The deglaciation of the Ésera valley since the Maximum Ice Extent in the Pyrenees

The Ésera valley is a narrow U-shape valley located in the Central Pyrenees. It has been modelled by the glacial activity during the Last Glacial Cycle. The combination of several methods as cosmogenic exposure dating of glacial deposits and lacustrine core analyses in the Pllan d’Están proglacial lake has allowed to understand the complex dynamics of the Ésera glacier since the local glacial maximum extension (75 ka ago). After this maximum extension, the glacier retreated according with a warm interval within the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. A new glacial advance, likely corresponding with the Oldest Dryas (16 ka) was established from cosmogenic dates and subglacial sedimentation in the Pllan d’Están paleolake. From that time to nowadays, the Ésera glacier has retreated very quickly, especially during the Allerød period (13.8 ka). During the Little Ice Age, the Ésera glacier, divided in several smaller glaciers, left the thickest moraines conserved in this valley.