Mountain glacier chronology from Boulder Lake, New Zealand, indicates MIS 4 and MIS 2 ice advances of similar extent
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Date
2008-11
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Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
Abstract
Dating of past glaciation in New Zealand allows Quaternary climatic events to be identified in areas at a great distance from northern hemisphere ice sheets and associated climatic feedbacks. Moreover, climate reconstruction in New Zealand provides insight into the amount of climate change that occurred in the Southwest Pacific where zonal circulation is an important integrator of the climate signal. Boulder Lake is a relatively low-elevation cirque in a range of moderate-relief (similar to 1600 m) mountains in South Island of New Zealand, and it experienced cirque and valley glaciation during the Late Quaternary. Geomorphic mapping. Be-10 and Al-26 exposure. and luminescence dating provide evidence for glacial advances during the Last Glacial Cycle, specifically during Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4) and Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2). The MIS 4 advance was fractionally larger and is dated by a former ice-marginal lacustrine deposit (minimum age) with a basal Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) sediment deposition age of 64.9 +/- 10 ka. Paired Be-10 and Al-26 constrain a slightly less extensive MIS 2 glacial advance to 18.2 +/- 1.0 and 17.8 +/- 0.9 ka, coincident with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Glacial equilibrium-line altitudes during both MIS 4 and MIS 2 phases were similar to 960 in lower than the present. This corresponds to a cooling of 5-7 degrees C, taking possible precipitation variability into account. Our findings and a growing number of publications indicate that many temperate valley glaciers reacted differently to the major ice sheets during the Last Glacial Cycle, reaching their Maximum extent during MIS 4 rather than during peak global ice volume during MIS 2. © 2008, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
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Keywords
New Zealand, Glaciers, Quaternary period, Southern Hemisphere, Ice, Climatic change
Citation
McCarthy, A., Mackintosh, A., Rieser, U., & Fink, D. (2008). Mountain glacier chronology from Boulder Lake, New Zealand, indicates MIS 4 and MIS 2 ice advances of similar extent. Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research, 40(4), 695-708. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(06-111)[MCCARTHY]2.0.CO;2