Glacial geomorphology of the Strait of Magellan ice lobe, southernmost Patagonia, South America

Abstract

We present a geomorphic map of the landforms created by the Patagonian Ice Sheet during the local Last Glacial Maximum and perhaps prior glaciations in southernmost Patagonia. Building on prior work, the new mapping focuses in unprecedented detail on the right lateral and frontal landforms formed by the Strait of Magellan ice lobe. We produced the map using aerial orthophotography, Sentinel-2 and SPOT satellite imagery, ALOS PALSAR digital elevation model and fieldwork to ground-truth preliminary interpretations. We delineate at least five glacial events defined by a sequence of moraine drifts and associated glaciofluvial features. In contrast to previous studies, we propose the Magellan ice lobe extended ∼65 km farther, to the Primera Angostura peninsula, during the local Last Glacial Maximum. Our study provides a new context to establish a precise glacial chronology of the Magellan ice lobe during the last glacial cycle in the middle-high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.

Keywords

• glacial geomorphology
• last glacial maximum
• strait of magellan
• surface exposure dating
• patagonia