[1] The consequences of the hypothesis that Milankovitch forcing affects the phase (e.g., termination times) of the 100 kyr glacial cycles via a mechanism known as ‘‘nonlinear phase locking’’ are examined. Phase locking provides a mechanism by which Milankovitch forcing can act as the ‘‘pacemaker’’ of the glacial cycles. Nonlinear phase locking can determine the timing of the major deglaciation...

Results from a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulation of the Last Glacial Maximum reveal annual mean continental cooling between 48 and 78C over tropical landmasses, up to 268 of cooling over the Laurentide ice sheet, and a global mean temperature depression of 4.38C. The simulation incorporates glacial ice sheets, glacial land surface, reduced sea level, 21 ka orbital pa...

[1] Relaxation-type models have good skill at reproducing glacial-interglacial transitions in climatic variables. Here we propose a simple two-box and two-state relaxation-type model for the upper ocean (surface and permanent thermocline layers) where dissolved inorganic carbon/nutrients are supplied by the deep ocean and through remineralization within the upper ocean. The model is tuned using...

Changes of glaciers and glacial lakes and their causes were examined in the Hengduan Shan from 1990 to 2014, based on Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI images. A total glacier area of 1298.8 ± 62.1 km and glacial lake area of 255.8 ± 31.6 km were inventoried in 2014. The area of glaciers declined at an average rate of −0.40 ± 0.26% a, while glacial lakes expanded at average rate of +0.12 ± 0.03% a over the p...

The distribution of C3 and C4 plants changed in regionally contrasting ways during the last glacial period. C4 plant expansion in low-latitude Africa and America coincided with C4 plant decreases in Mesoamerica and the US Great Plains. This C4 plant expansion has been attributed to lower pCO2 and increased aridity and the decline in C4 plants is believed to have been caused by increased winter ...

We describe the evolution of climate system dynamics by examining the climate response to changes in obliquity and precession over the last 5.3Myr. In particular, we examine changes in the shape of glacial cycles and the power of obliquity and precession response in benthic dO. When the exponential trend in dO variance is removed, its spectral power exhibits strong, proportional responses to am...

Reconstructing the paleoglaciation of the Tibetan Plateau is critical to understanding linkages between regional climate changes and global climate changes, and herewe focus on the glacial history of the Shaluli Shan, an area of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau that receives much of its precipitation from monsoon flow. Based on field investigation, geomorphological mapping, and 10Be exposure da...

This study aims to develop and validate a new glacial lake inventory in order to gain an understanding of existing conditions. This is being done using optical imageries acquired by the Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (PRISM) and the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type 2 (AVNIR-2) onboard the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS, nicknamed ‘Daichi’). ...

Spatial and attribute database of the glaciers and glacial lakes of whole Nepal had developed by ICIMOD in collaboration with UNEP/RRC-AP in 2001 using remote sensing and geographic information systems techniques. There are altogether 3,252 glaciers covering an area of 5,322 square kilometer with approximately 481 km of ice reserves. The Mahakali River basin comprises 87 glaciers with an area o...

We use 10Be surface exposure dating to construct a high-resolution chronology of glacial fluctuations in the Sierra Nevada, California. Most previous studies focused on individual glaciated valleys, whereas our study compares chronologies developed throughout the range to identify regional patterns in the timing of glacier response to major climate changes. Sites throughout the range indicate L...