The configuration of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the Quaternary

• Published in: Nature Communications
• 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: Nature Publishing Group 2019
• Subjects: Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/85241/; http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/85241/11/s41467-019-11601-2.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11601-2

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 26 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 30 landscape evolution.