A carregar...
Publicação
Environmental evolution in the Picos de Europa (Cantabrian Mountains, SW Europe) since the Last Glaciation
| Nome: | Descrição: | Tamanho: | Formato: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.05 MB | Adobe PDF |
Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
The Western Massif of the Picos de Europa (latitude 43 N, longitude 4e5 W) includes some of the
highest peaks in the Cantabrian Mountains. This massif was heavily glaciated during the Last Glaciation,
though the post-glacial environmental evolution is still poorly understood. Using a complementary
geomorphological and sedimentological approach, we have reconstructed the environmental events
occurred in this massif since the last Pleistocene glaciation. The geomorphological distribution of glacial
landforms suggests the occurrence of four main glacial stages: maximum glacial advance, glacial
expansion after the maximum advance, Late Glacial and Little Ice Age. Moreover, a 5.4-m long sedimentary
sequence was retrieved from the karstic depression of Belbín providing a continuous record of
the paleoenvironmental conditions in this area since the Last Glaciation until nowadays. This section
suggests that the maximum glacial expansion occurred at a minimum age of 37.2 ka cal BP, significantly
prior to the global Last Glacial Maximum. Subsequently, periglacial processes prevailed in the mid lands
of the massif until glaciers expanded between 22.5 and 18.7 ka cal BP. Following the melting of the
glaciers, a shallow lake appeared in the Belbín depression. Lake sediments do not show evidence of a cold
stage during the Late Glacial, when moraine systems formed at higher locations. The terrestrification of
this lake started at 8 ka cal BP and the area turned into grassland. At 4.9 ka cal BP the existence of
charcoal particles in the sediments of Belbín sequence reveals the onset of human occupation in the
massif through the use of fire activity for grazing purposes. Finally, the presence of moraines inside the
highest northern cirques shows evidence of the last glacial phase that occurred during the Little Ice Age
cold event. Since then, the warming climate has led to the melting of these glaciers and periglacial
processes prevail in the high lands of the massif.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Picos de Europa Northern Iberia Last glaciation Deglaciation Geomorphology Sediments
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Ruiz-Fernández, Jesús, Oliva, Marc, Cruces, Anabela, Lopes, Vera, Freitas, Maria da Conceição, Andrade, César, García-Hernández, Cristina, López-Sáez, José Antonio, & Geraldes, Miguel. (2016). Environmental evolution in the Picos de Europa (Cantabrian Mountains, SW Europe) since the Last Glaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 138, 87-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.03.002
Editora
Elsevier