Cosmogenic Chronology of the Holocene Deglaciation of Iceland

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will help develop an accurate chronology of Icelandic glacier fluctuations in order to understand the nature and timing of climate variability in the North Atlantic region since the Last Glacial Maximum. The investigators will apply cosmogenic 3Helium and 36Clorine surface exposure dating to well-reserved glacial features in Iceland. This effort represents a significant effort to apply surface exposure dating to glacial deposits and landforms in Iceland. The primary goal of the research effort is to establish a well-dated record of ice cap fluctuations during the early to-mid-Holocene. Prior research by the investigators and others has shown that cosmogenic surface exposure dating can achieve 500 to 1,000 year resolution, which is sufficient to allow the use of glacial geologic records as indicators of climate forcing at millennial time scales. Preliminary field and laboratory studies suggest that dating efforts in Iceland will yield results of similar resolution and have the potential to establish a terrestrial record of glaciation in the central North Atlantic of unprecedented resolution. An improved chronology of glaciation in Iceland will provide a new perspective on the terrestrial consequences of abrupt North Atlantic climate change and, when integrated with other well-established climate proxies from marine sediment and ice cores, will contribute significantly to further understanding these environmental changes.