Exposure dating of Late Glacial and pre-LGM moraines in the Cordon de Doña Rosa, Northern/Central Chile (?31° S)

International audienceDespite the important role of the Central Andes (15?30° S) for climate reconstruction, knowledge about the Quaternary glaciation is very limited due to the scarcity of organic material for radiocarbon dating. We applied 10Be surface exposure dating (SED) on 22 boulders from moraines in the Cordon de Doña Rosa, Northern/Central Chile (~31° S). The results show that several glacial advances in the southern Central Andes occurred during the Late Glacial between ~14.7±1.5 and 11.6±1.2 ka BP. A much more extensive glaciation is dated to ~32±3 ka BP, predating the temperature minimum of the global LGM (Last Glacial Maximum: ~20 ka BP). Reviewing these results in the paleoclimatic context, we note that the Late Glacial advances coincide with (i) lower temperatures during the Younger Dryas (YD) and the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR), (ii) the intensification of the tropical circulation and a corresponding increase in summer precipitation and (iii) a minimum in austral summer insolation favouring reduced ablation. The absence of LGM moraines indicates that moisture advection was too limited to allow significant glacial advances at ~20 ka BP. The tropical circulation was much less intensive despite the maximum in austral summer insolation. Winter precipitation was apparently also insufficient, although pollen and marine studies indicate a northward shift of the westerlies at that time. The dominant pre-LGM glacial advances in Northern/Central Chile at ~32 ka BP required lower temperatures and increased precipitation than today. They coincide with (i) a minimum of southern high-latitude insolation suggesting an equatorward shift of the westerlies due to increased snow and ice cover, (ii) a maximum winter insolation resulting in ocean-continental temperature and pressure gradients favouring moisture advection, (iii) minimum summer insolation suggesting lower temperatures and reduced ablation and (iv) low high-latitude temperatures corroborating that they affect subtropical and tropical temperatures. More glacier-climate modelling is necessary to quantify the influence of the various forcings on the dated glacial advances