Late Pleistocene Glaciations in South America

CORONATO, A.; RABASSA, J

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (QUT2)

Elsevier

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012;

Late Pleistocene glaciations in South America developed all along the Andean Cordillera, from Venezuela and Colombia to Cape Horn and Staaten Au2 Island. In most of the Andes, the Late Pleistocene glaciers were restricted to the higher summits or inner valleys, reaching the piedmont areas only in Patagonia, south of 38
S, on both sides of the Andes. The glaciers reached the Pacific Ocean from the island of Chiloe´ southward and the present Atlantic submarine shelf only in the Beagle Channel and Staaten Island at 54
S. Glaciation during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 is seldom recognized, but the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been widely identified at c.24 cal ka BP (MIS 2). Late-glacial readvances are commonly found in the Andean summits and the southern Patagonian lowlands, but the regional influence of the Northern Hemisphere Younger Dryas Stadial or the comparable but slightly earlier Antarctic Cold Reversal is still a matter of debate.