Holocene Glaciation of the Arrigetch Peaks, Brooks Range, Alaska

• Published in: ARCTIC
• Main Authors: Ellis, James M., Hamilton, Thomas D., Calkin, Parker E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Arctic Institute of North America 1981
• Subjects: Ablation; Glacial epoch; Glacial landforms; Glaciers; Lichenometry; Glaciation; Brooks Range; Alaska; Arctic; glacier; glaciers
• Online Access: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/65569

Eleven cirque glaciers and associated deposits within the granitic Arrigetch Peaks of the west-central Brooks Range face north, minimizing insolation. Shading by surrounding mountainous terrain decreases insolation on these landforms even more significantly, favoring the formation of glacier-cored moraines. Comparison of glacier photographs taken in 1911, 1962, and 1979 reveals a record of decelerating recession. Geomorphic and lichenometric mapping suggests at least three to possibly eight phases of Holocene glacial expansion. These date between ~5000 and 300 yr B.P., based on the application of a central Brooks Range Rhizocarpon geographicum growth curve.