Timing and extent of LGM glaciers North and South of the Alps

During the Last Glacial Maximum Rhine and Ticino/Toce glacier culminated in prominent piedmont lobes onto the northern and southern Alpine forelands. Lying directly North-South of each other and with links in their accumulation areas in the Lukmanier Pass region, the glaciers are well suited to question main controls of spatial and temporal patterns of glacier growth. While there is a general agreement on how far the Rhine glacier did advance into the German foreland, the LGM ice margin of the Verbano lobe is still under discussion. In any case, both glacier systems lack detailed chronological information. Our research aims at constraining the timing of Last Glacial Maximum, recessional (re-advance) stages and final withdrawal from the forelands for both glaciers using detailed fieldwork, landform analysis based on remote imagery and cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating. Precisely dated LGM ice margins will not only help to understand similarities and differences in glacier timing North and South of the Alps but yield information on past precipitation and moisture delivery patterns. Therefore, they will serve as point of comparison for validation of glacier models.