The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Pliocene warmth

Dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Pliocene warmth
Dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Pliocene warmth
Warm intervals within the Pliocene epoch (5.33–2.58 million years ago) were characterized by global temperatures comparable to those predicted for the end of this century1 and atmospheric CO2 concentrations similar to today2, 3, 4. Estimates for global sea level highstands during these times5 imply possible retreat of the East Antarctic ice sheet, but ice-proximal evidence from the Antarctic margin is scarce. Here we present new data from Pliocene marine sediments recovered offshore of Adélie Land, East Antarctica, that reveal dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet in the vicinity of the low-lying Wilkes Subglacial Basin during times of past climatic warmth. Sedimentary sequences deposited between 5.3 and 3.3 million years ago indicate increases in Southern Ocean surface water productivity, associated with elevated circum-Antarctic temperatures. The geochemical provenance of detrital material deposited during these warm intervals suggests active erosion of continental bedrock from within the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, an area today buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet. We interpret this erosion to be associated with retreat of the ice sheet margin several hundreds of kilometres inland and conclude that the East Antarctic ice sheet was sensitive to climatic warmth during the Pliocene.
1752-0894
765-769
Cook, Carys P.
1a834475-18c0-4f04-94e2-d713a8d880cb
van de Flierdt, Tina
6322ca73-69d3-434e-bf6d-41376bd93b73
Williams, Trevor
6d85fc68-c1db-45fc-9bd9-0293d2c90a23
Hemming, Sidney R.
0483ad12-8339-44dc-bd3e-e4092df0d22c
Iwai, Masao
08d5e527-825d-4a15-a9f8-1511407aa897
Kobayashi, Munemasa
0f2557f2-aae6-4747-a294-bb5b7947e54f
Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco J.
06adfa66-6ade-46b7-a692-7a4664539ccc
Escutia, Carlota
0ec26deb-bd11-43c0-80b2-58186da90d64
González, Jhon Jairo
87ac8948-ca24-4d07-8968-1188587bffef
Khim, Boo-Keun
c18ff1f3-17c7-41d3-a684-b2b7a6407a00
McKay, Robert M.
11eaad44-da67-46e3-9b47-d9464a4ae0a1
Passchier, Sandra
947fa4ff-b5ef-4d60-8ef0-4920edf0df4f
Bohaty, Steven M.
af9dbe78-8b9f-44f2-ba1d-20795837d2d1
Riesselman, Christina R.
b5e3159d-191a-4ba2-aa54-8844cb8783d5
Tauxe, Lisa
cf561b1b-9e16-4644-a651-f9854d6d7ee8
Sugisaki, Saiko
af119590-5956-4c98-b174-0c718aa05b88
Galindo, Alberto Lopez
03b3193e-4b72-4044-bd67-daa779bddbbe
Patterson, Molly O.
2e566e12-ec27-404d-8471-13d85218fca2
Sangiorgi, Francesca
99a5c69f-f3b0-4c6a-899d-6a10e78a2392
Pierce, Elizabeth L.
77834e43-5864-4607-a0c2-8636381ff389
Brinkhuis, Henk
2897d110-84de-4cd1-8b90-97a0bc404354
Klaus, Adam
0efdbb3a-0202-4753-b93b-c8b15a86b857
Fehr, Annick
221075ec-980c-45c3-b93d-4d2c65f8df92
Bendle, James A. P.
12ce984d-2ece-4911-8cf4-64f5e70f9dbc
Bijl, Peter K.
fe283896-4066-490e-81b5-3212d00ef810
Carr, Stephanie A.
96ca6b2b-90c7-45bb-97cb-4f24c9e0c91e
Dunbar, Robert B.
f19ee95d-b993-4d61-8d60-665bbf528da5
Flores, José Abel
8e5ab9c4-25b5-4adf-9510-51953aec87f3
Hayden, Travis G.
76c06ea7-802d-4a7d-ae9c-4e4317c34f0c
Katsuki, Kota
1e493d05-c061-4141-b89e-f9f7ea7d018b
Kong, Gee Soo
fd6bb830-44a8-4fa7-b6c9-8127e6e113ce
Nakai, Mutsumi
69e8cd66-4398-41f1-b5ef-5f29b43e5a86
Olney, Matthew P.
ac07863b-6b5c-4b0f-b96f-5c314d15c62d
Pekar, Stephen F.
aacb686d-3fa4-4b08-9431-fbfc3c5fc2cf
Pross, Jörg
7c848424-852f-467b-90f0-19d4f8d4ae01
Röhl, Ursula
c28c498d-f0a1-4c25-bf94-4bf46641ceed
Sakai, Toyosaburo
b1d8aeb1-1c43-410f-9cc1-4680d637ba40
Shrivastava, Prakash K.
a882fbd6-6a88-46f2-bd92-a1e9a9561536
Stickley, Catherine E.
c7ef5a58-7571-4833-bb59-ffd4257a3c2e
Tuo, Shouting
91ff0704-c262-4d22-ac36-8b6f2e783c6c
Welsh, Kevin
44eed3e1-ab98-49cc-8131-0f158abc5a8e
Yamane, Masako
7f5b4647-eb5d-4a49-975f-9cc41765954e
Cook, Carys P.
1a834475-18c0-4f04-94e2-d713a8d880cb
van de Flierdt, Tina
6322ca73-69d3-434e-bf6d-41376bd93b73
Williams, Trevor
6d85fc68-c1db-45fc-9bd9-0293d2c90a23
Hemming, Sidney R.
0483ad12-8339-44dc-bd3e-e4092df0d22c
Iwai, Masao
08d5e527-825d-4a15-a9f8-1511407aa897
Kobayashi, Munemasa
0f2557f2-aae6-4747-a294-bb5b7947e54f
Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco J.
06adfa66-6ade-46b7-a692-7a4664539ccc
Escutia, Carlota
0ec26deb-bd11-43c0-80b2-58186da90d64
González, Jhon Jairo
87ac8948-ca24-4d07-8968-1188587bffef
Khim, Boo-Keun
c18ff1f3-17c7-41d3-a684-b2b7a6407a00
McKay, Robert M.
11eaad44-da67-46e3-9b47-d9464a4ae0a1
Passchier, Sandra
947fa4ff-b5ef-4d60-8ef0-4920edf0df4f
Bohaty, Steven M.
af9dbe78-8b9f-44f2-ba1d-20795837d2d1
Riesselman, Christina R.
b5e3159d-191a-4ba2-aa54-8844cb8783d5
Tauxe, Lisa
cf561b1b-9e16-4644-a651-f9854d6d7ee8
Sugisaki, Saiko
af119590-5956-4c98-b174-0c718aa05b88
Galindo, Alberto Lopez
03b3193e-4b72-4044-bd67-daa779bddbbe
Patterson, Molly O.
2e566e12-ec27-404d-8471-13d85218fca2
Sangiorgi, Francesca
99a5c69f-f3b0-4c6a-899d-6a10e78a2392
Pierce, Elizabeth L.
77834e43-5864-4607-a0c2-8636381ff389
Brinkhuis, Henk
2897d110-84de-4cd1-8b90-97a0bc404354
Klaus, Adam
0efdbb3a-0202-4753-b93b-c8b15a86b857
Fehr, Annick
221075ec-980c-45c3-b93d-4d2c65f8df92
Bendle, James A. P.
12ce984d-2ece-4911-8cf4-64f5e70f9dbc
Bijl, Peter K.
fe283896-4066-490e-81b5-3212d00ef810
Carr, Stephanie A.
96ca6b2b-90c7-45bb-97cb-4f24c9e0c91e
Dunbar, Robert B.
f19ee95d-b993-4d61-8d60-665bbf528da5
Flores, José Abel
8e5ab9c4-25b5-4adf-9510-51953aec87f3
Hayden, Travis G.
76c06ea7-802d-4a7d-ae9c-4e4317c34f0c
Katsuki, Kota
1e493d05-c061-4141-b89e-f9f7ea7d018b
Kong, Gee Soo
fd6bb830-44a8-4fa7-b6c9-8127e6e113ce
Nakai, Mutsumi
69e8cd66-4398-41f1-b5ef-5f29b43e5a86
Olney, Matthew P.
ac07863b-6b5c-4b0f-b96f-5c314d15c62d
Pekar, Stephen F.
aacb686d-3fa4-4b08-9431-fbfc3c5fc2cf
Pross, Jörg
7c848424-852f-467b-90f0-19d4f8d4ae01
Röhl, Ursula
c28c498d-f0a1-4c25-bf94-4bf46641ceed
Sakai, Toyosaburo
b1d8aeb1-1c43-410f-9cc1-4680d637ba40
Shrivastava, Prakash K.
a882fbd6-6a88-46f2-bd92-a1e9a9561536
Stickley, Catherine E.
c7ef5a58-7571-4833-bb59-ffd4257a3c2e
Tuo, Shouting
91ff0704-c262-4d22-ac36-8b6f2e783c6c
Welsh, Kevin
44eed3e1-ab98-49cc-8131-0f158abc5a8e
Yamane, Masako
7f5b4647-eb5d-4a49-975f-9cc41765954e

Cook, Carys P., van de Flierdt, Tina, Williams, Trevor, Hemming, Sidney R., Iwai, Masao, Kobayashi, Munemasa, Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco J., Escutia, Carlota, González, Jhon Jairo, Khim, Boo-Keun, McKay, Robert M., Passchier, Sandra, Bohaty, Steven M., Riesselman, Christina R., Tauxe, Lisa, Sugisaki, Saiko, Galindo, Alberto Lopez, Patterson, Molly O., Sangiorgi, Francesca, Pierce, Elizabeth L., Brinkhuis, Henk, Klaus, Adam, Fehr, Annick, Bendle, James A. P., Bijl, Peter K., Carr, Stephanie A., Dunbar, Robert B., Flores, José Abel, Hayden, Travis G., Katsuki, Kota, Kong, Gee Soo, Nakai, Mutsumi, Olney, Matthew P., Pekar, Stephen F., Pross, Jörg, Röhl, Ursula, Sakai, Toyosaburo, Shrivastava, Prakash K., Stickley, Catherine E., Tuo, Shouting, Welsh, Kevin and Yamane, Masako (2013) Dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet during Pliocene warmth. Nature Geoscience, 6 (9), 765-769. (doi:10.1038/ngeo1889).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Warm intervals within the Pliocene epoch (5.33–2.58 million years ago) were characterized by global temperatures comparable to those predicted for the end of this century1 and atmospheric CO2 concentrations similar to today2, 3, 4. Estimates for global sea level highstands during these times5 imply possible retreat of the East Antarctic ice sheet, but ice-proximal evidence from the Antarctic margin is scarce. Here we present new data from Pliocene marine sediments recovered offshore of Adélie Land, East Antarctica, that reveal dynamic behaviour of the East Antarctic ice sheet in the vicinity of the low-lying Wilkes Subglacial Basin during times of past climatic warmth. Sedimentary sequences deposited between 5.3 and 3.3 million years ago indicate increases in Southern Ocean surface water productivity, associated with elevated circum-Antarctic temperatures. The geochemical provenance of detrital material deposited during these warm intervals suggests active erosion of continental bedrock from within the Wilkes Subglacial Basin, an area today buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet. We interpret this erosion to be associated with retreat of the ice sheet margin several hundreds of kilometres inland and conclude that the East Antarctic ice sheet was sensitive to climatic warmth during the Pliocene.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: July 2013
Organisations: Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 358513
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/358513
ISSN: 1752-0894
PURE UUID: ee1556b9-1d50-4d62-a010-c9159464c181
ORCID for Steven M. Bohaty: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1193-7398

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Oct 2013 16:13
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:27

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Carys P. Cook
Author: Tina van de Flierdt
Author: Trevor Williams
Author: Sidney R. Hemming
Author: Masao Iwai
Author: Munemasa Kobayashi
Author: Francisco J. Jimenez-Espejo
Author: Carlota Escutia
Author: Jhon Jairo González
Author: Boo-Keun Khim
Author: Robert M. McKay
Author: Sandra Passchier
Author: Christina R. Riesselman
Author: Lisa Tauxe
Author: Saiko Sugisaki
Author: Alberto Lopez Galindo
Author: Molly O. Patterson
Author: Francesca Sangiorgi
Author: Elizabeth L. Pierce
Author: Henk Brinkhuis
Author: Adam Klaus
Author: Annick Fehr
Author: James A. P. Bendle
Author: Peter K. Bijl
Author: Stephanie A. Carr
Author: Robert B. Dunbar
Author: José Abel Flores
Author: Travis G. Hayden
Author: Kota Katsuki
Author: Gee Soo Kong
Author: Mutsumi Nakai
Author: Matthew P. Olney
Author: Stephen F. Pekar
Author: Jörg Pross
Author: Ursula Röhl
Author: Toyosaburo Sakai
Author: Prakash K. Shrivastava
Author: Catherine E. Stickley
Author: Shouting Tuo
Author: Kevin Welsh
Author: Masako Yamane

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×