Characterising the deglacial history of the East Antarctic ice sheet in central Wilkes Land using marine sediment cores ...

• Main Author: Tooze, SC
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; East Antarctic Ice Sheet; East Antarctica; Sabrina Coast; Totten Glacier; Wilkes Land; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23247233; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Characterising_the_deglacial_history_of_the_East_Antarctic_ice_sheet_in_central_Wilkes_Land_using_marine_sediment_cores/23247233

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) retains the largest volume of ice on the planet and has the capacity to raise global sea level by a substantial 52 m. Marine-based sectors of the EAIS are particularly susceptible to retreat and collapse and are currently losing mass at an unprecedented rate. Masked by kilometres of ice and shielded by extensive sea-ice proximal to the coast, central Wilkes Land (between 105-128°E) is one of the most poorly investigated regions of the EAIS. The Totten Glacier, situated in a trench at the Sabrina Coast of central Wilkes Land, drains the largest portion of the EAIS and has one of the highest thinning rates in East Antarctica. Complete melting of the ice drained by the Totten Glacier alone is anticipated to contribute 3.5 m to global sea-level rise. With large portions of the ice sheet in central Wilkes Land grounded below sea-level, on a retrograde slope steepening inland from the coast to the interior basins, this part of the EAIS is sensitive to ocean-forced retreat ...