Pleistocene glacial morphology and timing of last glacial cycle in cantabrian mountains (Northern Spain): new chronological data from the Asón area

Abstract

The timing of the local last glacial maximum in the mountains of the Northern Iberian Peninsula is not synchronous with the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) probably due to the marginal position of the Northern Iberian Peninsula within the European continent. The study of a Cantabrian massif, the Asón platform and summits, provides new data on the extent and timing of the local last glaciation. Here we can place the last maximal extent of glaciers during Early Würm, according to OSL dating on till samples. The main glaciers developed at least between 78-65 ka BP, well centred on MIS 4 and even the transition to MIS 5. The erosive efficacy of these glaciers decreased later, ca. 45–40 ka BP, until they abruptly disappeared from the edges of the massif. A new ice advance left well-defined moraines at the edges of the massif’s internal depressions, indicating a tongue disjunction phase with two glacier sub-stages, probably one at the beginning of the cooling ca. 27–25 ka BP, followed by a retreat and another glacial advance ca. 21–18 ka BP. After these episodes the glaciers disappeared from the Asón Mountains and only some residual glaciers were formed that may be related to the LGM.