Abstract
THE spatial distribution of the height of cirques might be regarded as indicating areal variations in the climatic conditions required for their formation1. Contemporary cirques, especially small cirques peripheral to glaciated areas, have been observed close to the level of the snowline2, but the level of cirque excavation in any one area is related more to a composite Pleistocene regional snowline than to a snowline at any specific glacial age3–5. Thus although the altitude of cirque floors is governed broadly by the height of the regional or climatic snowline, controlled entirely by the climatic gradient6,7, local variations in altitude will reflect other locally operative factors favouring enlargement, survival or destruction of cirques.
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PETERSON, J., ROBINSON, G. Trend Surface Mapping of Cirque Floor Levels. Nature 222, 75–76 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/222075a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/222075a0
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