Articles | Volume 12, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2383-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2383-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Jul 2018
Research article |
| 20 Jul 2018
| 20 Jul 2018
Deglaciation and future stability of the Coats Land ice margin, Antarctica
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
Kelly Hogan
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
James M. Smith
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
James A. Smith
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Alastair G. C. Graham
Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
Peter Fretwell
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Claire Allen
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Vicky Peck
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Jan-Erik Arndt
Alfred Wegener Institute Van-Ronzelen-Str. 2, 27568 Bremerhaven,
Germany
Boris Dorschel
Alfred Wegener Institute Van-Ronzelen-Str. 2, 27568 Bremerhaven,
Germany
Christian Hübscher
Institute of Geophysics, University of Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55
20146 Hamburg, Germany
Andrew M. Smith
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Robert Larter
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3
0ET, UK
Related authors
Oliver J. Marsh, Adrian J. Luckman, and Dominic A. Hodgson
The Cryosphere, 18, 705–710, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-705-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-705-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Brunt Ice Shelf has accelerated rapidly after calving an iceberg in January 2023. A decade of GPS data show that the rate of acceleration in August 2023 was 30 times higher than before calving, and velocity has doubled in 6 months. Satellite velocity maps show the extent of the change. The acceleration is due to loss of contact between the ice shelf and a pinning point known as the McDonald Ice Rumples. The observations highlight how iceberg calving can directly impact ice shelves.
Dominic A. Hodgson, Tom A. Jordan, Neil Ross, Teal R. Riley, and Peter T. Fretwell
The Cryosphere, 16, 4797–4809, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4797-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4797-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the drainage (and refill) of a subglacial lake on the Antarctic Peninsula resulting in the collapse of the overlying ice into the newly formed subglacial cavity. It provides evidence of an active hydrological network under the region's glaciers and close coupling between surface climate processes and the base of the ice.
Erin L. McClymont, Michael J. Bentley, Dominic A. Hodgson, Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Thomas Wardley, Martin D. West, Ian W. Croudace, Sonja Berg, Darren R. Gröcke, Gerhard Kuhn, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Louise Sime, and Richard A. Phillips
Clim. Past, 18, 381–403, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Sea ice is important for our climate system and for the unique ecosystems it supports. We present a novel way to understand past Antarctic sea-ice ecosystems: using the regurgitated stomach contents of snow petrels, which nest above the ice sheet but feed in the sea ice. During a time when sea ice was more extensive than today (24 000–30 000 years ago), we show that snow petrel diet had varying contributions of fish and krill, which we interpret to show changing sea-ice distribution.
Agathe Lisé-Pronovost, Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Tom Mallett, Michela Mariani, Richard Lewis, Patricia S. Gadd, Andy I. R. Herries, Maarten Blaauw, Hendrik Heijnis, Dominic A. Hodgson, and Joel B. Pedro
Sci. Dril., 25, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-25-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-25-1-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first results from scientific drilling at Darwin Crater, a 816 000-year-old meteorite impact crater in Tasmania. The aim was to recover lacustrine sediments in the crater to reconstruct paleoclimate and bridge a time gap in understanding climate change in mid-latitude Australia. The multi-proxy dataset provides clear signatures of alternating glacial and interglacial lithologies, promising for investigating the role of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds in Pleistocene climate.
Dominic A. Hodgson, Tom A. Jordan, Jan De Rydt, Peter T. Fretwell, Samuel A. Seddon, David Becker, Kelly A. Hogan, Andrew M. Smith, and David G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 13, 545–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-545-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-545-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica is home to Halley VIa, the latest in a series of six British research stations that have occupied the ice shelf since 1956. A recent rapid growth of rifts in the Brunt Ice Shelf signals the onset of its largest calving event since records began. Here we consider whether this calving event will lead to a new steady state for the ice shelf or an unpinning from the bed, which could predispose it to accelerated flow or collapse.
Louise C. Sime, Dominic Hodgson, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Claire Allen, Bianca Perren, Stephen Roberts, and Agatha M. de Boer
Clim. Past, 12, 2241–2253, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2241-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2241-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Latitudinal shifts in the Southern Ocean westerly wind jet could explain large observed changes in the glacial to interglacial ocean CO2 inventory. However there is considerable disagreement in modelled deglacial-warming jet shifts. Here multi-model output is used to show that expansion of sea ice during the glacial period likely caused a slight poleward shift and intensification in the westerly wind jet. Issues with model representation of the winds caused much of the previous disagreement.
Jack T. R. Wilkin, Sev Kender, Rowan Dejardin, Claire S. Allen, Victoria L. Peck, George E. A. Swann, Erin L. McClymont, James D. Scourse, Kate Littler, and Melanie J. Leng
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 165–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-165-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-165-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia has a dynamic glacial history and is sensitive to climate change. Using benthic foraminifera and various geochemical proxies, we reconstruct inner–middle shelf productivity and infer glacial evolution since the late deglacial, identifying new mid–late-Holocene glacial readvances. Fursenkoina fusiformis acts as a good proxy for productivity.
Allison P. Lepp, Lauren E. Miller, John B. Anderson, Matt O'Regan, Monica C. M. Winsborrow, James A. Smith, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Julia S. Wellner, Lindsay O. Prothro, and Evgeny A. Podolskiy
The Cryosphere, 18, 2297–2319, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2297-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2297-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Shape and surface texture of silt-sized grains are measured to connect marine sediment records with subglacial water flow. We find that grain shape alteration is greatest in glaciers where high-energy drainage events and abundant melting of surface ice are inferred and that the surfaces of silt-sized sediments preserve evidence of glacial transport. Our results suggest grain shape and texture may reveal whether glaciers previously experienced temperate conditions with more abundant meltwater.
Oliver J. Marsh, Adrian J. Luckman, and Dominic A. Hodgson
The Cryosphere, 18, 705–710, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-705-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-705-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Brunt Ice Shelf has accelerated rapidly after calving an iceberg in January 2023. A decade of GPS data show that the rate of acceleration in August 2023 was 30 times higher than before calving, and velocity has doubled in 6 months. Satellite velocity maps show the extent of the change. The acceleration is due to loss of contact between the ice shelf and a pinning point known as the McDonald Ice Rumples. The observations highlight how iceberg calving can directly impact ice shelves.
Quang Nguyen, Michal Malinowski, Stanisław Mazur, Sergiy Stovba, Małgorzata Ponikowska, and Christian Hübscher
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2909, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2909, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
1. Efficient seismic data processing strategy focused on suppressing shallow-water multiple reflections. 2. Improving quality of legacy marine seismic data. 3. Seismic interpretation of sedimentary successions overlying the basement in the transition zone from the Precambrian to Palaeozoic Platforms. 4. Tectonic evolution of the Koszalin Fault and its relation to the Caledonian Deformation Front offshore Poland.
Thomas Samuel Hudson, Alex M. Brisbourne, Sofia-Katerina Kufner, J.-Michael Kendall, and Andy M. Smith
The Cryosphere, 17, 4979–4993, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4979-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4979-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Earthquakes (or icequakes) at glaciers can shed light on fundamental glacier processes. These include glacier slip, crevassing, and imaging ice structure. To date, most studies use networks of seismometers, primarily sensitive to icequakes within the spatial extent of the network. However, arrays of seismometers allow us to detect icequakes at far greater distances. Here, we investigate the potential of such array-processing methods for studying icequakes at glaciers.
Benoit S. Lecavalier, Lev Tarasov, Greg Balco, Perry Spector, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Christo Buizert, Catherine Ritz, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Robert Mulvaney, Pippa L. Whitehouse, Michael J. Bentley, and Jonathan Bamber
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 3573–3596, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-3573-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Ice Sheet Evolution constraint database version 2 (AntICE2) consists of a large variety of observations that constrain the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last glacial cycle. This includes observations of past ice sheet extent, past ice thickness, past relative sea level, borehole temperature profiles, and present-day bedrock displacement rates. The database is intended to improve our understanding of past Antarctic changes and for ice sheet model calibrations.
Alice C. Frémand, Peter Fretwell, Julien A. Bodart, Hamish D. Pritchard, Alan Aitken, Jonathan L. Bamber, Robin Bell, Cesidio Bianchi, Robert G. Bingham, Donald D. Blankenship, Gino Casassa, Ginny Catania, Knut Christianson, Howard Conway, Hugh F. J. Corr, Xiangbin Cui, Detlef Damaske, Volkmar Damm, Reinhard Drews, Graeme Eagles, Olaf Eisen, Hannes Eisermann, Fausto Ferraccioli, Elena Field, René Forsberg, Steven Franke, Shuji Fujita, Yonggyu Gim, Vikram Goel, Siva Prasad Gogineni, Jamin Greenbaum, Benjamin Hills, Richard C. A. Hindmarsh, Andrew O. Hoffman, Per Holmlund, Nicholas Holschuh, John W. Holt, Annika N. Horlings, Angelika Humbert, Robert W. Jacobel, Daniela Jansen, Adrian Jenkins, Wilfried Jokat, Tom Jordan, Edward King, Jack Kohler, William Krabill, Mette Kusk Gillespie, Kirsty Langley, Joohan Lee, German Leitchenkov, Carlton Leuschen, Bruce Luyendyk, Joseph MacGregor, Emma MacKie, Kenichi Matsuoka, Mathieu Morlighem, Jérémie Mouginot, Frank O. Nitsche, Yoshifumi Nogi, Ole A. Nost, John Paden, Frank Pattyn, Sergey V. Popov, Eric Rignot, David M. Rippin, Andrés Rivera, Jason Roberts, Neil Ross, Anotonia Ruppel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Andrew M. Smith, Daniel Steinhage, Michael Studinger, Bo Sun, Ignazio Tabacco, Kirsty Tinto, Stefano Urbini, David Vaughan, Brian C. Welch, Douglas S. Wilson, Duncan A. Young, and Achille Zirizzotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2695–2710, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the release of over 60 years of ice thickness, bed elevation, and surface elevation data acquired over Antarctica by the international community. These data are a crucial component of the Antarctic Bedmap initiative which aims to produce a new map and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography for the international glaciology and geophysical community.
Kelly A. Hogan, Katarzyna L. P. Warburton, Alastair G. C. Graham, Jerome A. Neufeld, Duncan R. Hewitt, Julian A. Dowdeswell, and Robert D. Larter
The Cryosphere, 17, 2645–2664, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2645-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2645-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Delicate sea floor ridges – corrugation ridges – that form by tidal motion at Antarctic grounding lines record extremely fast retreat of ice streams in the past. Here we use a mathematical model, constrained by real-world observations from Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, to explore how corrugation ridges form. We identify
till extrusion, whereby deformable sediment is squeezed out from under the ice like toothpaste as it settles down at each low-tide position, as the most likely process.
Michael J. Bentley, James A. Smith, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Margaret R. Lindeman, Brice R. Rea, Angelika Humbert, Timothy P. Lane, Christopher M. Darvill, Jeremy M. Lloyd, Fiamma Straneo, Veit Helm, and David H. Roberts
The Cryosphere, 17, 1821–1837, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1821-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1821-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Northeast Greenland Ice Stream is a major outlet of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Some of its outlet glaciers and ice shelves have been breaking up and retreating, with inflows of warm ocean water identified as the likely reason. Here we report direct measurements of warm ocean water in an unusual lake that is connected to the ocean beneath the ice shelf in front of the 79° N Glacier. This glacier has not yet shown much retreat, but the presence of warm water makes future retreat more likely.
James W. Marschalek, Edward Gasson, Tina van de Flierdt, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Martin J. Siegert, and Liam Holder
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-8, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-8, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Ice sheet models can help predict how Antarctica’s ice sheets respond to environmental change; such models benefit from comparison to geological data. Here, we use ice sheet model results, plus other data, to predict the erosion of Antarctic debris and trace its transport to where it is deposited on the ocean floor. This allows the results of ice sheet modelling to be directly and quantitively compared to real-world data, helping to reduce uncertainty regarding Antarctic sea level contribution.
James A. Smith, Louise Callard, Michael J. Bentley, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Maria Luisa Sánchez-Montes, Timothy P. Lane, Jeremy M. Lloyd, Erin L. McClymont, Christopher M. Darvill, Brice R. Rea, Colm O'Cofaigh, Pauline Gulliver, Werner Ehrmann, Richard S. Jones, and David H. Roberts
The Cryosphere, 17, 1247–1270, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at an accelerating rate. To understand the significance of these changes we reconstruct the history of one of its fringing ice shelves, known as 79° N ice shelf. We show that the ice shelf disappeared 8500 years ago, following a period of enhanced warming. An important implication of our study is that 79° N ice shelf is susceptible to collapse when atmospheric and ocean temperatures are ~2°C warmer than present, which could occur by the middle of this century.
Paul R. Holland, Gemma K. O'Connor, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Pierre Dutrieux, Kaitlin A. Naughten, Eric J. Steig, David P. Schneider, Adrian Jenkins, and James A. Smith
The Cryosphere, 16, 5085–5105, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5085-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5085-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing ice, causing sea-level rise. However, it is not known whether human-induced climate change has contributed to this ice loss. In this study, we use evidence from climate models and palaeoclimate measurements (e.g. ice cores) to suggest that the ice loss was triggered by natural climate variations but is now sustained by human-forced climate change. This implies that future greenhouse-gas emissions may influence sea-level rise from Antarctica.
Dominic A. Hodgson, Tom A. Jordan, Neil Ross, Teal R. Riley, and Peter T. Fretwell
The Cryosphere, 16, 4797–4809, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4797-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4797-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes the drainage (and refill) of a subglacial lake on the Antarctic Peninsula resulting in the collapse of the overlying ice into the newly formed subglacial cavity. It provides evidence of an active hydrological network under the region's glaciers and close coupling between surface climate processes and the base of the ice.
Xavier Crosta, Karen E. Kohfeld, Helen C. Bostock, Matthew Chadwick, Alice Du Vivier, Oliver Esper, Johan Etourneau, Jacob Jones, Amy Leventer, Juliane Müller, Rachael H. Rhodes, Claire S. Allen, Pooja Ghadi, Nele Lamping, Carina B. Lange, Kelly-Anne Lawler, David Lund, Alice Marzocchi, Katrin J. Meissner, Laurie Menviel, Abhilash Nair, Molly Patterson, Jennifer Pike, Joseph G. Prebble, Christina Riesselman, Henrik Sadatzki, Louise C. Sime, Sunil K. Shukla, Lena Thöle, Maria-Elena Vorrath, Wenshen Xiao, and Jiao Yang
Clim. Past, 18, 1729–1756, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1729-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1729-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Despite its importance in the global climate, our knowledge of Antarctic sea-ice changes throughout the last glacial–interglacial cycle is extremely limited. As part of the Cycles of Sea Ice Dynamics in the Earth system (C-SIDE) Working Group, we review marine- and ice-core-based sea-ice proxies to provide insights into their applicability and limitations. By compiling published records, we provide information on Antarctic sea-ice dynamics over the past 130 000 years.
Dieter R. Tetzner, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Claire S. Allen, and Mackenzie M. Grieman
Clim. Past, 18, 1709–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1709-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1709-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Changes in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds are drivers of recent environmental changes in West Antarctica. However, our understanding of this relationship is limited by short and sparse observational records. Here we present the first regional wind study based on the novel use of diatoms preserved in Antarctic ice cores. Our results demonstrate that diatom abundance is the optimal record for reconstructing wind strength variability over the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind belt.
Astrid Oetting, Emma C. Smith, Jan Erik Arndt, Boris Dorschel, Reinhard Drews, Todd A. Ehlers, Christoph Gaedicke, Coen Hofstede, Johann P. Klages, Gerhard Kuhn, Astrid Lambrecht, Andreas Läufer, Christoph Mayer, Ralf Tiedemann, Frank Wilhelms, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 16, 2051–2066, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2051-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2051-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study combines a variety of geophysical measurements in front of and beneath the Ekström Ice Shelf in order to identify and interpret geomorphological evidences of past ice sheet flow, extent and retreat.
The maximal extent of grounded ice in this region was 11 km away from the continental shelf break.
The thickness of palaeo-ice on the calving front around the LGM was estimated to be at least 305 to 320 m.
We provide essential boundary conditions for palaeo-ice-sheet models.
Joanne S. Johnson, Ryan A. Venturelli, Greg Balco, Claire S. Allen, Scott Braddock, Seth Campbell, Brent M. Goehring, Brenda L. Hall, Peter D. Neff, Keir A. Nichols, Dylan H. Rood, Elizabeth R. Thomas, and John Woodward
The Cryosphere, 16, 1543–1562, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1543-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1543-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Recent studies have suggested that some portions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet were less extensive than present in the last few thousand years. We discuss how past ice loss and regrowth during this time would leave its mark on geological and glaciological records and suggest ways in which future studies could detect such changes. Determining timing of ice loss and gain around Antarctica and conditions under which they occurred is critical for preparing for future climate-warming-induced changes.
Dieter R. Tetzner, Claire S. Allen, and Elizabeth R. Thomas
The Cryosphere, 16, 779–798, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The presence of diatoms in Antarctic ice cores has been scarcely documented and poorly understood. Here we present a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of the diatom record preserved in a set of Antarctic ice cores. Our results reveal that the timing and amount of diatoms deposited present a strong geographical division. This study highlights the potential of the diatom record preserved in Antarctic ice cores to provide useful information about past environmental changes.
Erin L. McClymont, Michael J. Bentley, Dominic A. Hodgson, Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Thomas Wardley, Martin D. West, Ian W. Croudace, Sonja Berg, Darren R. Gröcke, Gerhard Kuhn, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Louise Sime, and Richard A. Phillips
Clim. Past, 18, 381–403, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-381-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Sea ice is important for our climate system and for the unique ecosystems it supports. We present a novel way to understand past Antarctic sea-ice ecosystems: using the regurgitated stomach contents of snow petrels, which nest above the ice sheet but feed in the sea ice. During a time when sea ice was more extensive than today (24 000–30 000 years ago), we show that snow petrel diet had varying contributions of fish and krill, which we interpret to show changing sea-ice distribution.
Matthew Chadwick, Claire S. Allen, Louise C. Sime, Xavier Crosta, and Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
Clim. Past, 18, 129–146, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-129-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-129-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Algae preserved in marine sediments have allowed us to reconstruct how much winter sea ice was present around Antarctica during a past time period (130 000 years ago) when the climate was warmer than today. The patterns of sea-ice increase and decrease vary between different parts of the Southern Ocean. The Pacific sector has a largely stable sea-ice extent, whereas the amount of sea ice in the Atlantic sector is much more variable with bigger decreases and increases than other regions.
Nele Lamping, Juliane Müller, Jens Hefter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Christian Haas, Xiaoxu Shi, Maria-Elena Vorrath, Gerrit Lohmann, and Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
Clim. Past, 17, 2305–2326, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2305-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2305-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed biomarker concentrations on surface sediment samples from the Antarctic continental margin. Highly branched isoprenoids and GDGTs are used for reconstructing recent sea-ice distribution patterns and ocean temperatures respectively. We compared our biomarker-based results with data obtained from satellite observations and estimated from a numerical model and find reasonable agreements. Further, we address caveats and provide recommendations for future investigations.
Alex M. Brisbourne, Michael Kendall, Sofia-Katerina Kufner, Thomas S. Hudson, and Andrew M. Smith
The Cryosphere, 15, 3443–3458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
How ice sheets flowed in the past is written into the structure and texture of the ice sheet itself. Measuring this structure and properties of the ice can help us understand the recent behaviour of the ice sheets. We use a relatively new technique, not previously attempted in Antarctica, to measure the seismic vibrations of a fibre optic cable down a borehole. We demonstrate the potential of this technique to unravel past ice flow and see hints of these complex signals from the ice flow itself.
Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Erin L. McClymont, Nicole J. Bale, Ellen C. Hopmans, Stefan Schouten, Juliane Müller, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Claire Allen, Torsten Bickert, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Elaine Mawbey, Victoria Peck, Aleksandra Svalova, and James A. Smith
Biogeosciences, 18, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term ocean temperature records are needed to fully understand the impact of West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse. Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are powerful tools for reconstructing ocean temperature but can be difficult to apply to the Southern Ocean. Our results show active GDGT synthesis in relatively warm depths of the ocean. This research improves the application of GDGT palaeoceanographic proxies in the Southern Ocean.
Autun Purser, Simon Dreutter, Huw Griffiths, Laura Hehemann, Kerstin Jerosch, Axel Nordhausen, Dieter Piepenburg, Claudio Richter, Henning Schröder, and Boris Dorschel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 609–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-609-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-609-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This dataset comprises 26-megapixel seafloor images collected from below ice and steeply sloped regions of the Southern Ocean (the western Weddell Sea; the Powell Basin; and the rapidly shallowing, iceberg-scoured Nachtigaller Shoal). These data were collected with the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS), an advanced towed camera platform incorporating various sonar devices to aid in hazard avoidance and seafloor mapping, for use in challenging, high-relief seafloor areas.
Chris S. M. Turney, Richard T. Jones, Nicholas P. McKay, Erik van Sebille, Zoë A. Thomas, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, and Christopher J. Fogwill
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3341–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3341-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The Last Interglacial (129–116 ka) experienced global temperatures and sea levels higher than today. The direct contribution of warmer conditions to global sea level (thermosteric) are uncertain. We report a global network of sea surface temperatures. We find mean global annual temperature anomalies of 0.2 ± 0.1˚C and an early maximum peak of 0.9 ± 0.1˚C. Our reconstruction suggests warmer waters contributed on average 0.08 ± 0.1 m and a peak contribution of 0.39 ± 0.1 m to global sea level.
Felipe Napoleoni, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Neil Ross, Michael J. Bentley, Andrés Rivera, Andrew M. Smith, Martin J. Siegert, Guy J. G. Paxman, Guisella Gacitúa, José A. Uribe, Rodrigo Zamora, Alex M. Brisbourne, and David G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 14, 4507–4524, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4507-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4507-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Subglacial water is important for ice sheet dynamics and stability. Despite this, there is a lack of detailed subglacial-water characterisation in West Antarctica (WA). We report 33 new subglacial lakes. Additionally, a new digital elevation model of basal topography was built and used to simulate the subglacial hydrological network in WA. The simulated subglacial hydrological catchments of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers do not match precisely with their ice surface catchments.
Tom A. Jordan, David Porter, Kirsty Tinto, Romain Millan, Atsuhiro Muto, Kelly Hogan, Robert D. Larter, Alastair G. C. Graham, and John D. Paden
The Cryosphere, 14, 2869–2882, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2869-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2869-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Linking ocean and ice sheet processes allows prediction of sea level change. Ice shelves form a floating buffer between the ice–ocean systems, but the water depth beneath is often a mystery, leaving a critical blind spot in our understanding of how these systems interact. Here, we use airborne measurements of gravity to reveal the bathymetry under the ice shelves flanking the rapidly changing Thwaites Glacier and adjacent glacier systems, providing new insights and data for future models.
Kelly A. Hogan, Robert D. Larter, Alastair G. C. Graham, Robert Arthern, James D. Kirkham, Rebecca L. Totten, Tom A. Jordan, Rachel Clark, Victoria Fitzgerald, Anna K. Wåhlin, John B. Anderson, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Frank O. Nitsche, Lauren Simkins, James A. Smith, Karsten Gohl, Jan Erik Arndt, Jongkuk Hong, and Julia Wellner
The Cryosphere, 14, 2883–2908, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2883-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2883-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The sea-floor geometry around the rapidly changing Thwaites Glacier is a key control on warm ocean waters reaching the ice shelf and grounding zone beyond. This area was previously unsurveyed due to icebergs and sea-ice cover. The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration mapped this area for the first time in 2019. The data reveal troughs over 1200 m deep and, as this region is thought to have only ungrounded recently, provide key insights into the morphology beneath the grounded ice sheet.
Jan Erik Arndt, Robert D. Larter, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Simon H. Sørli, Matthias Forwick, James A. Smith, and Lukas Wacker
The Cryosphere, 14, 2115–2135, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2115-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2115-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We interpret landforms on the seabed and investigate sediment cores to improve our understanding of the past ice sheet development in this poorly understood part of Antarctica. Recent crack development of the Brunt ice shelf has raised concerns about its stability and the security of the British research station Halley. We describe ramp-shaped bedforms that likely represent ice shelf grounding and stabilization locations of the past that may reflect an analogue to the process going on now.
Alex Brisbourne, Bernd Kulessa, Thomas Hudson, Lianne Harrison, Paul Holland, Adrian Luckman, Suzanne Bevan, David Ashmore, Bryn Hubbard, Emma Pearce, James White, Adam Booth, Keith Nicholls, and Andrew Smith
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 887–896, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-887-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-887-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Melting of the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica may lead to its collapse. To help estimate its lifespan we need to understand how the ocean can circulate beneath. This requires knowledge of the geometry of the sub-shelf cavity. New and existing measurements of seabed depth are integrated to produce a map of the ocean cavity beneath the ice shelf. The observed deep seabed may provide a pathway for circulation of warm ocean water but at the same time reduce rapid tidal melt at a critical location.
Kelly A. Hogan, Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer, Brendan T. Reilly, Anne E. Jennings, Joseph S. Stoner, Tove Nielsen, Katrine J. Andresen, Egon Nørmark, Katrien A. Heirman, Elina Kamla, Kevin Jerram, Christian Stranne, and Alan Mix
The Cryosphere, 14, 261–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-261-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Glacial sediments in fjords hold a key record of environmental and ice dynamic changes during ice retreat. Here we use a comprehensive geophysical survey from the Petermann Fjord system in NW Greenland to map these sediments, identify depositional processes and calculate glacial erosion rates for the retreating palaeo-Petermann ice stream. Ice streaming is the dominant control on glacial erosion rates which vary by an order of magnitude during deglaciation and are in line with modern rates.
Anna Mikis, Katharine R. Hendry, Jennifer Pike, Daniela N. Schmidt, Kirsty M. Edgar, Victoria Peck, Frank J. C. Peeters, Melanie J. Leng, Michael P. Meredith, Chloe L. C. Jones, Sharon Stammerjohn, and Hugh Ducklow
Biogeosciences, 16, 3267–3282, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Antarctic marine calcifying organisms are threatened by regional climate change and ocean acidification. Future projections of regional carbonate production are challenging due to the lack of historical data combined with complex climate variability. We present a 6-year record of flux, morphology and geochemistry of an Antarctic planktonic foraminifera, which shows that their growth is most sensitive to sea ice dynamics and is linked with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
James D. Kirkham, Kelly A. Hogan, Robert D. Larter, Neil S. Arnold, Frank O. Nitsche, Nicholas R. Golledge, and Julian A. Dowdeswell
The Cryosphere, 13, 1959–1981, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1959-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1959-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A series of huge (500 m wide, 50 m deep) channels were eroded by water flowing beneath Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers in the past. The channels are similar to canyon systems produced by floods of meltwater released beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet millions of years ago. The spatial extent of the channels formed beneath Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers demonstrates significant quantities of water, possibly discharged from trapped subglacial lakes, flowed beneath these glaciers in the past.
Agathe Lisé-Pronovost, Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Tom Mallett, Michela Mariani, Richard Lewis, Patricia S. Gadd, Andy I. R. Herries, Maarten Blaauw, Hendrik Heijnis, Dominic A. Hodgson, and Joel B. Pedro
Sci. Dril., 25, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-25-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-25-1-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first results from scientific drilling at Darwin Crater, a 816 000-year-old meteorite impact crater in Tasmania. The aim was to recover lacustrine sediments in the crater to reconstruct paleoclimate and bridge a time gap in understanding climate change in mid-latitude Australia. The multi-proxy dataset provides clear signatures of alternating glacial and interglacial lithologies, promising for investigating the role of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds in Pleistocene climate.
Robert D. Larter, Kelly A. Hogan, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James A. Smith, Christine L. Batchelor, Matthieu Cartigny, Alex J. Tate, James D. Kirkham, Zoë A. Roseby, Gerhard Kuhn, Alastair G. C. Graham, and Julian A. Dowdeswell
The Cryosphere, 13, 1583–1596, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1583-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1583-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present high-resolution bathymetry data that provide the most complete and detailed imagery of any Antarctic palaeo-ice stream bed. These data show how subglacial water was delivered to and influenced the dynamic behaviour of the ice stream. Our observations provide insights relevant to understanding the behaviour of modern ice streams and forecasting the contributions that they will make to future sea level rise.
Dominic A. Hodgson, Tom A. Jordan, Jan De Rydt, Peter T. Fretwell, Samuel A. Seddon, David Becker, Kelly A. Hogan, Andrew M. Smith, and David G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 13, 545–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-545-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-545-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica is home to Halley VIa, the latest in a series of six British research stations that have occupied the ice shelf since 1956. A recent rapid growth of rifts in the Brunt Ice Shelf signals the onset of its largest calving event since records began. Here we consider whether this calving event will lead to a new steady state for the ice shelf or an unpinning from the bed, which could predispose it to accelerated flow or collapse.
Jan Erik Arndt, Robert D. Larter, Peter Friedl, Karsten Gohl, Kathrin Höppner, and the Science Team of Expedition PS104
The Cryosphere, 12, 2039–2050, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2039-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The calving line location of the Pine Island Glacier did not show any trend within the last 70 years until calving in 2015 led to unprecedented retreat. In February 2017 we accessed this previously ice-shelf-covered area with RV Polarstern and mapped the sea-floor topography for the first time. Satellite imagery of the last decades show how the newly mapped shoals affected the ice shelf development and highlights that sea-floor topography is an important factor in initiating calving events.
Damon Davies, Robert G. Bingham, Edward C. King, Andrew M. Smith, Alex M. Brisbourne, Matteo Spagnolo, Alastair G. C. Graham, Anna E. Hogg, and David G. Vaughan
The Cryosphere, 12, 1615–1628, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1615-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1615-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper investigates the dynamics of ice stream beds using repeat geophysical surveys of the bed of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica; 60 km of the bed was surveyed, comprising the most extensive repeat ground-based geophysical surveys of an Antarctic ice stream; 90 % of the surveyed bed shows no significant change despite the glacier increasing in speed by up to 40 % over the last decade. This result suggests that ice stream beds are potentially more stable than previously suggested.
Rowan Dejardin, Sev Kender, Claire S. Allen, Melanie J. Leng, George E. A. Swann, and Victoria L. Peck
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 25–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-25-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-25-2018, 2018
Angus Atkinson, Simeon L. Hill, Evgeny A. Pakhomov, Volker Siegel, Ricardo Anadon, Sanae Chiba, Kendra L. Daly, Rod Downie, Sophie Fielding, Peter Fretwell, Laura Gerrish, Graham W. Hosie, Mark J. Jessopp, So Kawaguchi, Bjørn A. Krafft, Valerie Loeb, Jun Nishikawa, Helen J. Peat, Christian S. Reiss, Robin M. Ross, Langdon B. Quetin, Katrin Schmidt, Deborah K. Steinberg, Roshni C. Subramaniam, Geraint A. Tarling, and Peter Ward
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 193–210, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-193-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-193-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
KRILLBASE is a data rescue and compilation project to improve the availability of information on two key Southern Ocean zooplankton: Antarctic krill and salps. We provide a circumpolar database that combines 15 194 scientific net hauls (1926 to 2016) from 10 countries. These data provide a resource for analysing the distribution and abundance of krill and salps throughout the Southern Ocean to support ecological and biogeochemical research as well as fisheries management and conservation.
Louise C. Sime, Dominic Hodgson, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Claire Allen, Bianca Perren, Stephen Roberts, and Agatha M. de Boer
Clim. Past, 12, 2241–2253, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2241-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2241-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Latitudinal shifts in the Southern Ocean westerly wind jet could explain large observed changes in the glacial to interglacial ocean CO2 inventory. However there is considerable disagreement in modelled deglacial-warming jet shifts. Here multi-model output is used to show that expansion of sea ice during the glacial period likely caused a slight poleward shift and intensification in the westerly wind jet. Issues with model representation of the winds caused much of the previous disagreement.
Janin Schaffer, Ralph Timmermann, Jan Erik Arndt, Steen Savstrup Kristensen, Christoph Mayer, Mathieu Morlighem, and Daniel Steinhage
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 543–557, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-543-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-543-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The RTopo-2 data set provides consistent maps of global ocean bathymetry and ice surface topographies for Greenland and Antarctica at 30 arcsec grid spacing. We corrected data from earlier products in the areas of Petermann, Hagen Bræ, and Helheim glaciers, incorporated original data for the floating ice tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier, and applied corrections for the geometry of Getz, Abbot, and Fimbul ice shelf cavities. The data set is available from the PANGAEA database.
Alex Burton-Johnson, Martin Black, Peter T. Fretwell, and Joseph Kaluza-Gilbert
The Cryosphere, 10, 1665–1677, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1665-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1665-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We present a new rock outcrop map for the entire Antarctic continent, a principal base dataset for research and mapping in Antarctica with broad applications. To derive the map, a new methodology was developed and applied to allow automated identification of rock outcrops from Landsat 8 satellite images whilst excluding sunlit and shaded snow, clouds and liquid water – the first such automated methodology. The new dataset reveals that exposed rock forms only 0.18 % of the entire continent.
Edward C. King, Hamish D. Pritchard, and Andrew M. Smith
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 151–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-151-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-151-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Large, fast-moving glaciers create long, linear mounds of sediments covering large areas. Understanding how these features form has been hampered by a lack of data from the bed of modern-day ice sheets. We give a detailed view of the landscape beneath an Antarctic glacier called Rutford Ice Stream. We towed a radar system back and forth across the glacier to measure the ice thickness every few metres. This is the first place such a highly detailed view of the sub-ice landscape has been created.
C. Lavoie, E. W. Domack, E. C. Pettit, T. A. Scambos, R. D. Larter, H.-W. Schenke, K. C. Yoo, J. Gutt, J. Wellner, M. Canals, J. B. Anderson, and D. Amblas
The Cryosphere, 9, 613–629, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-613-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-613-2015, 2015
B. Dorschel, J. Gutt, D. Piepenburg, M. Schröder, and J. E. Arndt
Biogeosciences, 11, 3797–3817, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3797-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3797-2014, 2014
A. M. Brisbourne, A. M. Smith, E. C. King, K. W. Nicholls, P. R. Holland, and K. Makinson
The Cryosphere, 8, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1-2014, 2014
P. Fretwell, H. D. Pritchard, D. G. Vaughan, J. L. Bamber, N. E. Barrand, R. Bell, C. Bianchi, R. G. Bingham, D. D. Blankenship, G. Casassa, G. Catania, D. Callens, H. Conway, A. J. Cook, H. F. J. Corr, D. Damaske, V. Damm, F. Ferraccioli, R. Forsberg, S. Fujita, Y. Gim, P. Gogineni, J. A. Griggs, R. C. A. Hindmarsh, P. Holmlund, J. W. Holt, R. W. Jacobel, A. Jenkins, W. Jokat, T. Jordan, E. C. King, J. Kohler, W. Krabill, M. Riger-Kusk, K. A. Langley, G. Leitchenkov, C. Leuschen, B. P. Luyendyk, K. Matsuoka, J. Mouginot, F. O. Nitsche, Y. Nogi, O. A. Nost, S. V. Popov, E. Rignot, D. M. Rippin, A. Rivera, J. Roberts, N. Ross, M. J. Siegert, A. M. Smith, D. Steinhage, M. Studinger, B. Sun, B. K. Tinto, B. C. Welch, D. Wilson, D. A. Young, C. Xiangbin, and A. Zirizzotti
The Cryosphere, 7, 375–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, 2013
F. O. Nitsche, K. Gohl, R. D. Larter, C.-D. Hillenbrand, G. Kuhn, J. A. Smith, S. Jacobs, J. B. Anderson, and M. Jakobsson
The Cryosphere, 7, 249–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-249-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-249-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Discipline: Ice sheets | Subject: Antarctic
Weak relationship between remotely detected crevasses and inferred ice rheological parameters on Antarctic ice shelves
Extensive palaeo-surfaces beneath the Evans–Rutford region of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet control modern and past ice flow
Towards the systematic reconnaissance of seismic signals from glaciers and ice sheets – Part 1: Event detection for cryoseismology
Towards the systematic reconnaissance of seismic signals from glaciers and ice sheets – Part 2: Unsupervised learning for source process characterization
Geometric amplification and suppression of ice-shelf basal melt in West Antarctica
Alpine topography of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, Antarctica, mapped from ice sheet surface morphology
Impact of boundary conditions on the modeled thermal regime of the Antarctic ice sheet
The staggered retreat of grounded ice in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
The effect of landfast sea ice buttressing on ice dynamic speedup in the Larsen B embayment, Antarctica
Widespread increase in discharge from West Antarctic Peninsula glaciers since 2018
Meteoric water and glacial melt in the southeastern Amundsen Sea: a time series from 1994 to 2020
Evaporative controls on Antarctic precipitation: an ECHAM6 model study using innovative water tracer diagnostics
Disentangling the drivers of future Antarctic ice loss with a historically calibrated ice-sheet model
Insights into the vulnerability of Antarctic glaciers from the ISMIP6 ice sheet model ensemble and associated uncertainty
Evaluation of four calving laws for Antarctic ice shelves
Englacial architecture of Lambert Glacier, East Antarctica
Mass changes of the northern Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet derived from repeat bi-static synthetic aperture radar acquisitions for the period 2013–2017
The evolution of future Antarctic surface melt using PISM-dEBM-simple
Characteristics and rarity of the strong 1940s westerly wind event over the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica
The long–term sea–level commitment from Antarctica
Sensitivity of the MAR regional climate model snowpack to the parameterization of the assimilation of satellite-derived wet-snow masks on the Antarctic Peninsula
Stratigraphic noise and its potential drivers across the plateau of Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
Modes of Antarctic tidal grounding line migration revealed by Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) laser altimetry
Evaluating the impact of enhanced horizontal resolution over the Antarctic domain using a variable-resolution Earth system model
Statistically parameterizing and evaluating a positive degree-day model to estimate surface melt in Antarctica from 1979 to 2022
Widespread slowdown in thinning rates of West Antarctic ice shelves
Seasonal variability in Antarctic ice shelf velocities forced by sea surface height variations
Revisiting temperature sensitivity: how does Antarctic precipitation change with temperature?
Surface dynamics and history of the calving cycle of the Astrolabe glacier (Antarctica) derived from optical imagery
Precision measurement of the index of refraction of deep glacial ice at radio frequencies at Summit Station, Greenland
Cosmogenic-nuclide data from Antarctic nunataks can constrain past ice sheet instabilities
Exploring ice sheet model sensitivity to ocean thermal forcing and basal sliding using the Community Ice Sheet Model (CISM)
High mid-Holocene accumulation rates over West Antarctica inferred from a pervasive ice-penetrating radar reflector
Seasonal and interannual variability of the landfast ice mass balance between 2009 and 2018 in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica
Megadunes in Antarctica: migration and characterization from remote and in situ observations
Slowdown of Shirase Glacier, East Antarctica, caused by strengthening alongshore winds
Timescales of outlet-glacier flow with negligible basal friction: theory, observations and modeling
Antarctic contribution to future sea level from ice shelf basal melt as constrained by ice discharge observations
Anthropogenic and internal drivers of wind changes over the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, during the 20th and 21st centuries
New 10Be exposure ages improve Holocene ice sheet thinning history near the grounding line of Pope Glacier, Antarctica
Antarctic surface climate and surface mass balance in the Community Earth System Model version 2 during the satellite era and into the future (1979–2100)
Inverting ice surface elevation and velocity for bed topography and slipperiness beneath Thwaites Glacier
Hysteretic evolution of ice rises and ice rumples in response to variations in sea level
Variability in Antarctic surface climatology across regional climate models and reanalysis datasets
Sensitivity of the Ross Ice Shelf to environmental and glaciological controls
High-resolution subglacial topography around Dome Fuji, Antarctica, based on ground-based radar surveys over 30 years
Cosmogenic nuclide dating of two stacked ice masses: Ong Valley, Antarctica
Clouds drive differences in future surface melt over the Antarctic ice shelves
Rapid fragmentation of Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf
Resolving glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) in response to modern and future ice loss at marine grounding lines in West Antarctica
Cristina Gerli, Sebastian Rosier, G. Hilmar Gudmundsson, and Sainan Sun
The Cryosphere, 18, 2677–2689, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2677-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Recent efforts have focused on using AI and satellite imagery to track crevasses for assessing ice shelf damage and informing ice flow models. Our study reveals a weak connection between these observed products and damage maps inferred from ice flow models. While there is some improvement in crevasse-dense regions, this association remains limited. Directly mapping ice damage from satellite observations may not significantly improve the representation of these processes within ice flow models.
Charlotte M. Carter, Michael J. Bentley, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Guy J. G. Paxman, Tom A. Jordan, Julien A. Bodart, Neil Ross, and Felipe Napoleoni
The Cryosphere, 18, 2277–2296, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use radio-echo sounding data to investigate the presence of flat surfaces beneath the Evans–Rutford region in West Antarctica. These surfaces may be what remains of laterally continuous surfaces, formed before the inception of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and we assess two hypotheses for their formation. Tectonic structures in the region may have also had a control on the growth of the ice sheet by focusing ice flow into troughs adjoining these surfaces.
Rebecca B. Latto, Ross J. Turner, Anya M. Reading, and J. Paul Winberry
The Cryosphere, 18, 2061–2079, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2061-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2061-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The study of icequakes allows for investigation of many glacier processes that are unseen by typical reconnaissance methods. However, detection of such seismic signals is challenging due to low signal-to-noise levels and diverse source mechanisms. Here we present a novel algorithm that is optimized to detect signals from a glacier environment. We apply the algorithm to seismic data recorded in the 2010–2011 austral summer from the Whillans Ice Stream and evaluate the resulting event catalogue.
Rebecca B. Latto, Ross J. Turner, Anya M. Reading, Sue Cook, Bernd Kulessa, and J. Paul Winberry
The Cryosphere, 18, 2081–2101, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2081-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Seismic catalogues are potentially rich sources of information on glacier processes. In a companion study, we constructed an event catalogue for seismic data from the Whillans Ice Stream. Here, we provide a semi-automated workflow for consistent catalogue analysis using an unsupervised cluster analysis. We discuss the defining characteristics of identified signal types found in this catalogue and possible mechanisms for the underlying glacier processes and noise sources.
Jan De Rydt and Kaitlin Naughten
The Cryosphere, 18, 1863–1888, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1863-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1863-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing ice at an accelerating pace. This is largely due to the presence of warm ocean water around the periphery of the Antarctic continent, which melts the ice. It is generally assumed that the strength of this process is controlled by the temperature of the ocean. However, in this study we show that an equally important role is played by the changing geometry of the ice sheet, which affects the strength of the ocean currents and thereby the melt rates.
Edmund J. Lea, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, and Michael J. Bentley
The Cryosphere, 18, 1733–1751, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1733-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1733-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use the ice surface expression of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains in East Antarctica to map the horizontal pattern of valleys and ridges in finer detail than possible from previous methods. In upland areas, valleys are spaced much less than 5 km apart, with consequences for the distribution of melting at the bed and hence the likelihood of ancient ice being preserved. Automated mapping techniques were tested alongside manual approaches, with a hybrid approach recommended for future work.
In-Woo Park, Emilia Kyung Jin, Mathieu Morlighem, and Kang-Kun Lee
The Cryosphere, 18, 1139–1155, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1139-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1139-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study conducted 3D thermodynamic ice sheet model experiments, and modeled temperatures were compared with 15 observed borehole temperature profiles. We found that using incompressibility of ice without sliding agrees well with observed temperature profiles in slow-flow regions, while incorporating sliding in fast-flow regions captures observed temperature profiles. Also, the choice of vertical velocity scheme has a greater impact on the shape of the modeled temperature profile.
Matthew A. Danielson and Philip J. Bart
The Cryosphere, 18, 1125–1138, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1125-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1125-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Ross Sea was more significant than for any other Antarctic sector. Here we combined the available dates of retreat with new mapping of sediment deposited by the ice sheet during overall retreat. Our work shows that the post-LGM retreat through the Ross Sea was not uniform. This uneven retreat can cause instability in the present-day Antarctic ice sheet configuration and lead to future runaway retreat.
Trystan Surawy-Stepney, Anna E. Hogg, Stephen L. Cornford, Benjamin J. Wallis, Benjamin J. Davison, Heather L. Selley, Ross A. W. Slater, Elise K. Lie, Livia Jakob, Andrew Ridout, Noel Gourmelen, Bryony I. D. Freer, Sally F. Wilson, and Andrew Shepherd
The Cryosphere, 18, 977–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-977-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-977-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we use satellite observations and an ice flow model to quantify the impact of sea ice buttressing on ice streams on the Antarctic Peninsula. The evacuation of 11-year-old landfast sea ice in the Larsen B embayment on the East Antarctic Peninsula in January 2022 was closely followed by major changes in the calving behaviour and acceleration (30 %) of the ocean-terminating glaciers. Our results show that sea ice buttressing had a negligible direct role in the observed dynamic changes.
Benjamin J. Davison, Anna E. Hogg, Carlos Moffat, Michael P. Meredith, and Benjamin J. Wallis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-232, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-232, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using a new dataset of ice motion, we observed glacier acceleration on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The speed-up began around January 2021 but some glaciers sped-up earlier or later. All of those glaciers flow into the ocean where they melt – ship-based observations show that ocean temperatures near the glaciers have been unusually warm since 2018, likely causing them to melt faster and speed-up. As the ocean warms more in future, these glaciers may accelerate again.
Andrew N. Hennig, David A. Mucciarone, Stanley S. Jacobs, Richard A. Mortlock, and Robert B. Dunbar
The Cryosphere, 18, 791–818, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-791-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-791-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A total of 937 seawater paired oxygen isotope (δ18O)–salinity samples collected during seven cruises on the SE Amundsen Sea between 1994 and 2020 reveal a deep freshwater source with δ18O − 29.4±1.0‰, consistent with the signature of local ice shelf melt. Local mean meteoric water content – comprised primarily of glacial meltwater – increased between 1994 and 2020 but exhibited greater interannual variability than increasing trend.
Qinggang Gao, Louise C. Sime, Alison J. McLaren, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Emilie Capron, Rachael H. Rhodes, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Xiaoxu Shi, and Martin Werner
The Cryosphere, 18, 683–703, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-683-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-683-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Antarctic precipitation is a crucial component of the climate system. Its spatio-temporal variability impacts sea level changes and the interpretation of water isotope measurements in ice cores. To better understand its climatic drivers, we developed water tracers in an atmospheric model to identify moisture source conditions from which precipitation originates. We find that mid-latitude surface winds exert an important control on moisture availability for Antarctic precipitation.
Violaine Coulon, Ann Kristin Klose, Christoph Kittel, Tamsin Edwards, Fiona Turner, Ricarda Winkelmann, and Frank Pattyn
The Cryosphere, 18, 653–681, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-653-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-653-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present new projections of the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet until the end of the millennium, calibrated with observations. We show that the ocean will be the main trigger of future ice loss. As temperatures continue to rise, the atmosphere's role may shift from mitigating to amplifying Antarctic mass loss already by the end of the century. For high-emission scenarios, this may lead to substantial sea-level rise. Adopting sustainable practices would however reduce the rate of ice loss.
Hélène Seroussi, Vincent Verjans, Sophie Nowicki, Antony J. Payne, Heiko Goelzer, William H. Lipscomb, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Cécile Agosta, Torsten Albrecht, Xylar Asay-Davis, Alice Barthel, Reinhard Calov, Richard Cullather, Christophe Dumas, Benjamin K. Galton-Fenzi, Rupert Gladstone, Nicholas R. Golledge, Jonathan M. Gregory, Ralf Greve, Tore Hattermann, Matthew J. Hoffman, Angelika Humbert, Philippe Huybrechts, Nicolas C. Jourdain, Thomas Kleiner, Eric Larour, Gunter R. Leguy, Daniel P. Lowry, Chistopher M. Little, Mathieu Morlighem, Frank Pattyn, Tyler Pelle, Stephen F. Price, Aurélien Quiquet, Ronja Reese, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, Andrew Shepherd, Erika Simon, Robin S. Smith, Fiammetta Straneo, Sainan Sun, Luke D. Trusel, Jonas Van Breedam, Peter Van Katwyk, Roderik S. W. van de Wal, Ricarda Winkelmann, Chen Zhao, Tong Zhang, and Thomas Zwinger
The Cryosphere, 17, 5197–5217, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5197-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Mass loss from Antarctica is a key contributor to sea level rise over the 21st century, and the associated uncertainty dominates sea level projections. We highlight here the Antarctic glaciers showing the largest changes and quantify the main sources of uncertainty in their future evolution using an ensemble of ice flow models. We show that on top of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, Totten and Moscow University glaciers show rapid changes and a strong sensitivity to warmer ocean conditions.
Joel A. Wilner, Mathieu Morlighem, and Gong Cheng
The Cryosphere, 17, 4889–4901, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4889-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4889-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use numerical modeling to study iceberg calving off of ice shelves in Antarctica. We examine four widely used mathematical descriptions of calving (
calving laws), under the assumption that Antarctic ice shelf front positions should be in steady state under the current climate forcing. We quantify how well each of these calving laws replicates the observed front positions. Our results suggest that the eigencalving and von Mises laws are most suitable for Antarctic ice shelves.
Rebecca J. Sanderson, Kate Winter, S. Louise Callard, Felipe Napoleoni, Neil Ross, Tom A. Jordan, and Robert G. Bingham
The Cryosphere, 17, 4853–4871, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4853-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4853-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-penetrating radar allows us to explore the internal structure of glaciers and ice sheets to constrain past and present ice-flow conditions. In this paper, we examine englacial layers within the Lambert Glacier in East Antarctica using a quantitative layer tracing tool. Analysis reveals that the ice flow here has been relatively stable, but evidence for former fast flow along a tributary suggests that changes have occurred in the past and could change again in the future.
Thorsten Seehaus, Christian Sommer, Thomas Dethinne, and Philipp Malz
The Cryosphere, 17, 4629–4644, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4629-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4629-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Existing mass budget estimates for the northern Antarctic Peninsula (>70° S) are affected by considerable limitations. We carried out the first region-wide analysis of geodetic mass balances throughout this region (coverage of 96.4 %) for the period 2013–2017 based on repeat pass bi-static TanDEM-X acquisitions. A total mass budget of −24.1±2.8 Gt/a is revealed. Imbalanced high ice discharge, particularly at former ice shelf tributaries, is the main driver of overall ice loss.
Julius Garbe, Maria Zeitz, Uta Krebs-Kanzow, and Ricarda Winkelmann
The Cryosphere, 17, 4571–4599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4571-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4571-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We adopt the novel surface module dEBM-simple in the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) to investigate the impact of atmospheric warming on Antarctic surface melt and long-term ice sheet dynamics. As an enhancement compared to traditional temperature-based melt schemes, the module accounts for changes in ice surface albedo and thus the melt–albedo feedback. Our results underscore the critical role of ice–atmosphere feedbacks in the future sea-level contribution of Antarctica on long timescales.
Gemma K. O'Connor, Paul R. Holland, Eric J. Steig, Pierre Dutrieux, and Gregory J. Hakim
The Cryosphere, 17, 4399–4420, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4399-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in West Antarctica are rapidly melting, but the causes are unknown due to limited observations. A leading hypothesis is that an unusually large wind event in the 1940s initiated the ocean-driven melting. Using proxy reconstructions (e.g., using ice cores) and climate model simulations, we find that wind events similar to the 1940s event are relatively common on millennial timescales, implying that ocean variability or climate trends are also necessary to explain the start of ice loss.
Ann Kristin Klose, Violaine Coulon, Frank Pattyn, and Ricarda Winkelmann
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-156, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2023-156, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for TC
Short summary
Short summary
We systematically assess the long-term sea-level response from Antarctica to warming projected over the next centuries with two ice-sheet models. We show that this committed Antarctic sea-level contribution is substantially higher than the transient sea-level change projected for the coming decades. A low-emission scenario already poses a considerable risk of multi-meter sea-level increase over the next millennia, while additional East Antarctic ice loss unfolds under the high-emission pathway.
Thomas Dethinne, Quentin Glaude, Ghislain Picard, Christoph Kittel, Patrick Alexander, Anne Orban, and Xavier Fettweis
The Cryosphere, 17, 4267–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4267-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4267-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the sensitivity of the regional climate model
Modèle Atmosphérique Régional(MAR) to the assimilation of wet-snow occurrence estimated by remote sensing datasets. The assimilation is performed by nudging the MAR snowpack temperature. The data assimilation is performed over the Antarctic Peninsula for the 2019–2021 period. The results show an increase in the melt production (+66.7 %) and a decrease in surface mass balance (−4.5 %) of the model for the 2019–2020 melt season.
Nora Hirsch, Alexandra Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Maria Hörhold, Johannes Freitag, Remi Dallmayr, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 17, 4207–4221, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4207-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stable water isotopes from firn cores provide valuable information on past climates, yet their utility is hampered by stratigraphic noise, i.e. the irregular deposition and wind-driven redistribution of snow. We found stratigraphic noise on the Antarctic Plateau to be related to the local accumulation rate, snow surface roughness and slope inclination, which can guide future decisions on sampling locations and thus increase the resolution of climate reconstructions from low-accumulation areas.
Bryony I. D. Freer, Oliver J. Marsh, Anna E. Hogg, Helen Amanda Fricker, and Laurie Padman
The Cryosphere, 17, 4079–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4079-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4079-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We develop a method using ICESat-2 data to measure how Antarctic grounding lines (GLs) migrate across the tide cycle. At an ice plain on the Ronne Ice Shelf we observe 15 km of tidal GL migration, the largest reported distance in Antarctica, dominating any signal of long-term migration. We identify four distinct migration modes, which provide both observational support for models of tidal ice flexure and GL migration and insights into ice shelf–ocean–subglacial interactions in grounding zones.
Rajashree Tri Datta, Adam Herrington, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, David P. Schneider, Luke Trusel, Ziqi Yin, and Devon Dunmire
The Cryosphere, 17, 3847–3866, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3847-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation over Antarctica is one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in sea level rise estimates. Earth system models (ESMs) are a valuable tool for these estimates but typically run at coarse spatial resolutions. Here, we present an evaluation of the variable-resolution CESM2 (VR-CESM2) for the first time with a grid designed for enhanced spatial resolution over Antarctica to achieve the high resolution of regional climate models while preserving the two-way interactions of ESMs.
Yaowen Zheng, Nicholas R. Golledge, Alexandra Gossart, Ghislain Picard, and Marion Leduc-Leballeur
The Cryosphere, 17, 3667–3694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3667-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Positive degree-day (PDD) schemes are widely used in many Antarctic numerical ice sheet models. However, the PDD approach has not been systematically explored for its application in Antarctica. We have constructed a novel grid-cell-level spatially distributed PDD (dist-PDD) model and assessed its accuracy. We suggest that an appropriately parameterized dist-PDD model can be a valuable tool for exploring Antarctic surface melt beyond the satellite era.
Fernando S. Paolo, Alex S. Gardner, Chad A. Greene, Johan Nilsson, Michael P. Schodlok, Nicole-Jeanne Schlegel, and Helen A. Fricker
The Cryosphere, 17, 3409–3433, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We report on a slowdown in the rate of thinning and melting of West Antarctic ice shelves. We present a comprehensive assessment of the Antarctic ice shelves, where we analyze at a continental scale the changes in thickness, flow, and basal melt over the past 26 years. We also present a novel method to estimate ice shelf change from satellite altimetry and a time-dependent data set of ice shelf thickness and basal melt rates at an unprecedented resolution.
Cyrille Mosbeux, Laurie Padman, Emilie Klein, Peter D. Bromirski, and Helen A. Fricker
The Cryosphere, 17, 2585–2606, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2585-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2585-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Antarctica's ice shelves (the floating extension of the ice sheet) help regulate ice flow. As ice shelves thin or lose contact with the bedrock, the upstream ice tends to accelerate, resulting in increased mass loss. Here, we use an ice sheet model to simulate the effect of seasonal sea surface height variations and see if we can reproduce observed seasonal variability of ice velocity on the ice shelf. When correctly parameterised, the model fits the observations well.
Lena Nicola, Dirk Notz, and Ricarda Winkelmann
The Cryosphere, 17, 2563–2583, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2563-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2563-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
For future sea-level projections, approximating Antarctic precipitation increases through temperature-scaling approaches will remain important, as coupled ice-sheet simulations with regional climate models remain computationally expensive, especially on multi-centennial timescales. We here revisit the relationship between Antarctic temperature and precipitation using different scaling approaches, identifying and explaining regional differences.
Floriane Provost, Dimitri Zigone, Emmanuel Le Meur, Jean-Philippe Malet, and Clément Hibert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-736, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-736, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The recent calving of the Astrolabe glacier in November 2021 presents an opportunity to better understand the processes leading to ice fracturing. Optical satellite imagery is used to retrieve the calving cycle of the glacier ice tongue and to measure the ice velocity and strain rates in order to document fracture evolution. We observed that the presence of sea ice for consecutive years has favored the glacier extension but failed to inhibit the growth of fractures that accelerated in June 2021.
Christoph Welling and the RNO-G Collaboration
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-745, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-745, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We report in the measurement of the index of refraction in glacial ice at radio frequencies. We show that radio echos from within the ice can be associated with specific features of the ice conductivity, and use this to determine the wave velocity. This measurement is especially relevant for the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G), a neutrino detection experiment currently under construction at Summit Station, Greenland.
Anna Ruth W. Halberstadt, Greg Balco, Hannah Buchband, and Perry Spector
The Cryosphere, 17, 1623–1643, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1623-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1623-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper explores the use of multimillion-year exposure ages from Antarctic bedrock outcrops to benchmark ice sheet model predictions and thereby infer ice sheet sensitivity to warm climates. We describe a new approach for model–data comparison, highlight an example where observational data are used to distinguish end-member models, and provide guidance for targeted sampling around Antarctica that can improve understanding of ice sheet response to climate warming in the past and future.
Mira Berdahl, Gunter Leguy, William H. Lipscomb, Nathan M. Urban, and Matthew J. Hoffman
The Cryosphere, 17, 1513–1543, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1513-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1513-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Contributions to future sea level from the Antarctic Ice Sheet remain poorly constrained. One reason is that ice sheet model initialization methods can have significant impacts on how the ice sheet responds to future forcings. We investigate the impacts of two key parameters used during model initialization. We find that these parameter choices alone can impact multi-century sea level rise by up to 2 m, emphasizing the need to carefully consider these choices for sea level rise predictions.
Julien A. Bodart, Robert G. Bingham, Duncan A. Young, Joseph A. MacGregor, David W. Ashmore, Enrica Quartini, Andrew S. Hein, David G. Vaughan, and Donald D. Blankenship
The Cryosphere, 17, 1497–1512, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1497-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1497-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Estimating how West Antarctica will change in response to future climatic change depends on our understanding of past ice processes. Here, we use a reflector widely visible on airborne radar data across West Antarctica to estimate accumulation rates over the past 4700 years. By comparing our estimates with current atmospheric data, we find that accumulation rates were 18 % greater than modern rates. This has implications for our understanding of past ice processes in the region.
Na Li, Ruibo Lei, Petra Heil, Bin Cheng, Minghu Ding, Zhongxiang Tian, and Bingrui Li
The Cryosphere, 17, 917–937, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-917-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-917-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The observed annual maximum landfast ice (LFI) thickness off Zhongshan (Davis) was 1.59±0.17 m (1.64±0.08 m). Larger interannual and local spatial variabilities for the seasonality of LFI were identified at Zhongshan, with the dominant influencing factors of air temperature anomaly, snow atop, local topography and wind regime, and oceanic heat flux. The variability of LFI properties across the study domain prevailed at interannual timescales, over any trend during the recent decades.
Giacomo Traversa, Davide Fugazza, and Massimo Frezzotti
The Cryosphere, 17, 427–444, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-427-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-427-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Megadunes are fields of huge snow dunes present in Antarctica and on other planets, important as they present mass loss on the leeward side (glazed snow), on a continent characterized by mass gain. Here, we studied megadunes using remote data and measurements acquired during past field expeditions. We quantified their physical properties and migration and demonstrated that they migrate against slope and wind. We further proposed automatic detections of the glazed snow on their leeward side.
Bertie W. J. Miles, Chris R. Stokes, Adrian Jenkins, Jim R. Jordan, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, and G. Hilmar Gudmundsson
The Cryosphere, 17, 445–456, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-445-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-445-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Satellite observations have shown that the Shirase Glacier catchment in East Antarctica has been gaining mass over the past 2 decades, a trend largely attributed to increased snowfall. Our multi-decadal observations of Shirase Glacier show that ocean forcing has also contributed to some of this recent mass gain. This has been caused by strengthening easterly winds reducing the inflow of warm water underneath the Shirase ice tongue, causing the glacier to slow down and thicken.
Johannes Feldmann and Anders Levermann
The Cryosphere, 17, 327–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-327-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present a scaling relation that allows the comparison of the timescales of glaciers with geometric similarity. According to the relation, thicker and wider glaciers on a steeper bed slope have a much faster timescale than shallower, narrower glaciers on a flatter bed slope. The relation is supported by observations and simplified numerical simulations. We combine the scaling relation with a statistical analysis of the topography of 13 instability-prone Antarctic outlet glaciers.
Eveline C. van der Linden, Dewi Le Bars, Erwin Lambert, and Sybren Drijfhout
The Cryosphere, 17, 79–103, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-79-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-79-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) is the largest uncertainty in future sea level estimates. The AIS mainly loses mass through ice discharge, the transfer of land ice into the ocean. Ice discharge is triggered by warming ocean water (basal melt). New future estimates of AIS sea level contributions are presented in which basal melt is constrained with ice discharge observations. Despite the different methodology, the resulting projections are in line with previous multimodel assessments.
Paul R. Holland, Gemma K. O'Connor, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Pierre Dutrieux, Kaitlin A. Naughten, Eric J. Steig, David P. Schneider, Adrian Jenkins, and James A. Smith
The Cryosphere, 16, 5085–5105, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5085-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-5085-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing ice, causing sea-level rise. However, it is not known whether human-induced climate change has contributed to this ice loss. In this study, we use evidence from climate models and palaeoclimate measurements (e.g. ice cores) to suggest that the ice loss was triggered by natural climate variations but is now sustained by human-forced climate change. This implies that future greenhouse-gas emissions may influence sea-level rise from Antarctica.
Jonathan R. Adams, Joanne S. Johnson, Stephen J. Roberts, Philippa J. Mason, Keir A. Nichols, Ryan A. Venturelli, Klaus Wilcken, Greg Balco, Brent Goehring, Brenda Hall, John Woodward, and Dylan H. Rood
The Cryosphere, 16, 4887–4905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4887-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4887-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glaciers in West Antarctica are experiencing significant ice loss. Geological data provide historical context for ongoing ice loss in West Antarctica, including constraints on likely future ice sheet behaviour in response to climatic warming. We present evidence from rare isotopes measured in rocks collected from an outcrop next to Pope Glacier. These data suggest that Pope Glacier thinned faster and sooner after the last ice age than previously thought.
Devon Dunmire, Jan T. M. Lenaerts, Rajashree Tri Datta, and Tessa Gorte
The Cryosphere, 16, 4163–4184, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4163-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Earth system models (ESMs) are used to model the climate system and the interactions of its components (atmosphere, ocean, etc.) both historically and into the future under different assumptions of human activity. The representation of Antarctica in ESMs is important because it can inform projections of the ice sheet's contribution to sea level rise. Here, we compare output of Antarctica's surface climate from an ESM with observations to understand strengths and weaknesses within the model.
Helen Ockenden, Robert G. Bingham, Andrew Curtis, and Daniel Goldberg
The Cryosphere, 16, 3867–3887, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3867-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3867-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Hills and valleys hidden under the ice of Thwaites Glacier have an impact on ice flow and future ice loss, but there are not many three-dimensional observations of their location or size. We apply a mathematical theory to new high-resolution observations of the ice surface to predict the bed topography beneath the ice. There is a good correlation with ice-penetrating radar observations. The method may be useful in areas with few direct observations or as a further constraint for other methods.
A. Clara J. Henry, Reinhard Drews, Clemens Schannwell, and Vjeran Višnjević
The Cryosphere, 16, 3889–3905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3889-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3889-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We used a 3D, idealised model to study features in coastal Antarctica called ice rises and ice rumples. These features regulate the rate of ice flow into the ocean. We show that when sea level is raised or lowered, the size of these features and the ice flow pattern can change. We find that the features depend on the ice history and do not necessarily fully recover after an equal increase and decrease in sea level. This shows that it is important to initialise models with accurate ice geometry.
Jeremy Carter, Amber Leeson, Andrew Orr, Christoph Kittel, and J. Melchior van Wessem
The Cryosphere, 16, 3815–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3815-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3815-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Climate models provide valuable information for studying processes such as the collapse of ice shelves over Antarctica which impact estimates of sea level rise. This paper examines variability across climate simulations over Antarctica for fields including snowfall, temperature and melt. Significant systematic differences between outputs are found, occurring at both large and fine spatial scales across Antarctica. Results are important for future impact assessments and model development.
Francesca Baldacchino, Mathieu Morlighem, Nicholas R. Golledge, Huw Horgan, and Alena Malyarenko
The Cryosphere, 16, 3723–3738, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3723-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3723-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how the Ross Ice Shelf will evolve in a warming world is important to the future stability of Antarctica. It remains unclear what changes could drive the largest mass loss in the future and where places are most likely to trigger larger mass losses. Sensitivity maps are modelled showing that the RIS is sensitive to changes in environmental and glaciological controls at regions which are currently experiencing changes. These regions need to be monitored in a warming world.
Shun Tsutaki, Shuji Fujita, Kenji Kawamura, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Kotaro Fukui, Hideaki Motoyama, Yu Hoshina, Fumio Nakazawa, Takashi Obase, Hiroshi Ohno, Ikumi Oyabu, Fuyuki Saito, Konosuke Sugiura, and Toshitaka Suzuki
The Cryosphere, 16, 2967–2983, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2967-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2967-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We constructed an ice thickness map across the Dome Fuji region, East Antarctica, from improved radar data and previous data that had been collected since the late 1980s. The data acquired using the improved radar systems allowed basal topography to be identified with higher accuracy. The new ice thickness data show the bedrock topography, particularly the complex terrain of subglacial valleys and highlands south of Dome Fuji, with substantially high detail.
Marie Bergelin, Jaakko Putkonen, Greg Balco, Daniel Morgan, Lee B. Corbett, and Paul R. Bierman
The Cryosphere, 16, 2793–2817, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2793-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2793-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Glacier ice contains information on past climate and can help us understand how the world changes through time. We have found and sampled a buried ice mass in Antarctica that is much older than most ice on Earth and difficult to date. Therefore, we developed a new dating application which showed the ice to be 3 million years old. Our new dating solution will potentially help to date other ancient ice masses since such old glacial ice could yield data on past environmental conditions on Earth.
Christoph Kittel, Charles Amory, Stefan Hofer, Cécile Agosta, Nicolas C. Jourdain, Ella Gilbert, Louis Le Toumelin, Étienne Vignon, Hubert Gallée, and Xavier Fettweis
The Cryosphere, 16, 2655–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2655-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2655-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Model projections suggest large differences in future Antarctic surface melting even for similar greenhouse gas scenarios and warming rates. We show that clouds containing a larger amount of liquid water lead to stronger melt. As surface melt can trigger the collapse of the ice shelves (the safety band of the Antarctic Ice Sheet), clouds could be a major source of uncertainties in projections of sea level rise.
Douglas I. Benn, Adrian Luckman, Jan A. Åström, Anna J. Crawford, Stephen L. Cornford, Suzanne L. Bevan, Thomas Zwinger, Rupert Gladstone, Karen Alley, Erin Pettit, and Jeremy Bassis
The Cryosphere, 16, 2545–2564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2545-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Thwaites Glacier (TG), in West Antarctica, is potentially unstable and may contribute significantly to sea-level rise as global warming continues. Using satellite data, we show that Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf, the largest remaining floating extension of TG, has started to accelerate as it fragments along a shear zone. Computer modelling does not indicate that fragmentation will lead to imminent glacier collapse, but it is clear that major, rapid, and unpredictable changes are underway.
Jeannette Xiu Wen Wan, Natalya Gomez, Konstantin Latychev, and Holly Kyeore Han
The Cryosphere, 16, 2203–2223, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2203-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2203-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper assesses the grid resolution necessary to accurately model the Earth deformation and sea-level change associated with West Antarctic ice mass changes. We find that results converge at higher resolutions, and errors of less than 5 % can be achieved with a 7.5 km grid. Our results also indicate that error due to grid resolution is negligible compared to the effect of neglecting viscous deformation in low-viscosity regions.
Cited articles
Alley, R. B., Blankenship, D. D., Rooney, S. T., and Bentley, C. R.:
Sedimentation beneath ice shelves – the view from ice stream B, Mar.
Geol., 85, 101–120, 1989.
Anderson, R., Jones, D. H., and Gudmundsson, G. H.: Halley Research Station,
Antarctica: calving risks and monitoring strategies, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst.
Sci., 14, 917–927, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-14-917-2014, 2014.
Arndt, J. E., Schenke, H. W., Jakobsson, M., Nitsche, F. O., Buys, G.,
Goleby, B., Rebesco, M., Bohoyo, F., Hong, J., Black, J., Greku, R.,
Udintsev, G., Barrios, F., Reynoso-Peralta, W., Taisei, M., and Wigley, R.:
The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) Version 1.0
– A new bathymetric compilation covering circum-Antarctic waters, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 40, 3111–3117, 2013.
Arndt, J. E., Hillenbrand, C. D., Grobe, H., Kuhn, G., and Wacker, L.:
Evidence for a dynamic grounding-line in outer Filchner Trough, Antarctica,
until the early Holocene, Geology, 45, 1035–1038, https://doi.org/10.1130/G39398.1,
2017.
Bamber, J. L., Ferraccioli, F., Joughin, I., Shepherd, T., Rippin, D. M.,
Siegert, M. J., and Vaughan, D. G.: East Antarctic ice stream tributary
underlain by major sedimentary basin, Geology, 34, 33–36, 2006.
Bassett, S. E., Milne, G. A., Bentley, M. J., and Huybrechts, P.: Modelling
Antarctic sea-level data to explore the possibility of a dominant Antarctic
contribution to meltwater pulse IA, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 26, 2113–2127,
2007.
Batchelor, C. L. and Dowdeswell, J. A.: Ice-sheet grounding-zone wedges
(GZWs) on high-latitude continental margins, Mar. Geol., 363, 65–92, 2015.
Bentley, M. J., Fogwill, C. J., Le Brocq, A. M., Hubbard, A. L., Sugden, D.
E., Dunai, T., and Freeman, S. P. H. T.: Deglacial history of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Weddell Sea embayment: constraints on past ice
volume change, Geology, 38, 411–414, 2010.
De Rydt, J. and Gudmundsson, G. H.: Coupled ice shelf-ocean modeling and
complex grounding line retreat from a seabed ridge, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth,
121, 865–880, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JF003791, 2016.
DeConto, R. M. and Pollard, D.: Contribution of Antarctica to past and future
sea-level rise, Nature, 531, 591–597, 2016.
Dowdeswell, J. A. and Fugelli, E. M. G.: The seismic architecture and
geometry of grounding-zone wedges formed at the marine margins of past ice
sheets, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 124, 1750–1761, https://doi.org/10.1130/b30628.1, 2012.
Elverhøi, A. and Maisey, G.: Glacial erosion and morphology of the eastern
and southeastern Weddell Sea shelf, in: Fourth International Symposium
Antarctic Earth Science, edited by: Oliver, R. L., James, P. R., and Jago, J.
B., Aust. Acad. of Sci., Adelaide, South Australia, 1983.
Fretwell, P., Pritchard, H. D., Vaughan, D. G., Bamber, J. L., Barrand, N.
E., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R. G., Blankenship, D. D., Casassa, G.,
Catania, G., Callens, D., Conway, H., Cook, A. J., Corr, H. F. J., Damaske,
D., Damm, V., Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., Fujita, S., Gim, Y., Gogineni,
P., Griggs, J. A., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., Holmlund, P., Holt, J. W., Jacobel,
R. W., Jenkins, A., Jokat, W., Jordan, T., King, E. C., Kohler, J., Krabill,
W., Riger-Kusk, M., Langley, K. A., Leitchenkov, G., Leuschen, C., Luyendyk,
B. P., Matsuoka, K., Mouginot, J., Nitsche, F. O., Nogi, Y., Nost, O. A.,
Popov, S. V., Rignot, E., Rippin, D. M., Rivera, A., Roberts, J., Ross, N.,
Siegert, M. J., Smith, A. M., Steinhage, D., Studinger, M., Sun, B., Tinto,
B. K., Welch, B. C., Wilson, D., Young, D. A., Xiangbin, C., and Zirizzotti,
A.: Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica,
The Cryosphere, 7, 375–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, 2013.
Gales, J. A., Larter, R. D., Mitchell, N. C., Hillenbrand, C. D.,
Østerhus, S., and Shoosmith, D. R.: Southern Weddell Sea shelf edge
geomorphology: Implications for gully formation by the overflow of
high-salinity water, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 117, F04021,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JF002357, 2012.
Graham, A. G. C., Larter, R. D., Gohl, K., Hillenbrand, C. D., Smith, J. A.,
and Kuhn, G.: Bedform signature of a West Antarctic palaeo-ice stream reveals
a multi-temporal record of flow and substrate control, Quaternary Sci. Rev.,
28, 2774–2793, 2009.
Graham, A. G. C., Larter, R. D., Gohl, K., Dowdeswell, J. A., Hillenbrand, C.
D., Smith, J. A., Evans, J., Kuhn, G., and Deen, T. J.: Flow and retreat of
the Late Quaternary Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream, West Antarctica,
J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 115, F03025, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JF001482, 2010.
Gudmundsson, G. H., De Rydt, J., and Nagler, T.: Five decades of strong
temporal variability in the flow of the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, J.
Glaciol., 63, 164–175, 2016.
Hättestrand, C. and Johansen, N.: Supraglacial moraines in
Scharffenbergbotnen, Heimefrontfjella, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica –
significance for reconstructing former blue ice areas, Antarct. Sci., 17,
225–236, 2005.
Hein, A. S., Fogwill, C. J., Sugden, D. E., and Xu, S.: Glacial/interglacial
ice-stream stability in the Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica, Earth Planet.
Sc. Lett., 307, 211–221, 2011.
Hein, A. S., Fogwill, C. J., Sugden, D. E., and Xu, S.: Geological scatter of
cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages in the Shackleton Range, Antarctica:
Implications for glacial history, Quat. Geochronol., 19, 52–66, 2014.
Hillenbrand, C. D., Melles, M., Kuhn, G., and Larter, R. D.: Marine
geological constraints for the grounding-line position of the Antarctic Ice
Sheet on the southern Weddell Sea shelf at the Last Glacial Maximum,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 32, 25–47, 2012.
Hillenbrand, C. D., Bentley, M. J., Stolldorf, T., Hein, A. S., Kuhn, G.,
Graham, A. C. G., Fogwill, C. J., Kristoffersen, Y., Smith, J. A., Anderson,
J. B., Larter, R. D., Melles, M., Hodgson, D. A., Mulvaney, R., and Sugden,
D. E.: Reconstruction of changes in the Weddell Sea sector of the Antarctic
Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 100,
111–136, 2014.
Hodgson, D. A., Bentley, M. J., Schnabel, C., Cziferszky, A., Convey, P., and
Xu, S.: Glacial geomorphology and cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al exposure
ages in the northern Dufek Massif, Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica,
Antarct. Sci., 24, 377–394, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102012000016, 2012.
Holland, P. R., Brisbourne, A., Corr, H. F. J., McGrath, D., Purdon, K.,
Paden, J., Fricker, H. A., Paolo, F. S., and Fleming, A. H.: Oceanic and
atmospheric forcing of Larsen C Ice-Shelf thinning, The Cryosphere, 9,
1005–1024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1005-2015, 2015.
Hübscher, C. and Gohl, K.: Reflection/Refraction Seismology, Encyclopedia
of Marine Geosciences,https://doi.org/10.1007/987-94-007-6644-0_128-1, 2014.
Humbert, A., Kleiner, T., Mohrholz, C.-O., Oelke, C., Greve, R., and Lange,
M. R.: A comparative modeling study of the Brunt Ice Shelf/Stancomb-Wills Ice
Tongue system, East Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 55, 53–65, 2009.
Huybrechts, P., Rybak, O., Pattyn, F., Ruth, U., and Steinhage, D.: Ice
thinning, upstream advection, and non-climatic biases for the upper 89 %
of the EDML ice core from a nested model of the Antarctic ice sheet, Clim.
Past, 3, 577–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-3-577-2007, 2007.
Jakobsson, M., Anderson, J. B., Nitsche, F. O., Gyllencreutz, R., Kirshner,
A. E., Kirchner, N., O'Regan, M., Mohammad, R., and Eriksson, B.: Ice sheet
retreat dynamics inferred from glacial morphology of the central Pine Island
Bay Trough, West Antarctica, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 38, 1–10, 2012.
King, E. C., Hindmarsh, R. C. A., and Stokes, C. R.: Formation of mega-scale
glacial lineations observed beneath a West Antarctic ice stream, Nat.
Geosci., 2, 585–588, 2009.
King, E. C., De Rydt, J., and Gudmundsson, G. H.: The internal structure of
the Brunt Ice Shelf from ice-penetrating radar analysis and implications for
ice shelf fracture, The Cryosphere Discuss.,
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2018-13, in review, 2018.
Kulessa, B., Jansen, D., Luckman, A. J., King, E. C., and Sammonds, P. R.:
Marine ice regulates the future stability of a large Antarctic ice shelf,
Nat. Comm., 5, 3707, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4707, 2014.
Larter, R. D., Graham, A. G. C., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Smith, J. A., and Gales,
J. A.: Late Quaternary grounded ice extent in the Filchner Trough, Weddell
Sea, Antarctica: new marine geophysical evidence, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 53,
111–122, 2012.
Le Brocq, A. M., Bentley, M. J., Hubbard, A., Fogwill, C. J., Sugden, D. E.,
and Whitehouse, P. L.: Reconstructing the Last Glacial Maximum ice sheet in
the Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica, using numerical modelling constrained
by field evidence, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 30, 2422–2432, 2011.
Livingstone, S. J., Storrar, R. D., Hillier, J. K., Stokes, C. R., Clark, C.
D., and Tarasov, L.: An ice-sheet scale comparison of eskers with modelled
subglacial drainage routes, Geomorphology, 246, 104–112, 2015.
Livingstone, S. J., Ó Cofaigh, C., Hogan, K. A., and Dowdeswell, J. A.:
Submarine glacial-landform distribution along an Antarctic Peninsula
palaeo-ice stream: a shelf–slope transect through the Marguerite Trough
system (66–70∘ S), Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 46,
485–492, 2016.
Nitsche, F. O., Gohl, K., Larter, R. D., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Kuhn, G., Smith,
J. A., Jacobs, S., Anderson, J. B., and Jakobsson, M.: Paleo ice flow and
subglacial meltwater dynamics in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica, The
Cryosphere, 7, 249–262, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-249-2013, 2013.
Ó Cofaigh, C., Dowdeswell, J. A., Allen, C. S., Hiemstra, J. F., Pudsey,
C. J., Evans, J., and Evans, D. J. A.: Flow dynamics and till genesis
associated with a marine-based Antarctic palaeo-ice stream, Quaternary Sci.
Rev., 24, 709–740, 2005.
Ottesen, D., Dowdeswell, J. A., and Rise, L.: Submarine landforms and the
reconstruction of fast-flowing ice streams within a large Quaternary ice
sheet: The 2500-km-long Norwegian-Svalbard margin
(57∘–80∘ N), GSA Bulletin, 117, 1033–1050, 2005.
Parrenin, F., Rémy, F., Ritz, C., Siegert, M. J., and Jouzel, J.: New
modeling of the Vostok ice flow line and implication for the glaciological
chronology of the Vostok ice core, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 109, D20102,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004561, 2004.
Reimer, P. J., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J. W., Blackwell, P. G., Ramsey,
C. B., Buck, C. E., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P. M.,
Guilderson, T. P., Haflidason, H., Hajdas, I., Hatté, C., Heaton, T. J.,
Hoffmann, D. L., Hogg, A. G., Hughen, K. A., Kaiser, K. F., Kromer, B.,
Manning, S. W., Niu, M., Reimer, R. W., Richards, D. A., Scott, E. M.,
Southon, J. R., Staff, R. A., Turney, C. S. M., and van der Plicht, J.:
IntCal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0–50,000 Years cal
BP, Radiocarbon, 55, 1869–1887, 2013.
Rignot, E., Mouginot, J., and Scheuchl, B.: Ice Flow of the Antarctic Ice
Sheet, Science, 333, 1427–1430, 2011.
Rippin, D. M., Siegert, M. J., Bamber, J. L., Vaughan, D. G., and Corr, H. F.
J.: Switch-off of a major enhanced ice flow unit in East Antarctica, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 33, L15501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026648, 2006.
Ross, N., Bingham, R. G., Corr, H. F. J., Ferraccioli, F., Jordan, T. A., Le
Brocq, A., Rippin, D. M., Young, D., Blankenship, D. D., and Siegert, M. J.:
Steep reverse bed slope at the grounding line of the Weddell Sea sector in
West Antarctica, Nat. Geosci., 5, 393–396, 2012.
Simmons, D. A. and Rouse, J. R.: Accelerating Flow of the Brunt Ice Shelf,
Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 30, 377–380, 1984.
Smith, J. A., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Kuhn, G., Larter, R., Graham, A. G. C.,
Ehrmann, W., Moreton, S. G., and Forwick, M.: Deglacial history of the West
Antarctic Ice Sheet in the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, Quaternary Sci.
Rev., 30, 488–505, 2011.
Stolldorf, T., Schenke, H. W., and Anderson, J. B.: LGM ice sheet extent in
the Weddell Sea: Evidence for diachronous behavior of Antarctic Ice Sheets,
Quaternary Sci. Rev., 48, 20–31, 2012.
Thomas, R. H.: The dynamics of the Brunt Ice Shelf, Coats Land, Antarctica
British Antarctic Survey Sci. Rep.-UK, 79, 1–47, 1973.
Thor, G. and Low, M.: The persistence of the snow petrel (Pagodroma nivea) in
Dronning Maud Land (Antarctica) for over 37,000 years, Polar Biol., 34,
609–613, 2010.
Whitehouse, P. L., Bentley, M. J., and Le Brocq, A. M.: A deglacial model for
Antarctica: geological constraints and glaciological modelling as a basis for
a new model of Antarctic glacial isostatic adjustment, Quaternary Sci. Rev.,
32, 1–24, 2012a.
Whitehouse, P. L., Bentley, M. J., Milne, G. A., King, M. A., and Thomas, I.
D.: A new glacial isostatic model for Antarctica: calibrated and tested using
observations of relative sea-level change and present-day uplift rates,
Geophys. J. Int., 190, 1464–1482, 2012b.
Whitehouse, P. L., Bentley, M. J., Vieli, A., Jamieson, S. S. R., Hein, A.
S., and Sugden, D. E.: Controls on Last Glacial Maximum ice extent in the
Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 122, 371–397,
2017.
Zwally, H. J., Giovinetto, M. B., Beckley, M. A., and Saba, J. L.: Antarctic
and Greenland Drainage Systems, GSFC Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory,
available at:
http://icesat4.gsfc.nasa.gov/cryo_data/ant_grn_drainage_systems.php,
last access: 2012.
Short summary
We studied the Coats Land ice margin, Antarctica, providing a multi-disciplinary geophysical assessment of the ice sheet configuration through its last advance and retreat; a description of the physical constraints on the stability of the past and present ice and future margin based on its submarine geomorphology and ice-sheet geometry; and evidence that once detached from the bed, the ice shelves in this region were predisposed to rapid retreat back to coastal grounding lines.
We studied the Coats Land ice margin, Antarctica, providing a multi-disciplinary geophysical...
