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Coeval fluctuations of the Greenland ice sheet and a local glacier, central East Greenland, during late glacial and early Holocene time
Author(s) -
Levy Laura B.,
Kelly Meredith A.,
Lowell Thomas V.,
Hall Brenda L.,
Howley Jennifer A.,
Smith Colby A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl067108
Subject(s) - geology , greenland ice sheet , ice sheet , ice core , moraine , glacier morphology , younger dryas , ice stream , glacier , cryosphere , climatology , holocene , glacial period , ice sheet model , physical geography , glacier mass balance , geomorphology , oceanography , sea ice , geography
We present a 10 Be chronology of late glacial to early Holocene fluctuations of a Greenland ice sheet outlet glacier and the adjacent Milne Land ice cap in central East Greenland. Ages of boulders on bedrock indicate that both ice masses receded during the Younger Dryas (YD), likely due to rising summer temperatures. Since Greenland ice core records register cold mean annual temperatures throughout the YD, these ice‐marginal data support climate conditions characterized by strong seasonality. The ice sheet outlet glacier and ice cap deposited inner Milne Land Stade moraines at 11.4 ± 0.8 ka and 11.4 ± 0.6 ka, respectively (mean moraine ages and 1 σ uncertainties). Based on the coeval moraine ages, we suggest that both ice masses responded to climate conditions acting on the ice margins, specifically ablation. Moreover, the ice sheet responded sensitively (i.e., on the same time scale as a small ice cap) to climate conditions.