Timing and causes of MIS 4 and MIS 3 glacial advances in South Island, New Zealand

Schulmeister, J; Thackray, GD; Rittenour, TM; Fink, D; Patton, NR

Timing and causes of MIS 4 and MIS 3 glacial advances in South Island, New Zealand

Date

2019-07-27

Authors

Publisher

International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA)

Abstract

This poster summarises information on the timing and possible causes of glaciation in New Zealand prior to the LGM (26.5-19 ka). We recognise five regionally identifiable advances in MIS 4 and MIS 3 in South Island, NZ, including one which may mark the start of the LGM, but may also precede it. These advances, all secured by CRN and/or luminescence chronologies, occurred at 65 ± 3 ka, 47.5 ± 3 ka, 38.5 ± 2 ka, 31.5 ± 3 ka, and at 26.5 ± 2 ka. Not all advances have clear linkages to climate but some are coincident with periods of Southern Hemisphere insolation minima (65ka, and 31.5 ka advances), while another occurs during a notably cold phase (38.5 ka) and precipitation may play a role (65 ka and 26.5 ka advances). The timing of greatest glacial extent in the last glacial cycle is not simultaneous across New Zealand. The MIS 4 advance was the greatest in the southern South Island, while the MIS 3/2 advances (26.5-25 ka) were greatest in the central South Island. We attribute these spatio-temporal changes in the timing of maximum glaciation to precipitation changes related to a northward shift in the track of the southern-hemisphere westerlies.

Keywords

Glaciers, New Zealand, Luminescence, Paleoclimatology, Isotope dating, Mountains, Southern Hemisphere, Atmospheric precipitations

Citation

Schulmeister, J., Thackray, G., Rittenour, T., Fink, D., & Patton, N. (2019). Timing and causes of MIS 4 and MIS 3 glacial advances in South Island, New Zealand. Poster presented to the 20th INQUA Congress 25th - 31st July 2019, Dublin, Ireland. Retrieved from: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/#/event/public/574/submission/181