Articles | Volume 19, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2247-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-19-2247-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 Jun 2025
Research article |
| 26 Jun 2025
| 26 Jun 2025
Antarctic subglacial trace metal mobility linked to climate change across termination III
Gavin Piccione
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science, Brown University, Providence, 02912, USA
Terrence Blackburn
Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, 95064, USA
Paul Northrup
Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794, USA
Slawek Tulaczyk
Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, 95064, USA
Troy Rasbury
Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794, USA
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Guilhem Hoareau, Fanny Claverie, Christophe Pecheyran, Gaëlle Barbotin, Michael Perk, Nicolas E. Beaudoin, Brice Lacroix, and E. Troy Rasbury
Geochronology, 7, 387–407, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-387-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-387-2025, 2025
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We present an approach to dating of carbonates using isotopic maps. The maps are divided into squares called virtual spots. For each virtual spot, statistical values (mean, uncertainty) are used to determine the age. The user can modify the size and location of the virtual spots and select those that give the most robust age. This approach, applied to high-spatial-resolution images, makes it possible for the first time to obtain satisfactory ages on maps as small as 100 µm x 100 µm.
Samuel T. Kodama, Tamara Pico, Alexander A. Robel, John Erich Christian, Natalya Gomez, Casey Vigilia, Evelyn Powell, Jessica Gagliardi, Slawek Tulaczyk, and Terrence Blackburn
The Cryosphere, 19, 2935–2948, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2935-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-2935-2025, 2025
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We predicted how sea level changed in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) due to glacial isostatic adjustment, or solid Earth ice sheet interactions, over the last deglaciation (20 000 years ago to present) and calculated how these changes in bathymetry impacted ice stream stability. Glacial isostatic adjustment shifts stability from where ice reached its maximum 20 000 years ago, at the continental shelf edge, to the modern grounding line today, reinforcing ice-age climate endmembers.
Francis J. Sousa, Stephen E. Cox, E. Troy Rasbury, Sidney R. Hemming, Antonio Lanzirotti, and Matthew Newville
Geochronology, 6, 553–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-553-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-6-553-2024, 2024
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We have discovered a new way of measuring the three-dimensional distribution of radioactive elements in individual crystals by shining a very bright light on apatite crystals at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. This allows us to learn about the rates and timing of geologic processes and to help resolve problems that previously were unsolvable because we had no way to make this type of measurement.
Ricardo Garza-Girón and Slawek M. Tulaczyk
The Cryosphere, 18, 1207–1213, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1207-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1207-2024, 2024
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By analyzing temperature time series over more than 20 years, we have found a discrepancy between the 2 m temperature values reported by the ERA5 reanalysis and the automatic weather stations in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.
Hilary A. Dugan, Peter T. Doran, Denys Grombacher, Esben Auken, Thue Bording, Nikolaj Foged, Neil Foley, Jill Mikucki, Ross A. Virginia, and Slawek Tulaczyk
The Cryosphere, 16, 4977–4983, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4977-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4977-2022, 2022
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In the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a deep groundwater system has been hypothesized to connect Don Juan Pond and Lake Vanda, both surface waterbodies that contain very high concentrations of salt. This is unusual, since permafrost in polar landscapes is thought to prevent subsurface hydrologic connectivity. We show results from an airborne geophysical survey that reveals widespread unfrozen brine in Wright Valley and points to the potential for deep valley-wide brine conduits.
Sarah U. Neuhaus, Slawek M. Tulaczyk, Nathan D. Stansell, Jason J. Coenen, Reed P. Scherer, Jill A. Mikucki, and Ross D. Powell
The Cryosphere, 15, 4655–4673, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4655-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4655-2021, 2021
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We estimate the timing of post-LGM grounding line retreat and readvance in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica. Our analyses indicate that the grounding line retreated over our field sites within the past 5000 years (coinciding with a warming climate) and readvanced roughly 1000 years ago (coinciding with a cooling climate). Based on these results, we propose that the Siple Coast grounding line motions in the middle to late Holocene were driven by relatively modest changes in regional climate.
Tun Jan Young, Carlos Martín, Poul Christoffersen, Dustin M. Schroeder, Slawek M. Tulaczyk, and Eliza J. Dawson
The Cryosphere, 15, 4117–4133, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4117-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4117-2021, 2021
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If the molecules that make up ice are oriented in specific ways, the ice becomes softer and enhances flow. We use radar to measure the orientation of ice molecules in the top 1400 m of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide. Our results match those from an ice core extracted 10 years ago and conclude that the ice flow has not changed direction for the last 6700 years. Our methods are straightforward and accurate and can be applied in places across ice sheets unsuitable for ice coring.
Krista F. Myers, Peter T. Doran, Slawek M. Tulaczyk, Neil T. Foley, Thue S. Bording, Esben Auken, Hilary A. Dugan, Jill A. Mikucki, Nikolaj Foged, Denys Grombacher, and Ross A. Virginia
The Cryosphere, 15, 3577–3593, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3577-2021, 2021
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Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, has undergone hundreds of meters of change in recent geologic history. However, there is disagreement on when lake levels were higher and by how much. This study uses resistivity data to map the subsurface conditions (frozen versus unfrozen ground) to map ancient shorelines. Our models indicate that Lake Fryxell was up to 60 m higher just 1500 to 4000 years ago. This amount of lake level change shows how sensitive these systems are to small changes in temperature.
E. Troy Rasbury, Theodore M. Present, Paul Northrup, Ryan V. Tappero, Antonio Lanzirotti, Jennifer M. Cole, Kathleen M. Wooton, and Kevin Hatton
Geochronology, 3, 103–122, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-103-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-103-2021, 2021
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We characterize three natural carbonate samples with elevated uranium/lead (U/Pb) ratios to demonstrate techniques improving the understanding of U incorporation in carbonates for U/Pb dating. With the rapidly accelerating application of laser ablation analyses, there is a great need for well-characterized reference materials that can serve multiple functions. Strontium (Sr) isotope analyses and U XANES demonstrate that these samples could be used as reference materials.
Slawek M. Tulaczyk and Neil T. Foley
The Cryosphere, 14, 4495–4506, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4495-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4495-2020, 2020
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Much of what we know about materials hidden beneath glaciers and ice sheets on Earth has been interpreted using radar reflection from the ice base. A common assumption is that electrical conductivity of the sub-ice materials does not influence the reflection strength and that the latter is controlled only by permittivity, which depends on the fraction of water in these materials. Here we argue that sub-ice electrical conductivity should be generally considered when interpreting radar records.
Xianghui Li, Jingyu Wang, Troy Rasbury, Min Zhou, Zhen Wei, and Chaokai Zhang
Clim. Past, 16, 2055–2074, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2055-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2055-2020, 2020
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This work presents the observation of the Early Jurassic terrestrial climate from the Sichuan paleobasin, southeastern China. Results manifest a (semi)arid climate in the study area, where the climate pattern is similar to the Colorado Plateau. The estimated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is 980–2610 ppmV with a mean of 1660 ppmV. The change of carbon dioxide concentration is compatible with the excursions of stable isotopes and seawater temperature from the coeval marine sediments.
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Short summary
Growth of microorganisms in the Southern Ocean is limited by low iron levels. Iron delivered from beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet is one agent that fertilizes these ecosystems, but it is unclear how this nutrient source changes through time. Here, we measured the age and chemistry of a rock that records the iron concentration of Antarctic basal water. We show that increased dissolution of iron from rocks below the ice sheet can substantially enhance iron discharge during cold climate periods.
Growth of microorganisms in the Southern Ocean is limited by low iron levels. Iron delivered...
