Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum
In 2011 four ice cores were extracted from the summit of Alto dell'Ortles (3859 m), the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. This drilling site is located only 37 km southwest from where the Tyrolean Iceman, ∼ 5.3 kyrs old, was discovered emerging from the ablating ice field of...
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Copernicus Publications
2016-11-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/2779/2016/tc-10-2779-2016.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818422787647209472 |
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| author | P. Gabrielli C. Barbante G. Bertagna M. Bertó D. Binder A. Carton L. Carturan F. Cazorzi G. Cozzi G. Dalla Fontana M. Davis F. De Blasi R. Dinale G. Dragà G. Dreossi D. Festi M. Frezzotti J. Gabrieli S. P. Galos P. Ginot P. Heidenwolf T. M. Jenk N. Kehrwald D. Kenny O. Magand V. Mair V. Mikhalenko P. N. Lin K. Oeggl G. Piffer M. Rinaldi U. Schotterer M. Schwikowski R. Seppi A. Spolaor B. Stenni D. Tonidandel C. Uglietti V. Zagorodnov T. Zanoner P. Zennaro |
| author_facet | P. Gabrielli C. Barbante G. Bertagna M. Bertó D. Binder A. Carton L. Carturan F. Cazorzi G. Cozzi G. Dalla Fontana M. Davis F. De Blasi R. Dinale G. Dragà G. Dreossi D. Festi M. Frezzotti J. Gabrieli S. P. Galos P. Ginot P. Heidenwolf T. M. Jenk N. Kehrwald D. Kenny O. Magand V. Mair V. Mikhalenko P. N. Lin K. Oeggl G. Piffer M. Rinaldi U. Schotterer M. Schwikowski R. Seppi A. Spolaor B. Stenni D. Tonidandel C. Uglietti V. Zagorodnov T. Zanoner P. Zennaro |
| author_sort | P. Gabrielli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2011 four ice cores were extracted from the summit of Alto dell'Ortles
(3859 m), the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. This
drilling site is located only 37 km southwest from where the Tyrolean
Iceman, ∼ 5.3 kyrs old, was
discovered emerging from the ablating ice field of Tisenjoch (3210 m, near
the Italian–Austrian border) in 1991. The excellent preservation of this
mummy suggested that the Tyrolean Iceman was continuously embedded in
prehistoric ice and that additional ancient ice was likely preserved
elsewhere in South Tyrol. Dating of the ice cores from Alto dell'Ortles based
on <sup>210</sup>Pb, tritium, beta activity and <sup>14</sup>C determinations, combined
with an empirical model (COPRA), provides evidence for a chronologically
ordered ice stratigraphy from the modern glacier surface down to the bottom
ice layers with an age of ∼ 7 kyrs, which confirms the hypothesis. Our
results indicate that the drilling site has continuously been glaciated on frozen
bedrock since ∼ 7 kyrs BP. Absence of older ice on the highest
glacier of South Tyrol is consistent with the removal of basal ice from bedrock
during the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum (6–9 kyrs BP), the warmest
interval in the European Alps during the Holocene. Borehole inclinometric
measurements of the current glacier flow combined with surface ground penetration radar
(GPR) measurements indicate that, due to the sustained atmospheric warming since
the 1980s, an acceleration of the glacier Alto dell'Ortles flow has just
recently begun. Given the stratigraphic–chronological continuity of the
Mt. Ortles cores over millennia, it can be argued that this behaviour has
been unprecedented at this location since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic
Optimum. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:31:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0404e72242904a64a226f1dbb91e9b48 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T13:31:48Z |
| publishDate | 2016-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-0404e72242904a64a226f1dbb91e9b482022-12-21T22:59:40ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242016-11-011062779279710.5194/tc-10-2779-2016Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic OptimumP. Gabrielli0C. Barbante1G. Bertagna2M. Bertó3D. Binder4A. Carton5L. Carturan6F. Cazorzi7G. Cozzi8G. Dalla Fontana9M. Davis10F. De Blasi11R. Dinale12G. Dragà13G. Dreossi14D. Festi15M. Frezzotti16J. Gabrieli17S. P. Galos18P. Ginot19P. Heidenwolf20T. M. Jenk21N. Kehrwald22D. Kenny23O. Magand24V. Mair25V. Mikhalenko26P. N. Lin27K. Oeggl28G. Piffer29M. Rinaldi30U. Schotterer31M. Schwikowski32R. Seppi33A. Spolaor34B. Stenni35D. Tonidandel36C. Uglietti37V. Zagorodnov38T. Zanoner39P. Zennaro40Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USADepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyByrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USADepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyClimate Research Section, Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics ZAMG, 1190 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Agro-Alimentari, Ambientali e Animali, Università di Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyDepartment of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyByrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USADepartment of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyUfficio Idrografico, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano, 39100 Bolzano, ItalyGeologin, 39040 Varna, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyInstitute for Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaENEA, 00196 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric and Cryospheric Sciences, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaLaboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE), CNRS, 38041 Grenoble, FranceInstitute for Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaLaboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, SwitzerlandGeosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, 80225, USAByrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USALaboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE), CNRS, 38041 Grenoble, FranceUfficio Geologia e Prove materiali, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano, 39053 Kardano, ItalyInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017 Moscow, RussiaByrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USAInstitute for Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaWaterstones Geomonitoring, 39044 Egna, ItalyWaterstones Geomonitoring, 39044 Egna, ItalyUniversity of Bern, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, SwitzerlandDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyUfficio Geologia e Prove materiali, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano, 39053 Kardano, ItalyLaboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, SwitzerlandByrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USADepartment of Geosciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice-Mestre, ItalyIn 2011 four ice cores were extracted from the summit of Alto dell'Ortles (3859 m), the highest glacier of South Tyrol in the Italian Alps. This drilling site is located only 37 km southwest from where the Tyrolean Iceman, ∼ 5.3 kyrs old, was discovered emerging from the ablating ice field of Tisenjoch (3210 m, near the Italian–Austrian border) in 1991. The excellent preservation of this mummy suggested that the Tyrolean Iceman was continuously embedded in prehistoric ice and that additional ancient ice was likely preserved elsewhere in South Tyrol. Dating of the ice cores from Alto dell'Ortles based on <sup>210</sup>Pb, tritium, beta activity and <sup>14</sup>C determinations, combined with an empirical model (COPRA), provides evidence for a chronologically ordered ice stratigraphy from the modern glacier surface down to the bottom ice layers with an age of ∼ 7 kyrs, which confirms the hypothesis. Our results indicate that the drilling site has continuously been glaciated on frozen bedrock since ∼ 7 kyrs BP. Absence of older ice on the highest glacier of South Tyrol is consistent with the removal of basal ice from bedrock during the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum (6–9 kyrs BP), the warmest interval in the European Alps during the Holocene. Borehole inclinometric measurements of the current glacier flow combined with surface ground penetration radar (GPR) measurements indicate that, due to the sustained atmospheric warming since the 1980s, an acceleration of the glacier Alto dell'Ortles flow has just recently begun. Given the stratigraphic–chronological continuity of the Mt. Ortles cores over millennia, it can be argued that this behaviour has been unprecedented at this location since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum.http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/2779/2016/tc-10-2779-2016.pdf |
| spellingShingle | P. Gabrielli C. Barbante G. Bertagna M. Bertó D. Binder A. Carton L. Carturan F. Cazorzi G. Cozzi G. Dalla Fontana M. Davis F. De Blasi R. Dinale G. Dragà G. Dreossi D. Festi M. Frezzotti J. Gabrieli S. P. Galos P. Ginot P. Heidenwolf T. M. Jenk N. Kehrwald D. Kenny O. Magand V. Mair V. Mikhalenko P. N. Lin K. Oeggl G. Piffer M. Rinaldi U. Schotterer M. Schwikowski R. Seppi A. Spolaor B. Stenni D. Tonidandel C. Uglietti V. Zagorodnov T. Zanoner P. Zennaro Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum The Cryosphere |
| title | Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum |
| title_full | Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum |
| title_fullStr | Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum |
| title_short | Age of the Mt. Ortles ice cores, the Tyrolean Iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of South Tyrol since the Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum |
| title_sort | age of the mt ortles ice cores the tyrolean iceman and glaciation of the highest summit of south tyrol since the northern hemisphere climatic optimum |
| url | http://www.the-cryosphere.net/10/2779/2016/tc-10-2779-2016.pdf |
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