Last Glacial Maximum extent and subsequent retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet from the Mac. Robertson Shelf

Güntzel, Janina; Müller, Juliane; Tiedemann, Ralf; Mollenhauer, Gesine; Lembke-Jene, Lester; Weigelt, Estella; Schopen, Lasse; Wesch, Niklas; Kattein, Laura; Mackintosh, Andrew N.; Klages, Johann P.

doi:10.5194/tc-20-3739-2026

Articles | Volume 20, issue 7

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3739-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3739-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 7

Research article

|

02 Jul 2026

Research article |

| 02 Jul 2026

Last Glacial Maximum extent and subsequent retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet from the Mac. Robertson Shelf

Janina Güntzel, Juliane Müller, Ralf Tiedemann, Gesine Mollenhauer, Lester Lembke-Jene, Estella Weigelt, Lasse Schopen, Niklas Wesch, Laura Kattein, Andrew N. Mackintosh, and Johann P. Klages

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3739-2026-supplement

Data sets

Sedimentological, geochemical and sediment-physical analysis of eight sediment cores from the Mac. Robertson Shelf, East Antarctica [dataset bundled publication] Janina Güntzel et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.982379

Multibeam bathymetry processed data (Atlas Hydrosweep DS 3 echo sounder entire dataset) of RV POLARSTERN during cruise PS128, Southern Ocean [dataset]. Yvonne Schulze Tenberge et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.954693

Documentation of sediment core PS128_45-1 Johann Philipp Klages et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.949361

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_39-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984713

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_45-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984717

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_46-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984718

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_47-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984719

CT-Scan of sediment core PS128_47-1 Andrea Catalina Gebhardt and Pascal Daub https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.982524

CT-Scan of sediment core PS128_46-1 Andrea Catalina Gebhardt and Pascal Daub https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.982518

CT-Scan of sediment core PS128_39-1 Andrea Catalina Gebhardt and Pascal Daub https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.982479

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_41-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984714

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_42-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984715

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_44-1 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984716

Processed physical properties measured on sediment core PS128_38-2 Tarik Bozkuyu and Andrea Catalina Gebhardt https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.984709

Short summary

Combined multi-proxy sediment core analyses and bathymetry data reveal the deglaciation along the Mac. Robertson Shelf, a yet insufficiently studied sector of the East Antarctic margin. Grounding line extent towards the continental shelf break prior to ~12.7 cal. ka BP and subsequent episodic mid-shelf retreat until the early Holocene prevented Dense Shelf Water formation in its current form, hence suggesting a different formation mechanism under such full glacial conditions.