Due to the limited landmasses in the Southern Hemisphere, we must rely on data from sub-Antarctic islands within the Southern Ocean to record historical climate patterns. Over the past few decades, glaciers throughout the Southern Ocean region have experienced a noticeable retreat, especially in the Kerguelen Archipelago, whose glacial landforms offer valuable insights into long-term climate fluctuations. Our comprehensive glacial geomorphological study conducted in its remote north-western region meticulously examines morainic complexes from smaller cirque glaciers and larger outlet glaciers stemming from the Cook Ice Cap. We mapped these landforms to reconstruct historical glacier extents during the Holocene. The surface area of the three main glaciers had decreased in 1962–1964 by only 35% compared to their maximum extents, whereas surface area changes across 12 time intervals spanning from 1962 to 2019 from aerial and satellite imagery reveal a cumulative reduction of 43.5%. Additionally, we modelled changes in glacier thickness and equilibrium-line altitude for the key glaciers at three distinct stages: 1) their maximum extent before 1962, 2) the early 1960s and 3) 2019. This multifaceted analysis contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of Kerguelen's glaciers and the broader implications for understanding past and ongoing climate dynamics in the Southern Hemisphere.

We present a chronology of ice recession in the eastern Pyrenees based onin situ-produced10Be data obtained from the Têt paleoglacier complex. The sampling strategy is based on the relative chronology provided by a detailed geomorphological map of glacial landforms. Results indicate that the last maximum ice advance occurred late (i.e., during Marine Isotope Stage 2) compared to the chronology currently established for the rest of the Pyrenees. Despite debatable evidence for a glacial readvance during the Oldest Dryas stade, ice-cap melt-out was rapid, residual cirque glaciers having disappeared by the Allerød interstade. This is consistent both with North Atlantic excursions established by the Greenland ice cores and paleoenvironmental data for the region. The rapid response of the east-Pyrenean ice cap to temperature variations is primarily linked to its small size compared to larger Pyrenean ice fields, to the dry Mediterranean climate, and to topography-related nonlinearities in which a small vertical rise in equilibrium line altitude generates a large change in ice mass. Possible sources of age uncertainty are discussed in the context of sampling design for single-nuclide (10Be) dating of landform sequences in formerly glaciated landscapes.

Caves and rockshelters are a key component of the archaeological record but are often regarded as natural places conveniently exploited by human communities. Archaeomorphological study shows however that they are not inert spaces but have frequently been modified by human action, sometimes in ways that imply a strong symbolic significance. In this paper the concept of ‘aménagement’, the re-shaping of a material space or of elements within it, is applied to Chauvet Cave in France and Nawarla Gabarnmang rockshelter in Australia. Deep within Chauvet Cave, fallen blocks were moved into position to augment the natural structure known as The Cactus, while at Nawarla Gabarnmang, blocks were removed from the ceiling and supporting pillars removed and discarded down the talus slope. These are hence not ‘natural’ places, but modified and socially constructed.