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Timing of the last deglaciation revealed by

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Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Quaternary Science Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev

Timing of the last deglaciation revealed by receding glaciers at the Alpine-scale:

impact on mountain geomorphology
Romain Darnault a, *, Yann Rolland a, Rgis Braucher b, Didier Bourls b, Marie Revel a, Guillaume Sanchez a,
Stphane Bouissou a
a
b

Geoazur, UMR 6526 e Universit de Nice Sophia Antipolis, Observatoire de la Cte dAzur, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France
CEREGE e UMR 6635, CNRS- Aix Marseille Universit, Europle de lArbois, BP80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence, France

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 3 June 2011
Received in revised form
26 October 2011
Accepted 31 October 2011
Available online 25 November 2011

New Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (TCN) 10Be ages obtained on glacially polished rocks from the SW
Alps (Tine Valley, France) allow a comparison with ages obtained using similar methods for dating the
deglaciation steps after the Last Glacial Maximum on the northern and southern sides of the Alps. The
data presented in this study highlight three stages of glacial retreat on the southern ank of the Alps at
remarkably similar ages that are 14.9
0.8 10Be ka for the end of Oldest Dryas cold period, 10.9
1.1
10
Be ka for the end of Younger Dryas cold period and 8.4
0.9 10Be ka for a late ice retreat stage.
Previously published data from the Northern Alps lead also to an age of 15.7
1.0 ka for the Oldest Dryas
deglaciation, followed by the Younger Dryas at 11.3
1.0 ka, and a late discrete ice retreat event at
9.7
1.2 ka. The last glacial retreats occur thus simultaneously across the Alps and the deglaciation
process was most likely unrelated to variations in latitude or to mountain ank exposition throughout
the Alps. This may be ascribed to a relatively rapid climate change. Subsequent mountain slope evolution
following the rapid glacier unloading is reected by landslides and fault reactivation directly following
the deglacial period. This temporal coincidence is ascribed to a cause-to-consequence effect of glacial
unloading and water inltration into tectonic and landslide triggering.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Cosmogenic 10Be dating
Holocene
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
Oldest Dryas
Younger Dryas
Deglaciation
Posteglacial hillslope evolution

1. Introduction
The understanding of past climate variability is essential for the
prediction of current global climate change processes. The occurrence of past sudden climate shifts were often faster than expected
and induced equilibrium disturbances in both the biosphere
(Severinghaus et al., 1998; Birks and Ammann, 1999; Hughen et al.,
2004) & lithosphere (e.g., Holm et al., 2004). Alpine Glaciers uctuations are known to be sensitive climatic changes markers that
respond particularly well to summer temperature variations
(Oerlemans et al., 2011). The timing and amplitude of deglaciation
at local to global scales are thus a potential proxy of past continental climate variations, and their inuence on natural hazards is
a challenging issue.
Elucidating the driving mechanisms of glacial cycles requires an
accurate knowledge of external forcings and an understanding of
internal climate feed-back that determine the overall climate
response to these forcings (Menviel et al., 2011). In particular, the

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: romain.darnault@unice.fr (R. Darnault).
0277-3791/$ e see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.10.019

role of ice melting and freshwater discharge into the ocean and
subsequent impact on the global thermo-haline oceanic circulation
and sea-level variations (e.g., Peltier and Fairbanks, 2006) is an
important forcing parameter which should be better constrained in
future.
The last 20 ka e corresponding to the last glacialeinterglacial
transition e is a key period to understand present and future
climate changes and related forcing mechanisms because of the
availability of several well-dated records in marine and continental
geological archives (Genty et al., 2006). The last deglaciation e
21 000e5000 yr BP (Bard et al., 2010) is well documented in
Greenland ice cores (Dansgaard et al., 1993; Alley et al., 1997) and
lake records (for example Von Grafenstein et al., 1999). The period
is featured by several climate phases with a transition toward warm
periods like the Bolling Allerod punctuated by abrupt cooling such
as the Oldest Dryas and Younger Dryas. In the European Alps, the
timing and amplitude of glacier ice volume uctuation and
subsequent melting for the last 20 ka is not completely known
(Wanner et al., 2008). Several periods of Holocene advances and
retreats have been identied by the dating of subfossil wood,
glaciated rocks and the position of moraines (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2009).
Until now, no comprehensive study has integrated a record of

128

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

glacier mass-balance evolution during the last Holocene transition

at the scale of the European Alps. Moreover, the glacier retreat of
the South-Western Alps is less well constrained than in the
Northern Alps, while it is a transitional zone between the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic atmospheric inuence areas
(Brayshaw et al., 2011).
Furthermore, some authors raise the question of the inuence of
rapid deglaciation on earthquake triggering (Hetzel and Hampel,
2005) and the stability of slopes and related landslides (Jorda and
Rosique, 1994). It has been shown that the location of landslides
is often located in areas formerly occupied by glaciers (Soldati et al.,
2004) and may have been caused by changes in basal stresses
imposed by glacial unloading (Cossart et al., 2008).
The aim of this paper is to document the glacier retreat in the
South-Western Alps and comparing it to preexisting ages from the
Northern Alps. This comparison will allow discussing (1) the timing
of climate change across the Alps since the last 20 ka and (2) the
impact of the deglaciations on slope stability and tectonics.
To document the glacier retreat a new set of Terrestrial
Cosmogenic Nuclides (TCN) 10Be ages obtained from measured
concentrations of in-situ produced 10Be in the quartz mineral
fraction of surface crystalline rocks in the Argentera Massif (SouthWestern Alps) have been acquired. The southwestern Alps is the
missing end-member for understanding the extent and duration of
the last glacial phases at the scale of the European Alps mountain
belt. This study will complement the existing dataset through the
dating of polished glacial surfaces and provide constraints on the
chronology of the last glacier retreats at the scale of the Alps.
Further, we discuss the consequence of glacier retreat on the
evolution of slopes in the Argentera Massif.
2. State of the art of cosmogenic nuclide dating of the glacial
phases in the Alps and its consequences on hillslope evolution
Based on TCN 10Be dating, several studies dated the Last Glacial
Maximum (LGM) corresponding in the Alps to the maximum
extension of the Wrmian ice-cap, at 30e21 ka (Coutterand, 2010)
with the last glacier advance between 22 and 20 ka (Cossart et al.,
2010). In the Southern Alps, the LGM is estimated at 21.5 ka cal. BP
(Jorda et al., 2000) with a minimal thickness of glaciers ranging
600e1000 m and extending from summits at 3000 m to valleys at
600 m elevation (Cossart et al., 2008). The last deglaciation is
punctuated by several climate events in the Alpine forelands starting
17500
200 yr cal. BP ago. The subsequent Lateglacial period
(17600e11300 yr cal. BP) is marked by uctuations in a gradually
warming climate (Heuberger, 1966, 1968; Patzelt, 1972; Kerschner,
1986). Two phases of glacial culmination occurred during this
period and were dated by different methods (pollen, 14C, 10Be):
- The Oldest Dryas period dated from 18 to 17 ka to 14.7 ka
(Maisch, 1992; Maisch et al., 1999; Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008) is
featured by glaciers of several hundred meters in thickness,
which have descended close to 1000 m a.s.l. (Cossart et al.,
2010). After 15 ka, several small glaciers were still present
around the highest summits (Cossart et al., 2010). In the
Southern Alps, the expansion of juniper tree indicates the end
of this cold period between 15 ka and 14.7 ka with a rapid
deglaciation due to xeric conditions (Jorda and Rosique, 1994).
- The Younger Dryas cold period dated at 12.6e11.0 ka
(Mangerud et al., 1974; Maisch, 1992; Maisch et al., 1999; IvyOchs et al., 2008; Ortu et al., 2008) is followed by a warm
period from 11.6 to 9.0 ka (Wanner et al., 2008). In the Southern
Alps, the glacial tongue of this cold period is less extended than
that of the Oldest Dryas (Jorda and Rosique, 1994). During this
period, the decrease in mean annual temperatures is

approximately several degrees in less than one century (Jorda

and Rosique, 1994).
These two phases of glacial condition during the deglaciation
seems in rst approximation in accordance with the d18O record of
the North GRIP Greenland core (North GRIP members, 2004).
Studies dedicated to the chronology of deglaciation in the
northern and Central Alps (Kelly et al., 2004, 2006; Ivy-Ochs et al.,
2009) and in the western Alps (Cossart et al., 2010) performed using
the in situ produced 10Be dating method show three mean age
groups associated with the retreat of the frontal glacier tongue after
the LGM at 15.7
1.0 ka, 11.3
1.0 ka and 9.7
1.2 ka. The two
oldest groups correspond to the Oldest Dryas and the Younger
Dryas phases, respectively. The transition between these two cold
periods is marked by an augmentation of the mean annual
temperature of approximately 7  C (Jorda and Rosique, 1994). From
the LGM to the beginning of the Younger Dryas cold period, a long
period of vertical incision has shaped the landscapes. The beginning of Younger Dryas cold period marks the end of this period of
vertical. The younger age of 9.7
1.2 ka corresponds to a late
deglaciation that affected some local and sometimes conned
glaciers. This late period is followed by the climatic optimum
period from 9.0 to 5.5 ka cal. BP (Soldati et al., 2004; Nicolussi et al.,
2005; Joerin et al., 2008).
A younger cold period, which corresponds to a sudden climatic
worsening with a considerable increase of precipitation and
widespread glacier advance, has been dated at 2.7 ka cal. BP (Soldati
et al., 2004). The end of this cold period is marked between 2.2 and
1.2 ka cal. BP (Hormes et al., 2006).
Many authors pointed out that climate changes since the LGM
have coincided with mass-wasting occurrences in European
(Matthews et al., 1997; Borgatti and Soldati, 2002; Soldati et al.,
2004; Cossart et al., 2008) and non-European mountain belts
(Bovis and Jones, 1992; Crozier, 1997; Cruden, 1997; Thomas, 1999).
These studies indicate an initial period of slope instability during
pre-boreal and boreal periods (11.5 ka to 8.5 ka cal. BP) that were
maybe triggered by the climatic changes. This rst period of
instability is later followed by a second slope instability phase
during the subboreal period (from 5.8 to 2.0 ka cal. BP), during
which slope failure has often been explained by reactivation of
landslides characterized by non-paraglacial triggering like the
increase of precipitation or fault activation.
3. Study area
The study area is located in the Argentera-Mercantour massif
along the upper Tine Valley on the SW slope of the Alps (Fig. 1).
The Argentera-Mercantour massif, with several peaks above
3000 m a.s.l., is one of the highest massifs in the Alps. The steep
slopes of the massif (35e40 on average) constitute of Hercynian
crystalline rocks (granites and gneisses) that underwent low grade
metamorphic recrystallization and strong localized deformation in
narrow fault corridors during the formation of the Alpine chain
since 35 Ma (Corsini et al., 2004; Sanchez et al., 2010b, 2011,in
press; accepted).
Mountain areas showing preserved imbricate geomorphology
associated with several climatic phases and tectonic or mass-wasting
events are rare. The Fer Lake area in the Tine Valley (ArgenteraMercantour massif), located between 2200 and 2900 m a.s.l., is therefore a potentially suitable site containing a high density of morphological features (Sanchez et al., 2010a; Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), including:
- Unaltered and well-exposed glacially polished surfaces. At
present, the evolution of climate since the LGM in the Southern
Alps is not as well constrained as in the Northern Alps. The

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

129

Fig. 1. Simplied structural map of the NortheWest part of the Argentera-Mercantour massif (after Sanchez et al., 2010a,b; 2011,in press). The red rectangle locates the upper part of
the Tine valley.(For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

preservation of widespread glacier surfaces in this zone of the

Southern Alps makes it a suitable area to study and further
constrain the deglaciation history.
- A signicant tectonic inuence on the geomorphology of the
massif, with the valleys being almost in the strike of recent and
right-lateral active faults (Fig. 1). Several Holocene morphological features are offset by the dextral motion along the
faults, possibly in response to lithostatic discharge following
glacier retreat (Sanchez et al., 2010a,b).
- Widespread and sometimes large-scale (>1 km2) landslides
occurring along the southern ank of the Mercantour massif

(Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). Their displacement rates (several mm.a1;

Sanchez et al., 2010a) as well as the time span of their activity
(several ka) are indicative of acceleration and deceleration
phases, which could be correlated to the climatic and tectonic
evolution of the mountain range.
The fault corridors are still active, shifting morphological
features (Sanchez et al., 2010a) and causing ongoing microseismicity (Jenatton et al., 2007). The right-lateral strike-slip deformation (Fig. 1) produced a vertical anisotropy in the massif. This
geological context is favorable for the triggering of landslides: the

130

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Fig. 2. Geomorphological map of study area.

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

vertical cleavage is an effective uid pathway, allowing a widespread alteration of the crystalline rocks (Follacci, 1987; Follacci
et al., 1988). Numerous landslides have occurred in the Tine
Valley, the most notable being Le Pra and La Clapire (Fig. 1 and
Fig. 2) (El Bedoui et al., 2009).
3.1. Geomorphological description
The location of moraines and glacially polished surfaces
indicate a w1000 m glacier inll in the main Tine Valley, with
a maximal glacier extent until Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tine at 600 m
a.s.l. Tributary glaciers, like the Fer-Tnibre glacier, fed this main
valley in ice. These tributary valleys are located just above SaintEtienne de Tine (Fig. 2). The Fer glacier was connected with the
Tnibre glacier by a difuence located to the northwest of the Fer
lake (Fig. 2). The paleo glacial system was fed by four cirques
made up of high summits (Cime de Borgonio, 2904 m; Tte de
lUbac, 2991 m; Tte Rousse, 2994 m; Tnibre, 3031 m; Fig. 2).
The glacial polished rock surfaces present in the Fer valley bear
glacial striae, which are an indication for the good preservation of
these surfaces. Geomorphological observations in the eld show
that slopes often support two planar surfaces. U-shaped perched
valleys show a steep lower slope with 60
5 dipping polished
surfaces, while the upper slope part is atter with polished
surfaces dipping 30
5 (Fig. 3A, B). The hinge of the two slopes
is about 130 m above the valley oor at an altitude of w2500 m.
This morphology suggests a polygenetic origin of the glacial
valley, with several imbricate glacier events. The two surfaces and
the crest line are clearly w50 m offset by a right-lateral strike-slip
fault. The geometry of this fault and its regional signicance are
described in Sanchez et al. (2010b) (Fig. 3A). The fault connects
approximately 25 km to the NW of our study area to the active
Jausiers fault, evidenced by a swarm of microseismicity (Jenatton
et al., 2007; Sanchez et al., 2010b; 2011,in press, Fig. 1). It runs
southeast along the Argentera-Mercantour Massif down to the
Mediterranean Sea in a segmented style, via Saorge and San
Remo.
4. Sampling and methodology of

10

Be dating

Several methods can be used to establish a precise chronology

of glacier recession, tectonics and associated landslides. The
relative dating of pollen has been used in the Alps to constrain
the duration of glacier phases (Ortu et al., 2008; Ilyashuk et al.,
2009). However, Ortu et al. (2006) ascribe the difculty of
establishing a precise climatic reconstruction for high altitudes in
the Southern Alps using this method to the potentially long
temporal and spatial pollen transport by regional and local
winds. Radiocarbon dating of morphologies is complicated,
because of the very low preservation potential of organic matter
at high altitudes (Ortu et al., 2008). Finally, recent developments
in direct TCN 10Be dating of surface morphologies appeared to be
the most promising and appropriate method for this type of
studies (Siame et al., 2000). Several works using similar in situ
produced cosmogenic nuclide dating methods allowed to
constrain the termination of the last glacial phase in the northern
and central Alps (Kelly et al., 2004, 2006; Ivy-Ochs et al., 2009)
and Western Alps (Cossart et al., 2010). These studies used mainly
boulders from moraine systems and some polished glaciated
rocks.
4.1. Sampling strategy
To constrain the chronology of the last main deglaciation phases, experiments were performed on polished glacial surfaces using

131

the CRE dating method based on in-situ produced cosmogenic 10Be

accumulation as detailed in Brown et al. (1991) and Siame et al.
(2000) and reviewed in Gosse and Phillips (2001). We aimed at
revealing several potential phases of glacier-thinning. Therefore,
lower and upper hill slopes were sampled, supposing they potentially bear the signature of multiple glacier stages. Two types of
surfaces have been collected in the upper part of the MercantourArgentera Massif (Figs. 3 and 4):
(1) Fifteen polished glacial surfaces well exposed in quartz veins or
gneissic lithologies have been collected: ve on the upper and
less steep part of slope, and ten on the lower and steeper part of
slope. Two distinct sampling sites were chosen in two neighboring valleys to evaluate the lateral variability of the deduced
ages (Fig. 4B, C). The rst one (Fig. 4B) corresponds to a large
and at glacial cirque around the Rabuons Lake at an average
altitude of 2530 m, while the second one (Fig. 4C) corresponds
to the southeastern side of the Fer Lake Valley with an elevation of 2500e2900 m (Fig. 3AeB). This latter and main
sampling site presents distinctive two-slope valley sides,
likely dug by two glacier phases. Fresh glacial striae observed
on all the samples of the lower and steeper polished surfaces
suggest that it has been preserved from alteration. In contrast,
the upper e and thus likely older e surface has suffered some
mechanical disaggregation that did not allow preservation of
glacial striae. The CRE ages calculated from these surfaces are
assumed to correspond to the glacier retreat at the sampling
sites.
(2) Two zones have been sampled along the corridor of the main
strike-slip fault cutting the glacial morphology mapped by
Sanchez et al. (2010a,b) (Figs. 3A, 4C). Numerous sagging
zones affect this fault zone. In the lower part of the corridor,
where a wall with visible glacial striae is preserved and
where the corridor nally merges with the main valley walls,
we collected three samples along a horizontal line. Given the
morphology, this corresponds to samples Clap 18, Clap 19 and
Clap 20 located 5, 10 and 20 m from the corridor oor,
respectively (Fig. 4C and Table 1). In this lower part of the
corridor, the calculated TCN 10Be ages may correspond to the
exposure age after glacier retreat. However, the amount of ice
in the corridor might not have been sufcient to efciently
erase the bedrock, leading to a signicant amount of inherited in situ produced 10Be resulting from a previous exposure
to cosmic rays. Therefore, at best, the obtained ages may date
the last glacial episode following the fault scarp exposure, or
more likely, the exposure resulting from a rock-fall episode
considering that the initial fault shape may not be preserved.
In the upper part of the corridor, sampled large cracks and at
surfaces (Fig.4C) yield calculated ages that could possibly
correspond to the main episode of crack opening. This likely
coincides with a major episode of fault activation, and to the
last main glacial event which shaped the corridor,
respectively.

4.2. In-situ

10

Be dating methodology

Chemical treatment of the samples and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements were carried out at the Laboratoire
National des Nuclides Cosmogniques (LN2C) (CEREGE, Aix-enProvence). Samples were prepared for cosmogenic nuclide
concentration measurements following chemical procedures
adapted from Brown et al. (1991) and Merchel and Herpers (1999).
Crushed rocks were sieved and magnetic grains were discarded
using Frantz device, a magnetic separator. Pure quartz was obtained

132

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Fig. 3. A: Aerial photography of Fer lake showing the fault zone (in red) offsetting the crest by 50 m, and the two slopes (in blue and green) ascribed to two distinct glacial phases.
The white segment a, b, c, d corresponds to the trace of the cross section (B). B: Topographic cross-section of the slop along the a, b, c, d proles shown in (A). (For interpretation of
the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

from the non-magnetic 250e800 mm fraction by repeated

H2SiF6eHCl etching; atmospheric 10Be was subsequently eliminated by sequential dissolutions with diluted HF. After addition of
w100 ml of an in-house 3.103 g/g 9Be carrier solution prepared
from deep-mined phenakite (Merchel et al., 2008; Korschinek et al.
(2010); Chmeleff et al. (2010)) to all samples, residual grains were
dissolved in a strong HF solution. Upon complete evaporation of
SiF6, remaining solutions were puried and Be separated by anion
and cation exchange columns, respectively, after which alkaline
precipitations allowed to extract Be. BeO targets were prepared for
measurement at the French National Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility, ASTER, located at CEREGE in Aix-en-Provence. The
obtained 10Be/9Be ratios were corrected for procedural blanks and
calibrated against the National Institute of Standards and Technology standard reference material 4325 by using an assigned value
of 2.79
0.03  1011 and using a 10Be half-life of
(1.387
0.012)  106 years (Korschinek et al. (2010); Chmeleff et al.
(2010)). In order to calculate ages from the measured

concentrations, the same corrections as those proposed by Sanchez

et al. (2010a) were used:

Cc;;t C0 $elt

Pspal:

h
i
i
c
Pms Lcms h
1  et l
$eLn 1  etl
$e

i
Pmf  c h
$e Lmf 1  et l

where C(c,,t) is the 10Be concentration as a function of depth c

(g.cm2) and t the exposure time (year); C0 is the 10Be inherited
concentration prior to exposure at the surface. Ln, Lms and Lmf are
the effective apparent attenuation length (g/cm2) for neutrons,
slow muons and fast muons, respectively. Pspal, Pms and Pmf are the
relative spallogenic, slow and fast muons production rates
(P Pspal Pms Pmf). All calculations were performed using
attenuation lengths of 150, 1500 and 5300 g/cm2 with associated
relative contributions to the total surface production rate of 1.50%

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

133

Fig. 4. A: Localization map of the two sampling sites, close to Fer and Rabuons lakes. B: Location and outcrop picture of samples collected in Rabuons Lake site. C: Samples collected
in Fer Lake site, with outcrop conditions shown for the Upper slope (center bottom), the fault corridor (right bottom), and sampling along the horizontal prole at the base of the
fault corridor shown on the picture to the right.

and 0.65% for slow muons and fast muons, respectively. These
values are based on eld-calibrated measurements (Braucher et al.,
2003). A modern spallogenic production rate at sea-level and high
latitude of 4.5
0.3 atoms/g/year was used. This was computed for
internal consistency from the data of Stone (2000) and according to
the conclusions of the recently published study on absolute calibration of 10Be AMS standards by Nishiizumi et al. (2007). This sea-

level and high latitude production rate has then been scaled for the
sampling altitudes and latitudes using the scaling factors proposed
by Stone (2000).
For glacial polished surfaces, the surface production rates were
corrected for local slope and topographic shielding due to
surrounding morphologies following Dunne et al. (1999). Snow
shielding corrections may increase the calculated 10Be ages by up to

Table 1
10
Be analytical data. The presented production rates are scaled to the sampling coordinates following Stone (2000) from a sea-level high latitudes 10Be production rate of
4.5 atoms g1 year1 taking into account the revised 10Be half-life (Chmeleff et al., 2010; Korschinek et al., 2010) and corrected for topographic shielding (St) following Dunne
et al. (1999). Dt is the distance between the upper edge of the scarp and the sample.
Samples

Location

Longitude

Glacial polished surface

Upper Slope (Elevation: 2700e2900 m)
Clap 09
Lac Fer
N 44,27424
Clap 10
Lac Fer
N 44,27448
Clap 12
Lac Fer
N 44,27547
Clap 14
Lac Fer
N 44,27510
Clap 15
Lac Fer
N 44,27454
Lower Slope (Elevation: 2500e2700 m)
Clap 03
Rabuons
N 44,26870
Clap 07
Rabuons
N 44,26510
Clap 23
Lac Fer
N 44,27559
Clap 24
Lac Fer
N 44,27468
Clap 25
Lac Fer
N 44,27425
Clap 26
Lac Fer
N 44,27407
Fer 01
Lac Fer
N 44,27437
Lac Fer
N 44,27440
Fer 02
Fer 03
Lac Fer
N 44,27443
Fer 05
Lac Fer
N 44,27442
Fault zone
Clap 16
Lac Fer
N 44,27474
Clap 17
Lac Fer
N 44,24439
Clap 18
Lac Fer
N 44,27375
Clap 19
Lac Fer
N 44,27375
Clap 20
Lac Fer
N 44,27375
Clap 21
Lac Fer
N 44,27512
Clap 22
Lac Fer
N 44,27546

Latitude

Elevation
(m)

Dt (cm)

Production
(at/g/year)

St

[10Be]
(104at/g)

E
E
E
E
E

6,96350
6,96321
6,96536
6,96650
6,96578

2731
2701
2740
2814
2786

e
e
e
e
e

40.9
40.12
41.14
43.13
43.37

0.86
0.87
0.94
0.91
0.95

52.81
49.34
55.43
62.41
7.68

2.0
2.0
1.8
5.3
2.4

15,073
14,143
14,405
16,036
1916

637
633
532
1434
616

E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E

6,97861
6,97671
6,96455
6,96230
6,96171
6,96152
6,96090
6,96084
6,96089
6,96181

2511
2560
2670
2620
2620
2604
2600
2590
2588
2645

e
e
e
e
20
e
e
20
30
e

35.41
36.58
39.32
38.05
38.05
37.66
26.62
20.59
26.62
25.93

0.87
0.85
0.55
0.45
0.45
0.45
0.72
0.55
0.72
0.73

34.68
32.66
23.93
28.03
12.69
5.59
11.37
13.36
19.45
27.17

1.0
1.0
1.5
8.1
1.2
0.4
1.2
1.8
1.8
4.3

11,343
10,547
12,158
16,568
10,641
3331
10,255
11,017
10,418
10,512

395
366
829
4867
1096
270
1697
1571
996
1697

E
E
E
E
E
E
E

6,96468
6,96454
6,96375
6,96375
6,96375
6,96349
6,96461

2757
2770
2642
2642
2642
2653
2663

e
e
150
150
150
e
e

41.59
41.94
38.61
38.61
38.61
38.88
39.14

0.96
0.99
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.62
0.55

33.68
29.27
18.97
12.17
20.76
6.94
16.97

1.0
3.5
1.4
1.5
1.9
0.8
0.5

8462
7041
9359
8294
8358
2894
8654

295
873
654
1123
2935
364
305

Tmin
sTmin
(years)

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R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

8%, by assuming a snow height of 1 m during 6 months per year, the

snow density (r) being 0.3 g cm3 (Hippolyte et al., 2006). Because
this is negligible compared to the overall uncertainties associated
with the age calculation and because most sampled surfaces were
taken from steep slopes that remain mostly uncovered by snow
during wintertime (Fig. 5), no correction was applied for snow
cover.
Analytical uncertainties (reported as 1s) include a conservative
1% uncertainty based on long-term measurements of standards,
a 1s statistical error on counted 10Be events, and the uncertainty
associated with the chemical and analytical blank correction
(associated 10Be/9Be blank ratio was 5.3
5.3  1016). To compare
the 10Be exposure ages with absolute ages, errors were propagated
assuming an additional 7% maximum uncertainty for production
rates. Moreover, considering the observed preservation of striae, all
10
Be ages were calculated considering the erosion rate as negligible
during the time period involved, and are thus minimum ages.

with preliminary ages of 12 10Be ka obtained by Sanchez et al.

(2010a) in Le Pra area (Fig. 1), to the NW of the ArgenteraMercantour Massif.

5.2. Dating of the upper slope polished glacial surfaces

The Fer Lake upper slope sampling sites are located at altitudes
between 2700 and 2900 m (Fig. 6, blue dots) and yield calculated
ages ranging from 1916
616 10Be yr to 16 036
1434 10Be yr
(Table 1). The CRE age of 1916
616 10Be yr calculated for sample
Clap 15 (Table 1) most likely results from a mass-wasting event,
given its location that neighbors a visible sagging zone. Considering
sample Clap 15 as an outlier, the TCN ages calculated from the
upper slope samples lead to an average age of 14.9
0.8 10Be ka,
which is interpreted as the minimum age for the formation of this
surface (Fig. 8B). The clustering of the upper slope CRE ages allows
interpreting this as the age of a glacial retreat after a major glacial
episode that lled the valley up to the crest line (Fig. 7).

5. Dating results
5.1. Dating of the lower slope polished glacial surfaces

5.3. Dating of the corridor fault zone

The two Rabuons site samples (Fig. 4B) gave similar ages of
10 547
366 10Be yr and 11 343
395 10Be yr (Table 1) and yield an
average value of 10 950
540 10Be yr, which we interpret as the age
for the main last glacial retreat on this glacial surface. The small but
signicant difference observed between both ages may be ascribed
either to differences in post-exposure conditions or to across site
variations in deglaciation chronology.
Comparable ages are derived from samples taken at the Fer lake
site, located at a similar elevation (Figs. 4C and 6 green dots,
Table 1). The mean age for all the samples is 10 612
1628 10Be yr is
deduced (Fig. 8A). The data set contains two outliers, Clap 26 and
Clap 24. The deviating age of Clap 26 (3331
270 10Be yr, Table 1)
most likely results from refreshment of the surface, which does not
bear any glacial striae, while Clap 24 (16 568
4867 10Be yr,
Table 1) shows a very large uncertainty. After exclusion of these two
obvious outliers, we calculated a mean age of 10861
1081 10Be yr
for this glacial surface, remarkably similar to the age obtained from
the Rabuons glacial surface.
Combining all ages obtained from the polished glacial surfaces
at these two sites located at elevations ranging 2500e2700 m,
glacier retreat time for these altitudes can be bracketed between
10 900
1100 10Be yr (Fig. 6). At a regional scale, this is consistent

Seven surfaces were selected for TCN dating in the corridor zone
offsetting the crest to the southeast of Fer Lake (Fig. 6, red dots;
Table 1). The calculated ages range from 2894
394 10Be yr to
9359
654 10Be yr. Sample Clap 21 collected below a rock-fall zone
in a steep portion of the corridor yields an age of 2894
394 10Be yr,
signicantly younger than other ages. This may be related to
a relatively discrete rock-fall event or to tectonics. Its age could thus
be ascribed to outcrop refreshing processes resulting from one or
several rock-fall events. When discarding Clap 21, the ages deduced
from the fault corridor samples lead to a mean value of 8360
940
10
Be yr (Fig. 7; Fig. 8C). Several hypotheses can be proposed for the
interpretation of this age:
(1) This fault zone has been fractured during multiple tectonic
events. Therefore, the combined mechanic alteration of
tectonics and frost might have accelerated the erosion process
in the couloirs, explaining that obtained ages are younger than
in the neighboring slopes.
(2) The fault corridor might have been capped by ice due to its
more northerly orientation. In this latter case, the younger age
obtained for the corridor surface should correspond to the nal
ice-melting event.

Fig. 5. Photography of sampling surfaces during winter. The steep slope does not allow the accumulation of signicant amounts of snow.

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

135

Fig. 6. Dating results on the South-Eastern side of Fer Lake.

6. Discussion
This study provides new ages based on the in situ produced
cosmogenic 10Be content of morphological features in the Southern
Alps. The presented results highlight the inuence and combined
effect of deglaciation, fault activity and landslides on shaping the
high valley morphology. We documented three glacial phases on
the basis of detailed slope analyses. In addition to data previously
obtained in other parts of the European Alps, they allow discussing
the extent of the last glaciation and the chronology of the late
glacier retreat at the scale of the mountain chain.

10e100 mm yr1 for glaciers in the tectonically active ranges of

Alaska. In the case of the Argentera Mercantour massif, the rocks
are relatively resistant because of their gneissic composition, but
the mountain range is tectonically active. We thus assume a glacial
erosion rate of 2e3 mm/yr (Fig. 9B and C) to be concordant with the
Norwegian and Alaskan rates. Nevertheless, the older glacial

6.1. Signicance of the 10Be ages from the two main glacial surfaces
The dating of glacial polished surfaces above the Fer Lake in the
Upper Tine Valley has allowed us to distinguish two superimposed
morphologies (Table 1, Section 5). Fig. 9 presents a schematic crosssection showing the hypothetic evolution of the paleo Fer-glacier
(Fig. 9A). To create two nested valleys, glaciers need an incision of
200 m vertical to shape the upper slopes and 200 m more to shape
the steeper lower slopes. The hypothesis of polygenic phases of
glacier incision most likely explains this morphology. If we take the
duration of the two last large glaciation periods into account, Riss
(250 ka to 170 ka) and Wrm (120e15 ka), we need an erosion rate
of 2.5 mm yr1 to shape the upper part of the slope during the Riss
glacial period (Fig. 9B) and an erosion rate of 1.8 mm yr1 to shape
the lower and steeper part of the slope during the Wrm glacial
period (Fig. 9C), assuming that a warm-based, erosively active
glacier occupied the valley the whole time. We compared our
values to published papers to check the validity of our data. Hallet
et al. (1996) indicate orders of magnitude of 0.1 mm yr1 for
temperate glaciers on resistant crystalline bedrock in Norway to

Fig. 7. Localization of the three modeled age groups. In blue: the samples of the higher
and less steep slope part have an Oldest Dryas age. In green: the samples of the lower
and less steep slope part bear a Younger Dryas age. This later phase has re-incised the
valley, but did not inll it up to the crest and most probably up to the slope hinge.
In red: these samples feature the last deglaciation phase during the pre-boreal
period.(For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is
referred to the web version of this article.)

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R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Younger Dryas deglaciation in Alps at 11500 years (Kelly et al.,

2004; Ortu et al., 2008). Thus, we propose that the valleys were
re-incised by a relatively short-lived low-magnitude glacier
renewal period during the younger Dryas (Fig. 9E). To be consistent
with the decrease of 10Be production with depth, 1000 mm of
gneissic material has to be removed by a minimal erosion rate of
0.4 mm yr1. Following this interpretation, this event would have
led to a double-slope pattern in the Argentera-Mercantour massif,
with steeper proles in the lower parts of the valley (Fig. 9E).
6.2. Signicance of exposure ages in the Fault corridor

The mean age resulting from the dating of the Fault corridor
surfaces is 8360
940 years (Section 5.3). Although alteration in
the Fault corridor was most likely accelerated by the mechanical
behavior of the fault damage zone (Sanchez et al., 2010b), the
occurrence of glacier striae on the lower part of the corridor slope
evidences glacier polishing. Thus, it seems that this zone preserves
the trace of a Lateglacial event. The northerly (NWeSE) orientation
of the corridor and its high elevation are favorable for ice-cap
preservation after the end of the Younger Dryas melting episode.
This hypothesis is strengthened by the results of Ivy-Ochs et al.
(2009) and Joerin et al. (2008) who indicate activity uctuations
of some high altitude glaciers between 10500 and 3300 yr cal. BP in
the Alps. These authors show that several late deglaciation episodes
have occurred after the development of small glaciers (Ivy-Ochs
et al., 2009). Moreover, some studies indicate that the climatic
optimum was reached between 9 ka and 5.8 ka cal. BP (Soldati et al.,
2004). It seems that the last glaciers melted during this period.
6.3. The last glacial paroxysms and glacier retreats in the
Southwestern Alps

Fig. 8. Age distribution reported at 1s level of polished glacial samples by a binned

frequency histogram and probability and density distribution (Sircombe, 2004). The
density curve is tted by a lter of concordance, with a xed condence level of 95%.
The age ranges are determined according to the density curve distribution.

polished surface, sampled on the upper part of the hillslopes at

elevations ranging 2700e2900 m, indicates a minimum mean
deglaciation age of 14 900
800 10Be years. This is consistent with
the age attributed to the end of the Oldest Dryas in the Southwestern Alps (c. 14700 yr cal. BP) (Jorda and Rosique, 1994; Ortu
et al., 2008) and with a transition toward the warmer and wetter
Blling-Allerd interstadial period. From 20 to 14.7 ka, the upper
part of the Fer Valley slopes has been shaped by the Oldest Dryas
glacier ow with a minimum ice thickness of 200 m in the center of
the valley (Fig. 9D). Thus, most of the large-scale shaping of the
Southern Alps valleys should have been achieved at the end of the
Oldest Dryas. Moreover, taking into account the decrease of 10Be
production with depth in this rock type (gneiss), we need to remove
1000 mm of material to start the chronometer for the Oldest Dryas.
This is possible if the erosion rate of the Oldest Dryas cold period,
which spans 2100 years, is w0.5 mm per year or more, which is
acceptable and concordant with the actual erosion rates of Norway
(Ballantyne, 2002) and Alaska (Hallet et al., 1996).
The shaping of the steeper lower part of the slopes, at elevations
ranging 2500 to 2700 m, is dated at 10900
1100 years (Table 1).
This mean age is similar to the commonly accepted age for the

From the data presented here for the South-Western Alps, three
main glacier events can be convincingly correlated to those
described in the Northern Alps in the works of Ivy-Ochs et al. (2006,
2007, 2008, 2009), Kelly et al. (2001, 2004), Kerschner et al. (2006),
Federici et al. (2008) Cossart et al. (2010) and Ortu et al. (2008)
(Fig. 10). Most data in these studies show moraine stabilization
ages between 11 900 and 10 500 years (ages calculated with 14C cal.
BP and with 10Be, Fig. 11, green dots) a time period matching the
end of the Younger Dryas. Identical within-error ages obtained for
the Tine Valley lead to a mean age of 10900
1100 years for
elevations at c. 2600 m. This mean age is coherent with the data of
Federici et al. (2008), who calculated a mean age of c.
11 340
370 yr for elevations of c. 1800 m in the Piano del Praiet
(Italian side of Argentera). The younger age for the Tine valley
compared to the Piano del Praiet Valley could be explained by their
elevation difference. It appears that the main last glacier phase
ended at c. 11200
700 years at the scale of the Alps. The more
southerly position and the mainly south-facing exposure of the
valleys in the Argentera-Mercantour did not signicantly accelerate
the end of this major glacial melting episode. This suggests melting
may have been rapid at a large regional scale, which is in agreement
with the reconstructions of Jorda and Rosique (1994).
Several studies conducted in the Northern Alps have demonstrated moraine stabilization between 9301 and 7421 years (Fig. 11,
red dots), interpreted as a late pre-boreal deglacial episode. These
data are consistent with the younger ages (8400
940 10Be years)
obtained from narrow and north-facing exposed surfaces in the
fault corridor of the Tine Valley. Therefore, it seems possible/likely
that small amounts of ice were preserved after the major Younger
Dryas melting episode in the coldest and highest Alpine conned
places. These small amounts of ice would have melted with the
arrival of the climatic optimum, between 9 and 5.8 ka (Soldati et al.,

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

137

Fig. 9. Stages of deglaciation in the Tine Valley since 20 ka. A: Localization of B, C, D and E cross sections. B: Phase of Oldest Dryas (17e4.7 ka), with glacier inll up to the massifs
crests. C: End of Oldest Dryas (14.9 ka). The crests are ice-free. D: Re-incision during the Younger Dryas with a Maximum glaciation at 12.7 ka. C: End of Younger Dryas with
deglaciation at 10.9
1.3 ka.

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R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Fig. 10. Interpreted aerial photography of the Fer paleo-glacier. This photography shows the shift of both glacial surfaces (in blue and green) by the fault (in red). (For interpretation
of the references to colour in this gure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

2004). This scenario was previously proposed by Joerin et al.

(2008), who identied three phases of glacier recession in the
Tschierva glacier (southeastern Switzerland) at 9.2 ka, 7.5e6.7 ka
and 6.2e5.6 ka cal. BP using 14C dating (techniques).
6.4. The Oldest Dryas event at the Alps scale
Despite the major Late Dryas deglaciation imprint along the full
Alpine arc, some remnants of the previous Oldest Dryas event are
still preserved. The last deglaciation of the Inn and Isar-Loisach
glaciers has been dated at 16000
900 years (Ivy-Ochs et al.,
2008, Fig. 11, blue dots) at elevations ranging 670 to 495 m. This
probably results from a stronger imprint of the Oldest Dryas than
the Younger Dryas period (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008). Considering the
sampling altitudes above 2700 m, the minimum mean age of
14900
800 years calculated for the upper slope part in the Tine
Valley agrees with this interpretation. Based on these relatively
similar ages on both sides of the Alps, we propose that, following
a major period of glacier activity at 18e19 ka (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008),
the glacier retreat of the Oldest Dryas began at c. 16000
900 yr in
the low Alpine valleys and reached the high Alpine valleys roughly
a millennium later, at c. 14900
800 yr. In the Southern Alps, it is
likely that this phase has lead to a major morphological shaping,
which was only slightly reactivated during the Younger Dryas.
6.5. Post-deglacial evolution of slopes
Several studies have shown that the main unstable areas are
consistently located in areas formerly occupied by glacier ice (Bovis
and Jones, 1992; Crozier, 1997; Cruden, 1997; Matthews et al., 1997;
Thomas, 1999; Borgatti and Soldati, 2002; Soldati et al., 2004;
Cossart et al., 2008), especially for regions with rapid climatic

changes like in the European Alps (Jorda and Rosique, 1994) with
uctuations in temperature and precipitation.
These studies show some similitudes, which allows elaborating
the following two steps scheme: (1) after the Younger Dryas
period, several landslides occurred because of the release of large
quantities of water following the rapid climate change coupled
with the rapid decrease of stress generated by the ice unload. (2)
Numerous mass-wasting events are reported in the period between
5.5 and 2.5 ka that are considered to be reactivations of the rst
event. The cause of these reactivations is assigned to non-glacial
events like the increase of precipitation (Soldati et al., 2004;
Cossart et al., 2008).
Several landslides are present in the study area, the most
important being La Clapire and Le Pra landslides. The possible
link between climate parameter change and landslide occurrence
must be addressed for several reasons: the rst one is to understand the post-deglaciation evolution of slopes. The second one is
to complete the preexisting database of landslides generated by
climate changes.
Bigot-Cormier et al. (2005) dated three activation phases of La
Clapire landslide at (1) 10.3
0.5 ka, which is, considering the
associated uncertainties, consistent with the age of the Younger
Dryas glacier retreat in the Alps (Fig. 11); (2) 7.1
0.5 ka corresponding to the optimum climatic phase (9e5.8 ka), and (3)
2.3
0.5 ka, which is consistent with the end of the sudden climatic
worsening that occurred at 2.7 ka cal. BP, with a considerable
increase of precipitation (Magny, 2004). These three phases are in
agreement with the scheme presented by Soldati et al. (2004) with
a rst activation of landslides following Younger Dryas stage and
reactivations following later glacier recession stages. Le Pra landslide activity has been dated at 5.0
0.7 ka by Sanchez et al.
(2010a). This age is consistent with a reactivation during the
climatic optimum (Fig. 12).

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

139

Fig. 11. Synthesis of deglaciation ages at the scale of Alps. The {n} number refers to bibliography: {1}: Kelly et al., 2001; {2}: Kelly et al., 2004; {3}: Ivy-Ochs et al., 2006; {4}:
Kerschner et al., 2006; {5}: Ivy-Ochs et al., 2007; {6}: Federici et al., 2008; {7}: Hormes et al., 2008; {8}: Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008; {9}: Ivy-Ochs et al., 2009; {10}: Cossart et al., 2010.

The correlation between climate change and landslide occurrence seems to be present in the study area and is consistent with
the studies on this subject. However, we should consider another
element. The study area is affected by a regional active fault system
positioned only several hundreds of meters above the landslide
area. Sanchez et al. (2010a) dated two tectonic events at 11 and 7e9
10
Be ka respectively, which could be consistent with landslide
events (Fig. 12). Moreover, this tectonic activity could be ascribed to
water inux directly following the rapid glacier retreat. A relationship between water inux in the fault zones and increased
seismicity has been observed during seasonal pluvial episodes in
many studies (Roth et al., 1992; Saar and Manga, 2003; Hainzl et al.,
2006; Husen et al., 2007). Additional arguments for the inuence of
deglaciation on tectonics are provided by offsets of polished glacier
morphologies. In the Fer Lake area, the active Jausiers-Tine Fault
offsets morphological features (Fig. 10), with three morphological
pinpoints being coherently displaced by a right-lateral fault motion.
These include the crest (1), the slope hinge (2), and the slope base
(3). This indicates that fault displacement must have mainly
occurred after the end of the Oldest Dryas deglaciation. It is
however difcult to determine the amount of displacement before
the end of the younger Dryas, because the base of the fault corridor
has been refreshed by a late Boreal glacial polish, possibly erasing
a former younger Dryas polish. In any case, most of the displacement was achieved before the late Boreal, since polishing seals
most of the fault corridor morphology. Therefore, the 50 m
displacement on this fault likely coincides with tectonic activity
initiating at the end of the Oldest Dryas at c. 15 ka, and was likely

achieved by c. 7e8 ka. This leads to a right-lateral displacement rate

of c. 7 mm.a1. It is therefore probable that numerous earthquakes
were the driving force behind this motion. The estimated magnitude of major earthquakes in the region nowadays is approximately
6 Mw (SisFrance, 2008). The peculiarity of the Jausiers-Tine fault
system is that it is segmented, with offsets dying out laterally
(Sanchez et al., 2010b; 2011,in press). In this type of fault systems,
earthquakes of magnitude 6 have been related to several meters of
offset (Wells and Coppersmith, 1994). The total offset of 50 m may
therefore result from ten to fteen earthquakes (about two per
millennium). In addition, some of the motion might be accommodated by creeping motion on the fault, resulting in microseismicity.
It is known that relatively wet climatic conditions may trigger
landslides and some tectonic activity, which could explain activity
along the La Clapire slope directly below the fault zone. The
motion of studied active landslides in the Tine valley (Le Pra and
La Clapire) would be hampered by several anomalies if only the
combined effects of gravity and alteration would be considered: (1)
their motion is relatively slow, several mm yr1 on average during
periods of several ka, (2) landslide triggering is episodic along the
same slope. Therefore we propose that the landslides were active
after glacier recession of the Younger Dryas. Their reactivations are
mainly resulting from the effects of increased water inux, such as
during Holocene wetter climatic optima. The water inux would in
this case represent a signicant mass supplement, inuencing the
slope rheology in a rock mass that previously suffered combined
alteration by the mechanical effect of ongoing seismic shaking and
subsequent uid ow in neo-formed joints.

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R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

Fig. 12. Correlation tables showing the respective timing of glacial phases, tectonics and landslide events. Column 1: The NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) curve (Svensson
et al., 2008). Column 2: Summary of paleo-climate data (Kelly et al., 2004; Ortu et al., 2008). Column 3: Summary of major tectonic and landslide events in Tine Valley (BigotCormier et al., 2005; Sanchez et al., 2010a,b). Column 4: Synthesis of deglaciation in the Alps (for references see Fig. 7 and the text). Column 5: Synthesis of deglaciation
episode CRE ages in the Tine Valley. The blue levels are cold periods while orange levels are warm periods.(For interpretation of the references to colour in this gure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

The comparison of the glacier retreat in the Northern and

Southern Alps allows us to discuss the timing of deglaciation at the
scale of Alps. Fig. 11 shows that deglaciation was synchronous along
the Alpine mountain belt. Figs. 11 and 12 show similar glacier
retreat ages in different area of Alps. Moreover, these ages are in
agreement with the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core project)
curve (Fig. 12). For the northern hemisphere, the glacier-melting
seems to have occured quite rapidly, spanning around one thousand years at most. Furthermore, we can remark that major tectonic
and landslide events coincide with the end of deglaciation phases.
This age coincidence could thus be ascribed to a combination of
stress release and water inux directly following the rapid Alpine-

scale glacier-melting episode. This interpretation is supported by

landslide activity in the Tine Valley 7e9 ka (Bigot-Cormier et al.,
2005; Sanchez et al., 2010a; Fig. 12), which may thus be correlated to the late Boreal event documented at c. 8400
940 years
(Fig. 12).
7. Conclusions
Acquisition of in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be ages on glacial
polished surfaces has allowed to constrain the different glacier
recession phases during the Last Glacial Maximum in the SouthWestern Alps. Three phases of glacier recession have been dated

R. Darnault et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 31 (2012) 127e142

at 14.9
0.8 10Be ka, 19.9
1.1 10Be ka and 8.4
0.9 10Be ka. These
ages correspond respectively to the end of (1) the Oldest Dryas cold
period, (2) the Younger Dryas cold period and (3) the beginning of
the climatic optimum. These ages are in agreement with studies
conducted in other Alpine areas. Because of the similarity between
glacier retreat ages acquired in the northern and southern parts of
Alps, we propose that glacier retreat was homogenous at the Alpine
scale and occured rather rapid (<1 ka for each climatic change
period).
Our study area is affected by large landslides, whose activity
phases have been dated at 10.3
0.5 10Be ka; 7.1
0.5 10Be ka and
2.3
0.5 10Be ka for La Clapire landslide and at 5.0
0.7 10Be ka
for Le Pra landslide. These ages correspond to the glacier recession
phase ages, and are being interpreted as a cause-to-consequence
effect of deglaciation on landslide trigger.
Acknowledgments
The 10Be measurements were performed at the ASTER AMS
national facility (CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence) that is supported by
the INSU/CNRS, the French Ministry of Research and Higher
Education, IRD and CEA. We thank L. Lanni, F. Chauvet, M. Arnold,
K. Keddadouche and G. Aumatre for their help during chemistry
and measurements at CEREGE. We are grateful to F. Bigot-Cormier
and M. Manetti for discussions and advice in sample preparation.
We thank discussions with M. Corsini, F. Arnaud, C. Miramont, S.
Coutterand, B. Wilherm. Special thanks to E. Brisset for her advice
on geomorphology. This manuscript benetted from fruitful
reviews done by two anonymous reviewers and editorial handling
by Neil Glasser. Formal English language improvements were
provided by M. Meijers.
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