Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne-CNRS Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, 92195 Meudon, France.
Nature. 2011 Jun 8;474(7350):196-9. doi: 10.1038/nature10150.
The causes and timing of tropical glacier fluctuations during the Holocene epoch (10,000 years ago to present) are poorly understood. Yet constraining their sensitivity to changes in climate is important, as these glaciers are both sensitive indicators of climate change and serve as water reservoirs for highland regions. Studies have so far documented extra-tropical glacier fluctuations, but in the tropics, glacier-climate relationships are insufficiently understood. Here we present a (10)Be chronology for the past 11,000 years (11 kyr), using 57 moraines from the Bolivian Telata glacier (in the Cordillera Real mountain range). This chronology indicates that Telata glacier retreated irregularly. A rapid and strong melting from the maximum extent occurred from 10.8 ± 0.9 to 8.5 ± 0.4 kyr ago, followed by a slower retreat until the Little Ice Age, about 200 years ago. A dramatic increase in the rate of retreat occurred over the twentieth century. A glacier-climate model indicates that, relative to modern climate, annual mean temperature for the Telata glacier region was -3.3 ± 0.8 °C cooler at 11 kyr ago and remained -2.1 ± 0.8 °C cooler until the end of the Little Ice Age. We suggest that long-term warming of the eastern tropical Pacific and increased atmospheric temperature in response to enhanced austral summer insolation were the main drivers for the long-term Holocene retreat of glaciers in the southern tropics.
全新世（距今 10000 年至现在）期间热带冰川波动的原因和时间尚不清楚。然而，限制它们对气候变化的敏感性很重要，因为这些冰川既是气候变化的敏感指标，也是高海拔地区的水库。到目前为止，已有研究记录了亚热带冰川的波动，但在热带地区，冰川与气候的关系还不够了解。在这里，我们使用来自玻利维亚 Telata 冰川（在 Real 山脉）的 57 个冰碛物，提供了过去 11000 年（11kyr）的（10）Be 年代。该年代表明 Telata 冰川不规则退缩。从最大范围开始，快速而强烈的融化发生在 10.8±0.9 至 8.5±0.4 kyr 之前，随后是较慢的后退，直到小冰期，大约 200 年前。在 20 世纪，冰川后退的速度急剧增加。冰川气候模型表明，相对于现代气候，Telata 冰川地区的年平均温度在 11kyr 前低 3.3±0.8°C，并且在小冰期结束前一直低 2.1±0.8°C。我们认为，东热带太平洋的长期变暖以及大气温度的升高是热带南部冰川在全新世长期后退的主要驱动因素。
