Investigations on sediment core Co1010 from Rauer Group, Antarctica

The Rauer Group is an archipelago in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. The ice-free islands and the surrounding shallow marine areas provide valuable archives for the reconstruction of the late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental and climatic history of the region. Two sediment records from two marine...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Berg, Sonja, Wagner, Bernd, Cremer, Holger, Leng, Melanie J, Melles, Martin
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2010
Subjects:
ANT-XXIII/9
Co1010
Co1011
COMPCORE
Composite Core
Filla Island
Rauer Group
Antarctica
Flag Island
Polarstern
Priority Programme 1158 Antarctic Research with Comparable Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas
PS69
SPP1158
Antarctic
Arctic
East Antarctica
Prydz Bay
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Ice Sheet
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.745306
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.745306
Description
Summary:The Rauer Group is an archipelago in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. The ice-free islands and the surrounding shallow marine areas provide valuable archives for the reconstruction of the late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental and climatic history of the region. Two sediment records from two marine inlets of Rauer Group have been studied for their sedimentological, geochemical, and biological characteristics. Radiocarbon ages from one of the inlets indicate ice-free conditions within the last glacial cycle, probably during the second half of Marine Isotope Stage 3. Subsequent ice sheet coverage of Rauer Group during the Last Glacial Maxiumum (LGM) can be inferred from a till layer recovered in one of the basins. The inlets became ice-free prior to 11,200 cal yr BP, when biogenic sedimentation started. Deglacial processes in the catchments, however, influenced the inlets until ~9200 cal. yr BP as evidenced by the input of minerogenic material. Marine productivity under relatively open water conditions indicates an early Holocene climate optimum until 8200 cal. yr BP, which is followed by a cooler period with increased sea ice. Warmer conditions are inferred for the mid Holocene, when both basins experienced an input of freshwater between ~5700-3500 cal. yr BP, probably due to ice-sheet melting and increased precipitation on the islands. Neoglacial cooling in the late Holocene since c. 3500 cal yr BP is reflected by an increase in sea ice in both inlets.

Similar Items