Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T16:21:07.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Rapid Ice Margin Fluctuations during the Younger Dryas in the Tropical Andes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Donald T. Rodbell  and
Geoffrey O. Seltzer
Donald T. Rodbell
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Union College, Schenectady, New York, 12308-2311
Geoffrey O. Seltzer
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244-1070
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Radiocarbon dated lacustrine sequences in Perú show that the chronology of glaciation during the late glacial in the tropical Andes was significantly out-of-phase with the record of climate change in the North Atlantic region. Fluvial incision of glacial-lake deposits in the Cordillera Blanca, central Perú, has exposed a glacial outwash gravel; radiocarbon dates from peat stratigraphically bounding the gravel imply that a glacier advance culminated between ∼11,280 and 10,990 14C yr B.P.; rapid ice recession followed. Similarly, in southern Perú, ice readvanced between ∼11,500 and 10,900 14C yr B.P. as shown by a basal radiocarbon date of ∼10,870 14C yr B.P. from a lake within 1 km of the Quelccaya Ice Cap. By 10,900 14C yr B.P. the ice front had retreated to nearly within its modern limits. Thus, glaciers in central and southern Perú advanced and retreated in near lockstep with one another. The Younger Dryas in the Peruvian Andes was apparently marked by retreating ice fronts in spite of the cool conditions that are inferred from the ∂18O record of Sajama ice. This retreat was apparently driven by reduced precipitation, which is consistent with interpretations of other paleoclimatic indicators from the region and which may have been a nonlinear response to steadily decreasing summer insolation.

Keywords

Younger Dryaslate glacialtropical Andes
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , November 2000 , pp. 328 - 338
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, M.B., Seltzer, G.O., Kelts, K.R., Southon, J. (1997). Holocene paleohydrology of the tropical Andes from lake records. Quaternary Research, 47, 70–80.Google Scholar
Alley, R., Bond, G., Chapellaz, , Clapperton, C., Del Genio, A., Keigwin, L., Peteet, D. (1993). Global Younger Dryas. EOS, 74, 587–589.Google Scholar
Alley, R.B., Meese, D.A., Shuman, C.A., Gow, A.J., Grootes, P.M., White, J.W.C., Ram, M., Waddington, E.D., Mayewski, P.A., Zielinski, G.A. (1993). Abrupt increase in Greenland snow accumulation at the end of the Younger Dryas event. Nature, 362, 527–529.Google Scholar
An, Z.S., Porter, S.C., Zhou, W.J., Lu, Y.C., Donahue, D.J., Head, M.J., Wu, X.H., Ren, J.Z., Zheng, H.B. (1993). Episode of strengthened summer monsoon climate of Younger Dryas age on the loess plateau of central China. Quaternary Research, 39, 45–54.Google Scholar
Blunier, T., Chappellaz, J., Schwander, J., Dallenbach, A., Stauffer, B., Stocker, T.F., Raynaud, D., Jouzel, J., Clausen, H.B., Hammer, C.U., Johnsen, S.J. (1998). Asynchrony of Antartic and Greenland climate change during the last glacial period. Nature, 394, 739–743.Google Scholar
Bond, G.C., Lotti, R. (1995). Iceberg discharges into the North Atlantic on millenial time scales during the last glaciation. Science, 267, 1005–1010.Google Scholar
Bond, G., Showers, W., Cheseby, M., Lotti, R., Almasi, P., deMenocal, P., Priore, P., Cullen, H., Hajdas, I., Bonani, G. (1997). A Pervasive Millennial-Scale Cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and Glacial Climates. Science, 278, 1246–1257.Google Scholar
Boyle, E.A., Keigwin, L. (1987). North Atlantic thermohaline circulation during the past 20,000 years linked to high-latitude surface temperature. Nature, 330, 35–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broecker, W.S. (1994). An unstable superconveyor. Nature, 367, 414 Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Denton, G.H. (1989). The role of ocean-atmosphere reorganizations in glacial cycles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 2465–2501.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., Kennett, J.R., Flower, B.P., Teller, J.T., Trumbore, S., Bonani, G., Wolfli, W. (1989). Routing of meltwater from the Laurentide ice sheet during the Younger Dryas cold episode. Nature, 341, 318–320.Google Scholar
Chappellaz, J., Blunier, T., Raynaud, D., Barnola, J.M., Schwander, J., Stauffer, B. (1993). Synchronous changes in atmospheric CH4 and Greenland climate between 40 and 8 kyr BP. Nature, 366, 443–445.Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. (1972). The Pleistocone moraine stages of west-central Peru. Journal of Glaciology, 11, 255–263.Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. (1981). Quaternary glaciations in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru and the Cordillera Real, Bolivia. Memoria del Primer Seminario Sobre el cuaternario de Colómbia, Revista Centro Interamericano de Fotointerpretacı́on C.I.A.F, Bogotá.p. 93–111Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. (1983). The glaciation of the Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2, 83–155.Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M., Hall, M., Mothes, P., Hole, M.J., Still, J.W., Helmens, K.F., Kuhry, P., Gemmell, A.M.D. (1997). A Younger Dryas icecap in the equatorial Andes. Quaternary Research, 47, 13–28.Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M., McEwan, C. (1985). Late Quaternary moraines in the Chimborazo area, Ecuador. Arctic and Alpine Research, 17, 135–142.Google Scholar
Clayton, J.D., Clapperton, C.M. (1997). Broad synchrony of a late glacial glacier advance and the highstand of palaeolake Tauca in the Bolivian Altiplano. Journal of Quaternary Science, 12, 169–182.Google Scholar
Denton, G.H., Hendy, C.H. (1994). Younger Dryas Age Advance of Franz Josef Glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Science, 264, 1434–1437.Google Scholar
Engstrom, D.R., Hansen, B.C.S., Wright, H.E. (1990). A possible Younger Dryas record in southeastern Alaska. Science, 250, 1383–1385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairbanks, R.G. (1989). A 17,000 year glacio-eustatic sea-level record: Influence of glacial melting on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature, 342, 637–642.Google Scholar
Hansen, B.C.S., Rodbell, D.T. (1995). A late-glacial/Holocene pollen record from the eastern Andes of northern Peru. Quaternary Research, 44, 216–227.Google Scholar
Heine, J.T. (1993). A Reevaluation of the Evidence for a Younger Dryas Climatic Reversal in the Tropical Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 12, 769–780.Google Scholar
Heine, K., Heine, J.T. (1996). Late glacial climatic fluctuations in Ecuador: Glacier retreat during Younger Dryas time. Arctic and Alpine Research, 28, 496–501.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J. (1993). Late-glacial of Southern South America. Quaternary Science Reviews, 12, 345–350.Google Scholar
Hughen, K.A., Overpeck, J.T., Peterson, L.C., Trumbore, S. (1996). Rapid climate changes in the tropical Atlantic region during the last deglaciation. Nature, 380, 51–54.Google Scholar
Instituto Geográfico Nacional,(1983). Recuay topographic map (1:100,000). Instituto Geografico Nacional,Lima.Google Scholar
Jouzel, J., Petit, J.R., Barkov, N.I., Barnola, J.M., Chappellaz, J., Ciais, P., Kotkyakov, V.M., Lorius, C., Petrov, V.N., Raynaud, D., Ritz, C.. The last deglaciation in Antartica: Further Evidence of a “Younger Dryas” type climatic event. Bard, E., Broecker, W.S. (1992). The Last Deglaciation: Absolute and Radiocarbon Chronologies.. NATO ASI Series, 12, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg., 229–266.Google Scholar
Kaser, G., Ames, A., Zamora, M. (1990). Glacier Fluctuations and Climate in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Annals of Glaciology, 14, 136–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keigwin, L.D., Jones, G.A. (1990). Deglacial climatic oscillations in the Gulf of California. Paleoceanography, 5, 1009–1023.Google Scholar
Klein, A.G., Seltzer, G.O., Isacks, B.L. (1999). Modern and last local glacial maximum snowlines in the central Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews, 18, 65–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kudrass, H.R., Erlenkeuser, H., Vollbrecht, R., Weiss, W. (1991). Global nature of the Younger Dryas cooling event inferred from oxygen isotope data from Sulu Sea cores. Nature, 349, 406–409.Google Scholar
Kutzbach, J.E., Guetter, P.J. (1986). The influence of changing orbital parameters and surface boundary conditions on climatic simulations for the past 18,000 years. Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 43, 1726–1759.Google Scholar
Lehman, S.J., Keigwin, L.D. (1992). Sudden changes in North Atlantic circulation during the last deglaciation. Nature, 356, 757–762.Google Scholar
Mangerud, J., Andersen, S.T., Berglund, B.E., Donner, J.J. (1974). Quaternary stratigraphy of Norden, a proposal for terminology and classification. Boreas, 3, 109–128.Google Scholar
Mangerud, J., Larsen, E., Longva, O., Sønstegaard, E. (1979). Glacial history of western Norway 15,000–10,000 B.P. Boreas, 8, 179–187.Google Scholar
Martin, L., Bertaux, J., Corrége, T., Ledru, M.-P., Mourguiart, P., Abdelfettah, S., Soubiés, F., Wirrmann, D., Suguio, K., Turcq, B. (1997). Astronomical forcing of contrasting rainfall changes in tropical South America between 12,400 and 8800 cal yr B.P. Quaternary Research, 47, 117–122.Google Scholar
Mathewes, R.W., Heusser, L.E., Patterson, R.T. (1993). Evidence for a Younger Dryas-like cooling event on the British Columbia coast. Geology, 21, 101–104.Google Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Meeker, L.D., Whitlow, S., Twickler, M.S., Morrison, M.C., Alley, R.B., Bloomfield, P., Taylor, K. (1993). The Atmosphere During the Younger Dryas. Science, 261, 195–197.Google Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Meeker, L.D., Whitlow, S., Twickler, M.S., Morison, M.C., Bloomfield, P., Bond, G.C., Alley, R.B., Gow, A.J., Grootes, P.M., Meese, D.A., Ram, M., Taylor, K.C., Wumkes, W. (1994). Changes in atmospheric circulation and ocean ice cover over the North Atlantic during the last 41,000 years. Science, 263, 1747–1751.Google Scholar
Mercer, J.H.. Simultaneous climatic change in both hemispheres and similar bipolar interglacial warming: Evidence and implications. Hansen, H., Takahashi, T. (1984). Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity. Am. Geophys. Union, Washington., 307–313.Google Scholar
Mercer, J.H.. Late Cainozoic glacial variation in South America south of the Equator. Vogel, J.C. (1984). Late Cainozoic Paleoclimates of the Southern Hemisphere. Balkema, Rotterdam., 45–58.Google Scholar
Mercer, J.H., Palacios, M.O. (1977). Radiocarbon dating of the last glaciation in Peru. Geology, 600–604.Google Scholar
Miall, A.D. (1985). Architectural-element analysis: A new method of facies analysis applied to fluvial deposits. Earth Science Reviews, 22, 261–308.Google Scholar
Oglesby, R.J., Maasch, K.A., Saltzman, B. (1989). Glacial meltwater cooling of the Gulf of Mexico: GCM implications for Holocene and present-day climates. Climate Dynamics, 3, 115–133.Google Scholar
Osborn, G., Clapperton, C.M., Davis, P.T., Reasoner, M., Rodbell, D.T., Seltzer, G.O., Zielinski, G. (1995). Potential Glacial Evidence for the Younger Dryas Event in the Cordillera of North and South America. Quaternary Science Reviews, 14, 823–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powers, M.C. (1953). A new roundness scale for sedimentary particles. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 23, 117–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reasoner, M.A., Osborn, G., Rutter, N.W. (1994). Age of the Crowfoot moraine in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: A glacial event coeval with the Younger Dryas oscillation. Geology, 22, 439–442.Google Scholar
Rind, D., Peteet, D., Broecker, W., McIntyre, A., Ruddiman, W. (1986). The impact of cold North Atlantic sea surface temperatures on climate: Implications for the Younger Dryas cooling (11–10 k). Climate Dynamics, 1, 3–33.Google Scholar
Rodbell, D.T. (1992). Lichenometric and radiocarbon dating of Holocene glaciation, Cordillera Blanca Perú. The Holocene, 2, 19–29.Google Scholar
Rodbell, D.T. (1992). Late Pleistocene equilibrium-line altitude reconstructions in the northern Peruvian Andes. Boreas, 21, 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodbell, D.T. (1993). The timing of the last deglaciation in Cordillera Oriental, northern Peru based on glacial geology and lake sedimentology. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 105, 923–934.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodbell, D.T. (1993). Subdivision of late Pleistocene moraines in the Cordillera Blanca, Perú based on rock weathering features, soils and radiocarbon dates. Quaternary Research, 39, 133–143.Google Scholar
Röthlisberger, F. (1987). 10,000 Jahre Gletschergeschichte der Erde. Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau.Google Scholar
Schwartz, D.P. (1988). Paleoseismicity and neotectonics of the Cordillera Blanca Fault Zone, northern Peruvian Andes. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93, 4712–4730.Google Scholar
Seltzer, G.O. (1990). Recent glacial history and paleoclimate of the Peruvian–Bolivian Andes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 9, 137–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seltzer, G., Rodbell, D., Burns, S. (2000). Isotopic evidence for late Quaternary climatic change in tropical South America. Geology, 28, 35–38.Google Scholar
Servant, M., Fontes, J.-C. (1978). Les lacs quaternaires des hauts plateaux des Andes boliviennes: Premieres interpretations paleoclimatiques. Cahiers de l'ORSTOM, Série Géologique, 10, 9–23.Google Scholar
Shane, L.C.K., Anderson, K.H. (1993). Intensity, gradients and reversals in late glacial environmental change in east-central North America. Quaternary Science Reviews, 12, 307–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, N. D., Ashley, G. M. (1985). Proglacial lacustrine environment. InGlacial Sedimentary Environments(Ashley, G. M., Shaw, J., Smith, N. D. Ed.),Short Course 16,pp, 135–216.Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Tulsa, OK.Google Scholar
Steig, E.J., Brook, E.J., White, J.W.C., Sucher, C.M., Bender, M.L., Lehman, S.J., Morse, D.L., Waddington, E.D., Clow, G.D. (1998). Synchronous Climate Changes in Antarctica and the North Atlantic. Science, 282, 92–95.Google Scholar
Sylvestre, F., Servant, M., Servant-Vildary, S., Causse, C., Fournier, M., Ybert, J-P. (1999). Lake-Level Chronology on the Southern Bolivian Altiplano (18–23°S) during Late-Glacial Time and the Early Holocene. Quaternary Research, 51, 54–66.Google Scholar
Thompson, L.G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Davis, M.E., Lin, P.-N., Henderson, K.A., Cole-Dai, J., Bolzan, J.F., Liu, K.-b. (1995). Late glacial stage and Holocene tropical ice core records from Huascarán, Perú. Science, 269, 46–50.Google Scholar
Thompson, L.G., Davis, M.E., Mosley-Thompson, E., Sowers, T.A., Henderson, K.A., Zagorodnv, V.S., Lin, P.-N., Mikhalenko, V.N., Campen, R.K., Bolzan, J.F., Cole-Dai, J., Francou, B. (1998). A 25,000-year Tropical Climate History from Bolivian Ice Cores. Science, 282, 1858–1864.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weaver, A.J., Hughes, T.M.C. (1994). Rapid interglacial climate fluctuations driven by North Atlantic circulation. Nature, 367, 447–450.Google Scholar
Wilson, J., Reyes, L., Garayar, J.. (1967). Geologı́a de los cuadrangulos de Mollebamba, Tayabamba, Huaylas, Pomebamba, Carhuaz u Huari. Google Scholar
Wright, H.E. (1989). The amphi-Atlantic distribution of the Younger Dryas paleoclimatic oscillation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 8, 295–306.Google Scholar