Timing of Late Quaternary glaciations in the Himalayas of northern Pakistan

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of Late Quaternary glaciogenic sed iments was undertaken in critical areas of the Himalayas of northern Pakist an in order to examine the timing of glaciation. The dates demonstrate that several glaciations occurred during the last glacial cycle. In Swat, the G rabral 2 Stade and the Kalam I Stade were dated at ca. 77 ka and ca. 38 ka, respectively. The error on the former date is large and it is conceivable that the moraines may have formed during the early part of Oxygen Isotope S tage 3 rather than during Oxygen Isotope Stage 4. The Kalam I Stade, howeve r, clearly represents a glaciation during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. The oldes t moraines and those at the lowest altitude in the Indus valley at Shatial have an age of ca. 60 ka. These also relate to a major glacial advance duri ng Oxygen Isotope Stage 3. A younger series of moraines, the Jalipur Tillit e, and glaciofluvial sands at Liachar in the Indus valley, and moraines at Rampur-Tarshing have ages of ca. 27 ka, ca. 21-23 ka and ca. 15 ka, respect ively. These dates show that glaciers also occupied parts of the Indus vall ey during Oxygen Isotope Stage 2. These dates and the morphostratigraphy sh ow that glaciation in the Pakistani Himalaya was more extensive during the early part of the last glacial cycle and that the local last glacial maximu m in Pakistan was asynchronous with the maximum extent of Northern Hemisphe re ice sheets. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.