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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Bethan DaviesORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The knowledge of dynamics and retreat patterns of marine-based ice streams under multiple stressors are of foremost importance for predicting Antarctic Ice Sheet response to climate changes. The Holocene palaeoglaciological record of former ice streams draining the northeast Antarctic Peninsula can elucidate the influences of changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation and sea-level oscillations on the ice thinning and grounding line retreat. Here, terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) dating of erratic boulders across the James Ross Island group sheds light on the pattern and timing of the ice recession along the two main arteries of the palaeo-ice drainage: Croft Trough and Prince Gustav Channel. The approach of using paired 10Be-26Al nuclides enabled an assessment of cosmogenic isotope inheritance and complex burial-exposure history, notably on the high-altitude volcanic mesas. The TCN ages suggest that the Prince Gustav Channel Ice Stream was thinning from at least ∼12 ka, with subsequent separation of the Antarctic Peninsula and James Ross Island ice masses by 10–8 ka. The transition from grounded ice to open marine conditions in the Croft Trough occurred rapidly at 8.6–7.2 ka, following the Early Holocene Warm Period, concomitant with eustatic and relative sea-level rise and incursions of warmer circumpolar waters. Grounding line retreat was possibly further accelerated by buoyancy response of thinning ice stream to low-gradient bed topography. The lessons of rapid deglaciation of James Ross Island palaeo-ice streams may provide analogues for recent or future intensification of pressures on Antarctic glaciers.
Author(s): Roman M, Nyvlt D, Davies BJ, Braucher R, Jennings SJA, Brezny M, Glasser NF, Hambrey MJ, Lirio JM, Rodes A, ASTER Team
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Year: 2024
Volume: 641
Print publication date: 01/09/2024
Online publication date: 25/06/2024
Acceptance date: 22/05/2024
Date deposited: 01/07/2024
ISSN (print): 0012-821X
ISSN (electronic): 1385-013X
Publisher: Elsevier BV
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118803
DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118803
Data Access Statement: Data will be made available on request.
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