Holocene glacial history and sea level changes on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula

• Main Authors: Hjort, Christian, Ingólfsson, Ólafur, Möller, Per, Lirio, J M
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1997
• Subjects: Geology; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Brandy Bay; Ross Island; Antarc*; Antarctica; James Ross Island
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3e0a23a5-46ee-4af9-9eba-dce523830e1f; https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1417(199707/08)12:4<259::AID-JQS307>3.0.CO;2-6

A reconstruction of deglaciation and associated sea-level changes on northern James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, based on lithostratigraphical and geomorphological studies, shows that the initial deglaciation of presently ice-free areas occurred slightly before 7400 14C yr BP. Sea-level in connection with the deglaciation was around 30 m a.s.l. A glacier readvance in Brandy Bay, of at least 7 km, with the initial 3 km over land, reached a position off the present coast at ca. 4600 yr BP. The culmination of the advance was of short duration, and by 4300 yr BP the coastal lowlands again were ice-free. A distinct marine level at 16–18 m a.s.l. was contemporaneous with or slightly post-dates the Brandy Bay advance, thus indicating the relative sea-level around 4600–4500 yr BP. Our results from James Ross Island confirm that over large areas in this part of Antarctica the last deglaciation occurred late.