Quaternary Science Advances最新文献

{"title":"Geomorphological responses to climate change in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta: A multi-decadal remote sensing analysis","authors":"Sumaiya Aktar ,&nbsp;Mohidar Hossain ,&nbsp;Md. Mahmudul Hasan Rakib ,&nbsp;Shacin Chandra Saha ,&nbsp;Mehedi Hasan Ovi ,&nbsp;Dipraj Roy ,&nbsp;Arabe Khan ,&nbsp;Irteja Hasan ,&nbsp;Md Abdullah Salman ,&nbsp;Rahat Khan ,&nbsp;Muhammad Risalat Rafiq ,&nbsp;Dhiman Kumer Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100296","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100296","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta represents a major riverine system with limited data availability. This study investigates the morphodynamic behavior of the delta and estuary from 1990 to 2021 by analyzing time-series satellite imagery and comprehensive literature to identify key events and driving factors. The aims of this study are to better understand the geomorphological processes that influence the GBM delta system, identify the physical factors contributing to its formation and, predict future challenges for sustainable development in delta areas. Climatological data (temperature and rainfall) from NASA revealed a rising trend in average annual temperature and fluctuating rainfall patterns across five sites in GBM river system: Sirajganj, Tangail, Rajbari, Chandpur, and Bhola. Cyclone track data were analyzed, and GIS mapping of cyclone intensity and trajectories in the GBM delta was conducted to predict future sustainability challenges. Multi-temporal Landsat imagery from USGS Earth Explorer was analyzed using ArcGIS 10.8 to assess riverbank erosion and accretion. Erosion, accretion, and stable land areas varied across five sites of GBM delta from 1990 to 2020. Sirajgonj and Tangail show major land gains until 2010, followed by severe erosion in 2010–2020, with net losses of −404.33 km² and -497.69 km², respectively. Rajbari gained (+234.66 km²) land in 2000–2010 but saw a reversal with a −143.75 km² loss in the next decade. Chandpur had consistent gains until 2010 but a slight loss (−11.8 km²) afterward. Bhola remained the most stable, maintaining continuous net gains, peaking at +76.83 km² in 2010–2020. NDVI, NDWI, and NDSI data reveals a river-wise gradient. NDVI peaks along the Brahmaputra/Jamuna and Ganges/Padma floodplains and declines toward the Meghna estuary. NDWI delineates persistent surface water, while NDSI shows seaward-intensifying salinity toward the Meghna, indicating elevated coastal vulnerability.These findings serve as a guideline to clarify cause-and-effect relationships in global climate change and anticipate future challenges to the sustainable development of the delta.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100296"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144895007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Subsistence strategies in the early upper Paleolithic of central Iberia: Evidence from Abrigo de la Malia","authors":"Edgar Téllez ,&nbsp;Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo ,&nbsp;Manuel Rodríguez-Almagro ,&nbsp;Carmen Núñez-Lahuerta ,&nbsp;Andion Arteaga-Brieba ,&nbsp;Adrián Pablos ,&nbsp;Nohemi Sala","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Knowledge of early Anatomically Modern Humans settlements in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula remains limited. Traditional perspectives have long assumed that this region, known as the Iberian Plateau, was abandoned after the disappearance of Neanderthals and remained largely uninhabited until the end of the Last Glacial. In contrast, coastal areas have so far been the primary focus of archeological studies, as they are where the majority of known sites are located and where the most research has been conducted on subsistence practices. The recent discovery of the Abrigo de la Malia rock shelter site (Tamajón, Guadalajara) has challenged this paradigm, providing evidence of occupation in Central Iberia during the Aurignacian and Gravettian periods (36,200–26,260 cal BP). This work is focused on the zooarcheological and taphonomic analysis of the Paleolithic faunal assemblage from the Malia rock shelter, aiming to reconstruct the subsistence strategies of the earliest Anatomically Modern Humans inhabiting central Iberia during the early Upper Paleolithic. The results indicate anthropogenic activities focused on the processing of medium- and large-sized ungulates, with carnivores either playing a marginal role. The combined data suggest that the Malia rock shelter was used for short but recurrent occupations, likely by small groups engaged in hunting expeditions. This study highlights the adaptability of these populations who inhabited this region during MIS-3 as they faced severe climatic conditions while exploiting the available environmental resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100297"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biochronological and paleobiogeographic implications of the Dama-like deer sample from the latest Early Pleistocene of Cal Guardiola (NE Iberia)","authors":"Elpiniki-Maria Parparousi ,&nbsp;Leonardo Sorbelli ,&nbsp;Marco Cherin ,&nbsp;Marzia Breda ,&nbsp;Alessandro Blasetti ,&nbsp;Marco Peter Ferretti ,&nbsp;Darío Fidalgo ,&nbsp;Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti ,&nbsp;Pierre-Élie Moullé ,&nbsp;Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro ,&nbsp;Lorenzo Rook ,&nbsp;Joan Madurell-Malapeira","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100294","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100294","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Different species of <em>Dama</em>-like deer usually included in the genus <em>Pseudodama</em>, occurred in the European Plio-Pleistocene. In this paper, the medium-sized cervid sample from the Cal Guardiola Section (NE Iberian Peninsula) is described. It exhibits notable similarities with other records referred to <em>Pseudodama vallonnetensis</em> from various late Early Pleistocene European sites, thus confirming the abundance of this taxon in the faunal associations of this period. Here, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of <em>P</em>. <em>vallonnetensis</em> in Europe and, in a broader framework, also the succession of <em>Dama</em>-like deer species during the entire Pleistocene, analyzing variations in body size and possible relationships between these and palaeoenvironmental conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100294"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144903129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Classic Maya landscape adaptation, agricultural productivity, and political dynamics in the upper Belize River Valley","authors":"John P. Walden ,&nbsp;Claire E. Ebert ,&nbsp;Scott L. Fedick ,&nbsp;Jaime J. Awe ,&nbsp;Brett Meyer ,&nbsp;Leszek Pawlowicz ,&nbsp;Tia B. Watkins ,&nbsp;Samuel C.M. Hemsley ,&nbsp;Olivia P. Ellis ,&nbsp;Igor Chechushkov ,&nbsp;Patrick Mullins ,&nbsp;Frank K. Tzib ,&nbsp;Michael Biggie ,&nbsp;Shane Montgomery ,&nbsp;George J. Micheletti ,&nbsp;Rafael A. Guerra ,&nbsp;Julie A. Hoggarth","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100295","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The upper Belize River Valley of west-central Belize is a complex ecotone where multiple environmental zones converge around the Mopan, Macal, and Belize Rivers. The valley's natural fecundity attracted Preclassic Maya (1200/1100 BCE–CE 300) farmers to the region, fostering population growth and the formation of several Classic (CE 300–900) polities. By the Late Classic (CE 600–900) the valley represented a dense conurbation of settlement focused around four major centers, each of these polities contained numerous intermediate elite headed districts of commoners. Evidence for political disintegration and demographic decline appeared around CE 750, coinciding with increasing drought, culminating in the complete collapse of these polities and a regional demographic crash around CE 1000. In this study, we combine environmental data and agricultural modeling to assess polity- and district-level agrarian productivity in the polities of Baking Pot, Cahal Pech, Lower Dover, and Yaxox. Our agricultural modeling indicates these polities could have generated significant agricultural surpluses under stable climatic conditions and low population density. Increasingly variable climate during the ninth to the eleventh century CE, however, impacted traditional rain fed milpa cultivation on the upland hillslopes in the south of the region, prompting out migration. In contrast, households situated on riverine alluvium appeared to thrive during this period. The case study highlights the importance of understanding environmental factors and agricultural strategies when reconstructing past political dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"20 ","pages":"Article 100295"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145098162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleoseismological evidence of a century of coastal deformation in central Chile: lasting emergence and ongoing submergence","authors":"Bladimir Saldaña ,&nbsp;Marco Cisternas ,&nbsp;Matías Carvajal ,&nbsp;Daniel Melnick ,&nbsp;Joaquín Cortés-Aranda ,&nbsp;Jean Pierre Francois ,&nbsp;Alexandra Carreño ,&nbsp;Mario Guerra","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100291","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100291","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding vertical deformation associated with cycles of great megathrust earthquakes is crucial for assessing coastal hazards and advancing in our knowledge of tectonic processes in subduction zones. However, this requires long datasets that extend beyond the era of space geodesy. Here, we use paleoseismological evidence, including lithological and paleoecological data, from a former coastal lagoon in central Chile to reconstruct land-level changes during the 20th century, spanning two great (M ≥ 8) megathrust earthquakes in 1906 and 1985. Diatom and seed assemblages across an abrupt lithological change from mud to peat recorded a sudden relative sea level (RSL) fall in the early 20th century. This environmental shift correlates with the disappearance of the lagoon between 1904 and 1914 as documented in historical maps, revealing an emergence event most likely associated with ∼0.7 m of coseismic uplift in 1906. For the following eight decades, diatoms suggest relatively stable RSL conditions, implying that the coast remained emerged. This is partially supported by the record of a nearby tide gauge showing relatively stable RSL between 1944 and the mid-1980s. Around the time of the 1985 earthquake, both diatoms and tide gauge records suggest the onset of a gradual RSL rise. The inferred long-term trend aligns with modern GPS measurements showing persistent coastal subsidence since 1997 until today. This multiproxy RSL history reveals a more complex vertical deformation pattern than previosuly assumed in the central Chile subduction zone, with subsidence starting eight decades after sustained post-1906 uplift. Our findings provide key insights into the vertical deformation cycles of great subduction zone earthquakes in central Chile and elsewhere.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100291"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865850","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Converging evidence constrains late pleistocene bering land bridge history","authors":"Ciara Wanket ,&nbsp;Samuel Kodama ,&nbsp;Jonas Oppenheimer ,&nbsp;Scott Cocker ,&nbsp;Emma Steigerwald ,&nbsp;Duane Froese ,&nbsp;Beth Shapiro ,&nbsp;Tamara Pico ,&nbsp;Jesse Farmer","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100292","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100292","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Bering Land Bridge was an important biotic corridor and climatic modifier during the Pleistocene (2.58 million to 11,700 thousand years ago [ka]). Understanding when the land bridge was most recently exposed reveals insights into past climate, the modern distribution of plants and animals, and potential human migration into the Americas. While the timing of the most recent flooding of the land bridge has been constrained to during the last deglaciation, the timing of its most recent exposure before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka) is less clear. Here, we combine data from three disciplines— paleoceanography, sea level reconstruction, and terrestrial paleogenomics—to constrain the most recent exposure of the Bering Land Bridge to shortly before the LGM, 30–40 kyr later than previously suggested by comparisons of eustatic sea level reconstructions with the modern Bering Strait Sill depth. These results have implications for understanding the timing and nature of human arrival in the Americas and highlight the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration across paleoclimatology and paleoecology for refining Pleistocene environmental history.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100292"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144831003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cueva del Arco: Paleoecological insights into Paleolithic landscapes","authors":"José S. Carrión ,&nbsp;Yolanda Carrión-Marco ,&nbsp;Carmen M. Martínez-Varea ,&nbsp;Juan Ochando ,&nbsp;Cristina Real-Margalef ,&nbsp;Manuel Munuera ,&nbsp;Gloria Martínez-Sagarra ,&nbsp;Gabriela Amorós ,&nbsp;Aldara Girona ,&nbsp;Diego Angelucci ,&nbsp;Jacopo Armellini ,&nbsp;Noelia Sánchez-Martínez ,&nbsp;Dídac Román ,&nbsp;Ignacio Martín-Lerma","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100293","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article presents new data from Cueva del Arco and offers a comprehensive perspective on the palaeoenvironments inhabited by Neanderthals and <em>Homo sapiens</em> in the interior of Murcia, southeastern Spain, during the Mousterian and Gravettian periods. We focus on the ecological structure and floristic composition of prehistoric landscapes, drawing on pollen records from coprolites and cave sediments, as well as charcoal and plant macroremains, particularly seeds. Vertebrate assemblages are discussed through taphonomic and paleoecological lenses. Our results show that the landscapes surrounding Cueva del Arco during MIS 3 underwent only limited changes despite climatic fluctuations, likely buffered by nearby glacial strongholds, such as immediate riverine hydrorefugia and biodiversity reservoirs in the Segura-Cazorla-Alcaraz Mountains. We highlight the coexistence of plant species with currently disparate bioclimatic affinities, suggesting a compression of vegetation belts. Locally, under the edaphic influence of lithosols overlying karstic bedrock, the landscape remained open, with scattered trees or small groves on deeper soils. Notably, Cupressaceae were a dominant feature of the local vegetation and constituted a critical resource for firewood, supporting human adaptation to the environment. In this resilient and ecologically diverse setting, Paleolithic populations had access to a wide variety of plant and animal resources essential for their survival.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144865851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of precipitation and runoff on human-induced land subsidence in the Yellow River Delta","authors":"Yaoshen Fan ,&nbsp;Guangzhou Wang ,&nbsp;Shentang Dou ,&nbsp;Chao Jiang ,&nbsp;Hongyu Ji ,&nbsp;Shenliang Chen ,&nbsp;Xiaokang Du ,&nbsp;Shoubing Yu ,&nbsp;Yan Wu ,&nbsp;Shaohua Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100288","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100288","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Land subsidence in river deltas, particularly in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), represents an urgent environmental concern driven by both human activities and natural factors. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of land subsidence in the YRD region from 2019 to 2022 using multi-temporal InSAR data from Sentinel-1A. Results reveal that the maximum annual subsidence rate in the YRD exceeds 200mm/a, with the primary subsidence area located in the northeastern part of the delta, forming a subsidence funnel of approximately 200 km² and displaying distinct spatial heterogeneity. Human activities, especially saltwater extraction and oil exploitation, are the main drivers of land subsidence. Areas heavily influenced by human activities show significantly greater subsidence than well-protected ecological zones. The study reveals pronounced seasonal variations in land subsidence across the YRD, with subsidence rates in summer being substantially lower than those in spring, autumn, and winter. By introducing the concept of equivalent precipitation, the research confirms that runoff exerts a regulatory effect on land subsidence, although its impact is considerably weaker than that of precipitation. This study proposes a novel explanatory mechanism: the expansion-contraction properties of surface soil explain how seasonal hydrological conditions influence subsidence patterns. During rainy summers, surface soil absorbs water and expands, partially offsetting subsidence caused by deep extraction. These findings provide valuable insights into the interactions between human activities and natural factors in complex deltaic systems, offering a scientific basis for subsidence monitoring and sustainable resource management in the YRD region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100288"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144694358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil-alluvial dynamics, landscape evolution and human activity in the Thaya river floodplain (Czech Republic) from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene","authors":"Katarína Adameková ,&nbsp;Michaela Prišťáková ,&nbsp;Nela Doláková ,&nbsp;Petr Dresler ,&nbsp;Slavomír Nehyba ,&nbsp;Pavel Dlapa ,&nbsp;Kristína Majorošová ,&nbsp;Ivo Světlík","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100287","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100287","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of the Thaya River floodplain has been shaped by interactions between fluvial dynamics, soil formation, and human activity. To better understand these processes, we conducted geoarchaeological research, including sedimentological, micromorphological, geochemical, palynological and chronological analyses of soil-alluvial sequence at Pohansko site spanning from the Late Pleistocene to the present. We identified four distinct soils, each formed during periods of relative landscape stability. Fluvisol 4 developed in the Mesolithic (Early Holocene), when the Thaya River floodplain was dominated by oak-lime-hornbeam forests, showing no evidence of deforestation. Fluvisol 3 formed in the later phase of the Neolithic (Middle Holocene), when the increasing presence of cereals and ruderal taxa suggests agricultural expansion. From the Young/Late Bronze Age to the Early Medieval period (Late Holocene), Fluvisol 2 developed, with a significant reduction of synanthropic plants and an increasing presence of pioneer species during the Bronze Age, indicating limited human activity. A peak in deforestation in the soil corresponds with expansion of the Great Moravian Empire, which is also linked with significant increase in nitrogen-loving herbs. The pollen spectra indicate decline in softwood, pines, ferns, hygrophilous and aquatic plants, while an increase in meadow areas. Geoarchaeological evidence further reveals that the modification of a channel near fortification probably in the same period, potentially serving both as a defensive feature and a source of construction material. While soil development was primarily driven by natural processes outside sandy elevation, further analyses are needed to clarify the relative influence of climate and human activity on floodplain dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100287"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144654050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The loss of glacier resilience due to climate change throughout the Cordillera Blanca, Peru between 1984 and 2023","authors":"Ulises Francisco Giraldo Malca ,&nbsp;Lilian Netsy Yauri Solano ,&nbsp;Sofia Valeria Choroco Carranza ,&nbsp;Daniela Geraldine Camacho Alvarez ,&nbsp;Fernanda Cryztal Quispe Quispe ,&nbsp;Johann Alexis Chávez García ,&nbsp;Bryan G. Mark","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100286","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100286","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The loss of mountain glaciers has accelerated in recent decades, linked to global warming, which in Peru alone has caused the loss of more than half of its glaciated area in fifty years. The Cordillera Blanca is the highest and most extensively glacierized tropical mountain range in the world, and glacier-fed streams provide water for hundreds of thousands of people living downstream. Previous inventories and glacier-specific mass balance studies have documented persistent and sustained mass loss. Yet the range-wide resilience of glaciers – the capacity to accumulate annual snowfall to offset area loss – remains an unquantified variable that is important to understand the evolution and climate response of glaciers over time and better project future mass changes for the coming decades. Therefore, we analyze the relationship between the annually clean glacier area and snow cover fluctuations and climate variability throughout the entire glacierized Cordillera Blanca between 1984 and 2023. To this end, we used multispectral Landsat imagery to identify clean glaciers and distinguish accumulation areas by calculating the Normalized Water Differential Index. The results show a 44 % reduction in glacier area, reflected in a decrease from the pre-2013 annual average of 54,469 ha to 42,700 ha in subsequent years. Our results suggest glaciers have passed a significant mass balance threshold, such that since 2012, glaciers have lost their ability to regain mass. We also document a strong inverse correlation of glacier area with the increase in global mean temperature, with the greatest loss occurring during the lasts strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phases. We conclude that glaciers have become less resilient over the past decade, that the deglaciation of the Cordillera Blanca is primarily driven by increasing average temperatures and that the glaciers with the greatest retreat are those with perimeters proportionally more exposed to other types of surfaces (i.e., bedrock or lakes),.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"19 ","pages":"Article 100286"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144524221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}