Beryllium isotope signatures of ice shelves and sub-ice shelf circulation

• Other Authors: Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) (distributor), Foster, S. (author), Manager Client Services (pointOfContact), Post, A. (author), Post, A. (pointOfContact), Post, A. (owner)
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: geoscientificInformation; meteoric 10Be; Amery Ice Shelf; marine sedimentation; Be isotope mixing; sub-ice shelf currents; sediment advection; Published_External; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Prydz Bay
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/beryllium-isotope-signatures-shelf-circulation/2828691; https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/123230

Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded Statement: Article written for publication in Earth and Planetary Science Letters Purpose Article written for publication in Earth and Planetary Science Letters Be isotopes are a useful tracer of sediment source and transport pathways but have not been widely tested in glacio-marine environments. We measured Be isotopes in a range of depositional environments from open marine, sub-ice shelf and subglacial settings throughout Prydz Bay, one of Antarctica’s largest ice drainage systems. We find that strong sub-ice shelf and bottom current circulations can advect 10Be-rich open marine sediments into an ice shelf cavity, and 10Be-poor terrestrial sediments onto the continental shelf at the ice shelf outflow, meaning that 10Be concentrations reflect sub-ice shelf circulation patterns rather than depositional environment. However, HCl-extractable 10Be/9Be ratios can provide a more robust discrimination of sediment deposited in open marine and sub-ice shelf settings. Thus, Be isotopes are a useful tracer of both environmental setting and sub-ice shelf circulation strength in both modern and paleo-ice sheet margins. Citation: Duanne A. White, David Fink, Alexandra L. Post, Krista Simon, Ben Galton-Fenzi, Simon Foster, Toshiyuki Fujioka, Matthew R. Jeromson, Marcello Blaxell, Yusuke Yokoyama, Beryllium isotope signatures of ice shelves and sub-ice shelf circulation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters , Volume 505, 2019, Pages 86-95, ISSN 0012-821X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.004