Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau
Abstract Determining what was responsible for the last glacial millennial-scale glacier fluctuations can help to pinpoint the causes of abrupt climate events during that period. Yet, the question remains poorly constrained in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), where glaciers react to the global climate syste...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
|
| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01096-8 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850102397539450880 |
|---|---|
| author | Guocheng Dong Weijian Zhou Yunchong Fu Feng Xian Li Zhang |
| author_facet | Guocheng Dong Weijian Zhou Yunchong Fu Feng Xian Li Zhang |
| author_sort | Guocheng Dong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Determining what was responsible for the last glacial millennial-scale glacier fluctuations can help to pinpoint the causes of abrupt climate events during that period. Yet, the question remains poorly constrained in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), where glaciers react to the global climate system via the northern mid-latitude westerlies and Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM). Here, we examine this issue through 10Be exposure dating of moraines in the western Nyainqentanglha Mountains, southern TP. We find that glaciers reached their maximum extent during the last glaciation before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and that the LGM termination pre-dated a rapid CO2 rise at ~18 ka. Changes in summer air temperature, which is tied to the northern tropical Indian Ocean sea surface temperature by the northern mid-latitude westerlies, likely accounted for the pattern of glacial fluctuations, along with the ASM weakening. The rising summer solar insolation from 23 ka also made a positive contribution towards terminating the LGM. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-25e4ade988cc413fbfa31ecc68c85a27 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2397-3722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-25e4ade988cc413fbfa31ecc68c85a272025-08-20T02:39:45ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate and Atmospheric Science2397-37222025-06-01811910.1038/s41612-025-01096-8Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan PlateauGuocheng Dong0Weijian Zhou1Yunchong Fu2Feng Xian3Li Zhang4State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Determining what was responsible for the last glacial millennial-scale glacier fluctuations can help to pinpoint the causes of abrupt climate events during that period. Yet, the question remains poorly constrained in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), where glaciers react to the global climate system via the northern mid-latitude westerlies and Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM). Here, we examine this issue through 10Be exposure dating of moraines in the western Nyainqentanglha Mountains, southern TP. We find that glaciers reached their maximum extent during the last glaciation before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and that the LGM termination pre-dated a rapid CO2 rise at ~18 ka. Changes in summer air temperature, which is tied to the northern tropical Indian Ocean sea surface temperature by the northern mid-latitude westerlies, likely accounted for the pattern of glacial fluctuations, along with the ASM weakening. The rising summer solar insolation from 23 ka also made a positive contribution towards terminating the LGM.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01096-8 |
| spellingShingle | Guocheng Dong Weijian Zhou Yunchong Fu Feng Xian Li Zhang Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| title | Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full | Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_short | Persistent millennial-scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern Tibetan Plateau |
| title_sort | persistent millennial scale glacier fluctuations during the last glacial cycle in the southern tibetan plateau |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01096-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT guochengdong persistentmillennialscaleglacierfluctuationsduringthelastglacialcycleinthesoutherntibetanplateau AT weijianzhou persistentmillennialscaleglacierfluctuationsduringthelastglacialcycleinthesoutherntibetanplateau AT yunchongfu persistentmillennialscaleglacierfluctuationsduringthelastglacialcycleinthesoutherntibetanplateau AT fengxian persistentmillennialscaleglacierfluctuationsduringthelastglacialcycleinthesoutherntibetanplateau AT lizhang persistentmillennialscaleglacierfluctuationsduringthelastglacialcycleinthesoutherntibetanplateau |