Luminescence chronology and climatic implication of the late quaternary glaciation in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India

The study suggests that glacier advances were driven by a decrease in temperature with corresponding increase in the moisture contribution due to the enhanced mid-latitude westerlies during MIS-4, MIS-2, and the mid-Holocene. Within the age uncertainty, it can be suggested that the snout-proximal recessional moraines indicate marginal glacier expansion during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Following this, the glacier receded to its present position and seems to have stabilized since then. Unlike other Himalayan glaciers, the Siachen glacier does not show any alarming retreat after the LIA and is in conformity with recent observations suggesting that the glaciers in Karakoram region are either marginally advancing or stand still.