To understand the timing of deglaciation of the northernmost marine-terminating glaciers of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), we obtained 26 10Be surface-exposure ages from glacially scoured bedrock surfaces in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. We sampled six elevation transects between sea level and 620 m and spanning a distance of 14 to 70 km along ice flow paths. Most transect age–elevation patterns could not be explained by a simple model of thinning ice; the patterns provide evidence for lingering ice cover and possible inheritance. A reliable set of 20 ages ranges between 17.4 ± 2.0 and 11.6 ± 2.8 ka and indicates ice receded from northwestern PWS around 14.3 ± 1.6 ka, thinned at a rate of ~120–160 m/ka, and retreated from sea-level sites at 12.9 ± 1.1 ka at a rate of 20 m/yr. The retreat rate likely slowed as glaciers retreated into northern PWS. These results are consistent with the growing body of reported deglacial constraints on collapse of ice sheets along the Alaska margin indicating collapse of the CIS soon after 17 ka. These data are consistent with paleotemperature data indicating that a warming North Pacific Ocean caused catastrophic collapse of this part of the CIS.

中文翻译：

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阿拉斯加威廉王子湾晚第四纪冰川消退

为了了解科迪勒兰冰盖 (CIS) 最北端海洋终止冰川的消冰时间，我们获得了 2610来自阿拉斯加威廉王子湾 (PWS) 冰川冲刷的基岩表面的地表暴露年龄。我们在海平面和 620 m 之间采样了六个高程样带，沿着冰流路径跨越 14 到 70 km 的距离。大多数横断面年龄-海拔模式无法用一个简单的冰变薄模型来解释；这些模式为挥之不去的冰盖和可能的遗传提供了证据。一组可靠的 20 个年龄范围在 17.4 ± 2.0 和 11.6 ± 2.8 ka 之间，表明冰从西北 PWS 后退约 14.3 ± 1.6 ka，以约 120-160 m/ka 的速度变薄，并从位于12.9 ± 1.1 ka，速率为 20 m/yr。随着冰川退缩到 PWS 北部，退缩速度可能会放缓。这些结果与报告的沿阿拉斯加边缘冰盖崩塌的冰盖限制越来越多的结果一致，表明 17 ka 后不久独联体崩塌。这些数据与古温度数据一致，表明北太平洋变暖导致独联体这部分地区发生灾难性坍塌。