Advances in palaeo sea ice estimation

• Main Authors: Armand, Leanne, Ferry, Alexander, Leventer, Amy
• Other Authors: Thomas, David N.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons 2017
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/9db1f6b1-8b29-4c33-8919-5c6e22f1917b; https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118778371.ch26; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028812202&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Palaeo sea-ice estimation, first addressed in the mid-1970s, has advanced greatly through the development of additional proxies, increasingly robust statistical methods, and the acquisition of more highly resolved records in both the Antarctic and Arctic. The use of multiple proxies provides the most reliable records. An essential part of multi-proxy studies is the distribution of dinocysts in the Arctic, and diatoms in the Antarctic. These proxies combined with geochemical and sedimentological tracers, as well as new work focused on the use of biomarkers specific to organisms that live in sea ice, such as IP25, are allowing far greater understanding of sea ice type, persistence and extent. Through the ensuing proxy assessments, the history of sea ice development and variability throughout the polar regions is addressed, highlighting palaeo sea-ice reconstructions for specific time-slices, including the initiation of Arctic sea ice, and sea-ice variability since the Last Glacial Maximum at both poles.