The Rhone Glacier was smaller than today for most of the Holocene

Brent M. Goehring; Joerg M. Schaefer; Christian Schluechter; Nathaniel A. Lifton; Robert C. Finkel; A.J. Timothy Jull; Naki Akçar; Richard B. Alley

doi:10.1130/G32145.1

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Research Article| July 01, 2011

The Rhone Glacier was smaller than today for most of the Holocene

Brent M. Goehring;

Brent M. Goehring

1

Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-1000, USA

5

Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

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Joerg M. Schaefer;

Joerg M. Schaefer

1

Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-1000, USA

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Christian Schluechter;

Christian Schluechter

2

Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

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Nathaniel A. Lifton;

Nathaniel A. Lifton *

3

Department of Geosciences and Arizona AMS Facility, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

^*

Current address: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Physics Departments, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.

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Robert C. Finkel;

Robert C. Finkel

4

Earth and Planetary Science Department, University of California−Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

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A.J. Timothy Jull;

A.J. Timothy Jull

3

Department of Geosciences and Arizona AMS Facility, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

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Naki Akçar;

Naki Akçar

2

Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

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Richard B. Alley

5

Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

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Author and Article Information

Brent M. Goehring

1

Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-1000, USA

5

Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

Joerg M. Schaefer

1

Department of Earth and Environmental Science and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-1000, USA

Christian Schluechter

2

Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Nathaniel A. Lifton *

3

Department of Geosciences and Arizona AMS Facility, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

Robert C. Finkel

4

Earth and Planetary Science Department, University of California−Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

A.J. Timothy Jull

3

Department of Geosciences and Arizona AMS Facility, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

Naki Akçar

2

Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Richard B. Alley

5

Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA

^*

Current address: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Physics Departments, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.

Publisher: Geological Society of America

Received: 08 Feb 2011

Revision Received: 21 Feb 2011

Accepted: 25 Feb 2011

First Online: 09 Mar 2017

Online ISSN: 1943-2682

Print ISSN: 0091-7613

Geology (2011) 39 (7): 679–682.

https://doi.org/10.1130/G32145.1

Abstract

We present the development and application of the novel in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C/¹⁰Be chronometer to recently exposed proglacial bedrock of the Rhone Glacier, Switzerland. Results show that during the Holocene, the glacier was smaller than today for 6500 ± 2000 yr and larger than today for 4500 ± 2000 yr. This pattern is consistent with limited data from other techniques for glaciers in the Alps and Scandinavia, but in contrast to glaciers from the Southern Alps of New Zealand, emphasizing the high sensitivity of large mountain glaciers to small climate changes. The ¹⁴C/¹⁰Be chronometer also shows that abrasion rates beneath the Rhone Glacier increased with ice speed.