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Honors Theses

Geology

Glaciers

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Glacial Lacustrine Records Of Holocene Climate Variations In The Tropical Peruvian Andes, Sasha Rothenberg Jun 2012

Glacial Lacustrine Records Of Holocene Climate Variations In The Tropical Peruvian Andes, Sasha Rothenberg

Honors Theses

Lake sediment cores taken from glacial lakes and wetlands are valuable proxies of glacial activity because they offer a continuous record of sediment input. Tropical alpine glaciers are especially sensitive to changes in precipitation and temperature, and thus the history of glaciation can be used in the reconstruction of past climates. Owing to a steep east-­‐to-­‐west moisture gradient across the Andes, glaciers in the eastern cordillera are more sensitive to changes in temperature whereas those in the drier, western, cordillera are more sensitive to changes in precipitation. Multiple lacustrine sediment cores were taken from two sites in the central Peruvian …


A Continuous Late Holocene Record Of Paleoclimate Change From Grinnell Lake Sediment Cores, Glacier National Park, Montana, Jonathan G. Griffith Jun 2011

A Continuous Late Holocene Record Of Paleoclimate Change From Grinnell Lake Sediment Cores, Glacier National Park, Montana, Jonathan G. Griffith

Honors Theses

Grinnell Lake is a glacially-fed alpine lake in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana. Limnological parameters and radiocarbon ages from a ~1.17 -meter-long sediment core from Grinnell Lake provide a ~1,200 year-long climate record. The objective of this thesis is to develop a multi-proxy record of glaciation by distinguishing periods of positive and negative mass balance chronologically. Two overlapping sediment cores (1P-1B-1 and 1C-2B-1) were described, photographed, and sampled at 0.5 cm, 1 cm, and 5 cm intervals and analyzed for % organic carbon, % inorganic carbon, mineral composition, bulk density, biogenic silica, and clastic sediment flux. Glacial fluctuations were …