Younger Dryas Glacial Advances on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

The Younger Dryas (YD) terminated the last glaciation and initiated the Holocene, which was accompanied by widespread glacial advances. Traditional scaling models, production rates, and outlier screening approaches for 10Be exposure dating often yield inconsistent formation ages for the same moraine, hindering a comprehensive understanding of spatiotemporal patterns and climatic controls of YD glaciation across the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we reprocessed 10Be exposure ages using the Probabilistic Cosmogenic Age Analysis Tool 2.2 (P-CAAT) to constrain YD moraine chronologies. Three glacial events were dated to 12.5 ka, 11.9 ka, and 11.5 ka. Glacier-climate simulations showcased cold dry conditions in the monsoon domain and cold-wet conditions in the westerly domain during the YD. The modelled temperature reductions matched global climatic records. Glacial advances were primarily forced by cooling in monsoon areas, whereas joint cooling and increased precipitation dominated in westerly regions. This study clarifies the temporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of YD glaciation on the plateau, though additional dating information is required for further verification.