Cosmogenic Nuclide Inheritance in Modern Moraines: A Case Study from the Hailuogou Glacier, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

¹⁰Be surface exposure dating is one of the methods most used in the dating of glacial landforms due to its well-understood dating mechanism, readily accessible materials. However, numerous dating studies have shown that nuclide inheritance may overestimate the age as a result of the nuclide concentrations accumulating in glacial deposits prior to their eventual exposure. As the concentration is challenging to measure directly, it is typically assumed to be zero. This study investigated the potential nuclide inheritance in the Hailuogou Glacier by measuring ¹⁰Be concentrations in modern moraines. The results showed that (1) in the glacier foreland, the exposure ages of two sub-angular boulders aligned with the timing of glacier retreat suggested minimal or potentially negligible nuclide inheritance, whereas two amalgamated samples exhibited ¹⁰Be exposure ages of 820 ± 278 yr and 570 ± 168 yr, indicating that multiple cobbles may contain inherited nuclides; and (2) the exposure ages of the angular boulder samples from the modern glacier surface ranged from 366 ± 151 yr to 221 ± 85 yr, the coarse-grained (CG) sand samples ranged from 470 ± 129 yr to 178 ± 103 yr in age, and the ages of the amalgamated samples ranged from 1,114 ± 197 yr to 97 ± 37 yr, which may reflecting the upper limits of inherited ages.

Keywords

modern moraines / nuclide inheritance / ¹⁰Be dating / Hailuogou Glacier

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2025 Geological Society of China