1. |
- Andersen, J. L., et al.
(author)
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Ice surface changes during recent glacial cycles along the Jutulstraumen and Penck Trough ice streams in western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
- 2020
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 249
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reconstructing past ice-sheet surface changes is key to testing and improving ice-sheet models. Data constraining the past behaviour of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet are sparse, limiting our understanding of its response to past, present and future climate change. Here, we report the first cosmogenic multinuclide (Be-10, Al-26, Cl-36) data from bedrock and erratics on nunataks along the Jutulstraumen and Penck Trough ice streams in western Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Spanning elevations between 741 and 2394 m above sea level, the samples have apparent exposure ages between 2 ka and 5 Ma. The highest-elevation bedrock sample indicates (near-) continuous minimum exposure since the Pliocene, with a low apparent erosion rate of 0.15 +/- 0.03 m Ma(-1), which is similar to results from eastern Dronning Maud Land. In contrast to studies in eastern Dronning Maud Land, however, our data show clear indications of a thicker-than-present ice sheet within the last glacial cycle, with a thinning of similar to 35-120 m during the Holocene (similar to 2-11 ka). Difficulties in separating suitable amounts of quartz from the often quartz-poor rock-types in the area, and cosmogenic nuclides inherited from exposure prior to the last deglaciation, prevented robust thinning estimates from elevational profiles. Nevertheless, the results clearly demonstrate ice-surface fluctuations of several hundred meters between the current grounding line and the edge of the polar plateau for the last glacial cycle, a constraint that should be considered in future ice-sheet model simulations.
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2. |
- Bentley, Michael J., et al.
(author)
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A community-based geological reconstruction of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum
- 2014
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 100, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A robust understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglacial history since the Last Glacial Maximum is important in order to constrain ice sheet and glacial-isostatic adjustment models, and to explore the forcing mechanisms responsible for ice sheet retreat. Such understanding can be derived from a broad range of geological and glaciological datasets and recent decades have seen an upsurge in such data gathering around the continent and Sub-Antarctic islands. Here, we report a new synthesis of those datasets, based on an accompanying series of reviews of the geological data, organised by sector. We present a series of timeslice maps for 20 ka, 15 ka, 10 ka and 5 ka, including grounding line position and ice sheet thickness changes, along with a clear assessment of levels of confidence. The reconstruction shows that the Antarctic Ice sheet did not everywhere reach the continental shelf edge at its maximum, that initial retreat was asynchronous, and that the spatial pattern of deglaciation was highly variable, particularly on the inner shelf. The deglacial reconstruction is consistent with a moderate overall excess ice volume and with a relatively small Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse la. We discuss key areas of uncertainty both around the continent and by time interval, and we highlight potential priorities for future work. The synthesis is intended to be a resource for the modelling and glacial geological community.
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3. |
- Glasser, Neil F., et al.
(author)
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Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for moraines in the Lago San Martin Valley, Argentina
- 2011
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In: Quaternary Research. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0033-5894 .- 1096-0287. ; 75:3, s. 636-646
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At several times during the Quaternary, a major eastward-flowing outlet glacier of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet occupied the Lago San Martin Valley in Argentina (49 degrees S, 72 degrees W). We present a glacial chronology for the valley based on geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic nuclide ((10)Be) exposure ages (n = 10) of boulders on moraines and lake shorelines. There are five prominent moraine belts in the Lago San Martin Valley, associated with extensive sandar (glaciofluvial outwash plains) and former lake shorelines. Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for boulders on these moraines indicate that they formed at 14.3 +/- 1.7 ka, 22.4 +/- 2.3 ka, 34.4 +/- 3.4 ka to 37.6 +/- 3.4 ka (and possibly 60 +/- 3.5 ka), and 99 +/- 11 ka (1 sigma). These dated glacier advances differ from published chronologies from the Lago San Martin Valley based on (14)C age determinations from organic sediments and molluscs in meltwater channels directly in front of moraines or in kettleholes within end moraine ridges. The moraine boulder ages also point to possible pre-LGM glacial advances during the last glacial cycle and a key observation from our data is that the LGM glaciers were probably less extensive in the Lago San Martin Valley than previously thought.
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4. |
- Glasser, Neil F., et al.
(author)
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Glacial lake drainage in Patagonia (13-8 kyr) and response of the adjacent Pacific Ocean
- 2016
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large freshwater lakes formed in North America and Europe during deglaciation following the Last Glacial Maximum. Rapid drainage of these lakes into the Oceans resulted in abrupt perturbations in climate, including the Younger Dryas and 8.2 kyr cooling events. In the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere major glacial lakes also formed and drained during deglaciation but little is known about the magnitude, organization and timing of these drainage events and their effect on regional climate. We use 16 new single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates to define three stages of rapid glacial lake drainage in the Lago General Carrera/Lago Buenos Aires and Lago Cohrane/Pueyrredon basins of Patagonia and provide the first assessment of the effects of lake drainage on the Pacific Ocean. Lake drainage occurred between 13 and 8 kyr ago and was initially gradual eastward into the Atlantic, then subsequently reorganized westward into the Pacific as new drainage routes opened up during Patagonian Ice Sheet deglaciation. Coupled ocean-atmosphere model experiments using HadCM3 with an imposed freshwater surface hosing to simulate glacial lake drainage suggest that a negative salinity anomaly was advected south around Cape Horn, resulting in brief but significant impacts on coastal ocean vertical mixing and regional climate.
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5. |
- Glasser, Neil F., et al.
(author)
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Younger Dryas and early Holocene age glacier advances in Patagonia
- 2012
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 58, s. 7-17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reliable dating of Southern Hemisphere glacier fluctuations since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is crucial to resolving debates about millennial-scale climate change. Here we present Be-10 dates for lateral, valley-mouth and cross-valley moraines formed between the contemporary South American North Patagonian Icefield (NPI) and its LGM position in four separate valleys around 47 degrees S. This is an area near the core of the precipitation-bearing southern westerly winds, where it is known that rapid shifts in climate occurred during Lateglacial times. The dates indicate that outlet glaciers advanced, or at least stabilised, to form large moraines east of an expanded NPI at 11.0 +/- 0.5/11.2 +/- 0.6, 11.5 +/- 0.6, 11.7 +/- 0.6 and 12.8 +/- 0.7 ka (Putnam southern-hemisphere production rates and Dunai scaling scheme, assumed boulder erosion rate of 2 mm/ka). Four of these ages are statistically indistinguishable and probably represent a single, regional ice advance. The dates indicate that glaciers in Patagonia were larger during these times than at any point since the LGM and provide evidence in Patagonia for glacier advances around the time of the European Younger Dryas (12.9-11.7 ka) and into the very early Holocene. Although palaeoclimatic records from this area are often contradictory, these glacier advances were probably associated with a period of cooling or regionally increased precipitation related to the changes in the position of the southern westerly winds.
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6. |
- Harrison, Stephan, et al.
(author)
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Early and mid-Holocene age for the Tempanos moraines, Laguna San Rafael, Patagonian Chile
- 2012
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 31, s. 82-92
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Data about the nature and timing of Holocene events from the Southern Hemisphere, especially in southern South America, are required to provide insight into the extent and nature of past climate change in a region where land-based records are restricted. Here we present the first use of single grain Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of a moraine sequence recording glacial advance along the western side of the Patagonian Icefields. Dates from the Tempanos moraines at Laguna San Rafael (LSR) show that the San Rafael Glacier (SRG) advanced to maximum Holocene positions during the period 9.3 to 9.7 ka and at 5.7 ka. Outwash lying beneath the moraine in its northern portion, dated to 7.7 ka, indicates that the glacier front was also advanced at this time. Since these advances span both the regional early Holocene warm-dry phase (11.5 ka to 7.8 ka) and the subsequent cooling and rise in precipitation in the mid-late Holocene (since 6.6 ka) we infer that the advances of the SRG are not simply climate-driven, but that the glacier has also probably responded strongly to non-climatic stimuli such as internal ice dynamics and the transition between calving and non-calving. Many westwards-flowing glaciers in Patagonia were probably calving during much of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, so we conclude that establishing robust glacial chronologies where climatic and non-climatic factors cannot be distinguished is likely to remain a challenge.
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7. |
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8. |
- Lund Andersen, Jane, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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A topographic hinge-zone divides coastal and inland ice dynamic regimes in East Antarctica
- 2023
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In: Communications Earth & Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2662-4435. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The impact of late Cenozoic climate on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is uncertain. Poorly constrained patterns of relative ice thinning and thickening impair the reconstruction of past ice-sheet dynamics and global sea-level budgets. Here we quantify long-term ice cover of mountains protruding the ice-sheet surface in western Dronning Maud Land, using cosmogenic Chlorine-36, Aluminium-26, Beryllium-10, and Neon-21 from bedrock in an inverse modeling approach. We find that near-coastal sites experienced ice burial up to 75–97% of time since 1 Ma, while interior sites only experienced brief periods of ice burial, generally <20% of time since 1 Ma. Based on these results, we suggest that the escarpment in Dronning Maud Land acts as a hinge-zone, where ice-dynamic changes driven by grounding-line migration are attenuated inland from the coastal portions of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and where precipitation-controlled ice-thickness variations on the polar plateau taper off towards the coast.
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9. |
- Mas e Braga, Martim, et al.
(author)
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Antarctic ice stream thickening under Pliocene warmth
- 2024
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Ice streams regulate most ice mass loss in Antarctica. Determining their response to Pliocene warmth could provide insights into their future behaviour, but is hindered by poor representation of subglacial topography in ice-sheet models. We address this limitation using a high-resolution regional model for Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica). We show that the region’s largest ice stream, Jutulstraumen, thickens by 700 m under warm late-Pliocene conditions despite ice-shelf collapse and a retrograde bed slope, while nearby ice streams thin. While it is known that unstable retreat on a retrograde slope can be slowed under certain conditions, this finding illustrates that an ice stream can thicken and gain mass. We attribute thickening to high lateral stresses at its flux gate, which constrict ice drainage. Similar stress balances occur today in 27% of East Antarctica, and understanding how lateral stresses regulate ice-stream discharge is necessary for accurately assessing Antarctica’s sea-level rise contribution.
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10. |
- Sahlin, Eva A. U., et al.
(author)
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Connectivity analyses of valley patterns indicate preservation of a preglacial fluvial valley system in the Dyfi basin, Wales
- 2009
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In: Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7878. ; 120, s. 245-255
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coastal valleys in the west part of Mid-Wales, such as the Mawddach, Dysynni, Tal-y-Ilyn and Dyfi, acted as corridors for ice which drained the Welsh Ice Cap during the Devensian. Analyses of detailed digital elevation models, and interpretation of satellite images and aerial photographs, show the existence of large variations in the amount of glacial modification between these valleys. Although all the valleys are glacially over-deepened along late Caledonian fault lines, only the Dyfi basin exhibits a dendritic pattern, with V-shaped cross-profiles and valley spurs typical of valleys formed by fluvial processes. Connectivity analysis of the Dyfi basin shows that it exhibits an almost completely dendritic pattern with connectivity alpha and beta values of 0.74 and 1.01, respectively, with little glacial modification of the preglacial fluvial valley pattern in the form of glacial valley breaching. Several examples of glacial meltwater incision into a well-developed pre-existing river valley system, causing river capture across watersheds, have been identified in the Dyfi basin. The degree of preservation of the preglacial fluvial valley system within the Dyfi basin indicates limited modification by glacial processes, despite the area being subjected to glacier activity during the Late Devensian at least. It is possible that major parts of the basin were covered by cold-based or slow-moving ice, close to, or under, a migrating ice-divide, with the major ice drainage Occurring along the weaker zone of the Pennal Fault along which teh Dyfi valley is located, causing minor adjustments to the Surrounding interfluves and uplands. it is proposed here that the general river valley morphology of the Dyfi basin is of a pre-Late Devensian age.
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