Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat
Marine diatoms in tillites along the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) have been used to suggest a diminished East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) during Pliocene warm periods. Updated ice-sheet modelling shows significant Pliocene EAIS retreat, creating marine embayments into the Wilkes and Aurora basins...
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ftunivmassamh:oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:geo_faculty_pubs-1002 2023-05-15T14:01:20+02:00 Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat Scherer, Reed P. DeConto, Robert M. Pollard, David Alley, Richard B. 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholarworks.umass.edu/geo_faculty_pubs/3 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geo_faculty_pubs unknown ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst https://scholarworks.umass.edu/geo_faculty_pubs/3 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geo_faculty_pubs http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY Geosciences Department Faculty Publication Series text 2016 ftunivmassamh 2022-01-09T19:33:19Z Marine diatoms in tillites along the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) have been used to suggest a diminished East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) during Pliocene warm periods. Updated ice-sheet modelling shows significant Pliocene EAIS retreat, creating marine embayments into the Wilkes and Aurora basins that were conducive to high diatom productivity and rapid accumulation of diatomaceous sediments. Here we show that subsequent isostatic uplift exposed accumulated unconsolidated marine deposits to wind erosion. We report new atmospheric modelling utilizing Pliocene climate and derived Antarctic landscapes indicating that prevailing mid-altitude winds transported diatoms towards the TAMs, dominantly from extensive emerged coastal deposits of the Aurora Basin. This result unifies leading ideas from competing sides of a contentious debate about the origin of the diatoms in the TAMs and their link to EAIS history, supporting the view that parts of the EAIS are vulnerable to relatively modest warming, with possible implications for future sea-level rise. Text Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet University of Massachusetts: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Transantarctic Mountains |
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University of Massachusetts: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
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ftunivmassamh |
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description |
Marine diatoms in tillites along the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) have been used to suggest a diminished East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) during Pliocene warm periods. Updated ice-sheet modelling shows significant Pliocene EAIS retreat, creating marine embayments into the Wilkes and Aurora basins that were conducive to high diatom productivity and rapid accumulation of diatomaceous sediments. Here we show that subsequent isostatic uplift exposed accumulated unconsolidated marine deposits to wind erosion. We report new atmospheric modelling utilizing Pliocene climate and derived Antarctic landscapes indicating that prevailing mid-altitude winds transported diatoms towards the TAMs, dominantly from extensive emerged coastal deposits of the Aurora Basin. This result unifies leading ideas from competing sides of a contentious debate about the origin of the diatoms in the TAMs and their link to EAIS history, supporting the view that parts of the EAIS are vulnerable to relatively modest warming, with possible implications for future sea-level rise. |
format |
Text |
author |
Scherer, Reed P. DeConto, Robert M. Pollard, David Alley, Richard B. |
spellingShingle |
Scherer, Reed P. DeConto, Robert M. Pollard, David Alley, Richard B. Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
author_facet |
Scherer, Reed P. DeConto, Robert M. Pollard, David Alley, Richard B. |
author_sort |
Scherer, Reed P. |
title |
Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
title_short |
Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
title_full |
Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
title_fullStr |
Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
title_full_unstemmed |
Windblown Pliocene Diatoms and East Antarctic Ice Sheet Retreat |
title_sort |
windblown pliocene diatoms and east antarctic ice sheet retreat |
publisher |
ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/geo_faculty_pubs/3 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geo_faculty_pubs |
geographic |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Transantarctic Mountains |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic East Antarctic Ice Sheet Transantarctic Mountains |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Geosciences Department Faculty Publication Series |
op_relation |
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/geo_faculty_pubs/3 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geo_faculty_pubs |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766271064307924992 |