scholarly journals The geological evidence of the global moisture condition changes since the last glacial maximum:the construction of global lake status data base & the synthesis in the large spatio-temporal scale

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-210
Author(s):  
Qin Boqiang ◽  
◽  
S. P. Harrison ◽  
Ge Yu ◽  
P. E Tarasov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Base ◽  
Temporal Scale ◽  
Moisture Condition ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Lake Status ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Status Data ◽  
The Last Glacial

scholarly journals Fennoscandian palaeoglaciology reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (144) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Kleman ◽  
Clas Hättestrand ◽  
Ingmar Borgström ◽  
Arjen Stroeven
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Inversion Model ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Late Weichselian ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe evolution of ice-sheet configuration and flow pattern in Fennoscandia through the last glacial cycle was reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model, i.e. a theoretical model that formalises the procedure of using the landform record to reconstruct ice sheets. The model uses mapped flow traces and deglacial melt-water landforms, as well as relative chronologies derived from cross-cutting striae and till lineations, as input data. Flow-trace systems were classified into four types: (i) time-transgressive wet-bed deglacial fans, (ii) time-transgressive frozen-bed deglacial fans, (iii) surge fans, and (iv) synchronous non-deglacial (event) fans. Using relative chronologies and aggregation of fans into glaciologically plausible patterns, a series of ice-sheet Configurations at different time slices was erected. A chronology was constructed through correlation with dated stratigraphical records and proxy data reflecting global ice volume. Geological evidence exists for several discrete ice-sheet configurations centred over the Scandinavian mountain range during the early Weichselian. The build-up of the main Weichselian Fennoscandian ice sheet started at approximately 70 Ka, and our results indicate that it was characterised by an ice sheet with a centre of mass located over southern Norway. This configuration had a flow pattern which is poorly reproduced by current numerical models of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. At the Last Glacial Maximum the main ice divide was located overthe Gulf of Bothnia. A major bend in the ice divide was caused by outflow of ice to the northwest over the lowest part of the Scandinavian mountain chain. Widespread areas of preserved pre-late-Weichselian landscapes indicate that the ice sheet had a frozen-bed core area, which was only partly diminished in size by inward-transgressive wet-bed zones during the decay phase.

scholarly journals Evolution of the large-scale atmospheric circulation in response to changing ice sheets over the last glacial cycle

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1453-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Löfverström ◽  
R. Caballero ◽  
J. Nilsson ◽  
J. Kleman
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. We present modelling results of the atmospheric circulation at the cold periods of marine isotope stage 5b (MIS 5b), MIS 4 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as well as the interglacial. The palaeosimulations are forced by ice-sheet reconstructions consistent with geological evidence and by appropriate insolation and greenhouse gas concentrations. The results suggest that the large-scale atmospheric winter circulation remained largely similar to the interglacial for a significant part of the glacial cycle. The proposed explanation is that the ice sheets were located in areas where their interaction with the mean flow is limited. However, the LGM Laurentide Ice Sheet induces a much larger planetary wave that leads to a zonalisation of the Atlantic jet. In summer, the ice-sheet topography dynamically induces warm temperatures in Alaska and central Asia that inhibits the expansion of the ice sheets into these regions. The warm temperatures may also serve as an explanation for westward propagation of the Eurasian Ice Sheet from MIS 4 to the LGM.

scholarly journals Last Glacial climate reconstruction by exploring glacier sensitivity to climate on the southeastern slope of the western Nyaiqentanglha Shan, Tibetan Plateau

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (238) ◽  
pp. 361-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIANGKE XU ◽  
BAOLIN PAN ◽  
GUOCHENG DONG ◽  
CHAOLU YI ◽  
NEIL F. GLASSER
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Oxygen Isotope Stage ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

ABSTRACTImprovements in understanding glacial extents and chronologies for the southeastern slope of the western Nyaiqentanglha Shan on the Tibetan Plateau are required to understand regional climate changes during the Last Glacial cycle. A two-dimensional numerical model of mass balance, based on snow–ice melting factors, and of ice flow for mountain glaciers is used to assess the glacier sensitivity to climatic change in a catchment of the region. The model can reproduce valley glaciers, wide-tongued glaciers and a coalescing glacier within step temperature lowering and precipitation increasing experiments. The model sensitivity experiments also indicate that the dependence of glacier growth on temperature and/or precipitation is nonlinear. The model results suggest that the valley glaciers respond more sensitively to an imposed climate change than wide-tongued and coalescing glaciers. Guided by field geological evidence of former glacier extent and other independent paleoclimate reconstructions, the model is also used to constrain the most realistic multi-year mean temperatures to be 2.9–4.6°C and 1.8–2.5°C lower than present in the glacial stages of the Last Glacial Maximum and middle marine oxygen isotope stage 3, respectively.

scholarly journals Abrupt shifts of the Sahara-Sahel boundary during Heinrich Stadials

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-142
Author(s):  
J. A. Collins ◽  
A. Govin ◽  
S. Mulitza ◽  
D. Heslop ◽  
M. Zabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Sahara Desert ◽  
Major Element Composition ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Relict dune fields that are found at 14° N in the modern-day African Sahel are testament to equatorward expansions of the Sahara desert during the late Pleistocene. However, difficulties of dating dune formation mean that abrupt millennial-scale climate events are not always resolved in these records. High-resolution marine core studies have identified Heinrich Stadials as the dustiest periods of the last glacial, although no studies have mapped the spatio-temporal evolution of dust export from West Africa. We use the major-element composition of four marine sediment cores to reconstruct the spatial extent of Saharan-dust versus river-sediment input to the continental margin from West Africa over the last 60 ka. This allows us to map the position of the sediment composition corresponding to the Sahara-Sahel boundary. Our records indicate that the Sahara-Sahel boundary reached its most southerly position (13° N) during Heinrich Stadials, suggesting that these were the periods when the sand dunes formed at 14° N on the continent, rather than at the Last Glacial Maximum. We find that SSB position was closely linked to North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, which during Heinrich Stadials triggered abrupt increases of aridity and wind strength in the Sahel, exposing new dust sources. This result illustrates the influence of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation on the southerly extent of the Sahara desert and has implications for global atmospheric dust loading.

Streaming flow in an ice sheet through a glacial cycle

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 117-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey S. Boulton ◽  
Magnus Hagdorn ◽  
Nicholas R.J. Hulton
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Ice Streams ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Bed Topography ◽  
Basal Melting ◽  
Realistic Topography ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractGeological evidence indicates that the flow of the last European ice sheet was dominated by numerous large ice streams. Although some were ephemeral, most were sustained along well-defined axes at least during the period of retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum. A thermomechanically coupled three-dimensional numerical ice-sheet model has been used to simulate the ice sheet through the whole of the last glacial cycle, but with a spatial resolution that is high enough to capture streaming behaviour. An experiment with a smoothed bed is used to explore the self-organizing behaviour of streams when they are not forced by bed topography. On such a bed, streams typically have a width of 1–10 km, much narrower than the inferred European ice streams. An experiment using a realistic topography suggests that widths of ice streams are strongly influenced by topography, and tend to be of order 100 km. Moreover, even where the topography is muted, it stabilizes the locations of ice streams which, once formed, tend to be sustained along pre-existing axes. The model creates patterns of streaming that are similar to inferred patterns, suggesting strong topographic forcing. In a simulation using a realistic bed in which the ice was very cold and basal melting rarely occurred, streams were again very narrow. Widespread streaming under low driving stresses tends to reduce ice-sheet thicknesses compared with weak streaming or models that do not produce streaming. Consequently, ice thicknesses are smaller and tend to be consistent with the results of sea-level inversions based on geophysical Earth models.

scholarly journals Numerical reconstructions of the penultimate glacial maximum Northern Hemisphere ice sheets: sensitivity to climate forcing and model parameters

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (234) ◽  
pp. 607-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAUDIA WEKERLE ◽  
FLORENCE COLLEONI ◽  
JENS-OVE NÄSLUND ◽  
JENNY BRANDEFELT ◽  
SIMONA MASINA
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
The Last Glacial

ABSTRACTNumerous ice-sheet reconstructions of the last glacial cycle have been proposed, however due to limited geological evidence, reconstructing older Northern Hemisphere ice sheets remains a difficult exercise. Here we focus on the penultimate glacial maximum (PGM; ~140 ka BP) over the Northern Hemisphere. While some evidence of the PGM Eurasian ice-sheet extent were found, this is not the case for the corresponding Laurentide ice sheet. To improve the glaciological reconstructions of the PGM Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, we explore the parameter space of ice-sheet model uncertainties and carry out numerous univariate ice-sheet steady-state sensitivity simulations. We use two PGM climate simulations to force the ice-sheet model, differing in the prescribed Laurentide ice topography (small and large). The simulated Northern Hemisphere ice volume ranges from 124.7 to 152 m SLE when using the climate accounting for a small Laurentide ice sheet, which is compatible with global sea-level reconstructions of this period (−92 to −150 m). Conversely, using the climate simulation with a Laurentide ice sheet comparable in size to that of the last glacial maximum results in too large ice volumes. Changes in basal drag provide the upper bound ice volume of our experiments, whereas changes in the distribution of ice streams provide the lower bound.

scholarly journals Fennoscandian palaeoglaciology reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (144) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Kleman ◽  
Clas Hättestrand ◽  
Ingmar Borgström ◽  
Arjen Stroeven
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Inversion Model ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Late Weichselian ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe evolution of ice-sheet configuration and flow pattern in Fennoscandia through the last glacial cycle was reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model, i.e. a theoretical model that formalises the procedure of using the landform record to reconstruct ice sheets. The model uses mapped flow traces and deglacial melt-water landforms, as well as relative chronologies derived from cross-cutting striae and till lineations, as input data. Flow-trace systems were classified into four types: (i) time-transgressive wet-bed deglacial fans, (ii) time-transgressive frozen-bed deglacial fans, (iii) surge fans, and (iv) synchronous non-deglacial (event) fans. Using relative chronologies and aggregation of fans into glaciologically plausible patterns, a series of ice-sheet Configurations at different time slices was erected. A chronology was constructed through correlation with dated stratigraphical records and proxy data reflecting global ice volume. Geological evidence exists for several discrete ice-sheet configurations centred over the Scandinavian mountain range during the early Weichselian. The build-up of the main Weichselian Fennoscandian ice sheet started at approximately 70 Ka, and our results indicate that it was characterised by an ice sheet with a centre of mass located over southern Norway. This configuration had a flow pattern which is poorly reproduced by current numerical models of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. At the Last Glacial Maximum the main ice divide was located overthe Gulf of Bothnia. A major bend in the ice divide was caused by outflow of ice to the northwest over the lowest part of the Scandinavian mountain chain. Widespread areas of preserved pre-late-Weichselian landscapes indicate that the ice sheet had a frozen-bed core area, which was only partly diminished in size by inward-transgressive wet-bed zones during the decay phase.

Glacial and marine geological evidence for the ice sheet configuration in the Weddell Sea–Antarctic Peninsula region during the Last Glacial Maximum

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Bentley ◽  
John B. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

The Weddell Sea region arguably represents the largest unknown in quantifying the Antarctic contribution to the global water balance following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This paper reviews the available onshore and offshore geological evidence constraining the volume of formerly expanded ice in the Weddell Sea embayment, focusing on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and provides a preliminary reconstruction of the WAIS during the LGM. Dating control is generally poor and so our WAIS reconstruction is based on the assumption that the evidence of most recent ice sheet expansion dates to the LGM. Our reconstruction is intended to provide initial constraints with which glaciological models can be compared and shows grounded ice extent, flow directions, and ice surface elevations. Both marine and terrestrial geological evidence imply a substantial expansion of ice in the Weddell Sea embayment. Marine evidence shows that ice sheets were grounded in Crary Trough in the southern Weddell Sea and on the Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf during the LGM. Inland, the ice thickened by between 400 m (Ellsworth and Palmer Land) and 1900 m (Ellsworth Mountains). Ice core evidence suggests that the interior of the ice sheet remained the same or even thinned relative to present. The main unknowns now concern the exact location of the grounding line on some sectors of the shelf and the timing of ice sheet grounding and retreat. The limited radiocarbon data that exist on the eastern shelf indicates that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated from the shelf prior to the LGM.

scholarly journals Evolution of the large-scale atmospheric circulation in response to changing ice sheets over the last glacial cycle

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1381-1420 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Löfverström ◽  
R. Caballero ◽  
J. Nilsson ◽  
J. Kleman
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Geological Evidence ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. We present modelling results of the atmospheric circulation at the cold periods of marine isotope stage 5b (MIS 5b), MIS 4 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as well as the interglacial. The paleo-simulations are forced by ice sheet reconstructions consistent with geological evidence and by appropriate insolation and greenhouse gas concentrations. The results suggest that the large-scale atmospheric winter circulation remained largely similar to the interglacial for a significant part of the glacial cycle. The proposed explanation is that the ice sheets were located in areas where their interaction with the mean flow is limited. However, the LGM Laurentide Ice Sheet induces a much larger planetary wave that leads to a zonalisation of the Atlantic jet. In summer, the ice sheet topography dynamically induces warm temperatures in Alaska and central Asia that inhibits the expansion of the ice sheets into these regions. The warm temperatures may also serve as an explanation for westward propagation of the Eurasian Ice Sheet from MIS 4 to the LGM.

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