Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica
A lateral moraine band on Mount Waesche, a volcanic nunatak in Marie Byrd Land, provides estimates of past ice sheet surface elevations in West Antarctica. Helium-3 and chlorine-36 surface exposure ages indicate that the proximal part of the moraine, up to 45 meters above the present ice surface, wa...
Published in: | Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1999
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 |
id |
craaas:10.1126/science.286.5438.276 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
craaas:10.1126/science.286.5438.276 2024-06-23T07:45:56+00:00 Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica Ackert, Robert P. Barclay, David J. Borns, Harold W. Calkin, Parker E. Kurz, Mark D. Fastook, James L. Steig, Eric J. 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science volume 286, issue 5438, page 276-280 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 journal-article 1999 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 2024-06-06T04:01:00Z A lateral moraine band on Mount Waesche, a volcanic nunatak in Marie Byrd Land, provides estimates of past ice sheet surface elevations in West Antarctica. Helium-3 and chlorine-36 surface exposure ages indicate that the proximal part of the moraine, up to 45 meters above the present ice surface, was deposited about 10,000 years ago, substantially later than the maximum ice extent in the Ross Embayment. The upper distal part of the moraine may record multiple earlier ice sheet high stands. A nonequilibrium ice sheet model predicts a delay of several thousand years in maximum ice levels at Mount Waesche relative to the maximum ice extent in the Ross Sea. The glacial geologic evidence, coupled with the ice sheet model, indicates that the contribution of the Ross Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to Holocene sea level rise was only about 3 meters. These results eliminate West Antarctic ice as the principle source of the large meltwater pulse during the early Holocene. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Marie Byrd Land Ross Sea West Antarctica AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Antarctic Byrd Marie Byrd Land ENVELOPE(-130.000,-130.000,-78.000,-78.000) Mount Waesche ENVELOPE(-126.900,-126.900,-77.167,-77.167) Ross Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica Science 286 5438 276 280 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
op_collection_id |
craaas |
language |
English |
description |
A lateral moraine band on Mount Waesche, a volcanic nunatak in Marie Byrd Land, provides estimates of past ice sheet surface elevations in West Antarctica. Helium-3 and chlorine-36 surface exposure ages indicate that the proximal part of the moraine, up to 45 meters above the present ice surface, was deposited about 10,000 years ago, substantially later than the maximum ice extent in the Ross Embayment. The upper distal part of the moraine may record multiple earlier ice sheet high stands. A nonequilibrium ice sheet model predicts a delay of several thousand years in maximum ice levels at Mount Waesche relative to the maximum ice extent in the Ross Sea. The glacial geologic evidence, coupled with the ice sheet model, indicates that the contribution of the Ross Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to Holocene sea level rise was only about 3 meters. These results eliminate West Antarctic ice as the principle source of the large meltwater pulse during the early Holocene. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ackert, Robert P. Barclay, David J. Borns, Harold W. Calkin, Parker E. Kurz, Mark D. Fastook, James L. Steig, Eric J. |
spellingShingle |
Ackert, Robert P. Barclay, David J. Borns, Harold W. Calkin, Parker E. Kurz, Mark D. Fastook, James L. Steig, Eric J. Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
author_facet |
Ackert, Robert P. Barclay, David J. Borns, Harold W. Calkin, Parker E. Kurz, Mark D. Fastook, James L. Steig, Eric J. |
author_sort |
Ackert, Robert P. |
title |
Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
title_short |
Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
title_full |
Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Measurements of Past Ice Sheet Elevations in Interior West Antarctica |
title_sort |
measurements of past ice sheet elevations in interior west antarctica |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-130.000,-130.000,-78.000,-78.000) ENVELOPE(-126.900,-126.900,-77.167,-77.167) |
geographic |
Antarctic Byrd Marie Byrd Land Mount Waesche Ross Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Byrd Marie Byrd Land Mount Waesche Ross Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Marie Byrd Land Ross Sea West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet Marie Byrd Land Ross Sea West Antarctica |
op_source |
Science volume 286, issue 5438, page 276-280 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5438.276 |
container_title |
Science |
container_volume |
286 |
container_issue |
5438 |
container_start_page |
276 |
op_container_end_page |
280 |
_version_ |
1802643060956332032 |