Ice volume and sea-level changes during Last Glacial Cycle: evidence from marine records

Fluctuations in the volume of the Antarctic ice sheet for the last 740 ka are calculated by forcing a simple ice sheet model with a sea-level history (from a composite deep sea δ18O record) and a temperature history (from the Dome C deuterium record). Antarctic ice volume reaches maximum values of about 30 × 1015 m3, 3 to 8 ka after glacial maxima [defined as maximum values of the deep sea δ18O record]. Minimum values of ice volume reached in the course of interglacial periods are about 26 × 1015 m3. Most of the time the temperature forcing (larger accumulation) and sea-level forcing (grounding-line retreat) tend to have competing effects. However, towards the end of a glacial cycle, when temperature rises and sea-level is still relatively low, the ice volume reaches a peak. The peak value is very sensitive to the relative phase of the sea-level forcing with respect to the temperature forcing. This is further studied by looking at the response of the model to purely periodic forcings with different relative phase. The large sensitivity of ice sheet size to the phase of the forcings may have some implications for dating of deep ice cores. Care has to be taken by using anchor points from the deep sea record.

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The sedimentary record of palaeoenvironments and sea-level change in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, through the last glacial cycle

Quaternary International ◽

10.1016/j.quaint.2007.11.019 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 183 (1) ◽

pp. 3-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Jessica M. Reeves ◽

Allan R. Chivas ◽

Adriana García ◽

Sabine Holt ◽

Martine J.J. Couapel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Sea Level Change ◽

Glacial Cycle ◽

Sedimentary Record ◽

Last Glacial ◽

Level Change ◽

The Last Glacial ◽

And Sea Level

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GROUNDWORK: Late Holocene relative land- and sea-level changes: Providing information for stakeholders

GSA Today ◽

10.1130/gsatg50gw.1 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 52-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Ian Shennan

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

And Sea Level

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On the geophysical processes impacting palaeo-sea-level observations

Geoscience Letters ◽

10.1186/s40562-021-00184-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yusuke Yokoyama ◽

Anthony Purcell

Keyword(s):

Sea Level ◽

Large Scale ◽

Global Climate ◽

Sea Level Change ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Ice Volume ◽

Level Change ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Geophysical Processes

AbstractPast sea-level change represents the large-scale state of global climate, reflecting the waxing and waning of global ice sheets and the corresponding effect on ocean volume. Recent developments in sampling and analytical methods enable us to more precisely reconstruct past sea-level changes using geological indicators dated by radiometric methods. However, ice-volume changes alone cannot wholly account for these observations of local, relative sea-level change because of various geophysical factors including glacio-hydro-isostatic adjustments (GIA). The mechanisms behind GIA cannot be ignored when reconstructing global ice volume, yet they remain poorly understood within the general sea-level community. In this paper, various geophysical factors affecting sea-level observations are discussed and the details and impacts of these processes on estimates of past ice volumes are introduced.

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