Quaternary Glaciation in Tibet and the Adjacent Mountains

The Tibetan Plateau and bordering mountains are the greatest glaciated tracks outside the Polar Regions. These high mountain regions have a profound influence on regional and global atmospheric circulation and they are therefore important for our understanding the dynamics of global environmental change. Changes in glaciation and hydrology in Tibet and the bordering mountains throughout the Quaternary likely altered the regional and global climate by affects such as changing albedos and associated atmospheric affects, and changing discharges of freshwater into the adjacent seas and oceans. Furthermore, glaciation in these regions strongly controls denudation and sediment transfer, which in turn influences tectonics, by processes such as denudational unloading. Yet, despite the importance of glaciation in this region for climate and landscape evolution studies, the timing and extent of Quaternary glaciation are still highly debated. This is partially due to the political and logistical inaccessibility of the region, and the lack of detailed modern geomorphic, sedimentologic and geochronologic studies. In recent years, however, studies of Tibet and the bordering mountains have increased, particularly as regions have become more assessable, and as remote sensing technologies and geomorphic, sedimentologic and geochronologic techniques have improved to enable accurate reconstructions of the former extent and timing of glaciation.