Pre-LGM open-water conditions south of the Drygalski Ice Tongue (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

A marine sediment core collected from the Nordenskjold Basin, to the south of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, provides new sedimentological and chronological data for reconstructing the Pleistocene glacial history and palaeoenvironmental evolution of Victoria Land. The core consists of an over consolidate...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: FINOCCHIARO F, COLIZZA E, IVALDI R., BARONI, CARLO
Other Authors: Finocchiaro, F, Baroni, Carlo, Colizza, E, Ivaldi, R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11568/112162
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102007000430
Description
Summary:A marine sediment core collected from the Nordenskjold Basin, to the south of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, provides new sedimentological and chronological data for reconstructing the Pleistocene glacial history and palaeoenvironmental evolution of Victoria Land. The core consists of an over consolidated biogenic mud covered with glacial diamicton; Holocene diatomaceous mud lies on top of the sequence. Radiocarbon dates of the acid insoluble organic matter indicate a pre-Last Glacial Maximum age (.24kyr) for the biogenic mud at the base of the sequence. From this we can presume that at least this portion of the western Ross Sea was deglaciated during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and enjoyed open marine conditions. Our results are consistent with recent findings of pre-Holocene raised beaches at Cape Ross and in the Terra Nova Bay area.