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Recently exposed vegetation reveals Holocene changes in the extent of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Aron M. Buffen ,
Lonnie G. Thompson ,
Ellen Mosley-Thompson  and
Kyung In Huh
Aron M. Buffen*
Affiliation:
Byrd Polar Research Center and School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Lonnie G. Thompson*
Affiliation:
Byrd Polar Research Center and School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Ellen Mosley-Thompson
Affiliation:
Byrd Polar Research Center and Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Kyung In Huh
Affiliation:
Byrd Polar Research Center and Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
*
⁎Corresponding authors. Byrd Polar Research Center, Scott Hall Rm. 108, 1090 Carmack Rd., The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1002, USA. Fax: +1 614 292 4697.

E-mail addresses:[email protected] (A.M. Buffen), [email protected] (L.G. Thompson).

⁎Corresponding authors. Byrd Polar Research Center, Scott Hall Rm. 108, 1090 Carmack Rd., The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1002, USA. Fax: +1 614 292 4697.

E-mail addresses:[email protected] (A.M. Buffen), [email protected] (L.G. Thompson).

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Abstract

Radiocarbon dating of well-preserved, in-place vegetation exposed by the retreating Quelccaya Ice Cap of southeastern Peru constrains the last time the ice cap's extent was smaller than at present. Seventeen plant samples from two sites along the central western margin collectively date to 4700 and 5100 cal yr BP and strongly indicate that current ice cap retreat is unprecedented over the past ∼ 5 millennia. Seventeen vegetation samples interbedded in a nearby clastic sedimentary sequence suggest ice-free conditions at this site from ∼ 5200 to at least ∼ 7000 cal yr BP, and place minimum constraint on early- to mid-Holocene ice cap extent.

Keywords

Quelccaya Ice CapTropical glaciersGlacier retreatClimate change14C datingHolocenePeruAndesSouth America
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 72 , Issue 2 , September 2009 , pp. 157 - 163
Copyright
University of Washington

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