The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand
Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of past, natural changes in Earth’s climate is a fundamental goal of palaeoclimate science. Recent advances in cosmogenic surface exposure dating and numerical glacier modelling have greatly improved the utility of geological glacial records for palaeoclimati...
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ftvictoriauwfig:oai:figshare.com:article/17012306 2023-10-25T01:31:05+02:00 The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand Eaves, Shaun 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17012306 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_glacial_history_of_Tongariro_and_Ruapehu_volcanoes_New_Zealand/17012306 unknown doi:10.26686/wgtn.17012306 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_glacial_history_of_Tongariro_and_Ruapehu_volcanoes_New_Zealand/17012306 CC BY-SA 4.0 Geochronology Glaciology Palaeoclimatology Surface exposure dating Late Quaternary Palaeoclimate Cosmogenic Radiocarbon Last Glacial Maximum Antarctic Cold Reversal School: School of Geography Environment and Earth Sciences Unit: Antarctic Research Centre 040602 Glaciology 040303 Geochronology 040605 Palaeoclimatology 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences Degree Discipline: Geology Degree Level: Doctoral Degree Name: Doctor of Philosophy Text Thesis 2015 ftvictoriauwfig https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17012306 2023-09-27T23:17:04Z Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of past, natural changes in Earth’s climate is a fundamental goal of palaeoclimate science. Recent advances in cosmogenic surface exposure dating and numerical glacier modelling have greatly improved the utility of geological glacial records for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. Here, I apply these techniques to investigate the timing and magnitude of late Quaternary mountain glacier fluctuations on Tongariro massif and Mt. Ruapehu volcanoes in central North Island, New Zealand (39°S). First, I constrain the local cosmogenic ³He production rate, in order to compare my subsequent ³He moraine chronologies with other well-dated palaeoclimate records. I present a new radiocarbon age for a large debris avalanche event on the northwest slopes of Mt. Ruapehu that occurred at 10.4-10.6 cal. ka BP. Cosmogenic ³He concentrations in surficial boulders deposited during this event are consistent with that predicted by a global compilation of similar production rate calibrations. Thus, I conclude that this globally compiled production rate is suitable for cosmogenic ³He exposure age calculations in New Zealand. Exposure ages from moraine boulders on both volcanoes constrain the timing of two periods of glaciation during the last glacial cycle, when the termini of valley glaciers reached c. 1200 m asl. The most recent of these events occurred between c. 31-17 ka, which corresponds with the global Last Glacial Maximum. During this period, the local equilibrium line altitude was depressed by c. 800-1100 m. Numerical model simulations of the glaciers, using a coupled energy balance/ice flow model, suggest that local atmospheric temperature was 4-7 °C colder than present. This palaeotemperature estimate is not greatly impacted by post-glacial topographic change on these active volcanoes. Surface exposure ages from a degraded lateral moraine on Tongariro massif indicate that an earlier period of glaciation, of similar extent to that at the LGM, culminated during Marine Isotope Stage 4. During ... Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Open Access Victoria University of Wellington / Te Herenga Waka Antarctic New Zealand |
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Open Polar |
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Open Access Victoria University of Wellington / Te Herenga Waka |
op_collection_id |
ftvictoriauwfig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Geochronology Glaciology Palaeoclimatology Surface exposure dating Late Quaternary Palaeoclimate Cosmogenic Radiocarbon Last Glacial Maximum Antarctic Cold Reversal School: School of Geography Environment and Earth Sciences Unit: Antarctic Research Centre 040602 Glaciology 040303 Geochronology 040605 Palaeoclimatology 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences Degree Discipline: Geology Degree Level: Doctoral Degree Name: Doctor of Philosophy |
spellingShingle |
Geochronology Glaciology Palaeoclimatology Surface exposure dating Late Quaternary Palaeoclimate Cosmogenic Radiocarbon Last Glacial Maximum Antarctic Cold Reversal School: School of Geography Environment and Earth Sciences Unit: Antarctic Research Centre 040602 Glaciology 040303 Geochronology 040605 Palaeoclimatology 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences Degree Discipline: Geology Degree Level: Doctoral Degree Name: Doctor of Philosophy Eaves, Shaun The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
topic_facet |
Geochronology Glaciology Palaeoclimatology Surface exposure dating Late Quaternary Palaeoclimate Cosmogenic Radiocarbon Last Glacial Maximum Antarctic Cold Reversal School: School of Geography Environment and Earth Sciences Unit: Antarctic Research Centre 040602 Glaciology 040303 Geochronology 040605 Palaeoclimatology 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences Degree Discipline: Geology Degree Level: Doctoral Degree Name: Doctor of Philosophy |
description |
Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of past, natural changes in Earth’s climate is a fundamental goal of palaeoclimate science. Recent advances in cosmogenic surface exposure dating and numerical glacier modelling have greatly improved the utility of geological glacial records for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. Here, I apply these techniques to investigate the timing and magnitude of late Quaternary mountain glacier fluctuations on Tongariro massif and Mt. Ruapehu volcanoes in central North Island, New Zealand (39°S). First, I constrain the local cosmogenic ³He production rate, in order to compare my subsequent ³He moraine chronologies with other well-dated palaeoclimate records. I present a new radiocarbon age for a large debris avalanche event on the northwest slopes of Mt. Ruapehu that occurred at 10.4-10.6 cal. ka BP. Cosmogenic ³He concentrations in surficial boulders deposited during this event are consistent with that predicted by a global compilation of similar production rate calibrations. Thus, I conclude that this globally compiled production rate is suitable for cosmogenic ³He exposure age calculations in New Zealand. Exposure ages from moraine boulders on both volcanoes constrain the timing of two periods of glaciation during the last glacial cycle, when the termini of valley glaciers reached c. 1200 m asl. The most recent of these events occurred between c. 31-17 ka, which corresponds with the global Last Glacial Maximum. During this period, the local equilibrium line altitude was depressed by c. 800-1100 m. Numerical model simulations of the glaciers, using a coupled energy balance/ice flow model, suggest that local atmospheric temperature was 4-7 °C colder than present. This palaeotemperature estimate is not greatly impacted by post-glacial topographic change on these active volcanoes. Surface exposure ages from a degraded lateral moraine on Tongariro massif indicate that an earlier period of glaciation, of similar extent to that at the LGM, culminated during Marine Isotope Stage 4. During ... |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Eaves, Shaun |
author_facet |
Eaves, Shaun |
author_sort |
Eaves, Shaun |
title |
The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
title_short |
The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
title_full |
The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
title_fullStr |
The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
title_full_unstemmed |
The glacial history of Tongariro and Ruapehu volcanoes, New Zealand |
title_sort |
glacial history of tongariro and ruapehu volcanoes, new zealand |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17012306 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_glacial_history_of_Tongariro_and_Ruapehu_volcanoes_New_Zealand/17012306 |
geographic |
Antarctic New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic New Zealand |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_relation |
doi:10.26686/wgtn.17012306 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/The_glacial_history_of_Tongariro_and_Ruapehu_volcanoes_New_Zealand/17012306 |
op_rights |
CC BY-SA 4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.17012306 |
_version_ |
1780742742475800576 |