Does the late Pliocene change in the architecture of the Antarctic margin correspond to the transition to the modern Antarctic Ice Sheet?

• Main Authors: M. Rebesco, A. Camerlenghi
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Prydz Bay; The Antarctic; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.563.7388; http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1047/srp/srp021/of2007-1047srp021.pdf

Abstract We observe in 6 key sectors of East and West Antarctica continental margin a change in the geometry of the sedimentary deposits which is characterized by: margin-wide erosion and subsequent progradation on the continental shelf; downlap on the continental slope; major mass wasting deposits on the continental rise. The change occurs in the late Neogene in all sectors, though some natural variation exists, and the stratigraphic position is not obvious for every margin. The change is apparently synchronous and dated about 3 Ma in Antarctic Peninsula and Prydz Bay margins and broadly concomitant in the others sectors. This suggests a common driving force, which we suggest to be the transition of the Antarctic ice sheet regime from polythermal to present polar cold, dry-based conditions.