Glacier extents within Briançonnais Alps (southern French Alps) from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene: chronological synthesis

Etienne Cossart (1) , Didier Bourlès (2) , Regis Braucher (2) , Julien Carcaillet (3) , Monique Fort (1) , Lionel Siame (2)

1 PRODIG - Pôle de recherche pour l'organisation et la diffusion de l'information géographique
2 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement
3 Tectonique reliefs et bassins

This paper aims to provide an overview of the investigations led in the Upper-Durance catchment (upstream Guillestre), focusing on the disappearance of glaciers after the Last Glacial Maximum. It is based on extensive fieldwork, describing and mapping the geomorphic remnants of past-glaciations, and 35 Cosmic Ray Exposure ages. A four-stage chronological sequence summarises glacial variations during the Late-Glacial/Holocene transition. The main results provide both chronological data (two generations of moraines identified as Younger Dryas and Preboreal) and spatial data (asymmetry of glaciers development in the Upper-Durance catchment during the Late-Glacial), providing new findings that may be useful for palaeo-climatologists.

Keywords: Last Glacial Maximum; Alps; Late-Glacial; glaciers; cosmogenic nuclides; Briançonnais

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Geomorphology

Etienne Cossart, Didier Bourlès, Regis Braucher, Julien Carcaillet, Monique Fort, et al.. Glacier extents within Briançonnais Alps (southern French Alps) from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene: chronological synthesis. Géomorphologie : relief, processus, environnement, 2011, 2/2011, pp.123-142. ⟨10.4000/geomorphologie.9336⟩. ⟨insu-00679788⟩