Small, isolated glacial catchments as priority targets for cosmogenic surface exposure dating of Pleistocene climate fluctuations, southeastern Pyrenees
Résumé
A new 10Be data set from a small glacial catchment in the Pyrenees confirms almost full glacier extent during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, extends the oldest cosmogenic exposure ages of moraines in this mountain range to MIS 5, and constrains paleoclimate reconstructions in the Mediterranean region. It also illustrates the advantageous conditions for the long-term preservation of terminal moraines provided by small, low-gradient glacier catchments that did not merge with compound ice masses even during glacial maxima. These small, gently sloping, and isolated glacier catchments are proposed as priority targets for terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide dating of peak Pleistocene glacier advances, providing scope for greater accuracy in interregional paleoclimatic correlations.