Constraining the timing and extent of Quaternary glaciations on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) will aid the reconstruction of the region’s paleoclimatic environment over a contained period and allow the relationships between climate, structure and glacial systems to be more accurately delineated. We investigated the Late Quaternary glacial history of two valleys in the Taniantaweng Mountains, on the southeastern TP, using the cosmogenic 10 Be surface exposure dating method. Four major glacial events were identified, based on 26 10 Be ages. The exposure ages of the oldest Late Quaternary glaciation were found to be as old as 117.38 ± 0.76 ka, corresponding to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 6/5. The maximum glacial extent was dated to 55.99 ± 1.14 ka (MIS 3), during the Last Glacial Period (LGP), and was calculated to have been much greater in extent than that of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 30.19 ± 0.63 ka~21.81 ± 0.40 ka). Both geochronological and geomorphological evidence indicate that multiple glacial fluctuations occurred in the study area during the Early-Middle Holocene (9.81±0.22 ka to 8.73±0.37 ka) as well as the Late Holocene. Changes in precipitation ( P ) caused by the advance and retreat of the southwesterly monsoon induced by changes in solar radiation intensity over different periods may be the key factor affecting glacial fluctuations in the study area since the Late Quaternary. These research results effectively supplement the chronological database of Late Quaternary glaciations on the southeastern TP.
1 January 2017 in Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs