Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications
Andean mountain glaciers in central Chile are in a transitional zone between the seasonal influence of the mid-latitude westerlies and subtropical semiarid conditions to the north. Long-term glacial dynamics for these glaciers and their relationship with the paleoclimate during the late Quaternary a...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 https://doaj.org/article/9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 2023-11-12T04:03:18+01:00 Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandón Gabriel Easton José Luis Antinao Steven L. Forman 2023-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 https://doaj.org/article/9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 https://doaj.org/article/9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) late Quaternary glaciation Antarctic Cold Reversal Younger Dryas glacial geomorphology paleoclimate Andes Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 2023-10-15T00:36:20Z Andean mountain glaciers in central Chile are in a transitional zone between the seasonal influence of the mid-latitude westerlies and subtropical semiarid conditions to the north. Long-term glacial dynamics for these glaciers and their relationship with the paleoclimate during the late Quaternary are poorly known despite their relevancy. We estimate here the timing and extent of late Pleistocene–early Holocene glaciers in the Andes of Santiago (33°50′S) from geomorphological and geochronological analyses. Our observations evidence that a glacial stage occurred before the Last Glacial Maximum (ELGM) at the San Gabriel drift (1,300 m a.s.l.), dated as ∼46–36 ka. Glacial stages during the latest Pleistocene–early Holocene transition period, partially concomitant with the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) and with the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozones, were identified and dated at La Engorda drift (2,450–2,570 m a.s.l.) at ∼15–10 ka. We propose that the San Gabriel drift represents a prolonged glacial advance driven by increased precipitation and cold conditions off central Chile during glacial times. In La Engorda drift, late glacial advances occurred associated with increased regional precipitation, in the context of a transition from humid to arid climate in central Chile, concomitantly with a general warming trend of sea surface temperatures offshore in the southeastern Pacific and with reduced austral summer insolation. The results support the sensitivity of the Andean mountain glaciers to precipitation and paleoclimate conditions, most possibly associated with periods of increased northward influence of the mid-latitude westerlies during glacial and late glacial times, in addition to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impact since the mid-Holocene, driving late Quaternary glacier advances in central Chile. We estimate a maximum variation of ∼1,200 m in the position of the late Quaternary Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA), inferred at ∼3,400 m and ∼3,600 m a.s.l. at the time of the San Gabriel and La Engorda ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Austral Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Pacific The Antarctic Frontiers in Earth Science 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
late Quaternary glaciation Antarctic Cold Reversal Younger Dryas glacial geomorphology paleoclimate Andes Science Q |
spellingShingle |
late Quaternary glaciation Antarctic Cold Reversal Younger Dryas glacial geomorphology paleoclimate Andes Science Q Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandón Gabriel Easton José Luis Antinao Steven L. Forman Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
topic_facet |
late Quaternary glaciation Antarctic Cold Reversal Younger Dryas glacial geomorphology paleoclimate Andes Science Q |
description |
Andean mountain glaciers in central Chile are in a transitional zone between the seasonal influence of the mid-latitude westerlies and subtropical semiarid conditions to the north. Long-term glacial dynamics for these glaciers and their relationship with the paleoclimate during the late Quaternary are poorly known despite their relevancy. We estimate here the timing and extent of late Pleistocene–early Holocene glaciers in the Andes of Santiago (33°50′S) from geomorphological and geochronological analyses. Our observations evidence that a glacial stage occurred before the Last Glacial Maximum (ELGM) at the San Gabriel drift (1,300 m a.s.l.), dated as ∼46–36 ka. Glacial stages during the latest Pleistocene–early Holocene transition period, partially concomitant with the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) and with the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozones, were identified and dated at La Engorda drift (2,450–2,570 m a.s.l.) at ∼15–10 ka. We propose that the San Gabriel drift represents a prolonged glacial advance driven by increased precipitation and cold conditions off central Chile during glacial times. In La Engorda drift, late glacial advances occurred associated with increased regional precipitation, in the context of a transition from humid to arid climate in central Chile, concomitantly with a general warming trend of sea surface temperatures offshore in the southeastern Pacific and with reduced austral summer insolation. The results support the sensitivity of the Andean mountain glaciers to precipitation and paleoclimate conditions, most possibly associated with periods of increased northward influence of the mid-latitude westerlies during glacial and late glacial times, in addition to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impact since the mid-Holocene, driving late Quaternary glacier advances in central Chile. We estimate a maximum variation of ∼1,200 m in the position of the late Quaternary Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA), inferred at ∼3,400 m and ∼3,600 m a.s.l. at the time of the San Gabriel and La Engorda ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandón Gabriel Easton José Luis Antinao Steven L. Forman |
author_facet |
Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandón Gabriel Easton José Luis Antinao Steven L. Forman |
author_sort |
Mariajosé Herrera-Ossandón |
title |
Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
title_short |
Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
title_full |
Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
title_fullStr |
Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Quaternary glacier advances in the Andes of Santiago, central Chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
title_sort |
late quaternary glacier advances in the andes of santiago, central chile, and paleoclimatic implications |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 https://doaj.org/article/9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Ela Pacific The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Ela Pacific The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 11 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 https://doaj.org/article/9346c37c796f4142bf59fe30dd130a41 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1192812 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
11 |
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1782336811876483072 |