Dust variation recorded by lacustrine sediments from arid Central Asia since ~ 15 cal ka BP and its implication for atmospheric circulation

A long dust history established using geological archives from dust provenance areas is necessary to understand the role of atmospheric dust in the global climate system better. Core sediments from a closed-basin groundwater-recharged lake in arid Central Asia were investigated using a multi-proxy approach (e.g. ¹⁴C AMS dating, pollen, and grain size) to trace the dust history since ~ 15 cal ka BP. Pollen analysis showed that before 7.9 cal ka BP, the vegetation was of desert type. After 7.9 cal ka BP, vegetation density increased, probably due to slightly increased moisture. The Chenopodiaceae-dominated desert expanded rapidly at 4.2–3.8 cal ka BP. Grain-size analysis was conducted for samples of lake deposits, modern aeolian dust, and dust trapped in snow, and the data showed that there was strong aeolian dust deposition at 11.8–11.1, 10.6–8, 6.1–4.9, and after 3.3 cal ka BP. This timing corresponds well with periods of increased terrestrial dust fluxes recorded by Greenland ice cores. Our study may document changes in the location and intensity of the Siberia High. These changes may play a more important role in the history of dust emission in arid Central Asia than previously thought.     

Glacial Lake Vitim, a 3000-km outburst flood from Siberia to the Arctic Ocean

A prominent lake formed when glaciers descending from the Kodar Range blocked the River Vitim in central Transbaikalia, Siberia. Glacial Lake Vitim, evidenced by palaeoshorelines and deltas, covered 23,500 km² and held a volume of ~ 3000 km³. We infer that a large canyon in the area of the postulated ice dam served as a spillway during an outburst flood that drained through the rivers Vitim and Lena into the Arctic Ocean. The inferred outburst flood, of a magnitude comparable to the largest known floods on Earth, possibly explains a freshwater spike at ~ 13 cal ka BP inferred from Arctic Ocean sediments.     

New radiometric and geomorphologic evidences of a last glacial maximum older than 18 ka in SW European mountains: the example of Redes Natural Park (Cantabrian Mountains,NW Spain)

Abstract

The first numerical age determinations from radiocarbon dating establish the chronology of glacial events in Redes Natural Park (Cantabrian Mountain, NW Spain). A core drilled in an ice-dammed deposit provided a minimum age of 28 990 ± 230 years BP for the maximum glacial expansion (phase I). Another core from a cirque bottom-fill provided organic sediment with 20 640 ± 300 years BP, a minimum age for the first glacial retreat (phase II). Radiometric dating of proglacial deposits interpreted as synchronous with the last glacial maximum phase in neighbouring Cornelia basin (Picos de Europa), yield ages of 40 480 ± 820 years BP. The chronological data presented in this work are consistent with the model of glacier evolution established in the Pyrénées, with a glacial maximum phase for the last glacial period older than 18 ka. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. AU rights reserved.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001302

We present relative sea level （RSL） curves in Antarctica derived from glacial isostatic adjustment （GIA）predictions based on the melting scenarios of the Antarctic ice sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）given in previous works.Simultaneously,Holocene-age RSL observations obtained at the raised beaches along the coast of Antarctica are shown to be in agreement with the GIA predictions.The differences from previously published ice-loading models regarding the spatial distribution and total mass change of the melted ice are significant.These models were also derived from GIA modelling; the variations can be attributed to the lack of geological and geographical evidence regarding the history of crustal movement due to ice sheet evolution.Next,we summarise the previously published ice load models and demonstrate the RSL curves based on combinations of different ice and earth models.The RSL curves calculated by GIA models indicate that the model dependence of both the ice and earth models is significantly large at several sites where RSL observations were obtained.In particular,GIA predictions based on the thin lithospheric thickness show the spatial distributions that are dependent on the melted ice thickness at each sites.These characteristics result from the short-wavelength deformation of the Earth.However,our predictions strongly suggest that it is possible to find the average ice model despite the use of the different models of lithospheric thickness.By sea level and crustal movement observations,we can deduce the geometry of the post-LGM ice sheets in detail and remove the GIA contribution from the crustal deformation and gravity change observed by space geodetic techniques,such as GPS and GRACE,for the estimation of the Antarctic ice mass change associated with recent global warming.     

Climatic and environmental change in Yanchi Lake, Northwest China since the Late Glacial: A comprehensive analysis of lake sediments

Modern climate research has shown that the Asian summer monsoon water vapor transport is limited to the eastern part of the Qilian Mountains. On the Holocene millennial-scale, whether the northwest boundary of the summer monsoon varies according to climate change is a key scientific issue. Yanchi Lake is located in the northern Qilian Mountains and the middle of the Hexi Corridor, where the modern climate is less affected by the Asian summer monsoon. It is a key research area for examining the long-term variations of the Asian summer monsoon. Paleoclimatic data, including AMS ^14C dates of pollen concentrates and bulk organic carbon, lithology, grain-size, mineral composition and geochemical proxies were acquired from sediments of Yanchi Lake. The chronological results show that the lower part of the lacustrine section is formed mainly in the Late Glacial and early Holocene period, while the proxies＇ data indicate the lake expansion is associated with high content of mineral salts. The middle part of this section is formed during the transitional period of the early and middle Holocene. Affected by the reworking effect, the pollen concentrates AMS^14C dates from the middle part of the section are generally older than those from the lower part. Since the mid-Holocene, Yanchi Lake retreated significantly and the deposition rate dropped obvi- ously. The Yanchi Lake record is consistent with the Late Glacial and Holocene lake records in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the climatic records in typical monsoon domain, which indicate the lake expansion and the strong Asian summer monsoon during the Late Glacial and early Holocene. The long-term monsoonal pattern is different from the lake evolution in Central Asia on the Holocene millennial-scale. This study proves the monsoon impacts on the northwestern margin of the summer monsoon, and also proves the fact that the northern boundary of the summer monsoon moves according to millennial-scale climate change.     

Late summer glacial meltwater contributions to Bull Lake Creek stream flow and water quality,Wind River Range,Wyoming, USA

ABSTRACT

The Wind River Range in Wyoming contains more glacial ice than any other location within the USA’s Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Bull Lake Creek watershed in the southeast portion of the range contains five major (0.6–1.5 km²) glaciers along with numerous smaller glaciers that contribute to the Wind River. Field measurements were made of discharge from the Knife Point and Bull Lake Glaciers to determine the contribution of glacial meltwater to the river system. Water samples were collected and analyzed for stable isotopes, major ions, nutrients, and selected trace elements. Meltwater from the two glaciers contributed 13.9% to Bull Lake Creek streamflow (site BL-3), with all glaciers within the Bull Lake Creek watershed estimated to be contributing 55.6% to the streamflow of Bull Lake Creek (United States Geological Survey gage) during the August 2015 study period. Hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope analysis indicated as much as 80% of late summer discharge in the upper Bull Lake Creek watershed was attributed to glacial meltwater. This study also found that nutrients (NO₃ – NO_2, total P) from glacial meltwater can be a significant source of nutrient loading to Bull Lake Creek.     

Proxy Evidence for Easterly Winds in Glacial Lake Algonquin,from the Black River Delta in Northern Lower Michigan

We examined a large, Late Pleistocene delta in northern Lower Michigan, formed by the Black River in Glacial Lake Algonquin. Today, this sandy, arcuate, wave-influenced delta stands several meters above the lake floor. The Black River transported mainly well-sorted, medium, and fine sands to the delta—at remarkably rapid rates. Our subsurface data, taken at 153 sites across the delta, show subtle and consistent trends in sediment texture across the delta surface. Although found in low amounts, gravel and very coarse sands are concentrated near the shoreline, presumably eroded by waves from the till and bedrock that crop out there. Sediments of very fine sand size (and finer) exist in higher concentrations near the eastern shore, sourced from eroded tills and also carried there on longshore currents. A clear sediment plume of medium and finer sands also traverses the delta SE to NW, which we interpret as evidence of sand transport by longshore currents flowing east to west, driven by easterly winds. High, perched spits on the head of the delta also suggest westerly longshore drift. These paleoclimate proxy data support previous interpretations of strong easterly winds here during the Late Pleistocene, probably in association with a glacial anticyclone.     

Early Holocene deglaciation of the eastern coast of Hudson Bay

The final stage of deglaciation of Hudson Bay was a major Holocene catastrophic event marked by the drainage of Lake Agassiz/Ojibway at ~ 8.47 ka cal BP and the rapid collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Previous work undertaken in the Nastapoka River area (eastern Hudson Bay) demonstrated that during the relative sea level highstand that shortly followed the drainage of the lake, the western margin of the Québec–Labrador ice sector rapidly retreated eastward to reach a stillstand position in a coastal hill range. In this study, an analysis of Landsat 7TM images has allowed a mapping of large-scale glacial landforms (outwash deposits, eskers, flutings, and De Geer and Rogen moraines) between Kuujjuaraapik (SE Hudson Bay) and Puvirnituq (NE Hudson Bay). The key results from this mapping are: i) ice-contact outwash deposits mapped along the entire arc-shaped coastline of the eastern Hudson Bay outline a major ice stillstand phase in the coastal hills that extended at least from Kuujjuaraapik to Inukjuak. The presence of these hills allowed a stabilisation of the ice margin that led to the accumulation of thick and extensive ice-contact submarine fans. ii) The position of these deposits on the down ice side (west) of large sets of flutings indicates an important phase of sediment delivery by a rapid ice flow phase toward a marine-based ice margin. iii) A second system of outwash deposits observed farther inland indicates a subsequent phase of stabilisation of the ice margin during its retreat toward central Québec–Labrador.     

Late Quaternary uplift rate of the northeastern Japan arc inferred from fluvial terraces

Glacial Lake Wisconsin was a large proglacial lake that formed along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsin glaciation. It was formed when ice of the Green Bay Lobe came into contact with the Baraboo Hills in southwestern Wisconsin and blocked the south-flowing Wisconsin River. During early glacial recession, the ice dam failed catastrophically and the lake drained in about a week. Despite early recognition of the former lake and the likelihood that it failed catastrophically, outflow rates during the failure have not been previously evaluated. Estimates based on step-backwater modeling indicate that peak discharge was between 3.6 and 5.3 × 10⁴ m³/s in the lower Wisconsin River. As an alternate method, we used a previously derived empirical relationship between lake volume and peak discharge for dam-break events. From a digital elevation model altered to incorporate isostatic depression, we estimated the lake volume to be 87 km³ just prior to dam breach, suggesting that the flooding magnitude was as high as 1.5 × 10⁵ m³/s at the outlet. Adjusting these results for downstream flood wave attenuation gives a discharge of around 4.4 × 10⁴ m³/s in the lower reach, which closely matches the results of the step-backwater modeling. These estimates of discharge from the catastrophic failure of ice-marginal lakes improve our understanding of the processes that have produced the morphology and behavior of present-day upper Midwest river systems.