Past ice sheet–seabed interactions in the northeastern Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica ...

• Main Authors: Arndt, Jan Erik, Larter, Robert D., Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter, Sørli, Simon H., Forwick, Matthias, Smith, James A., Wacker, Lukas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2020
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; Brunt Ice Shelf; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000428077; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/428077

The Antarctic ice sheet extent in the Weddell Sea embayment (WSE) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ca. 19–25 calibrated kiloyears before present, ka cal BP) and its subsequent retreat from the shelf are poorly constrained, with two conflicting scenarios being discussed. Today, the modern Brunt Ice Shelf, the last remaining ice shelf in the northeastern WSE, is only pinned at a single location and recent crevasse development may lead to its rapid disintegration in the near future. We investigated the seafloor morphology on the northeastern WSE shelf and discuss its implications, in combination with marine geological records, to create reconstructions of the past behaviour of this sector of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), including ice–seafloor interactions. Our data show that an ice stream flowed through Stancomb-Wills Trough and acted as the main conduit for EAIS drainage during the LGM in this sector. Post-LGM ice stream retreat occurred stepwise, with at least three documented grounding-line ... : The Cryosphere, 14 (6) ...