Reappraisal of Antarctic seasonal sea ice at the Last Glacial Maximum

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Crosta, Xavier, Pichon, Jean-Jacques, Burckle, Lloyd H.
• Other Authors: Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 1998
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Sea ice; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02105711; https://hal.science/hal-02105711/document; https://hal.science/hal-02105711/file/Crosta_GRL1998.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL02012

International audience We used modern analog technique applied to Antarctic diatoms to quantitatively reconstruct seasonal sea‐ice extent at the Last Glacial Maximum. Winter maximum sea‐ice limit occurred around 48°S in the Atlantic and western Indian sectors, around 55°S in the eastern Indian and western Pacific sectors, and around 58–60°S in the eastern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. Summer maximum sea‐ice extents during the last ice age and today are similar, which contradicts CLIMAP's findings. This implies a reduced summer albedo feedback of the Southern Hemisphere and a greater transfer of heat and moisture from the ocean to the atmosphere than shown by previous qualitative studies.