Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey
Previous studies of the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have attempted to constrain lake level history, and results suggest the lakes have undergone hundreds of meters of lake level change within the last 20 000 years. Past studies have utilized the interpretation of geologic deposits, lake chemist...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/ |
id |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc88771 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc88771 2023-05-15T14:02:17+02:00 Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey Myers, Krista F. Doran, Peter T. Tulaczyk, Slawek M. Foley, Neil T. Bording, Thue S. Auken, Esben Dugan, Hilary A. Mikucki, Jill A. Foged, Nikolaj Grombacher, Denys Virginia, Ross A. 2021-08-03 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 2021-08-09T16:22:28Z Previous studies of the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have attempted to constrain lake level history, and results suggest the lakes have undergone hundreds of meters of lake level change within the last 20 000 years. Past studies have utilized the interpretation of geologic deposits, lake chemistry, and ice sheet history to deduce lake level history; however a substantial amount of disagreement remains between the findings, indicating a need for further investigation using new techniques. This study utilizes a regional airborne resistivity survey to provide novel insight into the paleohydrology of the region. Mean resistivity maps revealed an extensive brine beneath the Lake Fryxell basin, which is interpreted as a legacy groundwater signal from higher lake levels in the past. Resistivity data suggest that active permafrost formation has been ongoing since the onset of lake drainage and that as recently as 1500–4000 years BP, lake levels were over 60 m higher than present. This coincides with a warmer-than-modern paleoclimate throughout the Holocene inferred by the nearby Taylor Dome ice core record. Our results indicate Mid to Late Holocene lake level high stands, which runs counter to previous research finding a colder and drier era with little hydrologic activity throughout the last 5000 years. Text Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Ice ice core Ice Sheet McMurdo Dry Valleys permafrost Copernicus Publications: E-Journals East Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) Fryxell ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) Lake Fryxell ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) Taylor Dome ENVELOPE(157.667,157.667,-77.667,-77.667) The Cryosphere 15 8 3577 3593 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
Previous studies of the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys have attempted to constrain lake level history, and results suggest the lakes have undergone hundreds of meters of lake level change within the last 20 000 years. Past studies have utilized the interpretation of geologic deposits, lake chemistry, and ice sheet history to deduce lake level history; however a substantial amount of disagreement remains between the findings, indicating a need for further investigation using new techniques. This study utilizes a regional airborne resistivity survey to provide novel insight into the paleohydrology of the region. Mean resistivity maps revealed an extensive brine beneath the Lake Fryxell basin, which is interpreted as a legacy groundwater signal from higher lake levels in the past. Resistivity data suggest that active permafrost formation has been ongoing since the onset of lake drainage and that as recently as 1500–4000 years BP, lake levels were over 60 m higher than present. This coincides with a warmer-than-modern paleoclimate throughout the Holocene inferred by the nearby Taylor Dome ice core record. Our results indicate Mid to Late Holocene lake level high stands, which runs counter to previous research finding a colder and drier era with little hydrologic activity throughout the last 5000 years. |
format |
Text |
author |
Myers, Krista F. Doran, Peter T. Tulaczyk, Slawek M. Foley, Neil T. Bording, Thue S. Auken, Esben Dugan, Hilary A. Mikucki, Jill A. Foged, Nikolaj Grombacher, Denys Virginia, Ross A. |
spellingShingle |
Myers, Krista F. Doran, Peter T. Tulaczyk, Slawek M. Foley, Neil T. Bording, Thue S. Auken, Esben Dugan, Hilary A. Mikucki, Jill A. Foged, Nikolaj Grombacher, Denys Virginia, Ross A. Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
author_facet |
Myers, Krista F. Doran, Peter T. Tulaczyk, Slawek M. Foley, Neil T. Bording, Thue S. Auken, Esben Dugan, Hilary A. Mikucki, Jill A. Foged, Nikolaj Grombacher, Denys Virginia, Ross A. |
author_sort |
Myers, Krista F. |
title |
Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
title_short |
Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
title_full |
Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
title_fullStr |
Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thermal legacy of a large paleolake in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
title_sort |
thermal legacy of a large paleolake in taylor valley, east antarctica, as evidenced by an airborne electromagnetic survey |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(163.183,163.183,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(157.667,157.667,-77.667,-77.667) |
geographic |
East Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Fryxell Lake Fryxell Taylor Dome |
geographic_facet |
East Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Fryxell Lake Fryxell Taylor Dome |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Ice ice core Ice Sheet McMurdo Dry Valleys permafrost |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica East Antarctica Ice ice core Ice Sheet McMurdo Dry Valleys permafrost |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/3577/2021/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
3577 |
op_container_end_page |
3593 |
_version_ |
1766272453960531968 |