The configuration of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the Quaternary.

Our understanding of how global climatic changes are translated into ice-sheet fluctuations and sea-level change is currently limited by a lack of knowledge of the configuration of ice sheets prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here, we compile a synthesis of empirical data and numerical modell...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Batchelor, Christine L, Margold, Martin, Krapp, Mario, Murton, Della K, Dalton, April S, Gibbard, Philip L, Stokes, Chris R, Murton, Julian B, Manica, Andrea
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2019
Subjects:
37 Earth Sciences
3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
3705 Geology
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/295812
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.42859
Description
Summary:Our understanding of how global climatic changes are translated into ice-sheet fluctuations and sea-level change is currently limited by a lack of knowledge of the configuration of ice sheets prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here, we compile a synthesis of empirical data and numerical modelling results related to pre-LGM ice sheets to produce new hypotheses regarding their extent in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) at 17 time-slices that span the Quaternary. Our reconstructions illustrate pronounced ice-sheet asymmetry within the last glacial cycle and significant variations in ice-marginal positions between older glacial cycles. We find support for a significant reduction in the extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during MIS 3, implying that global sea levels may have been 30-40 m higher than most previous estimates. Our ice-sheet reconstructions illustrate the current state-of-the-art knowledge of pre-LGM ice sheets and provide a conceptual framework to interpret NH landscape evolution. During this work, CLB was in receipt of a Junior Research Fellowship at Newnham College, University of Cambridge, and a grant from the Norwegian VISTA programme. MM was supported by a Swedish Research Council International Postdoctoral Fellowship (No. 637-561 2014-483). This work was supported by an ERC Consolidator Grant to AM (Local 562 Adaptation 647787). The Leverhulme Foundation is also thanked for financial support to PLG, and we acknowledge funding from the DIFeREns2 Junior Research Fellowship (No. 564 609412; Durham University) to ASD.

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