Constraining Paleo-Glacier Dynamics Using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) Bedrock Exposure Dating

Abstract:

Quantifying glacier dynamics over the late-Pleistocene remains an important challenge for understanding glacial response to climate change. Historical glacier reconstructions are spatially limited (e.g. the European Alps) and cover only the last ~100 yrs, restricting their use as paleoclimatic proxies. Bedrock dating methods such as Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (TCN) dating or lichenometry allows glacier fluctuations to be reconstructed over longer timescales. However, these methods have limited temporal resolution, and therefore do not enable accurate dating of recent glacier fluctuations (e.g. short glacier re-advances). Here, we use a novel in situ dating method based on Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to fill this temporal/spatial gap. OSL dating is based on the time-accumulation of trapped electrons in the lattice defects of minerals. OSL-exposure dating is based on the bleaching (i.e. resetting) of the minerals’ luminescence signal when they are exposed to light (Sohbati et al., 2012 JGR-Solid Earth), which depends on exposure time, effective photon flux and light attenuation by minerals.

We analyzed 10 samples in the Val d’Hérens (Swiss Alps) where post-LGM glacier dynamics remain poorly constrained and short glacier re-advances are thought to occur during the Holocene. Bedrock samples were drilled and small cores were sliced into 1-mm thick discs from which natural luminescence profiles were measured. We calibrated the luminescence model parameters using historically-exposed bedrock samples (~100 yr) near the Mont-Miné glacier, and used this on-site calibration to date surface exposure of glacial bedrock at various elevations along the valley; initial relative dating results are promising. Although OSL-exposure dating appears an efficient tool for historical glacier reconstructions, OSL bleaching over longer timescales (i.e. late-Pleistocene to Holocene) requires more investigation before use as a chronometer.