The age and origin of Neoglacial moraines in Jotunheimen, southern Norway: new evidence from weathering-based data

This paper considers the controversial issue of the existence of pre-'Little Ice Age' Neoglacial moraines in southern Norway. Schmidt hammer rebound values are combined with measures of boulder roundness and weathering rind thickness in an attempt to isolate moraines that include weathered boulders. A critical approach is used in distinguishing sites where boulders have weathered in situ from those where previously weathered clasts have been incorporated into relatively young moraines. The results confirm that possible pre-'Little Ice Age' Neoglacial moraines seem to be restricted to small, high-altitude glaciers in eastern Jotunheimen. It is concluded that at these glaciers a particularly large response to a short-lived earlier Holocene climatic event is more likely to explain the survival of such moraines than a particularly subdued response to the climatic deterioration of the 'Little Ice Age'. More refined dating techniques are required to determine the age of formation of the anomalous moraines, but before the palaeoclimatic significance of such dates can be assessed, a critical test is required to establish whether the moraines mark former ice-front positions, and therefore reflect lowering of equilibrium line altitudes, or whether they have been displaced forwards by later and more extensive glacier advances.     

Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating: developing linear age-calibration curves using Holocene bedrock surfaces from the Jotunheimen–Jostedalsbreen regions of southern Norway

Matthews, J. A. & Owen, G. 2009: Schmidt hammer exposure-age dating: developing linear age-calibration curves using Holocene bedrock surfaces from the Jotunheimen–Jostedalsbreen regions of southern Norway. Boreas , 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00107.x. ISSN 0300-9483.
The approach to calibrated-age dating of rock surfaces using Schmidt hammer R-values is developed, potential errors in dating Holocene rock surfaces are estimated and limitations are assessed. Multiple sites from glacially abraded bedrock outcrops of two ages (glacier forelands deglaciated for c . 100 years and adjacent late-Preboreal terrain deglaciated for c . 9700 years) are used to analyse the variability of mean R-values and to construct linear age-calibration curves for three sub-regions in the Jotunheimen–Jostedalsbreen regions of southern Norway. Conservative potential dating errors of 246–632 years are estimated using 95% confidence intervals associated with two control points, the width of the error limits being significantly greater for the Preboreal surfaces than for the younger Little Ice Age surfaces. Substantial improvements over previous age calibrations are largely attributable to the use of multiple sites as part of a research design that has effectively controlled for geological differences between the three sub-regions. In the context of the Holocene time scale, the technique is seen as complementary to cosmogenic-nuclide dating (which currently has lower precision) and lichenometric dating (which has a lower temporal range).     

First attempt to combine terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) and Schmidt hammer relative-age dating: Strauchon Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand

This study provides the first attempt to combine terrestrial (in situ) cosmogenic nuclide (¹⁰Be) surface exposure dating with Schmidt hammer relative-age dating for the age estimation of Holocene moraines at Strauchon Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand. Numerous Schmidt hammer tests enable a multi-ridged lateral moraine system to be related to three late-Holocene ‘Little Ice Age’-type events. On the basis of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages, those events are dated to c. 2400, 1700, and 1100 years ago. Linear age-calibration curves are constructed in order to relate Schmidt hammer R-values to cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages. The high explanation yielded reveals the causal link between both data sets. The potential of combining both methods in a ‘’multiproxy approach’ is discussed alongside possible future improvements. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dating delivers absolute ages needed as fixed points for Schmidt hammer age-calibration curves. The Schmidt hammer technique can be used to crosscheck the boulder surfaces chosen for surface exposure dating by terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides. It should, therefore, reduce the number of samples necessary and costs.     

Regional variation in the composition of Neoglacial end moraines, Jotunheimen, Norway: an altitudinal gradient in clast roundness and its possible palaeoclimatic significance

Matthews, John A. 1987 06 01: Regional variation in the composition of Neoglacial end moraines. Jotunheimen, Norway: an altitudinal gradient in clast roundness and its possible palaeoclimatic significance Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 173–188. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Quantitative indices of clast roundness from Neoglacial end moraines in front of 81 Jotunheimen glaciers were compared and analysed. Statistical techniques, including non-metric multidimensional scaling, multiple regression and partial correlation, were used to relate clast roundness to selected environmental variables. Three independent variables – site altitude, glacier length (interchangeable with height of headwall relative to glacier length) and aspect – cumulatively accounted for about 58% of the variability in clast roundness. A climatic factor complex (represented by altitude and aspect) was found more important than morphological factors (such as glacier size and headwall size) in accounting for clast roundness variations between glaciers. The scale of the independent effects of altitude, morphology, aspect and geology was found in the approximate proportions 4:1.5:1:1. Several theoretical mechanisms are proposed which could explain a causal relationship between climate and clast roundness by influencing the relative importance of supraglacial and subglacial debris supply. The palaeoclimatic implications of the results are discussed with particular reference to the prediction of mean annual temperatures from clast roundness; one unit increase in clast roundness corresponding to an increase in mean annual temperature of about 1.4°C within the study area.     

Glacier variations in Breheimen,southern Norway: dating Little Ice Age moraine sequences at seven low‐altitude glaciers

Moraine sequences in front of seven relatively low‐altitude glaciers in the Breheimen region of central southern Norway are described and dated using a ‘multi‐proxy’ approach to moraine stratigraphy. Lichenometric dating, based on the Rhizocarpon subgenus, is used to construct a composite moraine chronology, which indicates eight phases of synchronous moraine formation: AD 1793–1799, 1807–1813, 1845–1852, 1859–1862, 1879–1885, 1897–1898, 1906–1908 and 1931–1933. Although the existence of a few cases of older moraines, possibly dating from earlier in the eighteenth or late in the seventeenth centuries cannot be ruled out by lichenometry, Schmidt hammer R‐values from boulders on outermost moraine ridges suggest an absence of Holocene moraines older than the Little Ice Age. Twenty‐three radiocarbon dates from buried soils and peat associated with outermost moraines at three glaciers—Tverreggibreen, Storegrovbreen and Greinbreen—also indicate that the ‘Little Ice Age’ glacier maximum was the Neoglacial maximum at most if not all glaciers. Several maximum age estimates for the Little Ice Age glacier maximum range between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, with the youngest from a buried soil being AD 1693. A pre‐Little Ice Age maximum cannot be ruled out at Greinbreen, however, where the age of buried peat suggests the outermost moraine dates from AD 981–1399 (at variance with the lichenometric evidence). Glaciofluvial stratigraphy at Tverreggibreen provides evidence for minor glacier advances about AD 655–963 and AD 1277–1396, respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD): application to early Holocene moraines and a reappraisal of the reliability of terrestrial cosmogenic‐nuclide dating (TCND) at Austanbotnbreen,Jotunheimen, Norway

Matthews, J. A. & Winkler, S. 2010: Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD): application to early Holocene moraines and a reappraisal of the reliability of terrestrial cosmogenic‐nuclide dating (TCND) at Austanbotnbreen, Jotunheimen, Norway. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00178.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) and terrestrial cosmogenic‐nuclide dating (TCND) are complementary techniques that can be used for mutual testing. SHD is low‐cost but requires local control points of known age and may be affected by local geological variation and other environmental factors that influence weathering rates. TCND is vulnerable to the occurrence of anomalous boulders, other geomorphological uncertainties and the effects of snow‐shielding at high altitudes. Both techniques are sensitive to post‐depositional disturbances if other than solid bedrock is sampled. SHD was applied to two moraine ridges beyond the Little Ice Age limit of Austanbotnbreen in the Hurrungane massif, southern Norway. Independent regional and experimental local age‐calibration curves were used to reappraise previous TCND results. Neither the two boulder surfaces nor their proximal bedrock surfaces could be differentiated statistically in terms of SHD exposure ages or their mean R‐values (±95% confidence intervals), which ranged from 40.73±1.72 to 43.34±0.69. The best of the independent regional‐calibration curves produced SHD exposure ages of 9413±723 and 9304±602 years, which are consistent with moraine formation early (c. 10.2 ka) and late (c. 9.7 ka) within the late‐Preboreal Erdalen Event. The current precision of SHD, as reflected in 95% confidence intervals of ±500–900 years, enables rejection of a Finse Event (c. 8.2 ka) age for either moraine. Results are consistent with a retracted Austanbotnbreen between the Erdalen Event and the Little Ice Age, and a modified model of Neoglaciation.     

Within-valley asymmetry and related problems of Neoglacial lateral moraine development at certain Jotunheimen glaciers, southern Norway

A difference in the size of Neoglacial lateral moraines on either side of a valley axis (within-valley asymmetry of lateral moraine development) is described. Analysis of clast roundness has revealed subangular material in latero-terminal and terminal moraines; lateral moraines, however, exhibit a compositional gradient of increasing angularity with distance from the former glacier snout. Comparisons with clasts of known origin suggest that this 'roundness gradient' may be explained with reference to either or both of two hypotheses: (1) a variable proportion of supraglacial (or englacial) to subglacial transported material; and (2) the variable composition of regolith incorporated by a push mechanism from the valley sides. Within-valley asymmetry is inferred to result where the supply of debris to lateral moraines from these sources is unequal either side of a valley axis. Both interpretations are also consistent with the relatively large size of latero-terminal sections of end moraines. In order to account for the discrepancy between moraine size and apparent debris supply rates, it is suggested that the largest lateral moraines may have been formed over a longer time scale than the 'Little Ice Age', and that reworking of deposits may have occurred. The supply of debris to the north-facing lateral moraine at Nordre Illåbreen has been so great that it has developed into a rock glacier; this suggests the possibility that subglacial material and valley-side regolith, as well as supraglacial material, contributes to the formation of ice-cored rock glaciers.     

The pattern of Neoglacial glacier variations in the Okstindan region of northern Norway during the last three millennia

BOREAS Griffey, N. J. & Worsley, P. 1978 03 01: The pattern of Neoglacial glacier variations in the Okstindan region of northern Norway during the last three millennia (Okstindan Research Project Report 26). Boreas, Vol. 7, pp. 1–17. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Historical, lichenometrical and stratigraphical evidence is combined to establish a provisional history of Neoglacial glacier variation in a mountainous environment approx. 66^oN. Attention is focussed on end moraine chronology. At five sites, derived organic materials have been located within end moraines and at two others in situ palaeosols occur buried beneath distal slopes. Organic rich samples from all the sites have been radiocarbon dated and the results permit the recognition of three major glacier expansion episodes, each of which contributes to the diachronous nature of the Okstindan outer Neoglacial limit. A widespread 'Little Ice Age' event with a maximum extent of probable eighteenth century age is confirmed. Limited areas of older moraine ridges peripheral to the 'Little Ice Age' maximal limit appear to date from about 3000-2500 ¹⁴C years B.P. and a younger period tentatively dated as about 1250-1000 ¹⁴C years B. P. which agrees with recent data from Engabreen in northwest Svartisen. No evidence for any extensive glacial activity after the inlandice wastage approx. 9000 ¹⁴C years B. P. and prior to 3000 ¹⁴C years B.P. was forthcoming.     

Submarine and onshore end moraines in southern Newfoundland: implications for the history of late Wisconsinan ice retreat

Recessional positions of the Newfoundland ice sheet 14-9 ka BP are represented by fjord-mouth submarine moraines, fjord-head emerged ice-contact marine deltas, and inland moraine belts. The arcuate submarine moraines have steep frontal ramparts and comprise up to 80 m of acoustically incoherent ice-contact sediment (or till) interfingered distally with glaciomarine sediment that began to be deposited c. 14.2 ka BP. The moraines formed by stabilization of ice that calved rapidly back along troughs on the continental shelf. The ice front retreated to fjord-heads and stabilized to form ice-contact delta terraces declining in elevation westward from +26 m to just below present sea level. Stratified glaciomarine sediments accumulated in fjords, while currents outside fjords eroded the upper part of the glaciomarine deposits, forming an unconformity bracketed by dates of 12.8 and 8.5 ka BP. The delta terraces are broadly correlated with the 12.7 ka BP Robinson's Head readvance west of the area. The ice front retreated inland, pausing three or four times to form lines of small bouldery stillstand moraines, heads of outwash, sidehill meltwater channels, and beaded eskers. Lake-sediment cores across this belt yield dated pollen evidence of three climatic reversals to which the moraines are equated: the Killarney Oscillation c. 11.2 ka BP, the Younger Dryas chronozone 11.0-10.4 ka BP, and an unnamed cold event c. 9.7 ka BP. Relative sea level fell in the early Holocene because of crustal rebound, so that outwash and other alluvium accumulated in deltas now submerged due to relative sea-level rise.     

Plant colonisation patterns on a gletschervorfeld, southern Norway: a meso-scale geographical approach to vegetation change and phytometric dating

A quantitative geographical approach is made to colonisation by vascular plant species on Storbreen gletschervorfeld, Jotunheimen, southern Norway. The approach adds a second dimension to the study of plant colonisation patterns on recently deglaciated terrain, allows inferences to be made about vegetation change and has implications for phytometric dating. An atlas of computer maps is presented based on the frequency of the most commonly occurring species over a dense pattern of sites. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling is used to compare the maps and to describe their similarities. Species diversity is mapped and described with the aid of trend surface analysis.
Colonisation is interpreted as proceeding by a series of environmentally-conditioned waves of immigration by species. A 'pioneer' species group is replaced by 'snowbed' species at high altitudes and by 'heath' species at lower altitudes. A peak of diversity is reached after 25–35 years but diversity later declines and may then rise or fall to the climax. The marked spatial discontinuity in species occurrence at the gletschervorfeld boundary indicates that a dynamic equilibrium (the climax state) is still to be reached after 220 years of development. Few species can be regarded as universal indicators of surface age but many species are potentially useful for phytometric dating over a limited environmental range. Species that are characteristic of a particular phase of a succession are most useful for dating purposes.     

Small rock‐slope failures conditioned by Holocene permafrost degradation: a new approach and conceptual model based on Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating,Jotunheimen, southern Norway

Rock‐slope failures (RSFs) constitute significant natural hazards, but the geophysical processes that control their timing are poorly understood. However, robust chronologies can provide valuable information on the environmental controls on RSF occurrence: information that can inform models of RSF activity in response to climatic forcing. This study uses Schmidt‐hammer exposure‐age dating (SHD) of boulder deposits to construct a detailed regional Holocene chronology of the frequency and magnitude of small rock‐slope failures (SRSFs) in Jotunheimen, Norway. By focusing on the depositional fans of SRSFs (≤10³ m³), rather than on the corresponding features of massive RSFs (~10⁸ m³), 92 single‐event RSFs are targeted for chronology building. A weighted SHD age–frequency distribution and probability density function analysis indicated four centennial‐ to millennial‐scale periods of enhanced SRSF frequency, with a dominant mode at ~4.5 ka. Using change detection and discreet Meyer wavelet analysis, in combination with existing permafrost depth models, we propose that enhanced SRSF activity was primarily controlled by permafrost degradation. Long‐term relative change in permafrost depth provides a compelling explanation for the high‐magnitude departures from the SRSF background rate and accounts for: (i) the timing of peak SRSF frequency; (ii) the significant lag (~2.2 ka) between the Holocene Thermal Maximum and the SRSF frequency peak; and (iii) the marked decline in frequency in the late‐Holocene. This interpretation is supported by geomorphological evidence, as the spatial distribution of SRSFs is strongly correlated with the aspect‐dependent lower altitudinal limit of mountain permafrost in cliff faces. Results are indicative of a causal relationship between episodes of relatively warm climate, permafrost degradation and the transition to a seasonal‐freezing climatic regime. This study highlights permafrost degradation as a conditioning factor for cliff collapse, and hence the importance of paraperiglacial processes; a result with implications for slope instability in glacial and periglacial environments under global warming scenarios.     

Late Pleistocene glaciations in southern East Sayan and detection of MIS 2 terminal moraines based on beryllium (10Be) dating of glacier complexes

Analysis and summary of publications on southern East Sayan, eastern Tuva, and northern Mongolia have shown that the late Pleistocene glaciation covered a large area and had a complicated dynamics of glacier advance and retreat. Starting with MIS 5, the Todza Basin and, partly, the Oka Plateau, Azas Volcanic Plateau, Mondy Basin, and river valleys in southern East Sayan were periodically covered with ice. The thickness of ice in the eastern Todza Basin was 700 m, on the Azas Volcanic Plateau it reached 300–600 m, and in the valleys of southern East Sayan it is estimated as 700–800 m. The thickness of ice in the Mondy Basin was 300–350 m.Geological and geomorphological studies and isotope surface exposure dating (¹⁰Be method) of boulders from terminal moraine complexes have provided evidence for extensive MIS 2 glacier advance in the Mondy Basin and in the Sentsa, Jombolok, and Sailag river valleys (southern East Sayan). The average age of exposure for three groups of samples is 14, 16, and 22 ka.     

西藏南部康马岩体岩石类型及其同位素测年

康马岩体位于西藏南部康马县城北侧 ,其内部可划分出 5种不同的岩石类型 :(1)片麻状黑云二长花岗岩 ;(2 )眼球状黑云二长花岗岩 ;(3)片麻状二云母二长花岗岩 ;(4 )弱片麻状细粒黑云二长花岗岩 ;(5 )变质的暗色辉长辉绿岩。前两类为康马岩体的主体岩石类型 ,侵位时代为加里东早期 (约4 78～ 4 6 1Ma) ;其余均呈脉状产出 ,其中片麻状二云母二长花岗岩与康马岩体主体岩石类型属于同期产物 ,弱片麻状细粒黑云二长花岗岩形成于海西早期 ((339.0± 1.2 )Ma) ,暗色辉长辉绿岩的形成时代目前还不十分清楚。不同类型的岩石其Ar Ar冷却年龄约为 18～ 14Ma。     

Investigating the last deglaciation of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in southwest Sweden with 10Be exposure dating

In this study we have obtained 17 cosmogenic exposure ages from three well‐developed moraine systems – Halland Coastal Moraines (HCM), Göteborg Moraine (GM) and Levene Moraine (LM) – which were formed during the last deglaciation in southwest Sweden by the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS). The inferred ages of the inner HCM, GM and LM are 16.7 ± 1.6, 16.1 ± 1.4 and 13.6 ± 1.4 ka, respectively, which is slightly older than previous estimates of the deglaciation based on the minimum limiting radiocarbon ages and pollen stratigraphy. During this short interval from 16.7 ± 1.6 to 13.6 ± 1.4 ka a large part (100–125 km) of the marine‐based sector of the SIS in southwest Sweden was deglaciated, giving an average ice margin retreat between 20 to 50 m a^?1. The inception of the deglaciation pre‐dated the Bølling/Allerød warming, the rapid sea level rise at 14.6 cal. ka BP and the first inflow of warm Atlantic waters into Skagerrak. We suggest that ice retreat in southwest Sweden is mainly a dynamical response governed by the disintegration of the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream and not primarily driven by climatic changes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ice wastage and landscape evolution along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, north-central Wisconsin

The Chippewa and Wisconsin Valley Lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet reached their maximum extent in north-central Wisconsin about 20 000 years ago. Their terminal positions are marked by a broad area of hummocky topography, containing many ice-walled-lake plains, which is bounded on the up-ice and down-ice sides by ice-contact ridges and outwash fans. The distribution of these ice-disintegration landforms shows that a wide zone of stagnant, debris-covered, debris-rich ice separated from the active margins of both lobes as they wasted northward during deglaciation. Accumulation of thick, uncollapsed sediment in ice-walled lakes high in the ice-cored landscape indicates a period of stability. In contrast, hummocky disintegration topography indicates unstable conditions. Thus, we interpret two phases of late-glacial landscape evolution. During the first phase, ice buried beneath thick supraglacial sediment was stable. Supraglacial lakes formed on the ice surface and some melted their way to solid ground and formed ice-walled lakes. During the second phase, buried ice began to melt rapidly, hummocky topography formed by topographic inversion, and supraglacial and ice-walled lakes drained. We suggest that ice wastage was controlled primarily by climatic conditions and supraglacial-debris thickness. Late-glacial permafrost in northern Wisconsin likely delayed wastage of buried ice until after about 13 000 years ago, when climate warmed and permafrost thawed.     

内蒙古苏左旗白音宝力道Adakite质岩类成因探讨及其SHRIMP年代学研究

内蒙古苏左旗白音宝力道闪长质岩类的地球化学特征类似典型的埃达克岩,其SiO3含量≥56%(61.1-61.6%),Al2O3含量均大于15%(16.6-17.1%),MgO3%,Na2O/K2O比值较高(1.8-2.7,平均2.2),亏损HREE,Yb含量400μg/g)、贫Y(14.5-16.2μg/g,40(40-42),在微量元素蛛网图上具明显的Sr正异常。表明其成因与板块的俯冲作用有关,可能是消减的MORB板片部分熔融的产物。精确的SHRIMP皓石U-Pb年龄测定显示,内蒙古苏左旗白音宝力道英云闪长岩的结晶年龄为464±8Ma和479 8Ma,结合前人的SHRIMP定年资料,该闪长质岩体的年龄范围可能在464-490Ma之间。表明内蒙古中部的板块俯冲事件发生在早奥陶世。     

Tectonics of the Scandian orogeny and the Western Gneiss Region in southern Norway

Two crust-forming events dominate the Precambrian history of the Western Gneiss Region (WGR) at about 1800–1600 Ma and 1550–1400 Ma. The influence of the Sveconorwegian orogeny (1200–900 Ma) is restricted to the region south of Moldefjord-Romsdalen. A series of anorthosites and related intrusives are present, possibly derived from the now-lost western margin of the Baltic craton that may have been emplaced in the WGR as an allochthonous unit before the Ordovician.The Caledonian development is split into two orogenic phases, the Finnmarkian (Cambrian — Early Ordovician) and the Scandian (Late Ordovician/Early Silurian — Devonian). The lower tectonic units west of the Trondheim Trough may be Finnmarkian nappes ; they were part of the lower plate during the Scandian continental collision. The Blåhö nappe is correlated with dismembered eclogite bodies along the coast. A regional change of nappe transport direction from 090 to 135 marks the initiation of an orogen-parallel sinistral shear component around 425 Ma. The change caused the development of a complex sinistral strike-slip system in the Trondheim region consisting of the Möre-Tröndelag Fault Zone and the Gränse contact. The latter cut the crust underneath the already emplaced Trondheim Nappe Complex, thus triggering the intrusion of the Fongen-Hyllingen igneous complex, and initiating subsidence of the Trondheim Trough, and was subsequently turned from a strike-slip zone into an extensional fault. Minor southward transport of the Trondheim Nappe Complex rejuvenated some thrusts between the Lower and the Middle Allochthon. A seismic reflector underneath the WGR is interpreted to be a blind thrust which subcrops into the Faltungsgraben. During Middle Devonian orogenic collapse, detachment faulting brought higher units, now eroded elsewhere, down to the present outcrop level, such as the Bergen and Dalsfjord nappe and the Old Red basins.     

A uranium and thorium enriched province of the Fennoscandian shield in southern Norway

The Precambrian Flå, Iddefjord, and Bohus granites lie along a line striking roughly northwest which crosses the Permian Oslo Province to the southwest of Oslo. Radioelement investigations in the three bodies show they all contain abnormally high thorium and uranium concentrations relative to the published literature on average radioelement contents of granitic rocks. Trend surface analysis of the radioelement distribution in the Iddefjord granite suggests there was relative movement of uranium to the east with respect to thorium, possibly as the result of Permian activity in the adjacent rocks. Geological considerations, radiometric evidence and published gravimetric data suggest that the 3 granites represent a continuous belt enriched in thorium and uranium during the Sveconorwegian orogeny. A portion of the belt was later involved in the Permian igneous activity which produced the igneous Oslo Province. There is some evidence that the Permian Drammen and Finnemarka granites represent that part of the belt which was modified in Permian time.     

小冰期时中国南方地区降水模式的差异研究

小冰期是过去一千年中全球气候变化的重要事件之一。关于小冰期时中国季风区和西风影响区气候变化的对比研究众多,但是缺乏中国南方地区降水模式时空差异的研究,难以了解中国南方地区降水变化规律。为了系统地了解小冰期时中国南方地区降水的复杂性,本文将中国南方地区划分为东南—华南沿海地区、中部地区以及西南地区三个区域,总共选取了19条高分辨率的古气候记录进行对比研究,主要有以下几点认识:(1)相对于中世纪暖期而言,小冰期期间中国南方东南—华南沿海地区的气候偏湿,这可能与雨带在中国南方的滞留时间延长和沿海地区受台风的影响增强有关。(2)中国中部地区秦岭南麓和神农架高山林区在小冰期时期主要呈"冷湿"的模式,差异在于秦岭南麓区域主要在小冰期中后期偏湿,这与中部其他区域偏"冷干"的模式不同。这种区域差异可能是由于地形地势和大气环流的复杂性导致。(3)中国西南地区受印度夏季风和东亚夏季风的共同影响,且该区域地形复杂,其气候变化在小冰期时期存在更加明显的空间差异,没有呈现出比较一致的降水模式。与小冰期期间的降水变化不同的是,近30年东南—华南沿海地区除了台湾和雷州半岛,其他区域降水明显减少,可能受气温和人类活动等因素的影响。通过结合高分辨率的古气候记录,我们系统分析了中国南方小冰期的干湿模式在时空上的差异及其可能的影响因子,这对于认识小冰期时中国南方不同区域降水的复杂性及未来旱涝灾害的防控具有一定意义。     

Stratigraphy and age of a Neoglacial sedimentary succession of proglacial outwash and an alluvial fan in Langedalen,Veitastrond, western Norway

This study presents the sedimentary succession of an outwash plain and an alluvial fan located along the valley Langedalen at the south-eastern side of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap in inner Sogn, western Norway. A newly exposed ~2.8-m-high section along the southern riverbank of Langedøla river shows alternating layers of minerogenic sediments and peat layers with tree logs, identified as Salix sp. The section is situated in the distal part of an alluvial fan built out from the southern slope of Langedalen. Six AMS radiocarbon dates of tree fragments indicate that the accumulation of the fine-grained sediments in the lower part of the section was initiated earlier than the basal radiocarbon date of 914–976 calibrated years CE (1σ age range). These basal, fine-grained sediments are interpreted as proglacial outwash deposited in a floodplain depression or abandoned river channel in a low-energy glaciofluvial environment. Periods of low glacier cover, low river discharge or low-water stands over the floodplain allowed peat formation and the growth of trees and shrubs in the valley. The radiocarbon dates further indicate relatively rapid sediment accretion (~2.7–3 cm a⁻¹) between 190 and 125 cm below the sediment surface, equivalent to approximately 1220 to 1250 cal. a CE (1σ age range). At ~60 cm depth below the surface, dated to approximately 1590 to 1620 cal. a CE (1σ age range), a transition to more coarse-grained, sandy and gravelly sediments indicates increased sediment supply and distal expansion of the alluvial fan. This occurred most likely as a consequence of increased sediment yield from expanding glaciers along the southern valley side of Langedalen as a response to the initial Little Ice Age glacier growth. Based on these results, the accretion and progradation of glacier-fed alluvial fans mainly occur during periods of glacier advance rather than during glacier recession.