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Paleo-climate of the central European uplands during the last glacial maximum based on glacier mass-balance modeling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Barbara M. Heyman
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Jakob Heyman*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Thomas Fickert
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography, University of Passau, Innstrasse 40, 94032 Passau, Germany
Jonathan M. Harbor
Affiliation:
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:heyman@purdue.edu (J. Heyman).

Abstract

During the last glacial maximum (LGM), glaciers existed in scattered mountainous locations in central Europe between the major ice masses of Fennoscandia and the Alps. A positive degree-day glacier mass-balance model is used to constrain paleo-climate conditions associated with reconstructed LGM glacier extents of four central European upland regions: the Vosges Mountains, the Black Forest, the Bavarian Forest, and the Giant Mountains. With reduced precipitation (25–75%), reflecting a drier LGM climate, the modeling yields temperature depressions of 8–15°C. To reproduce past glaciers more severe cooling is required in the west than in the east, indicating a strong west–east temperature anomaly gradient.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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