This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Matthews, J. A. Articles by Dresser, P. Q. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Holocene glacier variation chronology of the Smørstabbtindan massif, Jotunheimen, southern Norway, and the recognition of century- to millennial-scale European Neoglacial Events

Holocene Research Group, Department of Geography, School of the Environment and Society, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK, J.A.Matthews{at}Swansea.ac.uk

P. Quentin Dresser

Holocene Research Group, Department of Geography, School of the Environment and Society, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

New stratigraphic evidence for the Holocene history of three glaciers in central Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is presented and the implications for century- to millennial-scale glacier and climatic variability are considered. Minerogenic layers in seven stream-bank mires, flooded episodically by glaciofluvial meltwater, are dated by 79 new radiocarbon age estimates. A revised chronology for glacier variations in Smørstabbtindan suggests a three-phase Holocene: (1) an early-Holocene deglaciation phase (11500—9500 cal. BP) characterized by readvances of ice-sheet remnants; (2) a mid-Holocene phase with relatively small or absent glaciers (9500—5000 cal. BP); and (3) a late-Holocene phase of enlarged and fluctuating glaciers (the last 5000 years). Seven millennial-scale neoglacial events (Smørstabbtindan I—VII), during which glaciers were larger than at present for most of the time, are dated to: >10 400—9600 (Erdalen Event), 8400—7650 (Finse Event), 4800—3900, 3200—2550, 2350—1700, 1400—750 and 500—0 cal. BP (`Little Ice Age'). Two or more century-scale events are nested within each millennial-scale event. Based on the timing of neoglacial maxima, the record from Smørstabbtindan is combined with comparable reconstructions from southern Norway to indicate at least 17 century- to millennial-scale Southern Norwegian Neoglacial Events. A similar approach to records from the Swiss and Austrian Alps identifies around 23 Alpine Neoglacial Events. This leads to the recognition of 13 European Neoglacial Events that are at least continental in extent but seem to be imperfectly correlated with episodes of low solar irradiance, which suggests that other climatic forcing factors are also involved, including volcanic aerosols and, in the early Holocene, freshwater outbursts into the northern Atlantic Ocean. Local to regional patterns in glacier behaviour, particularly in relation to century-scale events, may be accounted for by differences in glacier size and geometry, topography and atmospheric circulation patterns; whereas the three Holocene multimillennial phases appear to reflect the Earth's orbital variations.

Key Words: Glacier variations • century- to millennial-scale • climatic variability • glaciofluvial evidence • mires • neoglaciation • European Neoglacial Events • Holocene • Norway • Jotunheimen • Alps.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?