Title
Last Glacial Maximum equilibrium-line altitude trends and precipitation patterns in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, southern Colorado, USA
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2009
Embargo Period
11-17-2016
Publication Title
Boreas: an international journal of Quaternary research
Abstract
Precipitation patterns during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Rocky Mountains varied due to the influence of the continental ice sheets and pluvial lakes. However, no constraints have been placed on potential changes of southeasterly Gulf of Mexico-derived moisture that today contributes considerable precipitation to the easternmost ranges of the southern and middle Rocky Mountains. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains of southern Colorado are ideally situated to assess the relative importance of westerly and southeasterly-derived moisture during the LGM. Based on reconstructions of 30 palaeoglaciers in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we find that LGM equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) on the east side of the range were systematically 100–200 m lower than ELAs on the west side. The observed ELA pattern is strikingly similar to modern precipitation patterns in the study area, suggesting that southeasterly-derived precipitation had a significant influence on the mass balances of LGM glaciers.
Volume
38
Issue
4
First Page
663
Last Page
678
DOI
10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00097.x
ISSN
1502-3885
Recommended Citation
Refsnider, K.A., Brugger, K.A., Leonard, E.M., McCalpin, J.P., and Armstrong, P.P., 2009. Last glacial maximum equilibrium-line altitude trends and precipitation patterns in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Southern Colorado, USA. Boreas, v. 38, 663-678.
Primo Type
Article
Comments
Article can be found through Wiley Online Library at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00097.x/abstract