Identifying signals of Late Pleistocene climate change from cosmogenic 10Be chronologies of moraines in the western U.S.

Abstract:

Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure dating has become the most widely applied method of developing ages of terminal moraines in the western U.S. Advances in the precision of analytical measurements along with a more accurate understanding of spatial and temporal variations in the production of in situ ¹⁰Be have improved the accuracy of cosmogenic exposure dating of moraines. Such improvements afford more accurate assessment of the impact of regional and global-scale climate changes of the Late Pleistocene on glaciation in the western U.S. A great number of new and recalculated cosmogenic ¹⁰Be exposure ages of moraines are considered here to identify the most probable drivers of changes in ice extent at the end of the last glacial period.

The last Pleistocene glaciation culminated in the western U.S. during marine oxygen isotope stage 2, before or during the onset of the global Last Glacial Maximum at ca. 26.5 ka. Terminal moraine abandonment in several ranges corresponds to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum at ca. 19.0 ka. This observation indicates that most mountain glaciers started retreating in step with the decline of global ice volume, and possibly in response to rising insolation at northern middle latitudes. In some regions, such as the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin, mountain glaciers apparently advanced to or persisted near their maximum terminus positions well after the start of global deglaciation, during the interval of the Oldest Dryas/Heinrich Stadial 1 (ca. 19.0-14.6 ka). Although changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns during this time likely affected mountain glacier extent, rapid ice retreat commenced in nearly all settings by 17.0-16.0 ka. This indication of warming prior to the onset of the Bølling-Allerød interval at ca. 14.6 ka is consistent with records from elsewhere at northern middle latitudes, and supports the hypothesis that warming of the region was in phase with a global rise in atmospheric CO₂. This further suggests that any cooling effects of Heinrich Event 1 on glacier mass balance in the western U.S. were overcome by other forcings by 16.0 ka.