Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum
Abstract Ice cap modeling constrained by empirical studies provides an effective way of reconstructing past climates. The former Patagonian ice sheet is in a climatically significant location since it lies athwart the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and responds to the latitudinal migration of climat...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1994
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crcambridgeupr:10.1006/qres.1994.1049 2024-06-23T07:46:50+00:00 Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum Hulton, Nick Sugden, David Payne, Antony Clapperton, Chalmers 1994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1049 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710490?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710490?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400037042 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 42, issue 1, page 1-19 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 journal-article 1994 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1049 2024-06-05T04:04:52Z Abstract Ice cap modeling constrained by empirical studies provides an effective way of reconstructing past climates. The former Patagonian ice sheet is in a climatically significant location since it lies athwart the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and responds to the latitudinal migration of climatic belts during glacial cycles. A numerical model of the Patagonian ice cap for the last glacial maximum (LGM) is developed, which is time-dependent and driven by changing the mass balance/altitude relationship. It relies on a vertically integrated continuity model of ice mass solved over a finite difference grid. The model is relatively insensitive to ice flow parameters but highly sensitive to mass balance. The climatic input is adjusted to produce the best fit with the known limits of the ice cap at the LGM. The ice cap extends 1800 km along the Andes and has a volume of 440,000 km 3 . During the LGM the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) was lower than at present by at least 560 m near latitude 40°S, 160 m near latitude 50°S, and 360 m near latitude 56°S. The latitudinal variation in ELA depression can be explained by an overall fall in temperature of about 3.0°C and the northward migration of precipitation belts by about 5° latitude. Annual precipitation totals may have decreased by about 0.7 m at latitude 50°S and increased by about 0.7 m at latitude 40°S. The ELA rises steeply by up to 4 m per kilometer from west to east as the westerlies cross the Andes and this prevents ice growth to the east. The limited decrease in temperature during the LGM could be related to the modest migration of the Antarctic convergence between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Sheet Cambridge University Press Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Patagonia The Antarctic Quaternary Research 42 1 1 19 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Ice cap modeling constrained by empirical studies provides an effective way of reconstructing past climates. The former Patagonian ice sheet is in a climatically significant location since it lies athwart the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and responds to the latitudinal migration of climatic belts during glacial cycles. A numerical model of the Patagonian ice cap for the last glacial maximum (LGM) is developed, which is time-dependent and driven by changing the mass balance/altitude relationship. It relies on a vertically integrated continuity model of ice mass solved over a finite difference grid. The model is relatively insensitive to ice flow parameters but highly sensitive to mass balance. The climatic input is adjusted to produce the best fit with the known limits of the ice cap at the LGM. The ice cap extends 1800 km along the Andes and has a volume of 440,000 km 3 . During the LGM the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) was lower than at present by at least 560 m near latitude 40°S, 160 m near latitude 50°S, and 360 m near latitude 56°S. The latitudinal variation in ELA depression can be explained by an overall fall in temperature of about 3.0°C and the northward migration of precipitation belts by about 5° latitude. Annual precipitation totals may have decreased by about 0.7 m at latitude 50°S and increased by about 0.7 m at latitude 40°S. The ELA rises steeply by up to 4 m per kilometer from west to east as the westerlies cross the Andes and this prevents ice growth to the east. The limited decrease in temperature during the LGM could be related to the modest migration of the Antarctic convergence between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hulton, Nick Sugden, David Payne, Antony Clapperton, Chalmers |
spellingShingle |
Hulton, Nick Sugden, David Payne, Antony Clapperton, Chalmers Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
author_facet |
Hulton, Nick Sugden, David Payne, Antony Clapperton, Chalmers |
author_sort |
Hulton, Nick |
title |
Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
title_short |
Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
title_full |
Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
title_fullStr |
Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glacier Modeling and the Climate of Patagonia during the Last Glacial Maximum |
title_sort |
glacier modeling and the climate of patagonia during the last glacial maximum |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1049 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710490?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710490?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400037042 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela Patagonia The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ela Patagonia The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice cap Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 42, issue 1, page 1-19 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1049 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1 |
op_container_end_page |
19 |
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1802648641467318272 |