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
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Batchelor, C.L., Margold, M., Krapp, M., Murton, D.K., Dalton, A.S., Gibbard, P.L., Stokes, C.R., Murton, J.B., Manica, A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2019
Subjects:
Ice Sheet
Online Access:http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28761/
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28761/1/28761.pdf
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28761/2/28761S.pdf
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28761/3/28761.pdf
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28761/4/28761.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11601-2
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 30–40m 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.

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