1. Temperatures since the last glacial maximum in the Maritime Alps recorded by cosmogenic noble gases
- Author
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Tremblay, Marissa, Shuster, David, Spagnolo, Matteo, Renssen, Hans, and Ribolini, Adriano
- Subjects
Geochemistry ,Glaciology ,Physical Sciences and Mathematics ,Earth Sciences ,Geomorphology ,FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences ,Other Earth Sciences - Abstract
While proxy records have been used to reconstruct late Quaternary climate parameters throughout the European Alps, our knowledge of deglacial climate conditions in the Maritime Alps is limited. Here, we utilize a new and independent geochemical technique–cosmogenic noble gas paleothermometry–to investigate temperatures in the Maritime Alps since the last glacial maximum (LGM). We measured cosmogenic 3He in quartz from boulders in nested moraines in the Gesso Valley, Italy. Paired with cosmogenic 10Be measurements and 3He diffusion experiments on quartz from the same boulders, the cosmogenic 3He abundances record the temperatures these boulders experienced during their exposure. We calculate effective diffusion temperatures (EDTs) over the last ~22 ka ranging from 8 to 25ºC. These EDTs, which are functionally related to, but greater than, mean ambient temperatures, are consistent with temperatures inferred from other proxies in nearby Alpine regions and those predicted by a transient general circulation model. In detail, however, we also find different EDTs for boulders from the same moraines, thus limiting the resolution of the temperature reconstruction. We explore possible causes for these intra-moraine discrepancies including variations in radiative heating, our treatment of complex helium diffusion, uncertainties in our grain size analyses, and unaccounted for erosion or cosmogenic inheritance.
- Published
- 2017
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