A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium)
The Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer in Belgium offers unique opportunities to study periglacial groundwater recharge during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as it was located close to the southern boundary of the ice sheets at that time. Groundwater residence times determined by 14 C and 4 He reveal a sequen...
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_6565 2024-09-09T19:44:29+00:00 A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) Blaser, Petra Corinne Kipfer, Rolf Loosli, Heinz Hugo Walraevens, Kristine Van Camp, Marc Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner 2010 https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1391 eng eng Wiley Journal of Quaternary Science--J. Quat. Sci.--journals:1767--0267-8179--1099-1417 eawag:6565 journal id: journals:1767 issn: 0267-8179 e-issn: 1099-1417 ut: 000281858800021 local: 14751 scopus: 2-s2.0-78149401250 doi:10.1002/jqs.1391 noble gas temperatures groundwater Pleistocene Holocene permafrost palaeoclimate recharge gap degassing excess air Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer Text Journal Article 2010 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1391 2024-08-05T03:04:28Z The Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer in Belgium offers unique opportunities to study periglacial groundwater recharge during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as it was located close to the southern boundary of the ice sheets at that time. Groundwater residence times determined by 14 C and 4 He reveal a sequence of Holocene and Pleistocene groundwaters and a gap between about 14 and 21 ka, indicating permafrost conditions which inhibited groundwater recharge. In this paper, a dataset of noble gas measurements is used to study the climatic evolution of the region. The derived recharge temperatures indicate that soil temperatures in the periods just before and after the recharge gap were only slightly above freezing, supporting the hypothesis that permafrost caused the recharge gap. The inferred glacial cooling of 9.5°C is the largest found so far by the noble gas method. Yet, compared to other palaeoclimate reconstructions for the region, recharge temperatures deduced from noble gases for the cold periods tend to be rather high. Most likely, this is due to soil temperatures being several degrees higher than air temperatures during periods with extended snow cover. Thus the noble-gas-derived glacial cooling of 9.5°C is only a lower limit of the maximum cooling during the LGM. Some samples younger than the recharge gap are affected by degassing, possibly related to gas production during recharge in part of the recharge area, especially during times of melting permafrost. The findings of this study, such as the occurrence of a recharge gap and degassing related to permafrost and its melting, are significant for groundwater dynamics and geochemistry in periglacial areas. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost DORA Eawag Journal of Quaternary Science 25 6 1038 1044 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DORA Eawag |
op_collection_id |
fteawag |
language |
English |
topic |
noble gas temperatures groundwater Pleistocene Holocene permafrost palaeoclimate recharge gap degassing excess air Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer |
spellingShingle |
noble gas temperatures groundwater Pleistocene Holocene permafrost palaeoclimate recharge gap degassing excess air Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer Blaser, Petra Corinne Kipfer, Rolf Loosli, Heinz Hugo Walraevens, Kristine Van Camp, Marc Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
topic_facet |
noble gas temperatures groundwater Pleistocene Holocene permafrost palaeoclimate recharge gap degassing excess air Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer |
description |
The Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer in Belgium offers unique opportunities to study periglacial groundwater recharge during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as it was located close to the southern boundary of the ice sheets at that time. Groundwater residence times determined by 14 C and 4 He reveal a sequence of Holocene and Pleistocene groundwaters and a gap between about 14 and 21 ka, indicating permafrost conditions which inhibited groundwater recharge. In this paper, a dataset of noble gas measurements is used to study the climatic evolution of the region. The derived recharge temperatures indicate that soil temperatures in the periods just before and after the recharge gap were only slightly above freezing, supporting the hypothesis that permafrost caused the recharge gap. The inferred glacial cooling of 9.5°C is the largest found so far by the noble gas method. Yet, compared to other palaeoclimate reconstructions for the region, recharge temperatures deduced from noble gases for the cold periods tend to be rather high. Most likely, this is due to soil temperatures being several degrees higher than air temperatures during periods with extended snow cover. Thus the noble-gas-derived glacial cooling of 9.5°C is only a lower limit of the maximum cooling during the LGM. Some samples younger than the recharge gap are affected by degassing, possibly related to gas production during recharge in part of the recharge area, especially during times of melting permafrost. The findings of this study, such as the occurrence of a recharge gap and degassing related to permafrost and its melting, are significant for groundwater dynamics and geochemistry in periglacial areas. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Blaser, Petra Corinne Kipfer, Rolf Loosli, Heinz Hugo Walraevens, Kristine Van Camp, Marc Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner |
author_facet |
Blaser, Petra Corinne Kipfer, Rolf Loosli, Heinz Hugo Walraevens, Kristine Van Camp, Marc Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner |
author_sort |
Blaser, Petra Corinne |
title |
A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
title_short |
A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
title_full |
A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
title_fullStr |
A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
title_full_unstemmed |
A 40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern Europe from noble gases in the Ledo-Paniselian Aquifer (Belgium) |
title_sort |
40 ka record of temperature and permafrost conditions in northwestern europe from noble gases in the ledo-paniselian aquifer (belgium) |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1391 |
genre |
Ice permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost |
op_relation |
Journal of Quaternary Science--J. Quat. Sci.--journals:1767--0267-8179--1099-1417 eawag:6565 journal id: journals:1767 issn: 0267-8179 e-issn: 1099-1417 ut: 000281858800021 local: 14751 scopus: 2-s2.0-78149401250 doi:10.1002/jqs.1391 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1391 |
container_title |
Journal of Quaternary Science |
container_volume |
25 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1038 |
op_container_end_page |
1044 |
_version_ |
1809914172733915136 |