The Younger Dryas was the last period during which glaciers shaped large parts of the Scottish landscape. Reconstructing the palaeoclimate and glacial processes that operated during this time is crucial for the understanding of past atmosphere-cryosphere interactions and predicting future climate change. This thesis presents results from geomorphological and geological mapping in the NW Highlands of Scotland that have resulted in the reconstruction of a Younger Dryas ice cap. Reconstruction of equilibrium-line altitudes and palaeo-precipitation values suggest that the Scottish west coast was wetter than at present. Detailed sedimentological analyses of "hummocky moraines" allow the modes of moraine formation to be reconstructed in great detail and existing models to be tested. "Hummocky moraines" largely represent terrestrial ice-contact fans consisting of supraglacial debris flows and intercalated glaciofluvial units indicating an ice-marginal mode of formation. Different stages of deformation in these fans indicate highly dynamic glaciers that oscillated during retreat, partly or completely overriding previously formed landforms during readvances. Clast shape analyses reveal that debris was mostly subglacially derived and transported. The evidence is incompatible with a morphological model according to which the moraines could be formed by englacial thrusting. Comparison with modem glacial landsystems indicates the following similarities with Scottish Younger Dryas glaciers. Low winter temperatures are similar to those on Svalbard, the marginal response of Younger Dryas glaciers to temperate environments and the modes of deposition to less responsive debris-covered glaciers. High precipitation along the Scottish west coast probably suppressed continuous permafrost development and caused high mass turnover and very dynamic, dominantly temperate Younger Dryas glaciers. Only a narrow zone around the margins appears to have been frozen to the ground, aiding elevation of basal debris and rapid deposition near the snout. The specific climatic and glaciological conditions during the Younger Dryas appear not to have a single modem analogue.

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Riedel G. L. 2017. Areell förändring av tre glaciärer runt Tarfalaområdet. Kulturgeografiska institutionen, Uppsatser, Uppsala universitet. Uppsatsen syftar till att genom geografisk analys av flygfotografier mäta glacial areell förändring av tre glaciärer i området runt Tarfala, Lappland. Mätningarna görs i GIS och jämförs därefter med förändringar i temperatur och nederbörd för undersökningsperioden, 49 år. Av den geografiska analysen och den uppmätta glaciala utbredningen visualiseras den areella förändringen i glaciärerna. Resultatet från den genomförda undersökningen visar på att glaciärerna krymper konsekvent med enstaka tillväxtperioder och att utav dessa två parametrar verkar stigande temperaturer vara en del av glaciärens generella minskning medans perioder med kraftig nederbörd tangerar en påverkan av glaciärernas areella hastighetsförändring. Vidare diskuteras vilka parametrar, utöver temperatur och nederbörd, som kan vara intressanta i analysen av glaciärers areella förändring. Dessa förändringar är exempelvis topografi under glaciären, skugga, glaciärens rörelseriktning.

The objective of this study is to reconstruct the history of glaciation from the start of Fraser (Late Wisconsinan) Glaciation to the end of deglaciation, for three areas in the Cascade Mountains. The Cascade Mountains are located between the Coast Mountains and the Interior Plateau in southwestern British Columbia. The Coast Mountains were glaciated by mountain glaciation followed by frontal retreat, whereas the Interior Plateau underwent ice sheet glaciation followed by downwasting and stagnation. The Cascades were supposed to have undergone a style of glaciation transitional between these two. Terrain mapping on air photographs followed by field checking was used to locate surficial materials and landforms indicative of glaciation style and pattern. All three study areas were glaciated by mixed mountain and ice sheet glaciation. At the start of Fraser Glaciation, alpine and valley glaciers formed around higher summits as occurred in the Coast Mountains. At the glacial maximum the entire area was covered by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. Deglaciation was largely by continuous downvalley retreat of active glaciers, contrasting with downwasting and stagnation in the Interior Plateau, and frontal retreat in the Coast Mountains. The scarcity of fresh moraines in the cirques suggests that, unlike in the Coast Mountains, most cirque glaciers were not active at the end of glaciation. Only the highest north facing cirques remained above the local snowline throughout deglaciation and, as a result, glaciers in these valleys remained active and retreated up valley. The pattern of glaciation in the Cascade Mountains was similar to that of other areas which underwent mixed mountain and ice sheet glaciation, such as the Presidential Range in New Hampshire, the Green Mountains in Vermont, mountain ranges in west central Maine and the Insular Mountains on Vancouver Island. However, deglaciation in al l areas was complex and depended strongly on local conditions. For this reason local patterns cannot be predicted easily on the basis of glaciation style. The value of an understanding of glaciation style to improve the accuracy of terrain mapping was also investigated. It was found that the model developed for the Cascade Mountains was of some use in predicting the presence of fine-textured material in valley bottoms and for the prediction of glaciofluvial material overlying till . However fine-textured sediments were not found in al l valleys which were predicted to contain them. The model appears to be most useful as an indicator of where to concentrate field checking in order to locate fine-textured sediments. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Among the various adverse effects of climate change, sea-level rise is expected to increase the severity and frequency of flooding events impacting the vulnerable, low-lying islands of French Polynesia. It has long been understood that sea-level changes are not spatially uniform, yet this aspect is not taken into account in the decision-making. Notably, no projections of future sea level have been produced specifically for this region so far, partly because the processes driving sea-level changes remain poorly constrained. To approach the issue, we present a detailed reconstruction of sea-level changes for the mid-to-late Holocene, based on the observation of coral proxies. This dataset is then used to calibrate a sea-level model in order to estimate the contribution of glacial isostatic adjustment to regional sea-level changes and to infer past variations in global ice volume. Building upon this baseline and exploiting recent outputs of climate models, we project that in a “worst-case” scenario, sea level would rise 1.05 meters by 2100 in French Polynesia, exceeding the value adopted in the French adaptation strategy by 0.45 meters. We conclude that spatial variability of sea-level rise should be considered in future risk studies for this and other regions.

Orientador: Fábio Pinheiro / Banca: Julio Antonio Lombardi / Banca: Evandro Marsola de Moraes / Resumo: O Quaternário é marcado por grandes pulsações climáticas, com longos intervalos de tempo geológico sob regime glacial intercalados com curtos períodos mais quentes, onde grandes transformações na paleovegetação se deram em consequência dessas oscilações climáticas. Existem fortes evidências de que os padrões de distribuição da diversidade existente na Floresta Atlântica atual podem ser explicados, em grande parte, pelas alterações climáticas ocorridas durante esse período. Ainda assim, existem muitas lacunas e divergências na literatura quanto aos padrões de ocupação que essas vegetações desenvolveram durante essas mudanças ambientais. Através da utilização de uma espécie de cacto epifítico (Lepismium cruciforme) - com ampla distribuição na Floresta Atlântica - como modelo para estudos filogeográficos, realizamos análises intraespecíficas em oito populações ao longo de remanescentes florestais em unidades de conservação e manchas florestais urbanas para responder as seguintes questões: a) Podemos identificar multiplas linhagens de L. cruciforme entre diferentes populações localizadas na Floresta Estacional Semidecidual? b) Caso detectadas, essas diferentes linhagens estariam associadas a algum tipo de isolamento geográfico? c) As populações de L. cruciforme sofreram oscilações demográficas históricas? d) Existe um gradiente longitudinal continente/oceano de diversidade genética? Através do marcador molecular nuclear (ITS), analisamos 71 sequências de 638 locus e identificamos ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Quaternary period is well-known for its great climatic pulsations, that intercalates between long glacial regimes and shorter warmer periods which lead to significant changes in the paleovegetation occurred as a consequence of these climatic oscillations. Strong evidence that the diversity distribution patterns in the current Atlantic Forest can be largely explained by the climatic changes in this period. Nevertheless, there are many gaps and divergences in the literature regarding the occupancy patterns that these vegetations developed during these environmental changes. Using of an epiphytic cactus species (Lepismium cruciforme) - widely distributed in the Atlantic Forest - as a model for phylogeographic studies, performed intraspecific analyzes in eight populations along forest remnants in conservation units and urban forest spots to answer the following questions: a) Can multiple lineages of L. cruciforme among different populations in the seasonal semideciduous forest, be identified? b) If detected, would these different lineages be associated with some sort of geographical isolation? c) Have populations of L. cruciforme suffered from historical demographic fluctuations? Is there a growing genetic diversity in the continental/oceanic longitudinal gradient? d) Through the nuclear molecular marker (ITS), 71 sequences of 638 loci and identified nine different haplotypes. Highly diversified lineages were identified in Pontal do Paranapanema and Campos Gerais regions. In the ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The dramatic landscape of Norway has a long history of different events during the Phanerozoic. During the Caledonian orogeny, the basement became fractured, and during the warm climate in the Mesozoic, the fractures became deeply weathered. These fracture systems later became eroded, forming the main structures for valleys. The landscape today is characterized by an elevated plateau with deeply incised valleys. Several theories discuss when and how the landscape became elevated. The main theory for this suggests uplift events of the plateau during the Tertiary. The uplifts resulted in a later elevated landscape with erosional plateaux in different distinct levels. This often referred to as the Palaeic relief. The uplift events also followed formation of incised fluvial valleys. During the Quaternary, glaciers partly reshaped these valleys. This study aims to investigate the shape of these valleys, and how much they have been reshaped during the glaciations. The study further aims to investigates if the identified shapes within the valleys can be connected to pre-glacial landforms. To investigate this, satellite images and topographic maps have been studied. A digital terrain model (10 m resolution) were used to create topographic cross sections across eight valleys in southern Norway. This study identifies possible pre-glacial forms and fluvial generations within five of the investigated valleys. Three of the valleys show a gradual transition from a broad, glacial, U-shape near the coast to become a narrower, V-shaped, fluvial valley further inland. The analysis also shows that the joints and fractures affect the width of the valleys which has affected the amount of glacial erosion. The results of this study clearly show that old fluvial valley remains is common, even within these major glacial valleys of southern Norway.

Loess is an unique record of the paleoclimate of the Quaternary. Because it is directly deposited from the atmosphere, it can be used as a proxy for wind speed and circulation patterns. It can also be directly dated using luminescence. The site of the loess being investigated for this paper is PrimelTrégastel (Brittany), which lies in north-western France of the shore to the English Channel. The English Channel may be one of the sources for loess of the last glaciation, the Wichselian, and is the reason for choosing Primel-Trégastel to investigate. It is the purpose of this paper to investigate the climate of the time the loess was formed at Primel-Trégastel using grain-size distribution analysis, as well as comparing its properties to other loess sites in north-western Europe. The results show that the loess of Primel-Trégastel is coarse and have a relatively high sand content. That may imply that the loess was deposited during cold and arid conditions by high wind speeds, and at that it may have had a relatively close source. The results also exhibit cycles in the coarseness of the grain-size, indicative of the climate varying between cold and relatively warmer, resulting in relatively higher and lower wind speeds respectively. The loess of Nantois and Pegwell Bay are also relatively coarse, and the loess of Pegwell Bay also have a high sand content. The loess of Nussloch was in comparison more unlike the one of Primel-Trégastel, possibly due to the lack of a local source of sand at Nussloch.

By only considering records of climate and glaciers over the period that humans have been monitoring them, one might think that climate normally changes quite rapidly, and that glaciers have always been small. But in the not-so-distant past, an ice sheet covered the Southern Andes, flowing across the southern tip of the continent, and in some places, even terminating into the Atlantic Ocean. Glaciers rewrite the surfaces they inhabit, leaving behind indicators of their past behavior. By studying the landforms they create, we can reconstruct climates of the past. Here I present unique and novel glacier-climate reconstructions over southern and central Patagonia using a state-of-the-art dating approach tied to high resolution spatial mapping and glaciological modeling. The main goal of this thesis is to constrain the precise timing and character of the past advances of three glaciers in Patagonia. To this end, I present new precise 10Be surface exposure datasets from two paleo outlet glacier lobes (at 45°S and 53°S), totaling 71 new moraine boulder ages. In these two valleys, I am able to reconstruct the last three major glaciations (MIS 6, 4, 2), as well as provide a constraint for the last two terminations (T1, T2). At a third site, I create a novel dataset to reconstruct the behavior of the Calluqueo glacier (48°S) from ~7,000 years ago to the present. All three sites are eastwards of the main Andes mountain range, spanning from southernmost Patagonia (53°S) to central Patagonia (45°S). To achieve my thesis objectives, I employed recent improvements in the 10Be exposure dating method, and tied the geochronological studies to new, high resolution maps of the glacial geomorphology created by the former glaciers and associated processes. We find in central Patagonia, the Ñirehuao glacier lobe was most extensive potentially during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8, but certainly prior to MIS 6, followed by a major advance during MIS 6. This study presents one of the first directly dated records of a MIS 6 glacier expansion in Patagonia at 153±5.1 ka, where the glacier may have been in retreat at 137±4.2 ka. During the last glacial cycle, the glacier was most extensive during the middle of MIS 2, at 23.6±0.9 ka. The southernmost section of the Ice Sheet, at Estrecho de Magallanes, was more extensive during Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4) than during MIS 2, representing the first direct dating of the MIS 4 glacier culmination in South America. Similar to the MIS 2 glacial maximum, within MIS 4 there were multiple advances that we date (6 samples) to between 67.5±2.1 and 62.1±2.0 ka. Inboard of the MIS 4 moraine complex, we date a sequence of geomorphically distinct MIS 2 moraines that represent separate major periods of glacial stability. The MIS 2 maximum extent occurred by 27.4±0.8 ka and was followed by at least four more full glacial culminations over a hundred miles beyond the Andes mountains. About 18 km inboard of the main MIS 2 landforms, the sequence is followed by smaller-scale recessional moraine crests that we date to 18.0±0.8 ka, indicating the glacier was in net retreat at this time. In order to estimate the climate conditions necessary to drive the glacier advances that we date and map, we apply the University of Maine Ice Sheet Model to the Estrecho de Magallanes and Ñirehuao records. Tentative results suggest that the Magallanes lobe may have reached mapped inner and outer MIS 2 moraines with a climate that had approximately 4.5°C and 5.5°C cooler summers, respectively, assuming about 25% less annual precipitation relative to modern conditions. A new record at Calluqueo, in central Patagonia, allows us to reconstruct Holocene (interglacial) glacier changes. Using 33 new 10Be ages with unprecedented precision, geomorphic mapping and historical imagery, we find that the Calluqueo glacier sat at its mid-Holocene maximum extent from ~6,900 until ~6,700 years before the present. Major moraine forming advances subsequently culminated at least seven more times, averaging every 500±31 years, between 5,620±203 and 3,120±106 years ago. A hiatus in moraine formation occurred from 3,120±106 until 1,160±50 years ago (860 CE). Major retreat occurred between 1600-1800 CE, followed by stability from 1800-1940 CE, and pronounced ongoing retreat since after 1940 CE. For the Holocene period, this record represents one of the first precise, directly-dated glacier histories from central Patagonia, and one of the few available for all of Patagonia. The timing of advances of the Calluqueo glacier has little in common with the glacial histories from the Northern Hemisphere, suggesting an inter-hemispheric asynchronicity. All together, we reconstruct the timing of glacial maxima at three sites in terrestrial Patagonia from 53°S to 45°S, with unprecedented precision, from pre-MIS 6 to the present day.

Current dynamic of global climate change is the trigger of new natural processes such as glacial lake outburst floods. One example is lake Imja located in the hinterland of Mt. Everest. Outburst of lake Imja would have undoubtedly negative impact on financial and cultural climate of attached area. This diploma thesis is focusing on the various factors and its imapct on the stability of moraine. The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate possibility of impact of rockfall into the lake, to monitor the development of its expansion in comparison with growing temperatures in last 60 years and also to assess the development of morphology of moraine containing dead ice. The results of the thesis indicate accelerating expansion of the lake at the expense of the Imja and Lhotse Shar glaciers, for which the rising means of temperatures of the months in the warm half of the year are particularly important. The results also show that there is no risk of producing wave after impact of rockfall into the lake, as the lateral moraines are sufficiently high to protect the lake. The crucial factor for the stability of the moraine dam is the melting of dead ice in its core, where new and new thermokarst lakes are forming on the surface of the moraine and a seepage through the moraine in its southwestern part has also...