Persistence of full glacial conditions in the central Pacific until 15,000 years ago

Author:

Blard, P. H., Lave, J., Pik, R., Wagnon, P., Bourles, D.

Title:

Persistence of full glacial conditions in the central Pacific until 15,000 years ago

Periodical:

Nature

Year:

2007

Volume:

449

Pages:

591-594

Subject:

Paleoclimatology Mauna Kea Glaciers

Summary:

Partly due to the lack of suitable climate records, the magnitude of atmospheric cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum, (LGM), and the timing of the transition into the current interglacial period remain poorly constrained in tropical regions. While glacial moraines provide a method of reconstructing past temperatures, they are relatively rare in the tropics. Therefore, a reconstruction of atmospheric temperatures in the central Pacific during the last deglaciation is presented here. This is based on the cosmogenic He ages of moraines and numerical modeling of the ice cap that is located on Mauna Kea volcano on the island of Hawaii as this is the only highland in the central Pacific on which moraines that formed during the last glacial period are preserved.

Label:

Geology - Glaciation

URL:

http://cletus.uhh.hawaii.edu:2074/10.1038/nature06142

Date:

4 October 2007

Collection:

Periodicals