Sedimentary record of the western Amundsen Sea Embayment ...

• Main Authors: Smith, James A, Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter, Kuhn, Gerhard, Larter, Robert D, Graham, Alastair G C, Ehrmann, Werner, Moreton, Steven Grahame, Forwick, Matthias
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2011
• Subjects: Vibro corer; Box corer; Gravity corer; Giant box corer; JR20060109; ANT-XXIII/4; James Clark Ross; Polarstern; Priority Programme 1158 Antarctic Research with Comparable Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas SPP1158; Amundsen Sea; Antarctic; Arctic; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; Magnetic susceptibility; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.754968; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.754968

The Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) drains approximately 35% of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) and is one of the most rapidly changing parts of the cryosphere. In order to predict future ice-sheet behaviour, modellers require long-term records of ice-sheet melting to constrain and build confidence in their simulations. Here, we present detailed marine geological and radiocarbon data along three palaeo-ice stream tributary troughs in the western ASE to establish vital information on the timing of deglaciation of the WAIS since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We have undertaken multi-proxy analyses of the cores (core description, shear strength, x-radiographs, magnetic susceptibility, wet bulk density, total organic carbon/nitrogen, carbonate content and clay mineral analyses) in order to: (1) characterise the sedimentological facies and depositional environments; and (2) identify the horizon(s) in each core that would yield the most reliable age for deglaciation. In accordance with previous studies we ... : Further relevant data sets: Hillenbrand et al. (2010), doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.715974, Ehrmann et al. (2010), doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.755199 ...