Document Type
Honors Thesis
Publication Date
Spring 5-2016
Abstract
Owing to the abundance of heat and moisture, the tropics is a fundamental component of the global climate system. Yet the role of the tropics in climate remains poorly understood. The Andes are home to ~95% of all tropical glaciers, making this the ideal region for studying relationships between tropical glaciers and climate. I conducted a Beryllium-10 surface exposure dating experiment using ten quartz-bearing rock samples from a series of last glacial maximum (LGM) moraines in the Minas Tira glaciofluvial valley system, Cordillera Carabaya, Peru. The AMS measured sample dates (excluding outliers) range from 24.3 ± 0.5 ka to 19.4 ± 0.5 ka, and give an average of 22.3 ± 1.5 ka. On a first order basis, this average fits within the global LGM timescale of 23–19 ka, supporting the view of contemporaneous glaciation between the hemispheres and a globally uniform ice age. My data also align broadly with the global CO2 record, supporting – though not confirming – the hypothesis that atmospheric CO2 levels are closely linked to temperature changes during deglaciation.
Recommended Citation
Mason, Zachary E., "Increasing the Resolution of the Last Glacial Maximum Record in the Tropical Andes Using 10Be Cosmogenic Surface-Exposure Dating in the Cordillera Carabaya, Peru" (2016). Honors College. 398.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/398