ABSTRACT Extensive glaciers covered the High Atlas mountains in Morocco during the late Pleistocene. On the northern escarpments of the Marrakech High Atlas, a series of cirques perched at ~3000–3500 m above sea level (asl) fed their valley glaciers that, in some cases, extended to as low as 2000 m asl. Cosmogenic exposure dating with 10 Be and 36 Cl has shown that at least three phases of glaciation are preserved in glacial deposits over the last glacial cycle at 50, 22, and 12 ka, which appear to correlate with marine isotope stage (MIS) 3, the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and the Younger Dryas chronozone. This geochronological framework is sufficiently robust to allow for time-constrained glacier-climate reconstructions. The glaciers associated with these three phases of advance had equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of 2761 m asl (ca. 50 ka), 2919 m asl (ca. 22 ka), and 3213 m asl (ca. 12 ka). Glacier-climate modeling suggests that all of these phases were driven by both colder temperatures and wetter conditions than today. The dominant moisture supply to these glaciers in all phases would have been sourced from Atlantic depressions. The influence of an extended and enhanced West African monsoon on glacier development during African Humid Periods is unlikely to have been a significant influence on glacier dynamics. The climate conditions associated with the three glacier phases indicate sustained moisture supply to the highest mountain areas when records from other areas, such as the Middle Atlas lakes and marine sediment cores offshore, indicate marked aridity.

Abstract The Mediterranean mountains were repeatedly glaciated during the Pleistocene. Glaciers were present in most of the major mountains areas from Morocco in the west to the Black Sea coast of Turkey in the east. Some mountains supported extensive ice caps and ice fields with valley glaciers tens of kilometres long. Other massifs sustained only small-scale ice masses, although this was the exception rather than the norm. Glaciers still exist today and there is evidence that small glaciers were a common sight in many regions during the Little Ice Age. The Mediterranean mountains are important for palaeoclimate research because of their position in the mid-latitudes and sensitivity to changes in the climate regimes of adjacent areas including the North Atlantic. These mountains are also important areas of biodiversity and long-term biological change through the Quaternary ice age. All of this provided challenges and opportunities for Palaeolithic societies. This paper reviews the history of the study of glaciation in the Mediterranean mountains from pioneer nineteenth century observations through to the detailed geomorphological mapping and advanced geochronological datasets of recent times. We also review the current state of knowledge to frame the contributions presented in this volume. Lastly, this new synthesis then identifies outstanding research problems and assesses the prospects for new studies of glaciation in the Mediterranean mountains.

Abstract Large ice fields (>25 km 2 ) formed over the Tazaghart and Iouzagner plateaus of the High Atlas, Morocco during the Late Pleistocene. The plateau ice fields were drained by large valley glaciers forming a series of moraine assemblages. Four moraine units have been mapped and subdivided on the basis of their morphostratigraphy and the degree of soil weathering. Soil profile development index values indicate that the moraine units are widely separated in time; the oldest moraines are deeply weathered and degraded, whereas soils are absent on the youngest moraines. The highest moraine unit was formed by a small niche glacier that was present as recently as the mid-twentieth century. The Pleistocene glaciers are likely to have been associated with wetter conditions than today and colder air temperatures. Combined with ice in neighbouring areas, such as the Toubkal massif, the SW High Atlas supported some of the largest glaciers in Africa during the Pleistocene. The extent of glaciation, with ice exploiting and breaching drainage divides, has major implications for landscape development. The evolution of the High Atlas has been strongly shaped by glaciation that was closely intertwined with tectonic, fluvial and slope processes.

Abstract Recent dating and morphostratigraphical studies on glaciations in the Cantabrian Mountains permit a first reconstruction of the glacial evolution of the area. Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, between the Atlantic coast and the inner Mediterranean upland of the Duero basin, the mountains were occupied by ice fields as well as alpine and cirque glaciers during the Pleistocene. Five glacial phases can be distinguished, four belonging to the last Pleistocene glacial cycle and one historical in the Little Ice Age (LIA). Pre-maximum phases (predating the Late Pleistocene glacier maximum), identified at only three places, need more data before they can be more fully understood. The maximum glacial advance (RGM or SI) of the Pleistocene glaciers occurred at around 48–35 ka, before the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A period of later glacial equilibrium (SII), which was a colder but drier phase, occurred just after the LGM (deglaciation ages ranging from 25 to 18 cal ka BP). The different glacial behaviour of the Cantabrian Mountains can be explained by orographic barrier effects: a more southerly circulation of atmospheric currents with more frequent southwesterly flows feeding snowfall towards the southern massifs. An ‘altitude stage’ (SIII) represented by small glaciers located in the cirques – and mainly those orientated to the north – exists in many massifs. Finally, LIA glaciers were only present in the Picos de Europa.

Abstract In this review, recently published results of cosmogenic dating of moraine boulders, rock glaciers and glacially-polished surfaces in various mountain massifs (the Sierra Nevada, the Central Range, the Pyrenees and the Northwestern Mountains) of the Iberian Peninsula were analysed to assess the importance of the glacial advance and subsequent retreat that occurred during the Oldest Dryas, between 17.5 and 14.5 ka. The glaciers, which had almost disappeared at the beginning of this period (approximately 17.5 ka), returned to fill the valley floors at approximately 16.8–16.5 ka, depositing moraines close to the moraines generated during the Last Glacial Maximum advance. Following this intense and short advance, the glaciers began to retreat, although this was frequently interrupted by glacial readvance episodes, with the last occurring at approximately 15.5 ka. Subsequently, the retreat was generalized, so that 1 ka later the glaciers were restricted to the cirque areas, and never again advanced. During this recession, the activity of many of the deglaciated cirque walls triggered frequent rockfalls, transforming the retreating degraded glaciers into rock glaciers; their fronts had become inactive by approximately 14 ka, although in many cases their roots conserved the internal ice until well into the Holocene. The glacial fluctuations, and the landforms and deposits consequently derived from them, are very similar to those described for other Mediterranean and European mountain ranges, especially the Alps. We conclude that the climate changes associated with the Oldest Dryas, had important impacts on mountain landscapes throughout the continent.

Abstract The ice-marginal depositional sequence of La Massana provides a chronostratigraphic benchmark for reconstructing the Würmian glacial evolution of the Valira catchment in Andorra, SE Pyrenees. The sedimentary record of Andorra confirms the asynchronous chronology of glacier fluctuations in different parts of the Pyrenean mountain range. A major ice recession occurred at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4. High magnitude valley-glacier fluctuations during MIS 3 constitute another important finding. Major readvances occurred toward the end of MIS 3, whereas MIS 2 (in particular, the global Last Glacial Maximum, or LGM) featured sharp contrasts in ice recession rates between Pyrenean valleys. Substantial distances separated MIS 4 glacier fronts (the Würmian maximum ice extent, or MIE) from those reached during the global LGM, in contrast to situations in the eastern Pyrenees, where Würmian MIE and global LGM ice fronts nearly coincided. Overall, the Valira glaciers reveal patterns that are more similar to those recorded elsewhere in the western and central Pyrenees than in the eastern Pyrenees. The rapid fluctuations recorded by Andorran glaciers during the second half of the Würm also suggest a response to global forcing events such as Heinrich events in the North Atlantic.

Abstract A complete sequence of glacial deposits and moraines within the same valley system in the Maritime Alps, spanning from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Little Ice Age is presented. The sequence is geomorphologically and morphostratigraphically coherent and most stadials have been chronologically constrained by their cosmogenic exposure ages, lichenometry and by correlation with radiocarbon-dated moraines in neighbouring valleys. The shape, extent and thickness of the palaeoglaciers at each stadial have also been reconstructed and their equilibrium line altitude calculated. The LGM moraine of the Gesso Basin bears a similar equilibrium line altitude and age to that of other LGM moraines across the Alps. The recognized Late-glacial stadials show strong similarities with the corresponding stadials of the central–eastern Alpine valleys, such as Gschnitz, Bühl, Daun and Egesen. The recalculation of the exposure ages of moraine boulders with a new production rate better defines the LGM (24.0 ka) and the Egesen Stadial (13.0 ka), while the Bühl Stadial (18.5 ka) is dated for the first time in the Alps. Three early Holocene glacial advances are defined and correlated to the Kartell, Kromer and Göschenen I stadials, widely recognized in other Alpine sectors. Lichenometric dates indicate a three-fold oscillation during the Little Ice Age (thirteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth centuries).

Abstract A review of the existing data for the Middle Pleistocene glacial remnants in the Apennines and new stratigraphic and tephrochronological data has enabled us to recognize at least five glacial stages during Marine Isotope Stages 14, 12, 10, 8 and 6. In particular, the identification of deposits attributable to Marine Isotope Stage 12 has filled a gap that was hitherto difficult to justify because, in the Mediterranean area, this glacial period is characterized by significant climatic changes that are connected with major environmental changes and glacial stages in the neighbouring Balkans and in Greece. The association between the Middle Pleistocene moraines and closed karst-tectonic basins, which are related to faults active in post-glacial times, suggests that tectonics has played a leading role in accommodating sediment deposition and thus in preserving the sedimentary record of these glaciations. Tectonic activity has, in some places, significantly influenced the altitude of the glacial cirques and the terminal moraines so that assessment of the equilibrium-line altitude based on these data is unreliable.

Abstract Geomorphological research on glacial features in Slovenia has a long tradition; the first studies were published in the late nineteenth century by Brückner. Evidence of glacial erosion and deposition is preserved in the Slovenian Alps and on the highest plateaus of the Dinaric Mountains, including traces of ice fields and ice caps with outlet glaciers on the edges and some valley glaciers. The prevailing bedrock in all the glaciated areas is limestone, forming complex glacio-karst morphological systems. Modern glacial reconstruction techniques have been applied in the last few years, focusing on the interpretation of palaeoglacial topography and local equilibrium-line altitudes. Both past and present studies, however, lack precise chronological frameworks for the glacial advances, which should be the main goal of future research on glaciation in Slovenia.

Abstract A coarse-grained alluvial fan at Lipci in the Bay of Kotor, western Montenegro, was deposited in the Middle Pleistocene by a high-energy, steep gradient proglacial stream draining an outlet glacier on the Orjen massif. The fan apex is currently about 50 m above sea-level, but the majority ( c. 60%) of this landform now lies offshore. Field mapping, sedimentological analysis and uranium-series dating were combined with a marine bathymetric survey and seismic profiling to explore the morphology and history of the entire fan complex. The Lipci fan was deposited on the margin of a large polje downstream of moraines that formed during the Middle Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stage 12). The sea-level may have been more than 120 m lower than present during the glacial stages of the Middle Pleistocene. The sediments on the terrestrial portion of the fan are strongly cemented by secondary calcite and the oldest uranium-series ages show that the fan was deposited before 320 ka. These ages are consistent with a larger uranium-series dataset ( n =39) from other glacial and glacio-fluvial formations surrounding Mount Orjen. Seismic profiling of the submerged portion of the fan in the Bay of Kotor shows well-preserved palaeochannels with inset terraces. The Lipci fan is unusual because even its distal segments are well preserved after exposure to multiple post-Marine Isotope Stage 12 regression–transgression cycles. This is probably due to the strong cementation of the fan sediments and its sheltered location in the Bay of Kotor.

Abstract Mt Chelmos in the Peloponnesus was glaciated by a plateau ice field during the most extensive Pleistocene glaciation. Valley glaciers radiated out from an ice field over the central plateau of the massif. The largest glaciations are likely to be Middle Pleistocene in age. Smaller valley and cirque glaciers formed later and boulders on the moraines of these glacial phases have been dated using 36 Cl terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating. These ages indicate a Late Pleistocene age with glacier advance/stabilization at 40–30 ka, glacier retreat at 23–21 ka and advance/stabilization at 13–10 ka. This indicates that the glacial maximum of the last cold stage occurred during Marine Isotope Stage 3, several thousand years before the global Last Glacial Maximum (Marine Isotope Stage 2). The last phase of moraine-building occurred at the end of the Pleistocene, possibly during the Younger Dryas.

Abstract Glaciers were common features in the highlands of Greece during the Middle to Late Pleistocene glacial periods and cirques are characteristic landforms of mountain glaciation. This study examined the cirques of Greece and the role of tectonic uplift in determining their altitude across the country, from Mount Olympus to the Peloponnesus and Crete. An inventory of 227 Middle to Late Pleistocene age limestone cirques was compiled. The number and total area of the cirques decreased from northern mainland Greece (Macedonia, Epirus) to the south (the Peloponnesus, Crete) and on moving to higher elevations. Continued tectonic uplift of the Olympus massif, the Peloponnesus and Crete has led to altitudinal changes in cirques in every subsequent ice age. The formation of cirques at lower elevations during Marine Isotope Stage 12 suggests extreme climatic conditions. On Mount Olympus, the mean elevation of cirques was estimated to have increased by c. 450 m since Marine Isotope Stage 12; in the northern and southern Peloponnesus the elevation increased by c. 500 m and 190 m, respectively, and in Crete by c. 400 m. The cirques have uplifted at approximately the same rate in northern Greece, but at different rates in southern Greece during this period.

Abstract Uludağ is a prominent mountain in northwestern Turkey where glacial deposits have been documented in the Kovuk Valley and the glacial history has been reconstructed based on 31 cosmogenic 10 Be exposure ages from glacially transported boulders and bedrock. The results suggest that the Kovuk Glacier began advancing before 26.5±1.6 ka. It reached its maximum extent at 20.3±1.3 ka, followed by a re-advance at 19.3±1.2 ka, both during the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) within Marine Isotope Stage 2. The timing of the LGM glaciations in the Kovuk Valley is consistent with the investigated LGM glaciations in other mountains of Anatolia, the Mediterranean and the Alps. Based on the geomorphological ice margin reconstruction and using the accumulation/ablation area ratio (AAR) approach, the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the Kovuk LGM glacier was c. 2000 m above sea level for an estimated AAR of 0.67. This indicates a c. 1000 m lowering of the ELA for the LGM compared with the modern ELA estimate. These lines of evidence are consistent with the LGM glaciers that have been documented elsewhere in the Anatolian Mountains. Supplementary material: An input file for exposure age calculation in the CRONUS-Earth online calculator and an KML file for sample locations are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18878

Abstract We present the first quantitative late Quaternary cosmogenic 36 Cl glacial geochronology from the Bolkar Mountains of south central Turkey. Thirty samples were collected from three glaciated valleys. The geomorphological investigations indicate that the palaeoglaciers deposited their moraines between 3200 and 2200 m above sea level on the north- and south-facing valleys. We recognize four glacial periods, with the oldest one dating back to about 46.0±7.0 ka in the northern Karagöl Valley. Later, glaciers reached their maximum positions (∼5.5 km from cirque to snout) by 18.9±3.3 ka (during the local Last Glacial Maximum; LGM) in the Karagöl Valley. Late-glacial moraines were dated to between 15.2±1.6 and 12.6±2.3 ka in both northern Alagöl and southern Elmalı Valleys, respectively. The final deglaciation in the mountain commenced in the early Holocene (9.0±0.9 ka in the Karagöl Valley; 8.5±1.8 ka in the Elmalı Valley). A contemporaneous outwash plain dates to 8.4±1.0 ka at the outlet of the Alagöl Valley. Our results agree well with the glacial chronologies obtained from other Turkish and Mediterranean mountains. Supplementary material: Google Earth sample locations of this article are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18877

Abstract Fourteen mountains in the eastern Mediterranean, between southern Turkey and Lebanon, are high enough to support Quaternary valley glaciers or ice caps. The timing of the glaciations has been established mainly by cosmogenic dating. We re-evaluated the dated sites and recalculated some of the published cosmogenic ages using up-to-date production rates. The oldest geochronological records reported from the region belong to glaciations before the globally defined Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). These glaciers probably developed during the beginning of the last glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4; around 71 ka) and stopped advancing at the end of MIS 3 (at 29–35 ka). Later, glaciers expanded and reached their most extensive positions during MIS 2 (after 29 ka). This locally occurred between 21.5 and 18.5 ka, which was synchronous with the global LGM. After the LGM, glaciers started to retreat to less extensive positions and deposited their moraines ∼16 ka during the late-glacial. Younger Dryas (∼12 ka) advances have also been reported from a few mountains. Rare early Holocene glaciations were dated to 8.5 ka in the interior regions. Late Holocene (1–4 ka) and Little Ice Age advances have also been observed on mountains higher than 3500 m.