Marine Isotope Stage 3 paleotemperature inferred from reconstructing the Die Shan ice cap, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 494-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang Cui ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Beibei Yu ◽  
Zhenbo Hu ◽  
Pan Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Mis 3 ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractGlacial extent mapping and dating indicate that the local last glacial maximum (LLGM) of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau occurred during mid-Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. This is asynchronous with the global last glacial maximum (LGM) that occurred during MIS 2. The causes underlying this asynchronicity are the subject of ongoing debate, and paleoclimatic reconstructions are a key to advancing understanding of the climatic influence on the spatial and temporal patterns of paleoglaciation. We used multiple methods to reconstruct the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) of the Die Shan paleo-ice cap on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and to infer past temperature for ice maximum positions believed to be mid-MIS 3 in age, based on regional correlation. Geomorphic ELA reconstructions combined with an energy and mass balance model yield a paleo-ELA of 4117±31 m asl (786 m lower than present) with temperature depressions of 3.8 to ~4.6°C compared to the present. This is less than the LGM reconstruction of temperature depression inferred from other climatic proxy records on the Tibetan Plateau and suggests that the LLGM glacial advance was a product of lower temperatures and slightly reduced precipitation compared to present, whereas the LGM was a more restricted advance in which much colder conditions were combined with much lower precipitation.

Cosmogenic nuclide constraints on late Quaternary glacial chronology on the Dalijia Shan, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Christine Kassab ◽  
Jonathan M. Harbor ◽  
Marc W. Caffee ◽  
Hang Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Cosmogenic Nuclide ◽  
Mis 3 ◽  
Northeastern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Exposure Ages

AbstractCosmogenic nuclide (CN) apparent exposure dating has become a widely used method for determining the age of glacial landforms on the Tibetan Plateau with > 1200 published ages. We present the first 10Be exposure ages from the Dalijia Shan, the most northeastern formerly glaciated mountain range on the Tibetan Plateau. The moraine groups identified from field and remote sensing imagery mapping record four glacial events at 37.07 ± 3.70 to 52.96 ± 4.70 ka (MIS 3), 20.17 ± 1.79 to 26.99 ± 2.47 ka (MIS 2), 16.92 ± 1.49 to 18.76 ± 1.88 ka (MIS 2), and 11.56 ± 1.03 to 11.89 ± 1.06 ka (Younger Dryas). These ages indicate that glaciation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is much younger than previously thought. In addition, this record is consistent with many other regions on the Tibetan Plateau, with a local last glacial maximum during MIS 3 asynchronous with Northern Hemisphere last glacial maximum during MIS 2. The Dalijia Shan might also include an event of Younger Dryas age, but this needs to be tested in future studies.

Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Hulton ◽  
David Sugden ◽  
Antony Payne ◽  
Chalmers Clapperton
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The Andes ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractIce cap modeling constrained by empirical studies provides an effective way of reconstructing past climates. The former Patagonian ice sheet is in a climatically significant location since it lies athwart the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and responds to the latitudinal migration of climatic belts during glacial cycles. A numerical model of the Patagonian ice cap for the last glacial maximum (LGM) is developed, which is time-dependent and driven by changing the mass balance/altitude relationship. It relies on a vertically integrated continuity model of ice mass solved over a finite difference grid. The model is relatively insensitive to ice flow parameters but highly sensitive to mass balance. The climatic input is adjusted to produce the best fit with the known limits of the ice cap at the LGM. The ice cap extends 1800 km along the Andes and has a volume of 440,000 km3. During the LGM the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) was lower than at present by at least 560 m near latitude 40°S, 160 m near latitude 50°S, and 360 m near latitude 56°S. The latitudinal variation in ELA depression can be explained by an overall fall in temperature of about 3.0°C and the northward migration of precipitation belts by about 5° latitude. Annual precipitation totals may have decreased by about 0.7 m at latitude 50°S and increased by about 0.7 m at latitude 40°S. The ELA rises steeply by up to 4 m per kilometer from west to east as the westerlies cross the Andes and this prevents ice growth to the east. The limited decrease in temperature during the LGM could be related to the modest migration of the Antarctic convergence between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Seasonal variation of westerly jet over Asia in Last Glacial Maximum: Role of the Tibetan Plateau heating

2021 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Jing Lei ◽  
Zhengguo Shi ◽  
Xiaoning Xie ◽  
Yingying Sha ◽  
Xinzhou Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Westerly Jet

AbstractThe westerly jet (WJ) is an important component of atmospheric circulation, which is characterized by prominent seasonal variations in intensity and position. However, the response of WJ over Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is still not clear. Using general circulation model experiments, the seasonal behaviors of WJ over Central Asia and Japan are analyzed in this paper. The results show that, compared to present day (PD), the WJ presents a complicated response during the LGM, both in intensity and position. Over Central Asia, it becomes weaker in both summer and winter. But over Japan, it is enhanced in summer but becomes diminished in winter. In terms of position, the WJ over Central Asia shifts southwards in both summer and winter, while the WJ over Japan moves southwards in summer but does not change obviously relative to PD in winter. Such WJ changes are well explained by meridional temperature gradients in high troposphere, which is closely linked to seasonal thermal anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Despite of cooler LGM condition, the anomalous warming center over TP becomes stronger in summer. Derived from the heat budget equation, the stronger heating center is mainly caused by the weaker adiabatic cooling generated from ascending motion over south of TP. In winter, the cooling over TP is also strengthened and mostly owes to the subsidence-induced weaker adiabatic heating. Due to the importance of WJ, the potential role of TP thermal effect should be focused when explaining the East Asian climate change during the LGM.

scholarly journals Tree endurance on the Tibetan Plateau marks the world’s highest known tree line of the Last Glacial Maximum

2009 ◽  
Vol 185 (1) ◽  
pp. 332-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Opgenoorth ◽  
Giovanni G. Vendramin ◽  
Kangshan Mao ◽  
Georg Miehe ◽  
Sabine Miehe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

scholarly journals The History and Driving Force for Prehistoric Human Expansion Upward to the Hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau Post–Last Glacial Maximum

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7065
Author(s):  
Guangliang Hou ◽  
Weimiao Dong ◽  
Linhai Cai ◽  
Qingbo Wang ◽  
Menghan Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The timing and motivation of prehistoric human expansion into the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a widely debated scientific issue. Recent archaeological studies have brought forward predictions of the earliest human occupation of the TP to the late–Middle Pleistocene. However, massive human occupation of the TP did not appear until the termination of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The spatio-temporal distribution of prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the TP varies significantly before the permanent occupation after 3600 BP (before present). Here, we report on environmental-archaeological evidence from the Canxionggashuo (CXGS) site in Yushu Prefecture, which provides information that is key to understanding the dynamics of post-LGM human occupation on the TP. Radiocarbon dating has revealed two occupation periods of the CXGS site at 8600–7100 cal (calibrated years) BP and 2400–2100 cal BP. The charcoal concentration in cultural layers correlates well with paleo–human activities. Hunter-gatherers expanded westwards from the northeastern margin of the TP to the hinterland of the TP during the warming period of the early–middle Holocene (~11,500–6000 BP). However, these groups retreated during the middle–late Holocene (~6000–3600 BP) under a cooling-drying climate. Prehistoric humans finally occupied the hinterland of the TP permanently after 3600 BP, with an enhanced cold-adaptive lifestyle, although the climate was still deteriorating.

The paleoclimatic implication of oxygen isotopes of authigenic carbonates in loess on the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau since Last Glacial Maximum

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 826-840
Author(s):  
Quanxu Hu ◽  
Xianyan Wang ◽  
Shuangwen Yi ◽  
Xianqiang Meng ◽  
Hao Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Northeastern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Loess Deposits ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

As a significant component of the global climate system, the East Asian monsoon (EAM) is crucial in understanding general climate change. The response of sensitivity and extent of the EAM to orbital-timescale climate change remains controversial. The composition of oxygen isotopes of authigenic (pedogenic) carbonate in loess deposits from the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau was measured, which is at the modern northwestern boundary of the present-day EAM, and compared with equivalent data from northeastern China under the influence of the EAM and two selected sites in the zone under the influence of the westerlies (Bayanbulak (Xinjiang) and Kesselt (Belgium)). The data enable discussion of the paleoclimatic implication of δ18O of carbonate in loess deposits and extension (changes) of the EAM-affected area during the Last Glacial Maximum and early Holocene. The δ18O values of authigenic carbonate at the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau were close to those from the westerly climate zone, but higher than those from regions affected by the Asian monsoon during the Last Glacial Maximum and early Holocene. This indicates that precipitation moisture sources at the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau were likely not directly derived from the EAM during Last Glacial Maximum and early Holocene. In contrast, the westerlies and locally recycled or evaporated moisture were possibly the dominant influencing factors of the relatively δ18O-enriched soil water and the authigenic carbonate in Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Further study of loess carbonate records from the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau will reveal the past climate changes in the plateau region and provide valuable clues for the interaction between the Asian monsoon and westerly climate systems.

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