthesis projects. We used the extents of mountain glaciers during the Last Ice Age and Little Ice Age to show precipitation gradients across Alaska and provide temperature data from across the whole state. Our findings support a relatively warm Alaska during the Last Ice Age.
Joseph P. Tulenko, William Caffee, Avriel D. Schweinsberg, Jason P. Briner, and Eric M. Leonard
Geochronology, 2, 245–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-245-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-245-2020, 2020
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We investigate the timing and rate of retreat for three alpine glaciers in the southern Rocky Mountains to test whether they followed the pattern of global climate change or were majorly influenced by regional forcing mechanisms. We find that the latter is most likely for these glaciers. Our conclusions are based on a new 10Be chronology of alpine glacier retreat. We quantify retreat rates for each valley using the BACON program in R, which may be of interest for the audience of Geochronology.
Karlee K. Prince, Jason P. Briner, Caleb K. Walcott, Brooke M. Chase, Andrew L. Kozlowski, Tammy M. Rittenour, and Erica P. Yang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2655, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2655, 2024
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We date Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum in western New York, USA. We apply radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminesce dating to glacial features. We find that ice began retreating shortly after 20 ka, but hummocky moraine stabilization is delayed until climate warming at ~15–14 ka.
Allie Balter-Kennedy, Joerg M. Schaefer, Greg Balco, Meredith A. Kelly, Michael R. Kaplan, Roseanne Schwartz, Bryan Oakley, Nicolás E. Young, Jean Hanley, and Arianna M. Varuolo-Clarke
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-241, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-241, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
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We date sedimentary deposits indicating the southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet was at or near its southernmost extent from ~26,000 to 21,000 years ago when sea-level was lowest and other climate records indicate glacial conditions. Slow deglaciation began ~22,000 years ago alongside a slow but steady rise in modeled local summer temperature, but significant deglaciation in the region did not begin until ~18,000 years ago when atmospheric CO2 began to rise, signaling the end of the last ice age.
Caleb K. Walcott, Jason P. Briner, Joseph P. Tulenko, and Stuart M. Evans
Clim. Past, 20, 91–106, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-91-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-91-2024, 2024
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Available data suggest that Alaska was not as cold as many of the high-latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere during the Last Ice Age. These results come from isolated climate records, climate models, and data synthesis projects. We used the extents of mountain glaciers during the Last Ice Age and Little Ice Age to show precipitation gradients across Alaska and provide temperature data from across the whole state. Our findings support a relatively warm Alaska during the Last Ice Age.
Gifford H. Miller, Simon L. Pendleton, Alexandra Jahn, Yafang Zhong, John T. Andrews, Scott J. Lehman, Jason P. Briner, Jonathan H. Raberg, Helga Bueltmann, Martha Raynolds, Áslaug Geirsdóttir, and John R. Southon
Clim. Past, 19, 2341–2360, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2341-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2341-2023, 2023
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Receding Arctic ice caps reveal moss killed by earlier ice expansions; 186 moss kill dates from 71 ice caps cluster at 250–450, 850–1000 and 1240–1500 CE and continued expanding 1500–1880 CE, as recorded by regions of sparse vegetation cover, when ice caps covered > 11 000 km2 but < 100 km2 at present. The 1880 CE state approached conditions expected during the start of an ice age; climate models suggest this was only reversed by anthropogenic alterations to the planetary energy balance.
Brandon L. Graham, Jason P. Briner, Nicolás E. Young, Allie Balter-Kennedy, Michele Koppes, Joerg M. Schaefer, Kristin Poinar, and Elizabeth K. Thomas
The Cryosphere, 17, 4535–4547, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4535-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4535-2023, 2023
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Glacial erosion is a fundamental process operating on Earth's surface. Two processes of glacial erosion, abrasion and plucking, are poorly understood. We reconstructed rates of abrasion and quarrying in Greenland. We derive a total glacial erosion rate of 0.26 ± 0.16 mm per year. We also learned that erosion via these two processes is about equal. Because the site is similar to many other areas covered by continental ice sheets, these results may be applied to many places on Earth.
Adam C. Hawkins, Brian Menounos, Brent M. Goehring, Gerald Osborn, Ben M. Pelto, Christopher M. Darvill, and Joerg M. Schaefer
The Cryosphere, 17, 4381–4397, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4381-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4381-2023, 2023
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Our study developed a record of glacier and climate change in the Mackenzie and Selwyn mountains of northwestern Canada over the past several hundred years. We estimate temperature change in this region using several methods and incorporate our glacier record with models of climate change to estimate how glacier volume in our study area has changed over time. Models of future glacier change show that our study area will become largely ice-free by the end of the 21st century.
Allie Balter-Kennedy, Joerg M. Schaefer, Roseanne Schwartz, Jennifer L. Lamp, Laura Penrose, Jennifer Middleton, Jean Hanley, Bouchaïb Tibari, Pierre-Henri Blard, Gisela Winckler, Alan J. Hidy, and Greg Balco
Geochronology, 5, 301–321, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-301-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-301-2023, 2023
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Cosmogenic nuclides like 10Be are rare isotopes created in rocks exposed at the Earth’s surface and can be used to understand glacier histories and landscape evolution. 10Be is usually measured in the mineral quartz. Here, we show that 10Be can be reliably measured in the mineral pyroxene. We use the measurements to determine exposure ages and understand landscape processes in rocks from Antarctica that do not have quartz, expanding the use of this method to new rock types.
Jason P. Briner, Caleb K. Walcott, Joerg M. Schaefer, Nicolás E. Young, Joseph A. MacGregor, Kristin Poinar, Benjamin A. Keisling, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Mary R. Albert, Tanner Kuhl, and Grant Boeckmann
The Cryosphere, 16, 3933–3948, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022, 2022
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The 7.4 m of sea level equivalent stored as Greenland ice is getting smaller every year. The uncertain trajectory of ice loss could be better understood with knowledge of the ice sheet's response to past climate change. Within the bedrock below the present-day ice sheet is an archive of past ice-sheet history. We analyze all available data from Greenland to create maps showing where on the ice sheet scientists can drill, using currently available drills, to obtain sub-ice materials.
Joshua K. Cuzzone, Nicolás E. Young, Mathieu Morlighem, Jason P. Briner, and Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel
The Cryosphere, 16, 2355–2372, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2355-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2355-2022, 2022
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We use an ice sheet model to determine what influenced the Greenland Ice Sheet to retreat across a portion of southwestern Greenland during the Holocene (about the last 12 000 years). Our simulations, constrained by observations from geologic markers, show that atmospheric warming and ice melt primarily caused the ice sheet to retreat rapidly across this domain. We find, however, that iceberg calving at the interface where the ice meets the ocean significantly influenced ice mass change.
Caleb K. Walcott, Jason P. Briner, James F. Baichtal, Alia J. Lesnek, and Joseph M. Licciardi
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We present a record of ice retreat from the northern Alexander Archipelago, Alaska. During the last ice age (~ 26 000–19 000 years ago), these islands were covered by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. We tested whether islands were ice-free during the last ice age for human migrants moving from Asia to the Americas. We found that these islands became ice-free between ~ 15 100 years ago and ~ 16 000 years ago, and thus these islands were not suitable for human habitation during the last ice age.
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Andrew J. Christ, Paul R. Bierman, Jennifer L. Lamp, Joerg M. Schaefer, and Gisela Winckler
Geochronology, 3, 505–523, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-505-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-505-2021, 2021
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Cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating is commonly used to constrain the timing of past glacier extents. However, Antarctic exposure age datasets are often scattered and difficult to interpret. We compile new and existing exposure ages of a glacial deposit with independently known age constraints and identify surface processes that increase or reduce the likelihood of exposure age scatter. Then we present new data for a previously unmapped and undated older deposit from the same region.
Douglas P. Steen, Joseph S. Stoner, Jason P. Briner, and Darrell S. Kaufman
Geochronology Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2021-19, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2021-19, 2021
Publication in GChron not foreseen
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Paleomagnetic data from Cascade Lake (Brooks Range, Alaska) extend the radiometric-based age model of the sedimentary sequence extending back 21 kyr. Correlated ages based on prominent features in paleomagnetic secular variations (PSV) diverge from the radiometric ages in the upper 1.6 m, by up to about 2000 years at around 4 ka. Four late Holocene cryptotephra in this section support the PSV chronology and suggest the influence of hard water or aged organic material.
Svend Funder, Anita H. L. Sørensen, Nicolaj K. Larsen, Anders A. Bjørk, Jason P. Briner, Jesper Olsen, Anders Schomacker, Laura B. Levy, and Kurt H. Kjær
Clim. Past, 17, 587–601, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-587-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-587-2021, 2021
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Cosmogenic 10Be exposure dates from outlying islets along 300 km of the SW Greenland coast indicate that, although affected by inherited 10Be, the ice margin here was retreating during the Younger Dryas. These results seem to be corroborated by recent studies elsewhere in Greenland. The apparent mismatch between temperatures and ice margin behaviour may be explained by the advection of warm water to the ice margin on the shelf and by increased seasonality, both caused by a weakened AMOC.
Nicolás E. Young, Alia J. Lesnek, Josh K. Cuzzone, Jason P. Briner, Jessica A. Badgeley, Alexandra Balter-Kennedy, Brandon L. Graham, Allison Cluett, Jennifer L. Lamp, Roseanne Schwartz, Thibaut Tuna, Edouard Bard, Marc W. Caffee, Susan R. H. Zimmerman, and Joerg M. Schaefer
Clim. Past, 17, 419–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-419-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-419-2021, 2021
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Joseph P. Tulenko, William Caffee, Avriel D. Schweinsberg, Jason P. Briner, and Eric M. Leonard
Geochronology, 2, 245–255, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-245-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-245-2020, 2020
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Jacob Downs, Jesse Johnson, Jason Briner, Nicolás Young, Alia Lesnek, and Josh Cuzzone
The Cryosphere, 14, 1121–1137, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1121-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1121-2020, 2020
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We use an inverse modeling approach based on the unscented transform (UT) and a new reconstruction of Holocene ice sheet retreat in western central Greenland to infer precipitation changes throughout the Holocene. Our results indicate that warming during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) was linked to elevated snowfall that slowed retreat despite high temperatures. We also find that the UT provides a computationally inexpensive approach to Bayesian inversion and uncertainty quantification.
Joshua K. Cuzzone, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Mathieu Morlighem, Eric Larour, Jason P. Briner, Helene Seroussi, and Lambert Caron
The Cryosphere, 13, 879–893, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-879-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-879-2019, 2019
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We present ice sheet modeling results of ice retreat over southwestern Greenland during the last 12 000 years, and we also test the impact that model horizontal resolution has on differences in the simulated spatial retreat and its associated rate. Results indicate that model resolution plays a minor role in simulated retreat in areas where bed topography is not complex but plays an important role in areas where bed topography is complex (such as fjords).
Maxwell T. Cunningham, Colin P. Stark, Michael R. Kaplan, and Joerg M. Schaefer
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 147–169, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-147-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-147-2019, 2019
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Glacial erosion is known to limit the height of midlatitude mountain ranges affected by substantial glaciation during cold periods. Our study examines this phenomenon in the tropics. A new form of hypsometric analysis, along with other evidence, of 10 tropical ranges reveals widespread signs of a perched glacial base level at the ELA. Although glacial influence is moderate to weak in these environments, the evidence suggests that glacial erosion acts to limit the height of tropical ranges.
Joshua M. Maurer, Summer B. Rupper, and Joerg M. Schaefer
The Cryosphere, 10, 2203–2215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2203-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2203-2016, 2016
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Here we utilize declassified spy satellite imagery to quantify ice volume loss of glaciers in the eastern Himalayas over approximately the last three decades. Clean-ice and debris-covered glaciers show similar magnitudes of ice loss, while calving glaciers are contributing a disproportionately large amount to total ice loss. Results highlight important physical processes affecting the ice mass budget and associated water resources in the Himalayas.
Shaun R. Eaves, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Brian M. Anderson, Alice M. Doughty, Dougal B. Townsend, Chris E. Conway, Gisela Winckler, Joerg M. Schaefer, Graham S. Leonard, and Andrew T. Calvert
Clim. Past, 12, 943–960, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, 2016
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Geological evidence for past changes in glacier length provides a useful source of information about pre-historic climate change. We have used glacier modelling to show that air temperature reductions of −5 to −7 °C, relative to present, are required to simulate the glacial extent in the North Island, New Zealand, during the last ice age (approx. 20000 years ago). Our results provide data to assess climate model simulations, with the aim of determining the drivers of past natural climate change.
Related subject area
Subject: Teleconnections | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Millenial/D-O
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Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, Susanne Brandstätter, Tobias Erhardt, Marc Luetscher, and R. Lawrence Edwards
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Abrupt climate change during the last ice age can be used to provide important insights into the timescales on which the climate is capable of changing and the mechanisms that drive those changes. In this study, we construct climate records for the period 60 to 120 ka using stalagmites that formed in caves along the northern rim of the European Alps and find good agreement with the timing of climate changes in Greenland and the Asian monsoon.
Svante Björck, Jesper Sjolte, Karl Ljung, Florian Adolphi, Roger Flower, Rienk H. Smittenberg, Malin E. Kylander, Thomas F. Stocker, Sofia Holmgren, Hui Jiang, Raimund Muscheler, Yamoah K. K. Afrifa, Jayne E. Rattray, and Nathalie Van der Putten
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C. Martin-Puertas, A. Brauer, S. Wulf, F. Ott, S. Lauterbach, and P. Dulski
Clim. Past, 10, 2099–2114, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2099-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2099-2014, 2014
R. Boch, H. Cheng, C. Spötl, R. L. Edwards, X. Wang, and Ph. Häuselmann
Clim. Past, 7, 1247–1259, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1247-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-1247-2011, 2011
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Short summary
We take advantage of a site in Alaska – where climate records are limited and a former alpine glacier deposited a dense sequence of moraines spanning the full deglaciation – to construct a proxy summer temperature record. Building on age constraints for moraines in the valley, we reconstruct paleo-glacier surfaces and estimate the summer temperatures (relative to the Little Ice Age) for each moraine. The record suggests that the influence of North Atlantic climate forcing extended to Alaska.
We take advantage of a site in Alaska – where climate records are limited and a former alpine...
