Late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation in the Pyrenees: a critical review and new evidence from 10Be exposure ages, south-central Pyrenees

• Published in: Quaternary Science Reviews
• Main Authors: Pallas, Raimon, Rodes, Angel, Braucher, Regis, Carcaillet, Julien, Ortuno, Maria, Bordonau, Jaume, Bourles, D., Manuel Vilaplana, Joan, Masana, Eulalia, Santanach, Pere
• Other Authors: Departament de Geodinamica i Geofısica, Facultat de Geologia, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Géodynamique des Chaines Alpines (LGCA), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Greenland; glacier
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00242532; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00242532/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00242532/file/533939.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.04.004

A compilation and a critical assessment of the 14C data set available show that the chronology of glacial events in the Pyrenees is not well constrained. After reviewing the literature on glacial reconstruction, we suggest a simplified subdivision of the Pyrenean last glacial cycle record into Last Pleniglacial, Deglaciation, and Neoglacial. To improve the numerical glacial chronology, we provide 10Be surface exposure ages for 5 glacial erosion surfaces, 9 moraines and 2 erratics in the Upper noguera Ribagorc-ana Valley (south-central Pyrenees). Published corrected 14C data and new 10Be exposure ages indicate that the major phase of moraine building recorded in this valley during the Last Pleniglacial probably occurred after 25 ka BP. This age calls in question the generally accepted hypothesis of a very early deglaciation of the Pyrenees ca 70–40 ka BP, and strongly suggests that the Pyrenees could have been in pleniglacial conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, we do not exclude the possibility that the maximum glacier extent during the last glacial cycle had taken place much earlier than the LGM, as indicated by some published U-Th, AMS 14C and OSL data. We suggest that pleniglacial conditions could have taken place during a longer (b30–20 ka) period than generally assumed, and that the Last Pleniglacial could include several glacier fluctuations recorded irregularly in different valleys, with a last major glacier readvance taking place around the LGM. In addition, the Deglaciation is represented by a series of moraines deposited between ca 13.770.9 and 10.170.6 ka. This moraine series indicates a highly variable climatic pattern that is partly correlated with Greenland Stadial 1 (the Younger Dryas), and suggests that the Deglaciation could have continued into the early Holocene.