10Be exposure ages and paleoenvironmental significance of rock glaciers in the Western Tatra Mts., Western Carpathians

Relict rock glaciers are well-preserved features of high-elevated valleys in the Western Tatra Mts., Western Carpathians, but their chronology remained poorly constrained with numerical dating methods. We present the first robust set of 10Be exposure ages for eight rock glaciers with front elevation of 1376 e1819 m asl. The results suggest that the rock glaciers stabilized throughout the Weichselian Lateglacial from-16.5 ka to 11 ka. This timing is consistent with the period of rock glacier stabilization in European mountain regions, but it extends the age span previously determined for rock glaciers in the Tatra Mts. There are differences between north-and south-facing valleys in the elevation and time of the stabilization of the rock glaciers, which were probably caused by contrasts in potential incoming solar radiation that affected the retreat of former glaciers and the subsequent formation of the rock glaciers. The initiation altitude of-1610 and-1830 m asl determined for the oldest and youngest dated rock glaciers is generally consistent with previous estimates of the glacier equilibrium line altitude during the Greenland Stadials 2.1 and 1, respectively. However, the lower limit of the rock glaciers is well above regional paleopermafrost features from the same periods, which suggests that rock glaciers may underestimate past permafrost extents and temperature declines disputing their regional validity for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study used the 10Be exposure dating method to obtain reliable exposure ages for eight rock glaciers, showing that they stabilized from 16.5 to 11 thousand years ago. The timing of rock glacier stabilization is consistent with other mountain regions in Europe but extends the age previously determined for rock glaciers in the Tatra Mts. There are differences in the elevation and timing of stabilization between north- and south-facing valleys, which may be caused by differences in solar radiation and glacier retreat.