11,000 years of glacier change, Palisade Glacier, Sierra Nevada

11,000 years of glacier
change, Palisade Glacier,
Sierra Nevada
Nicole D. Bowerman
North Cascades National Park
Doug Clark
Western Washington University

Location
Bishop

Study Area

Previous Work
• Little Ice Age:
• Matthes
~700-100 yr B.P.
Konrad and Clark, 1998
• Onset of Neoglaciation
~3300 cal yr B.P.
Konrad and Clark, 1998
• Late Glacial:
• Recess Peak
~14,200
- 13,100 cal yr B.P.
Clark and Gillespie, 1997
M.M. Clark
Mt. Brewer view to south

The
N
Palisades
First Lake
Glacier
outwash
path
Second Lake
Palisade
Glacier
Third Lake
North Fork Big Pine,
Sept. 1974

Moraines
= Matthes
Moraines (LIA)
= Recess Peak
Moraines
(Late Glacial)

Lake Coring
• Summer 2003:
Bathymetry
• Spring 2004:
Reasoner corer (3”
diam.)
• Summer 2004:
Livingston piston
corer (2” diam.)
• Summer 2005:
Glew corer
T. Baggerman W.Woolfenden

Age Model
(Calibrated)
First Lake
Depth (cm)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
Age (cal yr BP)
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
MS
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
150-200
700
Ages at peaks
2200
1600 2800 3200
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Age (cal yr B.P.)

North Fork
Big Pine drainage
Palisade Glacier
Modern ELA = 3896 m
Matthes ELA = 3804 m
Recess Peak ELA = 3559 m
ΔELA
Modern-Matthes = 90 m
Modern-Recess Peak = 340

South Fork
Big Pine drainage
Norman Clyde
Glacier
Modern ELA = 3740 m
Matthes ELA = 3590 m
Recess Peak ELA = 3500 m
ΔELA
Modern-Matthes = 150 m
Modern-Recess Peak = 290 m
Middle Palisade
Glacier
Modern ELA = 3840 m
Matthes ELA = 3730 m
Recess Peak ELA = 3630 m
ΔELA
Modern-Matthes = 110 m
Modern-Recess Peak = 210 m

Avg Summer temp (deg C)
Mean Summer Temperature
40
35
30
25
20
y = -0.0082x + 33.278
R 2 = 0.966
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500
Elevation (m)
Lapse
rates
Maximum Winter
Precipitation
Modern
Matthes
Recess Peak
Winter precipitation (cm)
200
180
160
140
y = 3.2252e 0.0009x
120
R 2 100
= 0.9899
80
60
40
20
0
1000 2000 3000 4000
Elevation (m)

Matthes Climate Shift
Minimum
Maximum
-0.2 °C
+3 cm
-2.0 °C
+26 cm
(After Leonard, 1989)

Summary
• Rock flour record sensitive to glacier change
• Onset of Neoglaciation: ~3200 cal yrs B.P.
• Followed by glacier maxima at:
• ~2200 cal yrs B.P.
• ~1600 cal yrs B.P.
• ~700 cal yrs B.P.
• ~170-250 cal yrs B.P. (Neoglacial Max.)
• No glaciers: ~11,200 - ~3200 cal yrs B.P.

Summary (continued)
• Matthes ΔELA = 90-150 m
Recess Peak ΔELA = 210-340 m
• LIA: 0.2-2.0
2.0 °C C cooler (summer) and 2-262
26 cm
wetter than modern conditions
• Late-glacial: 1.7-2.7
°C C cooler (summer) and 22-
34 cm wetter than modern conditions

Any
questions