Cosmogenic nuclide chronology of pre-last glacial maximum moraines at Lago Buenos Aires, 46°S, Argentina

At Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages range from 190,000 to 109,000 yr for two moraines deposited prior to the last glaciation, 23,000–16,000 yr ago. Two approaches, maximum boulder ages assuming no erosion, and the average age of all boulders and an erosion rate of 1.4 mm/10³ yr, both yield a common estimate age of 150,000–140,000 yr for the two moraines. The erosion rate estimate derives from ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al concentrations in old erratics, deposited on moraines that are >760,000 yr old on the basis of interbedded ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dated lavas. The new cosmogenic ages indicate that a major glaciation during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 occurred in the mid-latitude Andes. The next five youngest moraines correspond to stage 2. There is no preserved record of a glacial advance during stage 4. The distribution of dated boulders and their ages suggest that at least one major glaciation occurred between 760,000 and >200,000 yr ago. The mid-latitude Patagonian glacial record, which is well preserved because of low erosion rates, indicates that during the last two glacial cycles major glaciations in the southern Andes have been in phase with growth and decay of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, especially at the 100,000 yr periodicity. Thus, glacial maxima are global in nature and are ultimately paced by small changes in Northern Hemisphere insolation.     

Cosmogenic nuclide ages for Last Glacial Maximum moraine at Schnells Ridge, Southwest Tasmania

Moraines on Schnells Ridge, southwest Tasmania, have been dated using in situ ¹⁰Be. An age of 19,400 ± 600 yr is indicated for the well-preserved innermost moraine from consistent measurements on four large quartzite boulders. This corresponds closely with exposure ages reported by T.T. Barrows et al. (2002, Quaternary Science Reviews 21, 159–173) for Last Glacial Maximum glacial features farther north in Tasmania and southeast Australia. In contrast, ages between 39,000 and 141,000 yr were obtained from a series of boulders on a more extensive outer moraine, indicating that this has had a more complex history.     

Soil-forming rates and processes on Quaternary moraines near Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina

Thirty-four pedons on four moraine groups spanning the last 1 myr are used to investigate mechanisms and rates of soil development in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. All soils are coarse-loamy, mesic, Typic Haplocalcids or Calcic Haploxerolls occurring under short grass-shrub steppe, in a semi-arid climate. The dominant soil-forming processes are the accumulation of organic matter, carbonate, and clay-sized particles. Organic carbon accumulates rapidly in these soils, but significantly higher amounts in the oldest two moraine groups are likely the result of slight differences in soil-forming environment or grazing practices. Accumulation rates of carbonate and clay decrease with age, suggesting either decreased influx in the earliest part of the record or attainment of equilibrium between influx and loss. There are no changes in soil redness, and preservation of weatherable minerals in the oldest soils indicates there is little chemical weathering in this environment. Measured dust input explains the accumulation of both clay and carbonate. We present a carbonate cycling model that describes potential sources and calcium mobility in this environment. Calibration of rates of soil formation creates a powerful correlation tool for comparing other glacial deposits in Argentina to the well-dated moraines at Lago Buenos Aires.     

Moraine chronosequence of the Donnelly Dome region, Alaska

We present ¹⁰Be exposure ages from moraines in the Delta River Valley, a reference locality for Pleistocene glaciation in the northern Alaska Range. The ages are from material deposited during the Delta and Donnelly glaciations, which have been correlated with MIS 6 and 2, respectively. ¹⁰Be chronology indicates that at least part of the Delta moraine stabilized during MIS 4/3, and that the Donnelly moraine stabilized ∼ 17 ka. These ages correlate with other dates from the Alaska Range and other regions in Alaska, suggesting synchronicity across Beringia during pulses of late Pleistocene glaciation. Several sample types were collected: boulders, single clasts, and gravel samples (amalgamated small clasts) from around boulders as well as from surfaces devoid of boulders. Comparing ¹⁰Be ages of these sample types reveals the influence of pre/post-depositional processes, including boulder erosion, boulder exhumation, and moraine surface lowering. These processes occur continuously but seem to accelerate during and immediately after successive glacial episodes. The result is a multi-peak age distribution indicating that once a moraine persists through subsequent glaciations the chronological significance of cosmogenic ages derived from samples collected on that moraine diminishes significantly. The absence of Holocene ages implies relatively minor exhumation and/or weathering since 12 ka.     

继承性宇生核素对暴露测年结果影响的定量分析方法探讨

宇生核素暴露测年过程中,通常假设在样品最后一次暴露前,样品中的宇生核素（继承性宇生核素）浓度为0。然而,大量的测年数据研究发现,样品的暴露年代结果会受到继承性核素的影响从而高估地貌的真实年代。因此,如何降低继承性核素对暴露年代结果的影响或者定量分析继承性核素的影响程度不仅可为地貌演化提供准确的年代数据,而且对宇生核素暴露测年技术的研究具有重要意义。因此,本文以宇生核素暴露测年技术在冰川地貌中应用为例,通过分析继承性核素的研究概况,并结合宇生核素暴露测年原理,探讨继承性核素对测年结果影响的定量分析方法。研究结果表明： ① 通过样品中 n ( 26 Al)/ n ( 10 Be) 值\[即同一样品中宇生核素Al 26 与Be 10 浓度（单位为atom/g）的比值\]以及同一地貌位置多个的样品年代数据分布情况可初步判断测年结果是否受到继承性核素的影响;② 通过现代冰川冰碛物中宇生核素的浓度可以定量分析继承性核素对暴露测年结果的影响; ③ 通过计算冰碛垄顶部和一定深度（＞2~3 m）样品的宇生核素浓度差,可以减少继承性核素的影响。本研究内容对冰川地貌宇生核素暴露测年具有重要意义。     

Late Quaternary glacial and climate history of the Pamir Mountains derived from cosmogenic Be exposure ages

Moraines southwest of Lake Yashilkul, Pamir, Tajikistan, were dated using ¹⁰Be exposure ages of boulder surfaces. We found evidence for (1) an extensive glaciation ∼60,000 yr ago; (2) a less extensive glacial advance, which deposited a characteristic hummocky moraine lobe with exposure ages ranging from ∼11,000 to 47,000 yr, probably deposited at or before 47,000 yr ago; and (3) lateral moraines with exposure ages of ∼40,000 yr, 27,000 yr and 19,000 yr, respectively. Increasing aridity in the Pamir is most likely responsible for the progressively limited extent of the glaciers during the Late Pleistocene.     

Push moraines in the upper valley of Santa Cruz river,southwest Argentina. Structural analysis and relationship with Late Pleistocene paleoclimate

The upper cliff of the Santa Cruz River was used to assess the proglacial environments of the Argentino Glacier outlet of Late Pleistocene age. These cliffs show glaciolacustrine, fluvioglacial and till deposits, where only the first one are deformed. Glacial landforms in the area and these structures suggest that the ice mass advanced, topographically controlled, towards the east from the Patagonian Ice Sheet pushing up the proglacial sediments.The spatial arrangement of thrusts and overturned folds, the drumlins-flutes moraine directions and the end moraines shape, allow inferring the dynamic and the Argentino glacier profile. Detailed analyses of the glaciotectonic structures indicate that these have two origins: load in the north with stress transfer to the southeast, and push from the west. Through the analysis of deformed sediments, their thickness and their sedimentary and structural features, three zones of deformations were recognized. Each of these zones was associated to glacial advances because of changes of the regional climate conditions.     

青藏高原中东部第四纪冰碛物暴露年龄的测定及其意义

青藏高原上大面积的冰盖通常会对亚洲乃至全球气候产生深远的影响。青藏高原第四纪冰川形成的时间和范围成为人们关注的热点。本研究利用就地成因的宇宙核素暴露年龄测定方法,对唐古拉山和理塘地区的第四纪冰碛物进行了10Be、26Al和21Ne暴露年龄测定,首次获得了青藏高原的第四纪冰川核素暴露年龄。三种核素暴露年龄的一致性显示每期冰碛物沉积有一个确定的暴露时期,测试结果表明唐古拉山和理塘地区出现了两期第四纪冰期,一期形成于距今1·6~8万年,另一期形成于距今16~18万年。     

Variations in sediment yield over the advance and retreat of a calving glacier, Laguna San Rafael, North Patagonian Icefield

Bathymetric and sub-bottom acoustic data were collected in Laguna San Rafael, Chile, to determine sediment yields during the Little Ice Age advance and subsequent retreat of San Rafael Glacier. The sediment volumes and subaqueous landforms imaged are used to interpret the proglacial dynamics and estimate erosion rates from a temperate tidewater glacier over a complete advance-retreat cycle. Sediment yields from San Rafael Glacier averaged 2.7 × 10⁷ m³/a since the end of the Little Ice Age, circa AD 1898, corresponding to average basin-wide erosion rates of 23 ± 9 mm/a; the highest erosion rates, 68 ± 23 mm/a, occurred at the start of the retreat phase, and have since been steadily decreasing. Erosion rates were much lower during glacial advance, averaging at most 7 mm/a, than during retreat. Such large glacial sediment yields over two centuries of advance and retreat suggest that the contribution of sediments stored subglacially cannot account for much of the sediment being delivered to the terminus today. The detailed sub-bottom information of a proglacial lagoon yields important clues as to the timing of erosion, deposition and transfer of glacigenic sediments from orogens to the continental shelves, and the influence of glacier dynamics on this process.     

Cosmogenic radionuclide evidence for the limited extent of last glacial maximum glaciers in the Tanggula Shan of the central Tibetan Plateau

Cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) exposure ages provide evidence for the limited extent of last glacial maximum glaciers in the Tanggula Shan, central Tibetan Plateau. The most extensive advances occurred during or before marine oxygen isotope stage 6 (MIS-6) based on previous CRN exposure ages. The second most extensive advance occurred during or before MIS-4 based on previous ages and new ages of 41,400 ± 4300, and 66,800 ± 7100 ¹⁰Be yr. A MIS-2 advance of less than 3 km occurred between 31,900 ± 3400 and 16,000 ± 1700 ¹⁰Be yr.     

Extent of the last ice sheet in northern Scotland tested with cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages

The extent of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) in northern Scotland is disputed. A restricted ice sheet model holds that at the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ca. 23–19 ka) the BIIS terminated on land in northern Scotland, leaving Buchan, Caithness and the Orkney Islands ice‐free. An alternative model implies that these three areas were ice‐covered at the LGM, with the BIIS extending offshore onto the adjacent shelves. We test the two models using cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating of erratic boulders and glacially eroded bedrock from the three areas. Our results indicate that the last BIIS covered all of northern Scotland during the LGM, but that widespread deglaciation of Caithness and Orkney occurred prior to rapid warming at ca. 14.5 ka. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cosmogenic isotope (Cl) surface exposure dating of the Norber erratics, Yorkshire Dales: Further constraints on the timing of the LGM deglaciation in Britain

Cosmogenic isotope (³⁶Cl) surface exposure dating of four of the erratic boulders at Norber in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, northwest England, yielded mean ages of ∼22.2 ± 2.0 ka BP and ∼18.0 ± 1.6 ka BP for their emplacement. These two mean values derive from different ³⁶Cl production rates used for exposure age calculation. The ages are uncorrected for temporal variations in production rates and may underestimate the true ages by 5-7%. The former age, although implying early deglaciation for this area of the British ice sheet, is not incompatible with minimum deglaciation ages from other contexts and locations in northwest England. However, the latter age is more consistent with the same minimum deglaciation ages and geochronological evidence for ice-free conditions in parts of the northern sector of the Irish Sea. Within uncertainties, the younger of the mean ages from Norber may indicate that boulder emplacement was associated with North Atlantic Heinrich event 1. The limited spatial (downvalley) extent of the Norber boulders implies that at the time of their deposition the ice margin was coincident with the distal margin of the erratic train. Loss of ice cover at Norber was followed by persistent stadial conditions until the abrupt opening of the Lateglacial Interstadial when large carnivorous mammals colonised the area. The ³⁶Cl ages are between ∼3.0 ka and ∼13.0 ka older than previous estimates based on rates of limestone dissolution derived from the heights of pedestals beneath the erratics.     

Multiple cosmogenic nuclides document complex Pleistocene exposure history of glacial drifts in Terra Nova Bay (northern Victoria Land, Antarctica)

Geomorphological and glacial geological surveys and multiple cosmogenic nuclide analyses (¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ²¹Ne) allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of variations prior to the last glacial maximum of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and valley glaciers in the Terra Nova Bay region. Glacially scoured coastal piedmonts with round-topped mountains occur below the highest local erosional trimline. They represent relict landscape features eroded by extensive ice overriding the whole coastal area before at least 6 Ma (pre-dating the build-up of the Mt. Melbourne volcanic field). Since then, summit surfaces were continuously exposed and well preserved under polar condition with negligible erosion rates on the order of 17 cm/Ma. Complex older drifts rest on deglaciated areas above the younger late-Pleistocene glacial drift and below the previously overridden summits. The combination of stable and radionuclide isotopes documents complex exposure histories with substantial periods of burial combined with minimal erosion. The areas below rounded summits were repeatedly exposed and buried by ice from local and outlet glaciers. The exposure ages of the older drift(s) indicate multiple Pleistocene glacial cycles, which did not significantly modify the pre-existing landscape.     

Surface exposure dating of the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine system,western Swiss Alps,using the cosmogenic nuclide 10Be

Egesen moraines throughout the Alps mark a glacial advance that has been correlated with the Younger Dryas cold period. Using the surface exposure dating method, in particular the measurement of the cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be in rock surfaces, we attained four ages for boulders on a prominent Egesen moraine of Great Aletsch Glacier, in the western Swiss Alps. The ¹⁰Be dates range from 10 460±1100 to 9040±1020 yr ago. Three ¹⁰Be dates between 9630±810 and 9040±1020 yr ago are based upon samples from the surfaces of granite boulders. Two ¹⁰Be dates, 10 460±1100 and 9910±970 yr ago, are based upon a sample from a quartz vein at the surface of a schist boulder. In consideration of the numerous factors that can influence apparently young ¹⁰Be dates and the scatter within the data, we interpret the weighted mean of four boulder ages, 9640±430 yr (including the weighted mean of two ¹⁰Be dates of the quartz vein), as a minimum age of deposition of the moraine. All ¹⁰Be dates from the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine are consistent with radiocarbon dates of nearby bog‐bottom organic sediments, which provide minimum ages of deglaciation from the moraine. The ¹⁰Be dates from boulders on the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine also are similar to ¹⁰Be dates from Egesen moraines of Vadret Lagrev Glacier on Julier Pass, in the eastern Swiss Alps. Both the morphology of the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine and the comparison with ¹⁰Be dates from the inner Vadret Lagrev Egesen moraine support the hypothesis that the climatic cooling that occurred during the Younger Dryas cold episode influenced the glacial advance that deposited the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine. Because of the large size and slow response time of Great Aletsch Glacier, we suggest that the Great Aletsch Glacier Egesen moraine was formed during the last glacial advance of the multiphased Egesen cold period, the Kromer stage, during the Preboreal chron. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In situ cosmogenic exposure ages from the Isle of Skye,northwest Scotland: implications for the timing of deglaciation and readvance from 15 to 11 ka

We present 10 in situ cosmogenic exposure ages from two moraines on the Isle of Skye. The Strollamus medial moraine was deposited during deglaciation of the Devensian ice sheet and yields a mean exposure age from five samples of 14.3 ± 0.9 ka. The moraine age indicates that a significant ice mass existed on Skye at the time of a regional readvance recorded in Wester Ross, northwest Scotland. Taken at face value the ages suggest that deglaciation did not occur until well into Greenland Interstade 1. The Slapin moraine represents the local limit of the Loch Lomond Readvance (LLR) and yields a mean exposure age from five samples of 11.5 ± 0.7 ka, which is consistent with deposition relating to the LLR. These ages suggest that the maximum extent may have been reached late in the stadial and that some glaciers may have remained active until after the climatic amelioration that marks its end. This scenario is considered unlikely given the nature of the climate during this period, which leads us to call for a locally calibrated production rate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface exposure dating reveals MIS-3 glacial maximum in the Khangai Mountains of Mongolia

This study presents results from geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic radionuclide dating (¹⁰Be) of moraine sequences at Otgon Tenger (3905 m), the highest peak in the Khangai Mountains (central Mongolia). Our findings indicate that glaciers reached their last maximum extent between 40 and 35 ka during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Large ice advances also occurred during MIS-2 (at ~ 23 and 17–16 ka), but these advances did not exceed the limits reached during MIS-3. The results indicate that climatic conditions during MIS-3, characterized by a cool-wet climate with a greater-than-today input from winter precipitation, generated the most favorable setting for glaciation in the study region. Yet, glacial accumulation also responded positively to the far colder and drier conditions of MIS-2, and again during the last glacial–interglacial transition when precipitation levels increased. Viewed in context of other Pleistocene glacial records from High Asia, the pattern of glaciation in central Mongolia shares some features with records from southern Central Asia and NE-Tibet (i.e. ice maxima during interstadial wet phases), while other features of the Mongolian record (i.e. major ice expansion during the MIS-2 insolation minimum) are more in tune with glacier responses known from Siberia and western Central Asia.     

Indicative Structures of Paleoseismicity in the Acequion River Valley,San Juan Province,Central-Western Argentina

Evidence for paleo-seismicity has been discovered in the Acequión river valley, in West central Argentina. Two Holocene rock avalanches have been observed; the most recent of these dammed a lake, whose sediments contain liquefaction structures. At least five paleo-earthquakes affected this region during the late Quaternary, as deduced from the succession of their secondary effects. The magnitude and the probable tectonic source of these paleo-events are discussed. The observed liquefaction features associated with slumps, joints, fractures, and faults, should be generated by M>5 earthquakes related to the nearby quaternary Cerro Salinas fault, which belongs to the Eastern Precordillera fault system. These data extend the regional seismicity record to the Holocene and highlight the high seismic hazard in this part of Argentina.     

New high precision U-Pb ages for the Vinchina Formation: Implications for the stratigraphy of the Bermejo Andean foreland basin (La Rioja province,western Argentina)

The Vinchina Formation is one of the thickest Cenozoic units related to the Andean orogeny in Argentina totaling more than 5100 m in thickness. Different ages, from Eocene to latest Miocene, have been postulated for this red-bed succession based on fission track, magnetostratigraphy and whole rock isotopic analyses. Two new high precision U-Pb zircon ages are reported herein for this unit. A maximum U-Pb age of 15.6 ± 0.4 Ma was obtained from detritic zircons collected from a thick tuffaceous interval of the Lower Member of the Vinchina Formation at La Cueva (Precordillera), while a depositional U-Pb age of 9.24 ± 0.034 Ma was derived from volcanic zircons collected from a thin tuff bed in the Upper Member at Quebrada de Los Pozuelos (Northwestern Sierras Pampeanas).At La Cueva, the Vinchina Formation unconformably overlies eolian sandstones of the Vallecito Formation and was divided into four units representing 1) deposits of high-sinuosity ephemeral rivers associated with 2) a playa-lake passing upwards to 3) low-sinuosity sandy ephemeral rivers and finally, 4) a gravelly-sandy braided plain. The tuffaceous level corresponding to unit 1 is located 280 m above the base of the formation.At Quebrada de Los Pozuelos, the Vinchina Formation unconformably overlies the Vallecito Formation and is covered by a deeply incised surface at the base of the Toro Negro Formation. We divided the Vinchina Formation into four units. Unit 1 represents sedimentation in shallow fluvial channels with sandy to muddy floodplains. Units 2 and 3 record sedimentation in braided, meandering and anastomosing rivers. Finally unit 4 represents deposition in braided and wandering fluvial systems. The sampled tuff is located within unit 4 at ∼3470 m above the base of the formation.The new ages indicate that the bulk of the Vinchina Formation is Miocene in age but they do not preclude a longer time span for the sedimentation of the whole unit. Ages of the sampled volcanic zircons match an important episode of volcanism recorded in the Cerro Las Tórtolas Formation, located ∼90 km to the west in the Andean Cordillera, but also the upper tuff could be related to the late Miocene Puna volcanism. Comparison of the new ages with previous chronological data suggests coetaneous sedimentation along different depocenters of the Bermejo basin (e.g., Vinchina and Talampaya depocenters in Western Sierras Pampeanas and La Troya depocenter and Huaco-Mogna sections in Precordillera) and strenghten the need for correlation among them. In addition the age of 15.6 ± 0.4 Ma constrains the end of the severe arid conditions recorded in the Sierras Pampeanas and Precordillera region.