OPEN Rapid thinning of the late Pleistocene

SUBJECT AREAS:
Patagonian Ice Sheet followed migration
CLIMATE SCIENCES
CLIMATE CHANGE
of the Southern Westerlies
CRYOSPHERIC SCIENCE
J. Boex1, C. Fogwill1,2, S. Harrison1, N. F. Glasser3, A. Hein5, C. Schnabel4 & S. Xu6
CLIMATE AND EARTH SYSTEM
MODELLING
1
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK, 2Climate Change Research Centre, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 3Institute of Geography and Earth Science, Aberystwyth University,
Received Aberystwyth, Wales, SY23 3DB, 4NERC Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility, SUERC, East Kilbride, G75 0QF, UK, 5School of
26 February 2013 GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, ScotlandUK, 6Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC),
Scottish Enterprise Technology. Park, East Kilbride, UK G75 0QF.
Accepted
13 June 2013
Here we present the first reconstruction of vertical ice-sheet profile changes from any of the Southern
Published Hemisphere’s mid-latitude Pleistocene ice sheets. We use cosmogenic radio-nuclide (CRN) exposure
2 July 2013 analysis to record the decay of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet (PIS) from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
and into the late glacial. Our samples, from mountains along an east-west transect to the east of the present
North Patagonian Icefield (NPI), serve as ‘dipsticks’ that allow us to reconstruct past changes in ice-sheet
Correspondence and
thickness, and demonstrates that the former PIS remained extensive and close to its LGM extent in this
region until ,19.0 ka. After this time rapid ice-sheet thinning, initiated at ,18.1 ka, saw ice at or near its
requests for materials present dimension by 15.5 ka. We argue this rapid thinning was triggered by a combination of the rapid
should be addressed to southward migration of the precipitation bearing Southern Hemisphere (SH) westerlies and regional
S.H. (stephan. warming.
[email protected].
uk)

R
econstructing the timing and rate of decay of the Earth’s ice sheets since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
allows us to assess the mechanisms of climate change globally during a major climate transition1,2. This
provides crucial information for testing climate models, and helps us better predict the response of modern
ice sheets to future climate change. Of particular value are reconstructions of the rate and timing of glacier
changes regionally and globally during the last glacial to interglacial transition, as these provide insights into
global climatic hemispheric teleconnections, the mechanisms by which external climate forcing are transmitted
through the Earth’s climate system3.
Establishing if the onset of deglaciation was synchronous globally allows detailed assessment of the relative
roles of atmospheric and oceanic circulations as drivers of climate change. An atmospheric driver is suggested
from high resolution synchrony between the Earth’s climatic systems of the northern and southern hemispheres
and implied from the comparison of glacial and palaeoecological records at many mid latitude sites which closely
follow changes recorded in the Greenland ice core records4,5. Alternatively, an oceanic driver of climate signalling
at this time is suggested from comparison with Antarctic ice core records, and mid to high latitude sites in
Southern Patagonia, suggesting that during the glacial-interglacial transition there may have been asynchronous
behaviour in the climate systems of the two hemispheres6–8.
Resolution of the debate is important because of the light it sheds on the mechanisms of climate change. If
glacier and palaecological changes on millennial and sub-millennial scales are in phase in both hemispheres, then
this points to the dominance of atmospheric circulation mechanisms of climate change. If, on the other hand, the
fluctuations are out of phase, then it suggests the operation of an oceanic bipolar seesaw linked to the thermoha-
line circulation that causes warm conditions in the north to coincide with cold oceanic conditions in the south and
vice versa8. Other, regional factors may also play a role, including the suggestion that regional warming was
caused by CO2 release from the Southern Ocean triggered by insolation-driven Antarctic sea ice retreat9. Testing
these hypotheses will improve our understanding of the sensitivity of these ice sheets to past and future climate
forcing, and is critical to understanding the global drivers of climate change3. In order to do this, however, a more
complete record of the behaviour of mid-latitude Southern Hemisphere ice sheets through time will be needed
than has been achieved so far. In working towards this goal we present here the first three-dimensional recon-
struction of a major outlet of one of the former Southern Hemisphere (SH) mid-latitude ice sheets. Our focus is

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Figure 1 | Location map; Map A, South America and the location of the study area also showing the existing North and South Patagonian Icefields
(dark grey) together with the mapped LGM ice sheet (light grey)11. Map B is adapted from17 and shows the modelled ice thickness based on mapped outer
limits in the Lago Buenos Aires Lobe. The white box shows the location of the study area and transect that forms the focus of this study (see Figure 2).

the Pleistocene PIS during the LGM and understanding its evolution glaciers drained the eastern margins of the former ice sheet11
provides insight into the role of the SH climate system during degla- (Figure 1).
ciation. Whilst the horizontal ice limits are reasonably well established for
The Patagonian Icefields consist of two separate ice masses, the large parts of the LGM PIS, there are no reconstructed ice limits to
NPI and South Patagonian Icefield (SPI). They are the largest tem- constraint its vertical extent or ice surface profile. This has hindered
perate ice masses on Earth and their outlet glaciers are some of the reconstructions of past ice sheet volume and rate of decay and our
most dynamic. The icefields are nourished by precipitation from the ability to test the impact of climate on ice volume through time,
Southern Hemisphere westerlies and their dynamics are controlled critical to understanding ice sheet dynamic processes. To derive
by seasonal variations in the westerlies and associated ocean cur- detailed chronological constraints on late Quaternary ice surface
rents4,10. Geomorphological and chronological evidence shows that elevation changes we targeted mountains thought to have protruded
during the late Quaternary the Patagonian Icefields coalesced to form through the ice sheet above the Pueyrredón Lobe17. Our study site
the PIS over the Southern Andes11 (Figure 1). Over the past eighty forms a west-east transect extending from Cerro Tamango (1722 m;
years researchers have mapped and dated the limits of the ice sheet 47u109 06.87S; 72u349300W) in the west, through Cerro Oportus
providing firm constraints on its lateral extent during multiple glacial (2076 m; 47u079140S; 72u079530W) to Sierra Colorado (1537 m;
phases throughout the Quaternary11–14. This makes it the ideal loca- 47u229050S; 71u379230W) (Figure 2). The mountains separate the
tion to assess the forcing mechanisms of climate driven glacial Lago Pueyrredón basin to the south from the Chacabuco Valley to
change in the Southern Hemisphere. However whilst past work the north. We used geomorphological analysis and CRN exposure
has established the extent and timing of ice sheet advances these analysis on erratic boulders, bedrock and moraine boulders deposited
lateral constraints do not allow us to reconstruct changes in the on the mountain flanks to reconstruct the west-east ice-surface pro-
vertical extent and volume of the ice sheet14–16. This latter informa- files. The northern flanks of Cerro Tamango and Cerro Oportus were
tion is crucial to help us understand the nature of climate forcing and sampled and these locations record upper ice limits in the Chacabuco
ice sheet response, and the contribution of the ice sheet to past sea Valley. In light of recent CRN calibration rate studies in Patagonia we
level rise. apply the production rate for the isotopes 10Be and 26Al derived from
Geomorphological evidence indicates that fast-flowing outlet gla- New Zealand that overlap at 1 sigma with an independently derived
ciers occupied both the Lago Buenos Aires valley and Lago production rate from Lago Argentino, Patagonia16,19. We present the
Pueyrredón basin; two major ice discharge routes of the PIS. In the data across the profile in Figure 2, together with our interpretation of
Lago Pueyrredón basin two moraine systems, the Rı́o Blanco and the former ice sheet surface. The full data set is available in Table S1
Hatcher moraines, have been dated by CRN methods to the LGM in the Supplementary Information.
and MIS 8 (260 ka), respectively13,15. The Rı́o Blanco moraines were
deposited between 29 ka and 21 ka and mark the horizontal LGM Results
extent in this area13,15,16. The age for the Hatcher moraines was deter- The uppermost constraint on ice sheet thickness comes from Sierra
mined from outwash cobbles to 260 ka15. Fast-flowing glaciers Colorado where two distinct lateral moraines mark the former ice
played a key role in effectively drawing down the main central ice- surface (Figure 2). 10Be and 26Al CRN exposure ages of 113 to 177 ka
mass with outlet lobes characterised by low surface gradients and were obtained from 3 erratic boulders on the uppermost moraine at
inferred low basal shear traction associated with basal sliding. High 1368 m altitude. The exposure ages are similar to those obtained
spatial resolution three-dimensional ice sheet models of central from boulders on the Hatcher moraines further east13. Based upon
Patagonia17 at the LGM show a ‘highly dynamic, low angled ice sheet’ the analysis of paired 10Be and 26Al we suggest that the true age of this
which was drained by large ice streams to the east and west and with a moraine is in excess of 177 ka. The result supports previous mapping
mean ice thickness of ,1130 m. The modelled ice sheet was con- and indicates the moraine represents an expansion of the PIS that
sidered ‘thin’ when compared to previous regional-scale modelling took place before the last interglacial15. The valley floor to the south
reconstructions of the PIS at the LGM18. The modelling result17 sits at around 150 m elevation and thus the PIS was around 1,200 m
agrees with geomorphic interpretations showing fast-flowing outlet thick here at this time.

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Figure 2 | Digital elevation model (SRTM) of the Lago Pueyrredón basin showing the study area, transect and reconstructed ice surfaces. The
white lines in the east (upper panel) show previously mapped outer limits, the Hatcher and Rio Blanco moraines15. Pink dots show the location of
cosmogenic exposure age samples, from mountains Cerro Tamango in the west to Cerro Oportus and Sierra Colorado in the east. The white dotted line
shows the location of the transect shown in the cross section. The lower panel shows the transect generated from SRTM data with x15 vertical exaggeration
(see Figure 1 for location). Sampled boulders are shown with exposure ages (circles show 10Be, triangles show both 10Be and 26Al exposure ages).

The age of the lower moraine identified on Sierra Colorado, 100 m the summits of Cerro Oportus we infer that the ice sheet extended
below the uppermost ice- limit gives exposure ages ranging from horizontally over 120 km from the centre of the modern NPI at
24.5–28.9 ka. Based on geomorphological evidence we suggest the around 20.0 6 2.4 ka.
oldest sample reflects the most likely age of this moraine. This agrees Our dating indicates that the summit of Cerro Oportus at 1895 m
with the CRN estimates of 28.7 ka for the outermost of the Rı́o altitude was exposed at around ,19.0 ka, with a stepped lowering of
Blanco moraines, 190 km from the centre of the contemporary the ice surface to 1300 m altitude at ,18.1 ka. After this time we
NPI and 20 km to the east of Sierra Colorado15,16 (Figure 2). These record rapid exposure of the full altitudinal profile of Cerro Tamango
data demonstrate that both the Rı́o Blanco moraine and the lower and Oportus, suggesting rapid thinning after 18 ka, with over
moraine on Sierra Colorado date to the LGM as previously sug- 1000 m of vertical thinning of the former ice sheet within approxi-
gested13,14. Our results indicate that the PIS reached a maximum mately 1000 years. This interpretation of rapid deglaciation is well
elevation of 1100 m at the LGM in the vicinity of Sierra Colorado, constrained by three combined 10Be/26Al analyses, which are intern-
120 km from the centre of the NPI. This estimate agrees well with ally consistent (Figure 2). After this period of rapid ice sheet draw-
high-resolution ice-sheet modelling reconstructions17 and is sup- down, there was a brief and limited readvance, recorded at the Maria
ported by erratic CRN exposure ages of 17.9 6 0.7 ka and 18.9 6 Elena Moraine at around 17 ka, and this demonstrates that ice was
2.6 ka from the summit of Cerro Oportus, and this demonstrates the present in the Chacabuco Valley at this time.
summit remained covered by ice at the LGM. The profile of the ice
sheet at this time can be tied to a lateral constraint, the Columna Discussion
Moraine System13 (Figure 2). Based on an exposure age from an Our constraints on the LGM and lateglacial deglaciation record
erratic on the Columna Moraine system and the exposure ages from shows the PIS response to climate forcing through this important

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Age (ka) production rate16,19. (d) Opal flux from ocean cores TN057-13PC (51uS,
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 4uE) and NBP9802-6 (62uS, 169uW) as a proxy for upwelling in the
Southern Ocean22. Opal flux and February SST are plotted on the published
YD
ACR age model for TN057-13PC32. (e) February SST estimated by applying the
0 a
modern analog technique30,31 to diatom species assemblages extracted from
vol & area (km 3 & km 2 )

TN057-13PC33,34. (f) Ice isotope chronologies for the EPICA Dome C

Modelled icesheet

20,000
(EDC) and EPICA Draunning Maud Land (EDML) core (light and dark
area
blue respectively), and North Greenland Icecore Project (NGRIP) core
60,000 volume (orange)35.

100,000 climate transition, with initial retreat after 29.0 ka and the ice sheet
remaining close to its LGM dimension until ,19 ka (see Figure 3 A–
12 b E). Data from Cerro Oportus and Cerro Tamango indicate stepped
Alkenone
SST (°C)

MD07-3128 SST
8 thinning between 19 ka and 18.1 ka, followed by rapid thinning
throughout the altitudinal profile until a brief still stand or advance
4
at around 16.9 ka. Evidence from a series of former ice-dammed
c Upper palaeolake lakes within this limit (Figure 3D) suggests that ice had withdrawn
Maria Elena Moraine(n=3) rapidly to within 10–15 km of its present extent by 15.6 ka13 There is
no evidence here of a substantial readvance in the Lago Pueyrredón
Cerro Tamango profile
{ basin related to either the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) or The
Younger Dryas (YD). Subsequent expansion of the ice sheet during

{ (n=2)
the late glacial served only to dam westwards drainage to the Pacific,
Cerro Oportus summits leading to the establishment of a series of lakes filling the basins to the
(n=3)
6.0 d Sierra Colorado (n=3) east of the present day NPI11,13.
This direct record of large-scale rapid thinning of the ice sheet
Opal Flux (g cm kyr )
-1

between 19.0 and 15.6 ka clearly highlights the sensitivity of the PIS
-2

4.0 at this latitude to changing climate (Figure 3a, c). Our observations
have two important implications. Firstly, they support high resolu-
tion ice-sheet models17 with respect to the rate of ice sheet decay
2.0 through the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (Figure 3F), and
emphasise the key role fast flowing outlet glaciers played in effec-
tively drawing down the main central ice mass17. Secondly, even with
0.0
the uncertainties in the data the timing of this thinning is coincident
6 e with marked changes in both the SH oceanic and atmospheric sys-
tems. We can suggest several hypotheses that can account for this
Feb. SST (°C)

pattern of ice sheet thinning. In particular thinning coincides with

4 marked warming of SH mid to high latitudes, that has been linked to
changes in ocean thermohaline circulation, specifically warming of
the southern ocean —the bipolar seesaw— thought to be triggered
2 either by spring insolation changes combined with variations in
greenhouse gas fluxes20 or by ocean circulation changes due to
f increased melt water from the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets at
NGRIP 390
ca. 19 ka2,20,23,27. Although SST changes between MIS 4–2 played a
Isotope dD permil

-35
significant role in driving the evolution of the PIS, its behaviour
Isotope d180 permil

400
EDC
lagged SST. The reasons for this are unclear but probably relate to
- 40 410
changes in ice dynamics21. However, concurrent to this regional
420 warming there is also physical evidence22 of a rapid southward lat-
- 45 EDML itudinal shift of the precipitation bearing Southern Hemisphere
430 Westerlies (SHW). This is particularly evident in cores in the SE
440
Pacific at this time23,24 (Figure 3A–D).
-50
Regional evidence for this marked atmospheric shift comes from
0 5 10 15 20 25
marine records south of the Antarctic Polar Front (53.2u–61.9uS) off
30
Age (ka) the southern Chilean margin that record increased opal accumula-
tion and Alkenone-based reconstructions linked to enhanced upwel-
Figure 3 | Deglacial records illustrating the rapid thinning of the ling during the late glacial (Figure 3b and d). It is suggested that this
Patagonian Ice Sheet at 47.16S against warming and rising atmospheric enhanced upwelling was triggered as the core of the SH westerlies
CO2 in Antarctica, upwelling in the Southern Ocean and NGRIP ice core migrated rapidly southwards from their LGM position. Whilst
record22. (a) Time-series of ice sheet volume and area during deglaciation debate remains over the exact timing marine records suggest that
from the optimum LGM extent at 23,500 through to 11,000 years driven by southern migration was initiated at around ,17 ka24, and the SH
ELA re-scaled from the Vostok temperature reconstruction22 Periods of westerlies shifted rapidly south and stabilised at ,15.5 ka, by which
warming in Antarctica are highlighted in red, while the Antarctic Cold time they may well have reached 62uS in the SE Pacific1,25,
Reversal (ACR) is highlighted in blue and the Younger Dryas (YD) is in (Figure 3d)23. A southward shift in the SH westerlies would have
grey. (b) Alkenone-based SST reconstruction from core MD07-3128 warmed the Southern Ocean and Antarctica22 by allowing degassing
(53uS)28. (c) Accepted exposure ages for ice sheet stages, marking the of CO2 to the atmosphere and providing a positive feedback to initial
changing volume and extent of the ice sheet in the Lago Pueyrredón basin warming26,27. This poleward shift would have also significantly
and the Chacabuco Valley calculated with the independently derived NZ reduced precipitation in the vicinity of the current NPI, and we

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propose that this reduction in precipitation in conjunction with 11. Glasser, N. F. et al. The glacial geomorphology and Pleistocene history of
South America between 38 degrees S and 56 degrees S. Quat. Sci. Rev. 27(3–4),
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