Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials
Understanding ice sheet behaviour in the geological past is essential for evaluating the role of the cryosphere in the climate system and for projecting rates and magnitudes of sea level rise in future warming scenarios1–4. Although both geological data5–7and ice sheet models3,8indicate that marine-...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/1/Wilson%20et%20al%202018%20Nature%20accepted.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/ |
id |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:10059393 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:10059393 2023-12-24T10:11:23+01:00 Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials Wilson, DJ Bertram, RA Needham, EF van de Flierdt, T Welsh, KJ McKay, RM Mazumder, A Riesselman, CR Jimenez-Espejo, FJ Escutia, C 2018-09-19 text https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/1/Wilson%20et%20al%202018%20Nature%20accepted.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/ eng eng https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/1/Wilson%20et%20al%202018%20Nature%20accepted.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/ open Nature , 561 (7723) pp. 383-386. (2018) Article 2018 ftucl 2023-11-27T13:07:39Z Understanding ice sheet behaviour in the geological past is essential for evaluating the role of the cryosphere in the climate system and for projecting rates and magnitudes of sea level rise in future warming scenarios1–4. Although both geological data5–7and ice sheet models3,8indicate that marine-based sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet were unstable during Pliocene warm intervals, the ice sheet dynamics during late Pleistocene interglacial intervals are highly uncertain3,9,10. Here we provide evidence from marine sedimentological and geochemical records for ice margin retreat or thinning in the vicinity of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin of East Antarctica during warm late Pleistocene interglacial intervals. The most extreme changes in sediment provenance, recording changes in the locus of glacial erosion, occurred during marine isotope stages 5, 9, and 11, when Antarctic air temperatures11were at least two degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial temperatures for 2,500 years or more. Hence, our study indicates a close link between extended Antarctic warmth and ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, providing ice-proximal data to support a contribution to sea level from a reduced East Antarctic Ice Sheet during warm interglacial intervals. While the behaviour of other regions of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet remains to be assessed, it appears that modest future warming may be sufficient to cause ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet University College London: UCL Discovery Antarctic East Antarctica East Antarctic Ice Sheet Wilkes Subglacial Basin ENVELOPE(145.000,145.000,-75.000,-75.000) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University College London: UCL Discovery |
op_collection_id |
ftucl |
language |
English |
description |
Understanding ice sheet behaviour in the geological past is essential for evaluating the role of the cryosphere in the climate system and for projecting rates and magnitudes of sea level rise in future warming scenarios1–4. Although both geological data5–7and ice sheet models3,8indicate that marine-based sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet were unstable during Pliocene warm intervals, the ice sheet dynamics during late Pleistocene interglacial intervals are highly uncertain3,9,10. Here we provide evidence from marine sedimentological and geochemical records for ice margin retreat or thinning in the vicinity of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin of East Antarctica during warm late Pleistocene interglacial intervals. The most extreme changes in sediment provenance, recording changes in the locus of glacial erosion, occurred during marine isotope stages 5, 9, and 11, when Antarctic air temperatures11were at least two degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial temperatures for 2,500 years or more. Hence, our study indicates a close link between extended Antarctic warmth and ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, providing ice-proximal data to support a contribution to sea level from a reduced East Antarctic Ice Sheet during warm interglacial intervals. While the behaviour of other regions of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet remains to be assessed, it appears that modest future warming may be sufficient to cause ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilson, DJ Bertram, RA Needham, EF van de Flierdt, T Welsh, KJ McKay, RM Mazumder, A Riesselman, CR Jimenez-Espejo, FJ Escutia, C |
spellingShingle |
Wilson, DJ Bertram, RA Needham, EF van de Flierdt, T Welsh, KJ McKay, RM Mazumder, A Riesselman, CR Jimenez-Espejo, FJ Escutia, C Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
author_facet |
Wilson, DJ Bertram, RA Needham, EF van de Flierdt, T Welsh, KJ McKay, RM Mazumder, A Riesselman, CR Jimenez-Espejo, FJ Escutia, C |
author_sort |
Wilson, DJ |
title |
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
title_short |
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
title_full |
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
title_fullStr |
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ice loss from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials |
title_sort |
ice loss from the east antarctic ice sheet during late pleistocene interglacials |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/1/Wilson%20et%20al%202018%20Nature%20accepted.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(145.000,145.000,-75.000,-75.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctica East Antarctic Ice Sheet Wilkes Subglacial Basin |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctica East Antarctic Ice Sheet Wilkes Subglacial Basin |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica East Antarctica Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Nature , 561 (7723) pp. 383-386. (2018) |
op_relation |
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/1/Wilson%20et%20al%202018%20Nature%20accepted.pdf https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059393/ |
op_rights |
open |
_version_ |
1786164206085603328 |