Oceanic and atmospheric forcing of early Holocene ice shelf retreat, George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctica Peninsula

Smith, James A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1333-2544; Bentley, Michael J.; Hodgson, Dominic A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3841-3746; Roberts, Stephen J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3407-9127; Leng, Melanie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5166; Lloyd, Jeremy M.; Barrett, Melissa S.; Bryant, Charlotte; Sugden, David E.. 2007 Oceanic and atmospheric forcing of early Holocene ice shelf retreat, George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctica Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews, 26 (3-4). 500-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.05.006

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.05.006

Abstract/Summary

We use lake sediment records from an epishelf lake on Alexander Island to provide a detailed picture of the Holocene history of George VI Ice Shelf (GVI-IS). Core analyses included; micropaleontology (diatoms/foraminifera), stable isotope (δ18O, δ13C), geochemistry (total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratios) and grain-size analyses. These data provide robust evidence for one period of past ice shelf absence during the early Holocene. The timing of this period has been constrained by 10 AMS 14C dates performed on mono-specific foraminifera samples. These dates suggest that GVI-IS was absent between c 9600 cal yr BP and c 7730 cal yr BP. This early Holocene collapse immediately followed a period of maximum Holocene warmth that is recorded in some Antarctic ice cores and coincides with an influx of warmer ocean water onto the western Antarctic Peninsula (AP) shelf at c 9000 cal yr BP. The absence of a currently extant ice shelf during this time interval suggests that early Holocene ocean-atmosphere variability in the AP was greater than that measured in recent decades.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.05.006
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > Climate and Chemistry - Forcings and Phasings in the Earth System BAS Programmes > Antarctic Funding Initiative Projects
ISSN:	0277-3791
Additional Keywords:	Ice shelves, Glacial history
NORA Subject Terms:	Glaciology Earth Sciences
Date made live:	19 Nov 2007 15:34 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/1235

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.05.006

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > Global Science in the Antarctic Context (2005-2009) > Climate and Chemistry - Forcings and Phasings in the Earth System
BAS Programmes > Antarctic Funding Initiative Projects

ISSN:

0277-3791

Additional Keywords:

Ice shelves, Glacial history

NORA Subject Terms:

Glaciology
Earth Sciences