Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica
The future response of the Antarctic ice sheet to rising temperatures remains highly uncertain. A useful period for assessing the sensitivity of Antarctica to warming is the Last Interglacial (LIG) (129 to 116 ky), which experienced warmer polar temperatures and higher global mean sea level (GMSL) (...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2440/124687 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 |
id |
ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/124687 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/124687 2023-12-17T10:22:19+01:00 Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica Turney, C.S.M. Fogwill, C.J. Golledge, N.R. McKay, N.P. van Sebille, E. Jones, R.T. Etheridge, D. Rubino, M. Thornton, D.P. Davies, S.M. Ramsey, C.B. Thomas, Z.A. Bird, M.I. Munksgaard, N.C. Kohno, M. Woodward, J. Winter, K. Weyrich, L.S. Rootes, C.M. Millman, H. 2020 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2440/124687 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 en eng National Academy of Sciences http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP120200724 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 2020; 117(8):3996-4006 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/124687 doi:10.1073/pnas.1902469117 Cooper, A. [0000-0002-7738-7851] © 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 Antarctic ice sheets marine ice sheet instability (MISI) paleoclimatology polar amplification tipping element Journal article 2020 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 2023-11-20T23:32:26Z The future response of the Antarctic ice sheet to rising temperatures remains highly uncertain. A useful period for assessing the sensitivity of Antarctica to warming is the Last Interglacial (LIG) (129 to 116 ky), which experienced warmer polar temperatures and higher global mean sea level (GMSL) (+6 to 9 m) relative to present day. LIG sea level cannot be fully explained by Greenland Ice Sheet melt (∼2 m), ocean thermal expansion, and melting mountain glaciers (∼1 m), suggesting substantial Antarctic mass loss was initiated by warming of Southern Ocean waters, resulting from a weakening Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in response to North Atlantic surface freshening. Here, we report a blue-ice record of ice sheet and environmental change from the Weddell Sea Embayment at the periphery of the marine-based West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which is underlain by major methane hydrate reserves. Constrained by a widespread volcanic horizon and supported by ancient microbial DNA analyses, we provide evidence for substantial mass loss across the Weddell Sea Embayment during the LIG, most likely driven by ocean warming and associated with destabilization of subglacial hydrates. Ice sheet modeling supports this interpretation and suggests that millennial-scale warming of the Southern Ocean could have triggered a multimeter rise in global sea levels. Our data indicate that Antarctica is highly vulnerable to projected increases in ocean temperatures and may drive ice-climate feedbacks that further amplify warming. Chris S. M. Turney, Christopher J. Fogwill, Nicholas R. Golledge . Alan Cooper . Laura Weyrich . Jennifer Young . et al. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland Ice Sheet Methane hydrate North Atlantic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea The University of Adelaide: Digital Library Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Greenland Weddell Misi ENVELOPE(26.683,26.683,66.617,66.617) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117 8 3996 4006 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Adelaide: Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivadelaidedl |
language |
English |
topic |
Antarctic ice sheets marine ice sheet instability (MISI) paleoclimatology polar amplification tipping element |
spellingShingle |
Antarctic ice sheets marine ice sheet instability (MISI) paleoclimatology polar amplification tipping element Turney, C.S.M. Fogwill, C.J. Golledge, N.R. McKay, N.P. van Sebille, E. Jones, R.T. Etheridge, D. Rubino, M. Thornton, D.P. Davies, S.M. Ramsey, C.B. Thomas, Z.A. Bird, M.I. Munksgaard, N.C. Kohno, M. Woodward, J. Winter, K. Weyrich, L.S. Rootes, C.M. Millman, H. Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Antarctic ice sheets marine ice sheet instability (MISI) paleoclimatology polar amplification tipping element |
description |
The future response of the Antarctic ice sheet to rising temperatures remains highly uncertain. A useful period for assessing the sensitivity of Antarctica to warming is the Last Interglacial (LIG) (129 to 116 ky), which experienced warmer polar temperatures and higher global mean sea level (GMSL) (+6 to 9 m) relative to present day. LIG sea level cannot be fully explained by Greenland Ice Sheet melt (∼2 m), ocean thermal expansion, and melting mountain glaciers (∼1 m), suggesting substantial Antarctic mass loss was initiated by warming of Southern Ocean waters, resulting from a weakening Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in response to North Atlantic surface freshening. Here, we report a blue-ice record of ice sheet and environmental change from the Weddell Sea Embayment at the periphery of the marine-based West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which is underlain by major methane hydrate reserves. Constrained by a widespread volcanic horizon and supported by ancient microbial DNA analyses, we provide evidence for substantial mass loss across the Weddell Sea Embayment during the LIG, most likely driven by ocean warming and associated with destabilization of subglacial hydrates. Ice sheet modeling supports this interpretation and suggests that millennial-scale warming of the Southern Ocean could have triggered a multimeter rise in global sea levels. Our data indicate that Antarctica is highly vulnerable to projected increases in ocean temperatures and may drive ice-climate feedbacks that further amplify warming. Chris S. M. Turney, Christopher J. Fogwill, Nicholas R. Golledge . Alan Cooper . Laura Weyrich . Jennifer Young . et al. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Turney, C.S.M. Fogwill, C.J. Golledge, N.R. McKay, N.P. van Sebille, E. Jones, R.T. Etheridge, D. Rubino, M. Thornton, D.P. Davies, S.M. Ramsey, C.B. Thomas, Z.A. Bird, M.I. Munksgaard, N.C. Kohno, M. Woodward, J. Winter, K. Weyrich, L.S. Rootes, C.M. Millman, H. |
author_facet |
Turney, C.S.M. Fogwill, C.J. Golledge, N.R. McKay, N.P. van Sebille, E. Jones, R.T. Etheridge, D. Rubino, M. Thornton, D.P. Davies, S.M. Ramsey, C.B. Thomas, Z.A. Bird, M.I. Munksgaard, N.C. Kohno, M. Woodward, J. Winter, K. Weyrich, L.S. Rootes, C.M. Millman, H. |
author_sort |
Turney, C.S.M. |
title |
Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
title_short |
Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
title_full |
Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Early Last Interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from Antarctica |
title_sort |
early last interglacial ocean warming drove substantial ice mass loss from antarctica |
publisher |
National Academy of Sciences |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/124687 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(26.683,26.683,66.617,66.617) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Greenland Weddell Misi |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Weddell Sea West Antarctic Ice Sheet Greenland Weddell Misi |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland Ice Sheet Methane hydrate North Atlantic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Greenland Ice Sheet Methane hydrate North Atlantic Southern Ocean Weddell Sea |
op_source |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 |
op_relation |
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP120200724 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 2020; 117(8):3996-4006 0027-8424 1091-6490 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/124687 doi:10.1073/pnas.1902469117 Cooper, A. [0000-0002-7738-7851] |
op_rights |
© 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902469117 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
container_volume |
117 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
3996 |
op_container_end_page |
4006 |
_version_ |
1785546355171655680 |