Quaternary glaciation of Muztag Ata and Kongur Shan: Evidence for glacier response to rapid climate changes throughout the Late Glacial and Holocene in westernmost Tibet

Abstract

Research Article| March 01, 2009 Quaternary glaciation of Muztag Ata and Kongur Shan: Evidence for glacier response to rapid climate changes throughout the Late Glacial and Holocene in westernmost Tibet Yeong Bae Seong; Yeong Bae Seong † 1Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA †Corresponding author: [e-mail] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Lewis A. Owen; Lewis A. Owen 1Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Chaolu Yi; Chaolu Yi 2Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Robert C. Finkel Robert C. Finkel 3Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yeong Bae Seong † 1Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA Lewis A. Owen 1Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA Chaolu Yi 2Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China Robert C. Finkel 3Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, USA †Corresponding author: [e-mail] Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 09 Oct 2007 Revision Received: 02 Jul 2008 Accepted: 24 Jul 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2009 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2009) 121 (3-4): 348–365. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26339.1 Article history Received: 09 Oct 2007 Revision Received: 02 Jul 2008 Accepted: 24 Jul 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Yeong Bae Seong, Lewis A. Owen, Chaolu Yi, Robert C. Finkel; Quaternary glaciation of Muztag Ata and Kongur Shan: Evidence for glacier response to rapid climate changes throughout the Late Glacial and Holocene in westernmost Tibet. GSA Bulletin 2009;; 121 (3-4): 348–365. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B26339.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The glacial geology of two massifs, Muztag Ata and Kongur Shan, in western Tibet was examined to help define the timing and style of glaciation in the semiarid regions of western Tibet. Remote sensing, geomorphic mapping, and 10Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) surface-exposure dating of boulders on the moraines and sediment in depth profiles show that glaciers advanced at least 12 times during at least the last two glacial cycles. Over this time, the style of glaciation changed progressively from one that produced ice caps to one that produced less extensive and more deeply entrenched valley glaciers. The timing of the two earliest glaciations is poorly defined, but they likely occurred prior to the penultimate glacial cycle (the Karasu glacial stage) and the early part of the last glacial cycle or during the penultimate glacial cycle (the Subaxh glacial stage). In contrast, the timing of later glacial advances (the Olimde glacial stage) is relatively well defined showing quasiperiodical oscillations on millennial time scales (17.1 ± 0.3 ka, 13.7 ± 0.5 ka, 11.2 ± 0.1 ka, 10.2 ± 0.3 ka, 8.4 ± 0.4 ka, 6.7 ± 0.2 ka, 4.2 ± 0.3 ka, 3.3 ± 0.6 ka, 1.4 ± 0.1 ka, and a few hundred years before the present). These data suggest that since the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the glaciers in western Tibet likely responded to Northern Hemisphere climate oscillations (rapid climate changes), with minor influences from the south Asian monsoon. This study provides the first well-defined glacial geologic evidence to suggest that glaciers in western Tibet respond to rapid climate changes on millennial time scales throughout the Late Glacial and Holocene. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.