Palaeoglaciology of Bayan Har Shan,NE Tibetan Plateau: exposure ages reveal a missing LGM expansion

The Bayan Har Shan, a prominent upland area in the northeastern sector of the Tibetan Plateau, hosts an extensive glacial geological record. To reconstruct its palaeoglaciology we have determined ¹⁰Be exposure ages based on 67 samples from boulders, surface pebbles, and sediment sections in conjunction with studies of the glacial geology (remote sensing and field studies) and numerical glacier modelling. Exposure ages from moraines and glacial sediments in Bayan Har Shan range from 3 ka to 129 ka, with a large disparity in exposure ages for individual sites and within the recognised four morphostratigraphical groups. The exposure age disparity cannot be explained by differences in inheritance without using unrealistic assumptions but it can be explained by differences in post-depositional shielding which produces exposure ages younger than the deglaciation age. We present a palaeoglaciological time-slice reconstruction in which the most restricted glaciation, with glaciers less than 10 km long, occurred before 40–65 ka. More extensive glaciations occurred before 60–100 ka and 95–165 ka. Maximum glaciation is poorly constrained but probably even older. The Bayan Har Shan exposure age dataset indicates that glaciers on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau have remained surprisingly restricted for at least 40 ka, including the global last glacial maximum (LGM). This case of a missing LGM is further supported by high-resolution glacier modelling experiments.     

Paleoglaciological reconstructions for the Tibetan Plateau during the last glacial cycle: evaluating numerical ice sheet simulations driven by GCM-ensembles

The Tibetan Plateau is a topographic feature of extraordinary dimension and has an important impact on regional and global climate. However, the glacial history of the Tibetan Plateau is more poorly constrained than that of most other formerly glaciated regions such as in North America and Eurasia. On the basis of some field evidence it has been hypothesized that the Tibetan Plateau was covered by an ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Abundant field- and chronological evidence for a predominance of local valley glaciation during the past 300,000 calendar years (that is, 300 ka), coupled to an absence of glacial landforms and sediments in extensive areas of the plateau, now refute this concept. This, furthermore, calls into question previous ice sheet modeling attempts which generally arrive at ice volumes considerably larger than allowed for by field evidence. Surprisingly, the robustness of such numerical ice sheet model results has not been widely queried, despite potentially important climate ramifications. We simulated the growth and decay of ice on the Tibetan Plateau during the last 125 ka in response to a large ensemble of climate forcings (90 members) derived from Global Circulation Models (GCMs), using a similar 3D thermomechanical ice sheet model as employed in previous studies. The numerical results include as extreme end members as an ice-free Tibetan Plateau and a plateau-scale ice sheet comparable, in volume, to the contemporary Greenland ice sheet. We further demonstrate that numerical simulations that acceptably conform to published reconstructions of Quaternary ice extent on the Tibetan Plateau cannot be achieved with the employed stand-alone ice sheet model when merely forced by paleoclimates derived from currently available GCMs. Progress is, however, expected if future investigations employ ice sheet models with higher resolution, bidirectional ice sheet-atmosphere feedbacks, improved treatment of the surface mass balance, and regional climate data and climate reconstructions.     

龙门山古冰川作用

汶川地震中央区域龙门山主山九顶山海拔4 984 m,山脊北坡有三处成排分布不少规模较小的冰斗-冰川谷地形,恢复当时雪线高度在4 100 m高度。根据其形态保存程度、古今雪线高度差等情况判断,应当是2阶段冰川作用遗存。据气温和降水资料,现在九顶山雪线高度在5 000 m,刚好超出九顶山顶部。故而九顶山3 800 m以上目前处于冰缘环境,石冰川、石环、融冻泥流等冰缘现象比较突出。九顶山不存在更老的冰川作用及其地貌遗存,是青藏高原以东5 000 m上下的高山只是在末次冰期时抬升跨越冰期雪线而发育冰川这一新观点的又一证据,也是青藏高原第四纪晚期剧烈抬升的又一证据。     

西藏阿里阿伊拉日居山脉第四纪冰川作用

在西藏阿里阿伊拉日居山脉南北两麓及切割山脉的各沟谷中,分布着4套早更新世以来的冰川沉积物。根据这些冰川沉积物的地层层序和冰川沉积物的电子自旋共振(ESR)年龄测定结果,将阿伊拉日居山脉南北两麓所发生的4次早更新世以来的冰川作用,分别命名为札达冰期(1161-952 ka BP)、阿伊拉日居冰期(762-730 ka BP)、学朗冰期(336-211 ka BP)和弄穷冰期(105-15 ka BP),并与青藏高原及其他地区冰期进行了对比。各次冰期的冰川性质分别为大型山岳冰川、冰帽、山麓冰川和中小型山谷冰川。全新世时期,现代冰川有过冰川推进。近期冰川则发生了明显的后退。     

The glacially sculptured landscape in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, formed by wet-based mountain glaciation and not by the present ice sheet

The glacial landscape beneath the Maudheimvidda ice sheet in East Antarctica was most probably formed during a more temperate phase of Antarctic glaciation than the present. Overdeepened glacial cirques and U-shaped valleys are found in the Heimefrontfjella and Vestfjella mountain ranges. These glacial landforms, located beneath the ice sheet, have been mapped with radio-echo sounders. The present ice sheet covering these landforms is cold and frozen to its bed, and has a negligible erosive effect on the substrate. Ice sheet thickening during the Quaternary glacial periods is not believed to have caused any significant increase in erosion at the investigated sites. Instead, the glacial morphology was most likely formed by smaller, temperate glaciers when the Antarctic climate was warmer than at present. Datings of foraminifera and ash layers from the Transantarc-tic Mountains indicate that the present cold ice sheet was formed 2.5 Ma years ago. Other studies imply that a cold Antarctic ice sheet has lasted even longer. The glacial landforms in Maudheimvidda may thus be of a pre-Quaternary age.     

The origin and glaciodynamic significance of sandstone ridge networks from the Hirnantian glaciation of the Djado Basin (Niger)

The Djado Basin (Niger) was located beneath the inner part of the Late Ordovician ice sheet. The Felar‐Felar Formation consists mainly of glaciomarine deposits, associated with the major ice sheet recession within the glaciation, and is bounded by two glacial unconformities. Structures corresponding to sandstone ridges are found within the Felar‐Felar Formation. Sandstone ridges are several metres high, about 10 m wide and hundreds of metres long. These structures are organized in extensive anastomosed to sub‐polygonal networks. The association of sandstone ridge networks with the later glacial unconformity and with other glacial evidence suggests sub‐glacial conditions for their origin. Sandstone ridge sedimentological characteristics indicate that sandstone ridges result from the scouring of the Felar‐Felar Formation by sub‐glacial, turbulent and pressurized meltwater; then sub‐glacial cavities were infilled with sand derived from glacial abrasion. Sandstone ridge networks are comparable with tunnel channels and document unusual drainage structures of the inner part of the palaeo‐ice sheet.     

青藏高原唐古拉山口第四纪冰碛层划分及其地质环境意义

在对唐古拉山口现代冰川和古冰川考察研究的基础上，结合定位观测资料和TL、^10B-^26Al-^21Ne及^14C测年数据，对区内第四纪冰川遗迹进行了深入讨论，划分出二次冰期(即中更新世晚期的倒数第二次冰期、晚更新世中一晚期的末次冰期)和二次全新世冰进(即新冰期和小冰期)。提出在早更新世时，由于山体未达到当时冰川发育的雪线高度，所以未发育冰川。但在唐古拉山口地区，截止目前还未找到中更新世早期的倒数第三次冰期的冰川遗迹，由于高原隆升的滞后性和冰川发育的延滞效应及“亚洲干极”的耦合，推测仍只发育局部冰川作用。进一步研究表明，古今雪线由高原边缘向腹地升高，唐古拉山地区高出边缘1500m左右，生动表现了“亚洲干极”的作用；广泛分布的湖群说明羌塘地区是一个大江大河尚未伸入的内流地区，意味着青藏高原是个年青的高原。由于青藏高原的隆升，对高原腹地引起的干旱化过程和水分严重不足，使唐古拉山地区的冰川自倒数第二次冰期以来，冰川规模一次比一次明显地减小。     

Late Pleistocene glaciations at Lake Donggi Cona,eastern Kunlun Shan (NE Tibet): early maxima and a diminishing trend of glaciation during the last glacial cycle

The Burhan Budai Shan in NE Tibet represents a key location for examining the variable influence of the mid‐latitude westerly and monsoonal circulations on late Quaternary glaciations in this sector of the Tibetan Plateau. Our study investigates the glacial history of mountains near Lake Donggi Cona (35°17′N, 98°33′E) using field mapping in combination with ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating and numerical reconstructions of former glacial equilibrium line altitudes (palaeo‐ELA). A set of 23 new exposure ages, collected from moraines in four glacial valleys, ranges from 45 to 190 ka, indicating ice expansion during the early and middle part of the last glacial cycle, and during the penultimate and possibly an earlier Mid‐Pleistocene glaciation. Ice advances reaching 12–15 km in length occurred at around 190–180 ka (≥MIS 6), between 140–100 ka (late MIS 6/MIS 5), and 90–65 ka (late MIS 5/early MIS 4), with a maximum ELA depression of 400–500 m below the estimated modern snowline. Exposure ages from the valley headwaters further indicate a small glaciation between c. 60–50 ka (late MIS 4/early MIS 3), which was essentially restricted to the cirque areas. Significantly, we find no evidence for any subsequent glaciation in the area during MIS 2 or the Holocene period. These results indicate a diminishing trend of glaciation in the region since at least MIS 4, and corroborate the case of a ‘missing LGM’ in the more interior parts of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The emerging pattern suggests that the most favourable conditions for glaciation during the Late Pleistocene correspond to periods of relatively moderate cooling combined with an intermediate or rising East Asian monsoon strength.     

Timing and style of Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Queer Shan,northern Hengduan Mountains in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Glacial landforms and sediments provide evidence for the existence of two Late Pleistocene major glacial advances in the Queer Shan, northern Hengduan Mountains in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. In the current study, optically stimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance dating results reveal that the two glacial advances occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in MIS 2, respectively. Geomorphic evidence shows that the glacial advance during MIS 3 was more extensive than that in MIS 2. This glacial advance is synchronous with other glaciated areas in the Himalaya and Tibet, but contrasts with global ice volumes that reached their maximum extent during the LGM. Glaciers in the Queer Shan are of the summer accumulation type and are mainly fed by precipitation from the south Asian monsoon. Palaeoclimate proxies show that during MIS 3 the south Asian monsoon strengthened and extended further north into the Tibetan Plateau to supply more precipitation as snow at high altitudes. This in turn led to positive glacier mass balances and caused glaciers to advance. However, during the LGM, despite cooler temperature than in MIS 3, the weakened south Asian monsoon and the associated reduced precipitation were not as favourable for glacier expansion as in MIS 3. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

四川康定折多山末次冰盛期古冰川重建及其气候意义

折多山位于青藏高原东缘,地势上处于由高原面向高山峡谷的过渡区,古冰川遗迹保留较好。对折多山冰川地貌进行深入研究,对揭示青藏高原东缘地形演化与古气候变化的耦合机制具有重要意义。在野外考察的基础上,结合Google Earth遥感影像、《中国第二次冰川编目》和DEM等资料,对折多山冰川地貌及其特征参数进行了识别、提取和计算。研究共识别出189条古冰川,覆盖面积为497 km²。基于研究区已有年代学资料,本区冰川地貌主要为末次冰盛期（LGM）以来冰川作用遗存。恢复研究区LGM冰川平衡线高度（ELA）,在西坡和东坡分别为4 380 m和4 110 m,相差270 m,揭示出分水岭东侧更有利于冰川发育。广泛发育的冰蚀湖、冰蚀基岩面、羊背石等,以及深切的冰川槽谷（U形谷）指示海洋性冰川作用特征;冰川作用正差、冰川朝向、冰蚀地貌的差异,揭示积累区地形条件和水汽来源对研究区冰川发育具有重要的影响。     

Development of sediment–landform associations at cold glacier margins,Dry Valleys,Antarctica

The impact of modern cold glaciers on arid periglacial landscapes has received little attention compared with other glacial regimes, and there is a widely held assumption that cold glaciers are not effective geomorphological agents, despite recent studies to the contrary. This paper focuses on the processes operating at the margins of a number of glaciers in the Dry Valleys of Victoria Land, notably the Wright Lower Glacier. The glaciers are entraining primarily older drift deposits and highly weathered regolith which texturally are sandy gravels, as well as well‐sorted sands of fluvial origin. Despite basal temperatures of the order of ?16°C, frozen layers and blocks of sand and gravel are being incorporated into the base of the glaciers by folding and thrusting. The sedimentary products are ridges and aprons several metres high within which the principal lithofacies are sand, gravel, foliated glacier ice, lake ice and snow. These facies are glaciotectonized strongly. Draped over these landforms is a veneer of well‐sorted aeolian sand up to half a metre thick. Supraglacial streams flowing off the glaciers incise these landforms and the sediment is redeposited as alluvial fans, lake deltas and lake‐bottomset deposits. Overall the sediment/landform association differs markedly from those of other glacial regimes, with sand and gravel being the dominant facies, while the usual indicators of glacier working (such as facets and striations on clasts) are lacking. The preservation potential for these landforms on a thousand‐year time scale is high, as modification in this arid regime by slope processes and running water is limited. Sublimation of buried ice is so slow that ridge features are likely to remain ice‐cored almost indefinitely, modified only by wind transport and weathering.     

Pleistocene raised marine deposits on Wrangel Island, northeast Siberia and implications for the presence of an East Siberian ice sheet

Two previously undocumented Pleistocene marine transgressions on Wrangel Island, northeastern Siberia, question the presence of an East Siberian or Beringian ice sheet during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The Tundrovayan Transgression (459,000–780,000 yr B.P.) is represented by raised marine deposits and landforms 15–41 m asl located up to 18 km inland. The presence of high sea level 64,000–73,000 yr ago (the Krasny Flagian Transgression) is preserved in deposits and landforms 4–7 m asl in the Krasny Flag valley. These deposits and landforms were mapped, dated, and described using amino acid geochronology, radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, electron spin resonance, oxygen isotopes, micropaleontology, paleomagnetism, and grain sizes. The marine deposits are eustatic and not isostatic in origin. All marine deposits on Wrangel Island predate the LGM, indicating that neither Wrangel Island nor the East Siberian or Chukchi Seas experienced extensive glaciation over the last 64,000 yr.     

Marine geophysical evidence for former expansion and flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet across the north‐east Greenland continental shelf

High‐resolution swath bathymetry and TOPAS sub‐bottom profiler acoustic data from the inner and middle continental shelf of north‐east Greenland record the presence of streamlined mega‐scale glacial lineations and other subglacial landforms that are formed in the surface of a continuous soft sediment layer. The best‐developed lineations are found in Westwind Trough, a bathymetric trough connecting Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Gletscher and Zachariae Isstrøm to the continental shelf edge. The geomorphological and stratigraphical data indicate that the Greenland Ice Sheet covered the inner‐middle shelf in north‐east Greenland during the most recent ice advance of the Late Weichselian glaciation. Earlier sedimentological and chronological studies indicated that the last major delivery of glacigenic sediment to the shelf and Fram Strait was prior to the Holocene during Marine Isotope Stage 2, supporting our assertion that the subglacial landforms and ice sheet expansion in north‐east Greenland occurred during the Late Weichselian. Glacimarine sediment gravity flow deposits found on the north‐east Greenland continental slope imply that the ice sheet extended beyond the middle continental shelf, and supplied subglacial sediment direct to the shelf edge with subsequent remobilisation downslope. These marine geophysical data indicate that the flow of the Late Weichselian Greenland Ice Sheet through Westwind Trough was in the form of a fast‐flowing palaeo‐ice stream, and that it provides the first direct geomorphological evidence for the former presence of ice streams on the Greenland continental shelf. The presence of streamlined subglacially derived landforms and till layers on the shallow AWI Bank and Northwind Shoal indicates that ice sheet flow was not only channelled through the cross‐shelf bathymetric troughs but also occurred across the shallow intra‐trough regions of north‐east Greenland. Collectively these data record for the first time that ice streams were an important glacio‐dynamic feature that drained interior basins of the Late Weichselian Greenland Ice Sheet across the adjacent continental margin, and that the ice sheet was far more extensive in north‐east Greenland during the Last Glacial Maximum than the previous terrestrial–glacial reconstructions showed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the ice age glaciation of the Tibetan highlands and its transformation into a 3-D model

We present an interdisciplinary study on data and modeling intercomparison, concerning the possible existence of a Tibetan ice sheet and its climatological implications during the ice age. In the ice sheet model the fields of ice flow and temperature are calculated, and a highly parameterized formulation of the yearly snow balance is used, defining the forcing at the surface of the ice sheet. The data set used, supplies the height of the equilibrium line of the glaciers (=ELA) and documents the maximum extension of the glaciated areas. With prescribed snow accumulation above the ELA and melting below, the model is integrated for 10 000 model years and the model glaciation is then compared with the data.The main results are: Provided the height of the glacial equilibrium line has been reconstructed correctly, a Tibetan ice sheet can be bult up within 10 000 model years, using moderate rates of precipitation (maximum snow fall: 100 mm/year). Comparison of data and model glaciation suggests an increase of precipitation from the NW to the E of Tibet and from the S to the NE, which reflects the presently observed pattern of the monsoon circulation.     

An outline of physical geography including Pleistocene glacial landforms of Eastern Tibet (provinces Sichuan and Qinghai)

The relief of the expedition area in NW-Sichuan and SE-Qinghai can simply be separated into two main areas: the catchment area of the Yangtze with deeply incised rivers in narrow V-shaped valleys up to about 3,000 m and the plateau area with old peneplains in the Huang He catchment with meandering rivers up to more than 4,000 m. Precipitation and temperature decrease towards the NW. All zonal boundaries, eg the vegetation boundaries or the snowline, are ascending in elevation towards the interior of the plateau. The natural vegetation, especially the forests, are modified by anthropo-zoogenic influences. Within the zone of alpine meadows and the uppermost region of natural forest as well as in the Red Basin evidence of pasture and agriculture goes back by at least 2,000 years. During the last 20 years within the transition zone of the deeply incised valleys towards the plateau one third of the forests have been cut down.The main investigation area of Nianbaoyeze is built up by a granite-dome being about 500 to 800 m higher than the surrounding peneplains. The extent of Pleistocene glaciations can be mapped by the distribution of terminal and lateral moraines and erratic granite boulders on the slopes of the surrounding schists. The altitude of terminal moraines indicates a snowline of the last glaciation at about 4,300 m, which is about 800 m below the present snowline. Three main Pleistocene glaciations can be separated due to palaeosols, the overlying stratum being either aeolian sandy silt or solifluction debris. The ice free areas shows several Pleistocene terraces and in addition loess deposits with palaeosols in the deeper basins. In summary there is a rising of the snowline of the last glaciation at the E margin of the Tibetan Plateau from about 4,000 m in the E (Minshan) to 4,300 m at Nianbaoyeze and to about 4,700 m in the W (Bayan Har Shan). The hypothesis of an extensive plateau glaciation could not be verified for this region.     

Geomorphological signature and flow dynamics of The Minch palaeo‐ice stream,northwest Scotland

Large‐scale streamlined glacial landforms are identified in 11 areas of northwest Scotland, from the Isle of Skye in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north. These ice‐directional features occur in bedrock and superficial deposits, generally below 350 m above sea level, and where best developed have elongation ratios of >20:1. Sidescan sonar and multibeam echo‐sounding data from The Minch show elongate streamlined ridges and grooves on the seabed, with elongation ratios of up to 70:1. These bedforms are interpreted as mega‐scale glacial lineations. All the features identified formed beneath The Minch palaeo‐ice stream which was ca. 200 km long, up to 50 km wide and drained ca. 15 000 km² of the northwest sector of the last British‐Irish Ice Sheet (Late Devensian Glaciation). Nine ice‐stream tributaries and palaeo‐onset zones are also identified, on the basis of geomorphological evidence. The spatial distribution and pattern of streamlined bedforms around The Minch has enabled the catchment, flow paths and basal shear stresses of the palaeo‐ice stream and its tributaries to be tentatively reconstructed. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2007. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The pleistocene glaciation of Tibet and the onset of ice ages — An autocycle hypothesis

During seven expeditions new data were obtained on the maximum extent of glaciation in Tibet and the surrounding mountains. Evidence was found of moraines at altitudes as low as 980 m on the S flank of the Himalayas and 2300 m on the N slope of the Tibetan Plateau, in the Qilian Shan. On the N slopes of the Karakoram, Aghil and Kuen Lun moraines occur as far down as 1900 m. In S Tibet radiographic analyses of erratics document former ice thicknesses of at least 1200 m. Glacial polishing and knobs in the Himalayas, Karakoram etc. are proof of glaciers as thick as 1200–2000 m. On the basis of this evidence, a 1100–1600 m lower equilibrium line altitude (ELA) was reconstructed for the Ice Age, which would mean 2.4 million km² of ice covering almost all of Tibet, since the ELA was far below the average altitude of Tibet. On Mt. Everest and K2 radiation was measured up to 6650 m, yielding values of 1200–1300 W/m². Because of the subtropical latitude and the high altitude solar radiation in Tibet is 4 times greater than the energy intercepted between 60 and 70° N or S. With an area of 2.4 million km² and an albedo of 90% the Tibetan ice sheet caused the same heat loss to the earth as a 9.6 million km² sized ice sheet at 60–70° N. Because of its proximity to the present-day ELA, Tibet must have undergone large-scale glaciation earlier than other areas. Being subject to intensive radiation, the Tibetan ice must have performed an amplifying function during the onset of the Ice Age. At the maximum stage of the last ice age the cooling effect of the newly formed, about 26 million km² sized ice sheets of the higher latitudes was about 3 times that of the Tibetan ice. Nevertheless, without the initial impulse of the Tibetan ice such an extensive glaciation would never have occurred. The end of the Ice Age was triggered by the return to preglacial radiation conditions of the Nordic lowland ice. Whilst the rise of the ELA by several hundred metres can only have reduced the steep marginal outlet glaciers, it diminished the area of the lowland ice considerably.     

他念他翁山中段第四纪冰川作用ESR定年初步研究

他念他翁山中段地处青藏高原东南部和云贵高原过渡地带,海拔4 200 m以上保存着确切的第四纪冰川遗迹.对其进行深入研究,不仅可以重建横断山脉冰川作用的演化历史,还能够为青藏高原的隆升机制提供重要依据.采用野外地貌调查与电子自旋共振测年（ESR）相结合的方法,查明他念他翁山第四纪冰川发育的地貌特点,并初步对研究区的冰期系列进行划分.结果显示,他念他翁山中段古冰川类型主要为山麓冰川、山谷冰川和冰斗冰川.晚第四纪以来至少经历了4次冰川作用,分别为倒数第二次冰期（MIS 6）,年代为（192±51）~（207±45）ka;末次冰期中期（MIS 3）,年代为（55±8）~（54±9）ka;末次冰盛期（MIS 2）,年代为（25±1）~（38±6）ka,以及全新世新冰期/小冰期（MIS 1）.     

东天山黑沟流域冰川沉积序列及OSL测年研究

黑沟源于东天山最大现代冰川作用中心博格达峰的南坡. 在第四纪冰期与间冰期旋回中,该流域的冰川均发生过多次规模较大的进退,在谷中留下了较为完整的冰川沉积序列. 这些冰川地形包含有重要的古气候变化信息,对其研究可重建黑沟流域的冰川演化史. 应用OSL对该流域的冰川沉积物进行定年,测定结果表明冰水沉积物（沙质透镜体）比冰碛物更适宜应用单片再生剂量（SAR）测年技术进行测定. 基于测得的年龄并结合地貌地层学原理可初步得出：晚第四纪期间,黑沟流域共发生了5次规模较大的冰川作用,分别为全新世期间的小冰期（16世纪以来冷期的冰进）与新冰期（距今3~4 ka的冰进）,末次冰期晚冰阶（MIS 2）与早冰阶（MIS 4）以及倒数第二次冰期（MIS 6）.