Letter abstract
Nature Geoscience 1, 524 - 526 (2008)
Published online: 29 June 2008 | doi:10.1038/ngeo249
Subject Category: Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography
Evidence for a landslide origin of New Zealand's Waiho Loop moraine
D. Santamaria Tovar, J. Shulmeister & T. R. Davies
The Waiho Loop moraine on South Island, New Zealand, has been interpreted as a consequence of Younger Dryas cooling in New Zealand1, and thus as evidence for inter-hemisphere synchroneity of climate change2, 3. However, recent work has challenged both the timing of the event4 and whether strong cooling was necessary to initiate the advance4, 5. Here, we characterize the sedimentology of the moraine to assess the possible causes of the advance. Our analysis shows that the composition of the Waiho Loop moraine is different from other moraines in the region, with respect to both the composition and the type of clasts present. We deduce that the moraine represents the end product of a major landslide onto the Franz Josef glacier, which triggered a substantial glacial advance. In combination with the revised age4 and temperature6, 7 estimates for this region, our results suggest that there was no significant climatic forcing of this advance, including an alternative precipitation-driven model. Our study shows that glacial moraines are not necessarily climatic in origin, which must be taken into account when evaluating the mass balance responses of glacial systems1, 8.
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
Correspondence to: J. Shulmeister e-mail: james.shulmeister@canterbury.ac.nz
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
RESEARCH
Interhemispheric climate links revealed by a late-glacial cooling episode in southern ChileNature Letters to Editor (15 Feb 2001)
So-called ?Glacier-Worms? in New ZealandNature Letters to Editor (17 Mar 1956)
The key to sources of the Pliocene and Pleistocene glaciation is at the bottom of the Barents SeaNature Letters to Editor (11 May 1978)
New Zealand temperatures since 1300 ADNature Letters to Editor (25 Mar 1976)
See all 5 matches for Research
