Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls
Quantitative satellite observations only provide an assessment of ice sheet mass loss over the last four decades. To assess long-term drivers of ice sheet change, geological records are needed. Here we present the first millennial-scale reconstruction of David Glacier, the largest East Antarctic out...
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Copernicus Publications
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ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00059155 2024-09-15T17:40:53+00:00 Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls Stutz, Jamey Mackintosh, Andrew Norton, Kevin Whitmore, Ross Baroni, Carlo Jamieson, Stewart S. R. Jones, Richard S. Balco, Greg Salvatore, Maria Cristina Casale, Stefano Lee, Jae Il Seong, Yeong Bae McKay, Robert Vargo, Lauren J. Lowry, Daniel Spector, Perry Christl, Marcus Ivy Ochs, Susan Di Nicola, Luigia Iarossi, Maria Stuart, Finlay Woodruff, Tom 2021-12 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00059155 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00058763/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/5447/2021/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00059155 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00058763/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/5447/2021/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2021 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 2024-06-26T04:36:34Z Quantitative satellite observations only provide an assessment of ice sheet mass loss over the last four decades. To assess long-term drivers of ice sheet change, geological records are needed. Here we present the first millennial-scale reconstruction of David Glacier, the largest East Antarctic outlet glacier in Victoria Land. To reconstruct changes in ice thickness, we use surface exposure ages of glacial erratics deposited on nunataks adjacent to fast-flowing sections of David Glacier. We then use numerical modelling experiments to determine the drivers of glacial thinning. Thinning profiles derived from 45 10Be and 3He surface exposure ages show David Glacier experienced rapid thinning of up to 2 m/yr during the mid-Holocene (∼ 6.5 ka). Thinning slowed at 6 ka, suggesting the initial formation of the Drygalski Ice Tongue at this time. Our work, along with ice thinning records from adjacent glaciers, shows simultaneous glacier thinning in this sector of the Transantarctic Mountains occurred 4–7 kyr after the peak period of ice thinning indicated in a suite of published ice sheet models. The timing and rapidity of the reconstructed thinning at David Glacier is similar to reconstructions in the Amundsen and Weddell embayments. To identify the drivers of glacier thinning along the David Glacier, we use a glacier flowline model designed for calving glaciers and compare modelled results against our geological data. We show that glacier thinning and marine-based grounding-line retreat are controlled by either enhanced sub-ice-shelf melting, reduced lateral buttressing or a combination of the two, leading to marine ice sheet instability. Such rapid glacier thinning events during the mid-Holocene are not fully captured in continental- or catchment-scale numerical modelling reconstructions. Together, our chronology and modelling identify and constrain the drivers of a ∼ 2000-year period of dynamic glacier thinning in the recent geological past. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica David Glacier Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Victoria Land Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA The Cryosphere 15 12 5447 5471 |
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Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA |
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ftnonlinearchiv |
language |
English |
topic |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
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article Verlagsveröffentlichung Stutz, Jamey Mackintosh, Andrew Norton, Kevin Whitmore, Ross Baroni, Carlo Jamieson, Stewart S. R. Jones, Richard S. Balco, Greg Salvatore, Maria Cristina Casale, Stefano Lee, Jae Il Seong, Yeong Bae McKay, Robert Vargo, Lauren J. Lowry, Daniel Spector, Perry Christl, Marcus Ivy Ochs, Susan Di Nicola, Luigia Iarossi, Maria Stuart, Finlay Woodruff, Tom Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
Quantitative satellite observations only provide an assessment of ice sheet mass loss over the last four decades. To assess long-term drivers of ice sheet change, geological records are needed. Here we present the first millennial-scale reconstruction of David Glacier, the largest East Antarctic outlet glacier in Victoria Land. To reconstruct changes in ice thickness, we use surface exposure ages of glacial erratics deposited on nunataks adjacent to fast-flowing sections of David Glacier. We then use numerical modelling experiments to determine the drivers of glacial thinning. Thinning profiles derived from 45 10Be and 3He surface exposure ages show David Glacier experienced rapid thinning of up to 2 m/yr during the mid-Holocene (∼ 6.5 ka). Thinning slowed at 6 ka, suggesting the initial formation of the Drygalski Ice Tongue at this time. Our work, along with ice thinning records from adjacent glaciers, shows simultaneous glacier thinning in this sector of the Transantarctic Mountains occurred 4–7 kyr after the peak period of ice thinning indicated in a suite of published ice sheet models. The timing and rapidity of the reconstructed thinning at David Glacier is similar to reconstructions in the Amundsen and Weddell embayments. To identify the drivers of glacier thinning along the David Glacier, we use a glacier flowline model designed for calving glaciers and compare modelled results against our geological data. We show that glacier thinning and marine-based grounding-line retreat are controlled by either enhanced sub-ice-shelf melting, reduced lateral buttressing or a combination of the two, leading to marine ice sheet instability. Such rapid glacier thinning events during the mid-Holocene are not fully captured in continental- or catchment-scale numerical modelling reconstructions. Together, our chronology and modelling identify and constrain the drivers of a ∼ 2000-year period of dynamic glacier thinning in the recent geological past. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stutz, Jamey Mackintosh, Andrew Norton, Kevin Whitmore, Ross Baroni, Carlo Jamieson, Stewart S. R. Jones, Richard S. Balco, Greg Salvatore, Maria Cristina Casale, Stefano Lee, Jae Il Seong, Yeong Bae McKay, Robert Vargo, Lauren J. Lowry, Daniel Spector, Perry Christl, Marcus Ivy Ochs, Susan Di Nicola, Luigia Iarossi, Maria Stuart, Finlay Woodruff, Tom |
author_facet |
Stutz, Jamey Mackintosh, Andrew Norton, Kevin Whitmore, Ross Baroni, Carlo Jamieson, Stewart S. R. Jones, Richard S. Balco, Greg Salvatore, Maria Cristina Casale, Stefano Lee, Jae Il Seong, Yeong Bae McKay, Robert Vargo, Lauren J. Lowry, Daniel Spector, Perry Christl, Marcus Ivy Ochs, Susan Di Nicola, Luigia Iarossi, Maria Stuart, Finlay Woodruff, Tom |
author_sort |
Stutz, Jamey |
title |
Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
title_short |
Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
title_full |
Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
title_fullStr |
Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mid-Holocene thinning of David Glacier, Antarctica: chronology and controls |
title_sort |
mid-holocene thinning of david glacier, antarctica: chronology and controls |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00059155 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00058763/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/5447/2021/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica David Glacier Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Victoria Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica David Glacier Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Victoria Land |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00059155 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00058763/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/5447/2021/tc-15-5447-2021.pdf |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5447-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
5447 |
op_container_end_page |
5471 |
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1810486959775154176 |