Century to millennial-scale temperature variations for the last two thousand years indicated from glacial geologic records of Southern Alaska

Comparisons of temperature sensitive climate proxy records with tree-ring, lichen and radiocarbon dated histories from land-terminating, non-surging glaciers for the last two millennia from southern Alaska identify summer temperature as a primary driver of glacial expansions. Two major intervals in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global and planetary change 2008, Vol.60 (1), p.115-125
Main Authors: Wiles, Gregory C., Barclay, David J., Calkin, Parker E., Lowell, Thomas V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
climate change
glaciers
North Pacific
tree-rings
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Summary:Comparisons of temperature sensitive climate proxy records with tree-ring, lichen and radiocarbon dated histories from land-terminating, non-surging glaciers for the last two millennia from southern Alaska identify summer temperature as a primary driver of glacial expansions. Two major intervals in the Alaskan chronology of glaciation, during the First Millennium AD (FMA) and again during the Little Ice Age (LIA), are evident as broad times of cooling and ice expansion. These two intervals are respectively followed by ice retreat coincident with the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and contemporary warming, and together correspond with millennial-scale variations recognized in the North Atlantic. The FMA advance appears to be of similar extent as the subsequent LIA expansions indicating a uniformity of forcing over the past two millennia.
ISSN:0921-8181
1872-6364
DOI:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.07.036