Multi-centennial mass balance of perennial ice deposits in Alpine caves mirrors the evolution of glaciers during the Late Holocene.

ABSTRACT: Mid-latitude alpine caves preserve a record of past solid precipitation during winter, locally spanning several centuries to millennia. Dating organic macro-remains trapped in ice layers allows the determination of timing and duration of past periods of positive and negative ice mass balance. We present here the largest comparative study of ice cave sites yet published, using Bayesian age-modelling on a database comprising 107 radiocarbon dates, spread over eight caves in the Austrian Alps. We show that periods of positive mass balance coincide with past glacier advances. We find organic and macro-remain rich layers dated to the Medieval Climate Anomaly (between 850 and 1200 CE) marking widespread ice retreat. We demonstrate positive ice mass balance at all studied sites for the Little Ice

SUBMITTER: Racine TMF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9256607 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature