Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits
Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system affecting a range of physical and biogeochemical feedbacks and supporting unique ecosystems. During the last glacial stage, Antarctic sea ice was more extensive than today, but uncertainties in geological (marine sediments), glaciologic...
Published in: | Climate of the Past |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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European Geosciences Union
2022
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/1/cp-18-381-2022.pdf https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/18/381/2022/ |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:531185 2023-05-15T13:41:46+02:00 Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits McClymont, Erin L. Bentley, Michael J. Hodgson, Dominic A. Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L. Wardley, Thomas West, Martin D. Croudace, Ian W. Berg, Sonja Gröcke, Darren R. Kuhn, Gerhard Jamieson, Stewart S.R. Sime, Louise Phillips, Richard A. 2022-03-02 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/1/cp-18-381-2022.pdf https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/18/381/2022/ en eng European Geosciences Union https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/1/cp-18-381-2022.pdf McClymont, Erin L.; Bentley, Michael J.; Hodgson, Dominic A. orcid:0000-0002-3841-3746 Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L.; Wardley, Thomas; West, Martin D.; Croudace, Ian W.; Berg, Sonja; Gröcke, Darren R.; Kuhn, Gerhard; Jamieson, Stewart S.R.; Sime, Louise orcid:0000-0002-9093-7926 Phillips, Richard A. 2022 Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits. Climate of the Past, 18 (2). 381-403. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022 <https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022 2023-02-04T19:52:36Z Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system affecting a range of physical and biogeochemical feedbacks and supporting unique ecosystems. During the last glacial stage, Antarctic sea ice was more extensive than today, but uncertainties in geological (marine sediments), glaciological (ice core), and climate model reconstructions of past sea-ice extent continue to limit our understanding of its role in the Earth system. Here, we present a novel archive of past sea-ice environments from regurgitated stomach oils of snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) preserved at nesting sites in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. We show that by combining information from fatty acid distributions and their stable carbon isotope ratios with measurements of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and trace metal data, it is possible to reconstruct changing snow petrel diet within Marine Isotope Stage 2 (ca. 24.3–30.3 cal kyr BP). We show that, as today, a mixed diet of krill and fish characterizes much of the record. However, between 27.4 and 28.7 cal kyr BP signals of krill almost disappear. By linking dietary signals in the stomach-oil deposits to modern feeding habits and foraging ranges, we infer the use by snow petrels of open-water habitats (“polynyas”) in the sea ice during our interval of study. The periods when consumption of krill was reduced are interpreted to correspond to the opening of polynyas over the continental shelf, which became the preferred foraging habitat. Our results show that extensive, thick, and multiyear sea ice was not always present close to the continent during the last glacial stage and highlight the potential of stomach-oil deposits as a palaeoenvironmental archive of Southern Ocean conditions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land ice core Sea ice Snow Petrel Snow Petrels Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Nivea ENVELOPE(-45.479,-45.479,-60.580,-60.580) Climate of the Past 18 2 381 403 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system affecting a range of physical and biogeochemical feedbacks and supporting unique ecosystems. During the last glacial stage, Antarctic sea ice was more extensive than today, but uncertainties in geological (marine sediments), glaciological (ice core), and climate model reconstructions of past sea-ice extent continue to limit our understanding of its role in the Earth system. Here, we present a novel archive of past sea-ice environments from regurgitated stomach oils of snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) preserved at nesting sites in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. We show that by combining information from fatty acid distributions and their stable carbon isotope ratios with measurements of bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and trace metal data, it is possible to reconstruct changing snow petrel diet within Marine Isotope Stage 2 (ca. 24.3–30.3 cal kyr BP). We show that, as today, a mixed diet of krill and fish characterizes much of the record. However, between 27.4 and 28.7 cal kyr BP signals of krill almost disappear. By linking dietary signals in the stomach-oil deposits to modern feeding habits and foraging ranges, we infer the use by snow petrels of open-water habitats (“polynyas”) in the sea ice during our interval of study. The periods when consumption of krill was reduced are interpreted to correspond to the opening of polynyas over the continental shelf, which became the preferred foraging habitat. Our results show that extensive, thick, and multiyear sea ice was not always present close to the continent during the last glacial stage and highlight the potential of stomach-oil deposits as a palaeoenvironmental archive of Southern Ocean conditions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
McClymont, Erin L. Bentley, Michael J. Hodgson, Dominic A. Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L. Wardley, Thomas West, Martin D. Croudace, Ian W. Berg, Sonja Gröcke, Darren R. Kuhn, Gerhard Jamieson, Stewart S.R. Sime, Louise Phillips, Richard A. |
spellingShingle |
McClymont, Erin L. Bentley, Michael J. Hodgson, Dominic A. Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L. Wardley, Thomas West, Martin D. Croudace, Ian W. Berg, Sonja Gröcke, Darren R. Kuhn, Gerhard Jamieson, Stewart S.R. Sime, Louise Phillips, Richard A. Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
author_facet |
McClymont, Erin L. Bentley, Michael J. Hodgson, Dominic A. Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L. Wardley, Thomas West, Martin D. Croudace, Ian W. Berg, Sonja Gröcke, Darren R. Kuhn, Gerhard Jamieson, Stewart S.R. Sime, Louise Phillips, Richard A. |
author_sort |
McClymont, Erin L. |
title |
Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
title_short |
Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
title_full |
Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
title_fullStr |
Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
title_full_unstemmed |
Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
title_sort |
summer sea-ice variability on the antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits |
publisher |
European Geosciences Union |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/1/cp-18-381-2022.pdf https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/18/381/2022/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.479,-45.479,-60.580,-60.580) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Nivea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Dronning Maud Land Nivea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land ice core Sea ice Snow Petrel Snow Petrels Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land ice core Sea ice Snow Petrel Snow Petrels Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531185/1/cp-18-381-2022.pdf McClymont, Erin L.; Bentley, Michael J.; Hodgson, Dominic A. orcid:0000-0002-3841-3746 Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L.; Wardley, Thomas; West, Martin D.; Croudace, Ian W.; Berg, Sonja; Gröcke, Darren R.; Kuhn, Gerhard; Jamieson, Stewart S.R.; Sime, Louise orcid:0000-0002-9093-7926 Phillips, Richard A. 2022 Summer sea-ice variability on the Antarctic margin during the last glacial period reconstructed from snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) stomach-oil deposits. Climate of the Past, 18 (2). 381-403. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022 <https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
381 |
op_container_end_page |
403 |
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1766157612165890048 |