Geomorphology Commons^™

Glacial History Of The Tsagaan Gol- Potanin Glacier Valley, Altai Mountains, Mongolia, Mariah J. Radue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The last glacial termination (~19-11 ka) marks the end of the last ice age and the transition to modern interglacial conditions. The mechanisms that triggered deglaciation are unresolved. Various hypotheses for deglacial warming involve changes in Earth’s orbit, an 80-ppm increase in atmospheric CO­₂, a ‘bipolar seesaw’ in oceanic-heat redistribution, and shifting wind belts. Here, I present a ¹⁰Be surface-exposure chronology for a system of glacial landforms in the Tsagaan Gol-Potanin Glacier valley in the Mongolian Altai (49°N, 88°E) to determine the nature of the termination in interior Asia. Located near the center of Earth’s largest continent, …