LGM glaciers in the SE Mediterranean? First evidence from glacial landforms and 36Cl dating on Mount Lebanon
Name:
Moulinetal-Lebanon-RevisedVersion_AM.pdf
Size:
16.66Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Accepted Manuscript
Embargo End Date:
2024-04-26
Name:
1-s2.0-S0277379122001330-mmc1.xlsx
Size:
9.440Kb
Format:
Microsoft Excel 2007
Description:
Supplementary material
Embargo End Date:
2024-04-26
Type
ArticleAuthors
Moulin, A.
Benedetti, L.
Vidal, L.
Hage-Hassan, J.
Elias, A.
Van der Woerd, J.

Schimmelpfennig, I.
Daëron, M.
Tapponnier, P.
KAUST Department
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) DivisionDate
2022-04-26Embargo End Date
2024-04-26Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/677917
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The hydrological conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Eastern Mediterranean have long been debated. In particular, very little is known about the development of high-altitude glaciers in this region. In the present study, morphological and sedimentological evidence, such as U-shape valleys, glacial cirques, and morainic ridges, are used to identify past glaciers on the western slopes of Mount Lebanon, which is by far the highest topography along the eastern Mediterranean coast (3088 m a.s.l.). The geometry of three paleo-glaciers is reconstructed: one 8-km-long glacial tongue stretching from the highest peak down to an elevation of about 2000 m a.s.l., and two small glacial cirques located at about 2300 m a.s.l. The age of maximum glacier advance is constrained from a 10-m-deep 36Cl depth-profile within the diamicton of one terminal moraine, and yields an early LGM timing (between 25.4 ± 3.1 ka and 31.2 ± 4.5 ka), which agrees with the chronology of the last maximum glacier extension in the Eastern Mediterranean. The three glaciers together form a consistent group, compatible with an Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) at 2400 m estimated using the Accumulation Area Ratio method. A degree-day model is further used to infer the temperature and precipitation conditions required to depress the LGM ELA to 2400 m. Our results suggest that the observed glacier extent is compatible with early LGM paleo-temperature records of the area only under the condition of decreased precipitation relative to modern times. These findings thus support an early LGM climate of the Levant region that was drier than today.Citation
Moulin, A., Benedetti, L., Vidal, L., Hage-Hassan, J., Elias, A., Van der Woerd, J., Schimmelpfennig, I., Daëron, M., & Tapponnier, P. (2022). LGM glaciers in the SE Mediterranean? First evidence from glacial landforms and 36Cl dating on Mount Lebanon. Quaternary Science Reviews, 285, 107502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107502Sponsors
The French CNRS-INSU-LEFE-EVE (PaleoLIBAN) programme provided financial support for field work and sample analysis (LV). Jenna Hage-Hassan's scientific visit at CEREGE was supported by Labex OT-Med (ANR-11-LABX-0061). Anne-Lise Develle participated in one of the first field trip and is acknowledged for support and help in the field. We warmly acknowledge A. Sursok (CNRG, Lebanon), and all his team, for help and support in the field.Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Quaternary Science ReviewsAdditional Links
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379122001330ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107502