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2009 (English)In: Journal of Quaternary Science, ISSN 0267-8179, E-ISSN 1099-1417, Vol. 24, no 7, p. 710-727Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Key locations within an extensive area of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, centred on Bayan Har Shan, have been mapped to distinguish glacial from non-glacial deposits. Prior work suggests palaeo-glaciers ranging from valley glaciers and local ice caps in the highest mountains to a regional or even plateau-scale ice sheet. New field data show that glacial deposits are abundant in high mountain areas in association with large-scale glacial landforms. In addition, glacial deposits are present in several locations outside areas with distinct glacial erosional landforms, indicating that the most extensive palaeo-glaciers had little geomorphological impact on the landscape towards their margins. The glacial geological record does indicate extensive maximum glaciation, with local ice caps covering entire elevated mountain areas. However, absence of glacial traces in intervening lower-lying plateau areas suggests that local ice caps did not merge to form a regional ice sheet on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau around Bayan Har Shan. No evidence exists for past ice sheet glaciation.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2009
Keywords
glacial deposits, Tibetan Plateau, Bayan Har, glacial extent, palaeoglaciology
National Category
Physical Geography Geology
Research subject
Physical Geography; Quarternary Geology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-31169 (URN)10.1002/jqs.1305 (DOI)000271395000006 ()
Note
11 authors2009-11-062009-11-062022-02-25Bibliographically approved