Late Pleistocene glaciers and climate in the High Atlas, North Africa

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dc.contributor.authorHughes, PDen_AU
dc.contributor.authorFink, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorFletcher, WJen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-22T02:59:56Zen_AU
dc.date.available2021-12-22T02:59:56Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2020-04-07en_AU
dc.date.statistics2021-11-22en_AU
dc.description.abstractExtensive glaciers covered the High Atlas mountains in Morocco during the late Pleistocene. On the northern escarpments of the Marrakech High Atlas, a series of cirques perched at ~3000–3500 m above sea level (asl) fed their valley glaciers that, in some cases, extended to as low as 2000 m asl. Cosmogenic exposure dating with 10Be and 36Cl has shown that at least three phases of glaciation are preserved in glacial deposits over the last glacial cycle at 50, 22, and 12 ka, which appear to correlate with marine isotope stage (MIS) 3, the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and the Younger Dryas chronozone. This geochronological framework is sufficiently robust to allow for time-constrained glacier-climate reconstructions. The glaciers associated with these three phases of advance had equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of 2761 m asl (ca. 50 ka), 2919 m asl (ca. 22 ka), and 3213 m asl (ca. 12 ka). Glacier-climate modeling suggests that all of these phases were driven by both colder temperatures and wetter conditions than today. The dominant moisture supply to these glaciers in all phases would have been sourced from Atlantic depressions. The influence of an extended and enhanced West African monsoon on glacier development during African Humid Periods is unlikely to have been a significant influence on glacier dynamics. The climate conditions associated with the three glacier phases indicate sustained moisture supply to the highest mountain areas when records from other areas, such as the Middle Atlas lakes and marine sediment cores offshore, indicate marked aridity. © 2020 The Geological Society of Americaen_AU
dc.identifier.booktitleUntangling the Quaternary Period�A Legacy of Stephen C. Porter. Geological Society of America, GSA Special Papersen_AU
dc.identifier.citationHughes, P. D., Fink, D., & Fletcher, W. J. (2021). Late Pleistocene glaciers and climate in the High Atlas, North Africa. In Waitt, R. B., Thackray, G. D., & Gillespie, A. R. (eds). Untangling the Quaternary Period—A Legacy of Stephen C. Porter. Geological Society of America, GSA Special Papers, (Vol. 548, pp. 155-174): Geological Society of America. Boulder, Colorado. doi:10.1130/2020.2548(08)en_AU
dc.identifier.editorsWaitt, R. B., Thackray, G. D., & Gillespie, A. R.en_AU
dc.identifier.isbn9780813795485en_AU
dc.identifier.pagination155-174en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1130/2020.2548(08)en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/12626en_AU
dc.identifier.volume548en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherGeoScienceWorlden_AU
dc.subjectMountainsen_AU
dc.subjectGlaciersen_AU
dc.subjectGeomorphologyen_AU
dc.subjectAfricaen_AU
dc.subjectMoroccoen_AU
dc.subjectClimatic changeen_AU
dc.subjectSedimentsen_AU
dc.subjectAge estimationen_AU
dc.titleLate Pleistocene glaciers and climate in the High Atlas, North Africaen_AU
dc.typeBook chapteren_AU
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