Age determination of eastern Weddel Sea sediments

• Main Author: Elverhoi, Anders
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 1981
• Subjects: GC; Gravity corer; NARE79; NARE79_212; NARE79_214; NARE79_234; Polarsirkel; Ellsworth Mountains; Ronne Ice Shelf; Ross Sea; Rutford; Weddell; Weddell Sea; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; Filchner Ronne Ice Shelf; Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf; Ice Sheet; Ice Shelf; Ice Shelves; Weddel Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.735652; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.735652

The huge ice shelves in West Antarctica -the Ross and Filchner/Ronne Ice Shelves- habe probably extended out on th continental shelf during the late Wisconsin (Stuiver et al., 1981). Previous discussions, which have focused on the Ross Sea, have suggested (1) that the ice extended across the whole continental shelf (Denton et al., 1975; Kellog et al., 1979, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1979)7<249:LQEOTW>2.0.CO;2) or (2) that there was only a minor ecpansion (Drewry, 1979). Here we present sedimentological data from the Weddel Sea which suggests that a late Wisconsin grounded ice sheet extended to the shelfe edge. The evidence includes a recent thicker ice in Ellsworth Mountains at the head of the Filchner/Ronne Ice Shelf (Rutford et al., 1980). This thickening would lead to an expansion of the inland ice sheet over the continental shelf, filling up the Weddell Sea embayment.