Glacial history of the tropical Andes, Peru

“阐明热带地区在全球气候变化中的作用对于限制未来的气候轨迹至关重要。现在人们认识到，在晚更新世，热带温度和降水发生了重大变化，这对这段时间热带气候稳定的典型观点提出了挑战。北方安第斯山脉现代冰川的地理和海拔范围反映了冰冻圈对气候的敏感性。由于热带冰川对热带水文循环的变化高度敏感，这是由大气环流和区域湿度模式的变化决定的，它们以及它们在景观上留下的地貌特征是现在和过去环境条件的有用指标（例如Rodbell等人，2009; Smith等人，2005年，2008年）。尽管他们的重要性，了解过去的气候在热带地区，很少的工作已经进行的时间和性质的古冰川事件在热带安第斯山脉。这个博士项目将针对北方秘鲁的一个前冰川地区在~5 S。学生将结合冰川地貌学，近地表地球物理学和地质年代学来建立最近冰川作用的区域冰川历史。该研究将解决以下问题：1。北方秘鲁的最后一次盛冰期是什么时候？2.是否有证据表明新仙女木/全新世冰川在南美洲热带地区的再流动？3.什么样的气候参数控制着热带地区冰川作用的开始和结束？"

"Elucidating the role of the tropics in global climate change is essential for constraining future climate trajectories. It is now recognised that during the Late Pleistocene, major shifts in tropical temperature and precipitation occurred, and this has challenged the typical view of tropical climate stability during this time. The geographical and altitudinal extent of modern glaciers in the northern Andes reflects the sensitivity of the cryosphere to climate. Because tropical glaciers are highly sensitive to variations in the tropical hydrological cycle, as determined by changes in atmospheric circulation and regional moisture patterns, they, and the geomorphic signature they leave on the landscape, are useful indicators of both present and past environmental conditions (e.g. Rodbell et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2005, 2008). Despite their importance for understanding past climate in the tropics, little work has been undertaken on the timing and nature of palaeo-glaciological events in the tropical Andes. This PhD project will target a formerly glaciated region in northern Peru at ~5 S. The student will couple glacial geomorphology, near-surface geophysics and geochronology to build a regional glacial history of the most recent glaciation. The studentship will address the following research questions: 1. What was the local last glacial maximum (LLGM) in northern Peru? 2. Is there evidence for Younger Dryas/Holocene glacial readvances in the tropics of South America? 3. What climate parameters control the initiation and termination of glaciation in the tropics?"