Reply on CC2

We agree that the most up-to-date reference period should be used, given the rapid temperature rise. We added this information in the revised Fig. 7b. According to data available at the NASA website, the global mean surface temperatures in 1991-2020 was ~0.5°C above that in 1961-1990. We also added the mean July temperatures in the Alps for the reference periods 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 in Fig. 7c.


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Be and 14 C bedrock analyses in Steingletscher's forefield (central Swiss Alps)" by Irene Schimmelpfennig et al., Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-110-AC2, 2021 Thank you very much for your constructive and relevant comments. We agree that taking into account your three comments will further strengthen the paper and place the findings correctly in the context of the accelerating current glacier and climate change.
Please add in Fig. 6 b the global temperature for the reference period 1991 -2020 which is significantly above 1961-1990; This is relevant to specify what 'today' means; 'today' should refer to 1991-2020 (recommendation WMO).
We agree that the most up-to-date reference period should be used, given the rapid temperature rise. We added this information in the revised Fig. 7b. According to data available at the NASA website, the global mean surface temperatures in 1991-2020 was ~0.5°C above that in 1961-1990. We also added the mean July temperatures in the Alps for the reference periods 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 in Fig. 7c.
it would be helpful to show in Fig 6 g the extent of Mer de Glace and Great Aletsch in 2019/2020 (e.g. https://www.glamos.ch/en/factsheet#/B36-26 or WGMS data).
Illustrating the strongly accelerating current glacier retreat is indeed relevant when studying glacier recession during the Holocene. The information has been added in the case of the graph depicting the length changes of Great Aletsch (now Fig. 7  Seconding the Comment by Heinz Wanner: please add in the Discussion (Section 5.3) a short paragraph about the orbital forcing during the Holocene (particularly for summer) and how this influences summer TT and glacier lengths (based on the argument that glaciers are sensitive to summer temperature). I would also like to see a crystal clear statement (maybe in the Conclusions) that the main findings of this paper (small glaciers in the Early and Mid Holocene) is fully in line with the theory and current comprehensive understanding of Holocene climate change (including glacier variations) in the mid latitudes of the NH, and that recent glacier retreats (in the Alps and worldwide) and warming temperatures are undoubtedly attributable to anthropogenic forcing (e.g., Roe et al. 2021The Cryosphere, 15, 1889-1905 and references therein; IPCC AR4, 5 and 6). The causes for (Early) Holocene glacier retreats were very different from those of today.
In light of recent glacier retreats under anthropogenic climate forcing (in the Alps, but also globally), it is most relevant to place Holocene glacier variations (this paper) and their causes in the appropriate, unambiguous and scientifically sound context. We agree. We added the following lines (579-584) at the end of the discussion: "Finally, while greenhouse gas concentrations were relatively stable over the Holocene, the accelerating anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing has caused glaciers in the Alps and worldwide to retreat over the last century, with drastically increasing speed over the past few decades (Figs. 3b, 7g,h; e.g. Maurer et al., 2020; Roe et al., 2021; IPCC, 2007, 2013, in press). The high sensitivity of Steingletscher to the moderate summer temperature amplitudes during the Holocene implies that the glacier will continue to melt and shrink dramatically, and will most likely disappear if the human-induced warming is not reversed."