Holocene Deglaciation of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Stone, John O, Balco, Gregory A, Sugden, David, Caffee, Marc W, Sass III, Louis C, Cowdery, Seth G, Siddoway, Christine
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2003
• Subjects: Antarctic; West Antarctica; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; Byrd; Marie Byrd Land; Ford Ranges; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1842/461; http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/299/5603/99

Surface exposure ages of glacial deposits in the Ford Ranges of western Marie Byrd Land indicate continuous thinning of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by more than 700 meters near the coast throughout the past 10,000 years. Deglaciation lagged the disappearance of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere by thousands of years and may still be under way. These results provide further evidence that parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are on a long-term trajectory of decline. West Antarctic melting contributed water to the oceans in the late Holocene and may continue to do so in the future.