EQUILIBRIUM LINE ALTITUDE CHANGES IN THE TROPICS AND MID-LATITUDES DURING THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM

Stephen Porter's research on Equilibrium Line Altitude (or snowline) changes during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) form the foundation on which many glacial geologists and glacial modelers, continue to work. Advances in dating moraines and other glacial features have allowed the Quaternary community to extract temporal details of glacier fluctuations at various latitudes, and numerical glacier modeling allows for testing the sensitivity of glaciers to factors other than temperature. Even with these advances, many of Porter's original findings still hold true today. The similarities in LGM snowline depressions (~900 m) across latitudes may suggest a global mechanism to reduce temperatures by a similar magnitude despite dramatic climatic environments. This presentation will focus on snowline depression reconstructions for the LGM in New Zealand and the tropics through various modeling approaches.