Late quaternary glaciation of the Tianshan, Central Asia, using cosmogenic Be-10 surface exposure dating

Abstract

Glacial deposits are present at the head of the Urumqi River valley, Tianshan, Central Asia. 10Be surface exposure ages of 15 boulders from three sites along a 12 km valley transect range from 9 to 21 ka suggesting emplacement by glacial retreat and advance commencing at the global last glacial maximum (LGM) and most likely abating in the early Holocene. Although the age spread for a given locality is not small, perhaps indicating post-depositional reworking, maximum ages per site are either coeval with or are post-LGM and inconsistent with previous pre-LGM electron spin resonance ages. © 2009, Elsevier Ltd.