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Tree-ring crossdates for a First Millennium AD advance of Tebenkof Glacier, southern Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

David J. Barclay ,
Gregory C. Wiles  and
Parker E. Calkin
David J. Barclay*
Affiliation:
Geology Department, State University of New York College at Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045, USA
Gregory C. Wiles
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691, USA
Parker E. Calkin
Affiliation:
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1 607 753 2927. Email Address:barclayd@cortland.edu
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Abstract

Tree-ring crossdates from glacially killed logs show that Tebenkof Glacier advanced into a forefield forest in the AD 710s and 720s. Recession from this First Millennium AD (FMA) advance occurred before the 950s, after which the ice margin readvanced in the 1280s to 1320s at the start of the Little Ice Age (LIA). A more extensive LIA advance was underway from the 1640s to 1670s, and the terminus stayed at or near its LIA maximum until the 1890s. These are the first absolute tree-ring crossdates for a FMA glacier advance in North America and support growing evidence from northwestern North America and Europe for a significant cool interval in the centuries around AD 500.

Keywords

Tebenkof GlacierAlaskaFirst Millennium ADLittle Ice AgeHolocene climateTree ringsDendrochronologyGlacier fluctuation

Information

Type
Short paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 71 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 22 - 26
Copyright
University of Washington

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