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Historical to Post Glacial glaciation and their differentiation from the Late Glacial period on examples of the Tian Shan and the N.W. Karakorum

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Abstract

The historical to post-glacial glacier positions have beenreconstructed from the recent glaciation history of selectedexamples. The chronological sequence of the ice margin positionscan be deduced from the increasing ages of the structures, whichare proportional to the distance from the recent terminus of theglacial tongue, or to the difference between the elevation of theice surface and that of the crest of the lateral moraine. Achronological classification of the glacial events in `phases'can be defined by calculating the snow-line depression aftertaking the relief factor into account. On a small scale, theyoungest glacial positions may vary depending on the localrelief. In both areas under investigation, the post-glacial iceextents are similar in so far as they are not more than 6 km fromthe Recent ice margin, and the historical and Neoglacial phasesare spatially close to one another. A decrease in the elevationof the glacial surface is a more important factor, compared tothe oscillations of the glacial tongue, influencing thedevelopment of the multiphase, lateral moraines that characterisethe Holocene glacial fluctuations.

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  1. Department of Geography, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr.5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    S. Meiners

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Meiners, S. Historical to Post Glacial glaciation and their differentiation from the Late Glacial period on examples of the Tian Shan and the N.W. Karakorum. GeoJournal 42, 259–302 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006817422505

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