Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Direct observations of the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet during Quaternary interglaciations are sparse yet valuable for testing numerical models of ice-sheet history and sea level contribution. Recent measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in bedrock from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet collected dur...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 2023-05-15T16:23:36+02:00 Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet J. P. Briner C. K. Walcott J. M. Schaefer N. E. Young J. A. MacGregor K. Poinar B. A. Keisling S. Anandakrishnan M. R. Albert T. Kuhl G. Boeckmann 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3933/2022/tc-16-3933-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 3933-3948 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 2022-12-30T23:16:05Z Direct observations of the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet during Quaternary interglaciations are sparse yet valuable for testing numerical models of ice-sheet history and sea level contribution. Recent measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in bedrock from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet collected during past deep-drilling campaigns reveal that the ice sheet was significantly smaller, and perhaps largely absent, sometime during the past 1.1 million years. These discoveries from decades-old basal samples motivate new, targeted sampling for cosmogenic-nuclide analysis beneath the ice sheet. Current drills available for retrieving bed material from the US Ice Drilling Program require < 700 m ice thickness and a frozen bed, while quartz-bearing bedrock lithologies are required for measuring a large suite of cosmogenic nuclides. We find that these and other requirements yield only ∼ 3.4 % of the Greenland Ice Sheet bed as a suitable drilling target using presently available technology. Additional factors related to scientific questions of interest are the following: which areas of the present ice sheet are the most sensitive to warming, where would a retreating ice sheet expose bare ground rather than leave a remnant ice cap, and which areas are most likely to remain frozen bedded throughout glacial cycles and thus best preserve cosmogenic nuclides? Here we identify locations beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet that are best suited for potential future drilling and analysis. These include sites bordering Inglefield Land in northwestern Greenland, near Victoria Fjord and Mylius-Erichsen Land in northern Greenland, and inland from the alpine topography along the ice margin in eastern and northeastern Greenland. Results from cosmogenic-nuclide analysis in new sub-ice bedrock cores from these areas would help to constrain dimensions of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the past. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice cap Ice Sheet Inglefield land Mylius Erichsen land The Cryosphere Victoria fjord Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Inglefield Land ENVELOPE(-69.987,-69.987,78.637,78.637) Victoria Fjord ENVELOPE(-46.000,-46.000,82.167,82.167) Mylius Erichsen Land ENVELOPE(-26.500,-26.500,81.167,81.167) The Cryosphere 16 10 3933 3948 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 J. P. Briner C. K. Walcott J. M. Schaefer N. E. Young J. A. MacGregor K. Poinar B. A. Keisling S. Anandakrishnan M. R. Albert T. Kuhl G. Boeckmann Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Direct observations of the size of the Greenland Ice Sheet during Quaternary interglaciations are sparse yet valuable for testing numerical models of ice-sheet history and sea level contribution. Recent measurements of cosmogenic nuclides in bedrock from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet collected during past deep-drilling campaigns reveal that the ice sheet was significantly smaller, and perhaps largely absent, sometime during the past 1.1 million years. These discoveries from decades-old basal samples motivate new, targeted sampling for cosmogenic-nuclide analysis beneath the ice sheet. Current drills available for retrieving bed material from the US Ice Drilling Program require < 700 m ice thickness and a frozen bed, while quartz-bearing bedrock lithologies are required for measuring a large suite of cosmogenic nuclides. We find that these and other requirements yield only ∼ 3.4 % of the Greenland Ice Sheet bed as a suitable drilling target using presently available technology. Additional factors related to scientific questions of interest are the following: which areas of the present ice sheet are the most sensitive to warming, where would a retreating ice sheet expose bare ground rather than leave a remnant ice cap, and which areas are most likely to remain frozen bedded throughout glacial cycles and thus best preserve cosmogenic nuclides? Here we identify locations beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet that are best suited for potential future drilling and analysis. These include sites bordering Inglefield Land in northwestern Greenland, near Victoria Fjord and Mylius-Erichsen Land in northern Greenland, and inland from the alpine topography along the ice margin in eastern and northeastern Greenland. Results from cosmogenic-nuclide analysis in new sub-ice bedrock cores from these areas would help to constrain dimensions of the Greenland Ice Sheet in the past. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. P. Briner C. K. Walcott J. M. Schaefer N. E. Young J. A. MacGregor K. Poinar B. A. Keisling S. Anandakrishnan M. R. Albert T. Kuhl G. Boeckmann |
author_facet |
J. P. Briner C. K. Walcott J. M. Schaefer N. E. Young J. A. MacGregor K. Poinar B. A. Keisling S. Anandakrishnan M. R. Albert T. Kuhl G. Boeckmann |
author_sort |
J. P. Briner |
title |
Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
drill-site selection for cosmogenic-nuclide exposure dating of the bed of the greenland ice sheet |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 https://doaj.org/article/8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-69.987,-69.987,78.637,78.637) ENVELOPE(-46.000,-46.000,82.167,82.167) ENVELOPE(-26.500,-26.500,81.167,81.167) |
geographic |
Greenland Inglefield Land Victoria Fjord Mylius Erichsen Land |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Inglefield Land Victoria Fjord Mylius Erichsen Land |
genre |
Greenland Ice cap Ice Sheet Inglefield land Mylius Erichsen land The Cryosphere Victoria fjord |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice cap Ice Sheet Inglefield land Mylius Erichsen land The Cryosphere Victoria fjord |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 3933-3948 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/3933/2022/tc-16-3933-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/8b836063bbb74a5497db7e95c13b9c34 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3933-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
3933 |
op_container_end_page |
3948 |
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