Late Holocene glacier fluctuations in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, southeastern Tibet

Abstract

The eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range is located at the southeastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau, representing one of the major pathways of monsoonal moisture from the foreland to the plateau. Owing to the combination of a rugged high mountain topography and abundant moisture, more than 8000 km2 of the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range are covered by monsoonal temperate glaciers. Previous studies have shown that these glaciers are particularly sensitive to climate change. The eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range’s glaciers thus provide an important archive of past and present climate dynamics. The interplay of glaciers, topography and climate in this region is, however, hardly constrained to date. Furthermore, a consistent late Holocene glacial chronology, combining dating results with geomorphological and sedimentological evidence, is still lacking. Several recent studies aimed to contribute to bridging these gaps by improving the understanding of spatial and temporal patterns of late Holocene glacier fluctuations in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range and identifying relevant climatic forcing mechanisms. Focus was put on the Little Ice Age (LIA) because its maximum glacier advance represents the last major turning point from an advancing to a retreating glacier regime, implying a transient state of glacial equilibrium. Aiming to achieve a consistent and well-constrained overall result, the study was conducted by application of a multi-proxy approach including glaciological, geomorphological, sedimentological and dendrochronological methods, aided by optically stimulated luminescence and