Clarke, Jorie and Schnabel, Christoph and Clarke, Peter U. and McCarron, Stephen and Freeman, Stewart P.H.T. and Maden, C. and Xu, S. (2008) Cosmogenic 10Be chronology of the last deglaciation of western Ireland, and implications for sensitivity of the Irish Ice Sheet to climate change. GSA Bulletin, 121 (1/2). pp. 3-16.

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Abstract

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates of fossiliferous marine mud identify a readvance of the Irish Ice Sheet from the north and central lowlands of Ireland into the northern Irish Sea Basin during the Killard Point Stadial at ca. 16.5 cal k.y. B.P., with subsequent deglaciation occurring by ca. 15.0–15.5 cal k.y. B.P. Killard Point Stadial moraines have been mapped elsewhere in Ireland but have previously remained undated. Here, we report sixteen 10Be surface exposure dates that constrain the age of retreat of the Killard Point Stadial ice margin from western Ireland. Eight 10Be dates from the Ox Mountains (13.9–18.1 ka) indicate that fi nal deposition of the moraine occurred at 15.6 ± 0.5 ka (mean age, standard error). Eight 10Be dates from Furnace Lough (14.1–17.3 ka, mean age of 15.6 ± 0.4 ka) are statistically indistinguishable from the Ox Mountain samples, suggesting that the moraines were deposited during the same glacial event. Given the agreement between the two age groups, and their common association with a regionally signifi cant moraine system, we combine them to derive a mean age of 15.6 ± 0.3 ka (15.6 ± 1.0 ka with external uncertainty). This age is in excellent agreement with the timing of deglaciation from the Irish Sea Basin (at or older than 15.3 ± 0.2 cal k.y. B.P.) and suggests the onset of near-contemporaneous retreat of the Irish Ice Sheet from its maximum Killard Point Stadial limit. A reconstruction of the ice surface indicates that the Irish Ice Sheet reached a maximum surface elevation of ~500 m over the central Irish Lowlands during the Killard Point Stadial, suggesting a high sensitivity of the ice sheet to small changes in climate.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	glacial geology; geochronology; cosmogenic dating; Irish Ice Sheet;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS
Item ID:	1982
Depositing User:	Dr. Stephen McCarron
Date Deposited:	10 Jun 2010 10:39
Journal or Publication Title:	GSA Bulletin
Publisher:	Geological Society of America
Refereed:	Yes
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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