Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years
Past fluctuations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) are of fundamental interest because of the possibility of WAIS collapse in the future and a consequent rise in global sea level. However, the configuration and stability of the ice sheet during past interglacial periods remains uncertain. Here...
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:112965 2023-05-15T13:38:22+02:00 Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years Hein, Andrew S. Woodward, John Marrero, Shasta M. Dunning, Stuart A. Steig, Eric J. Freeman, Stewart P.H.T. Stuart, Finlay M. Winter, Kate Westoby, Matthew J. Sugden, David E. 2016-02 text http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/ http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/3/112965.pdf en eng Nature Publishing Group http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/3/112965.pdf Hein, A. S., Woodward, J., Marrero, S. M., Dunning, S. A., Steig, E. J., Freeman, S. P.H.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/12692.html> , Stuart, F. M. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/5291.html> , Winter, K., Westoby, M. J. and Sugden, D. E. (2016) Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years. Nature Communications <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Nature_Communications.html>, 7, 10325. (doi:10.1038/ncomms10325 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10325>) (PMID:26838462) (PMCID:PMC4742792) cc_by_4 CC-BY Articles PeerReviewed 2016 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10325 2021-12-02T23:12:13Z Past fluctuations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) are of fundamental interest because of the possibility of WAIS collapse in the future and a consequent rise in global sea level. However, the configuration and stability of the ice sheet during past interglacial periods remains uncertain. Here we present geomorphological evidence and multiple cosmogenic nuclide data from the southern Ellsworth Mountains to suggest that the divide of the WAIS has fluctuated only modestly in location and thickness for at least the last 1.4 million years. Fluctuations during glacial–interglacial cycles appear superimposed on a long-term trajectory of ice-surface lowering relative to the mountains. This implies that as a minimum, a regional ice sheet centred on the Ellsworth-Whitmore uplands may have survived Pleistocene warm periods. If so, it constrains the WAIS contribution to global sea level rise during interglacials to about 3.3 m above present. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Antarctic Ellsworth Mountains ENVELOPE(-85.000,-85.000,-78.750,-78.750) West Antarctic Ice Sheet Nature Communications 7 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftuglasgow |
language |
English |
description |
Past fluctuations of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) are of fundamental interest because of the possibility of WAIS collapse in the future and a consequent rise in global sea level. However, the configuration and stability of the ice sheet during past interglacial periods remains uncertain. Here we present geomorphological evidence and multiple cosmogenic nuclide data from the southern Ellsworth Mountains to suggest that the divide of the WAIS has fluctuated only modestly in location and thickness for at least the last 1.4 million years. Fluctuations during glacial–interglacial cycles appear superimposed on a long-term trajectory of ice-surface lowering relative to the mountains. This implies that as a minimum, a regional ice sheet centred on the Ellsworth-Whitmore uplands may have survived Pleistocene warm periods. If so, it constrains the WAIS contribution to global sea level rise during interglacials to about 3.3 m above present. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hein, Andrew S. Woodward, John Marrero, Shasta M. Dunning, Stuart A. Steig, Eric J. Freeman, Stewart P.H.T. Stuart, Finlay M. Winter, Kate Westoby, Matthew J. Sugden, David E. |
spellingShingle |
Hein, Andrew S. Woodward, John Marrero, Shasta M. Dunning, Stuart A. Steig, Eric J. Freeman, Stewart P.H.T. Stuart, Finlay M. Winter, Kate Westoby, Matthew J. Sugden, David E. Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
author_facet |
Hein, Andrew S. Woodward, John Marrero, Shasta M. Dunning, Stuart A. Steig, Eric J. Freeman, Stewart P.H.T. Stuart, Finlay M. Winter, Kate Westoby, Matthew J. Sugden, David E. |
author_sort |
Hein, Andrew S. |
title |
Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
title_short |
Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
title_full |
Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
title_fullStr |
Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
title_sort |
evidence for the stability of the west antarctic ice sheet divide for 1.4 million years |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/ http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/3/112965.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-85.000,-85.000,-78.750,-78.750) |
geographic |
Antarctic Ellsworth Mountains West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ellsworth Mountains West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/112965/3/112965.pdf Hein, A. S., Woodward, J., Marrero, S. M., Dunning, S. A., Steig, E. J., Freeman, S. P.H.T. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/12692.html> , Stuart, F. M. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/5291.html> , Winter, K., Westoby, M. J. and Sugden, D. E. (2016) Evidence for the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet divide for 1.4 million years. Nature Communications <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Nature_Communications.html>, 7, 10325. (doi:10.1038/ncomms10325 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10325>) (PMID:26838462) (PMCID:PMC4742792) |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10325 |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766105174351282176 |