The Holocene evolution and palaeosalinity history of Beall Lake, Windmill Islands (East Antarctica) using an expanded diatom-based weighted averaging model

AbstractDuring CHINARE-22 (December 2005–March 2006), we investigated six penguin colonies in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, and collected several penguin ornithogenic sediment cores, samples of fresh guano and modern penguin bone and feather. We selected seven penguin bones and feathers and six sediments from the longest sediment core and performed AMS14C dating. The results indicate that penguins occupied the Vestfold Hills as early as 8500 calibrated years before present (cal. yrbp), following local deglaciation and the formation of the ice free area. This is the first report on the Holocene history of penguins in the Vestfold Hills. As in other areas of Antarctica, penguins occupied this area as soon as local ice retreated and the ice free area formed, and they are very sensitive to climatic and environmental changes. This work provides the foundation for understanding the history of penguins occupation in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica.

Download Full-text

Late Quaternary environment of southern Windmill Islands, East Antarctica

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102002000202 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 385-394 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

HELEN KIRKUP ◽

MARTIN MELLES ◽

DAMIAN B. GORE

Keyword(s):

Late Quaternary ◽

Ice Core ◽

Open Water ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

East Antarctica ◽

The Holocene ◽

Last Glacial ◽

The Core ◽

Windmill Islands ◽

The Last Glacial

Analyses on a sediment core collected from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica are used to demonstrate that climatic conditions in this region prior to the Last Glacial Maximum were similar to those during the Holocene and that the area was overrun by ice at some stage between 26 kyr BP and the onset of biogenic sedimentation 11 kyr BP. The 10.9 m long core was taken from a marine inlet (epishelf lake) on Peterson Island and is predominantly a sapropel of Holocene age. Material in the lower part of the core includes a till layer lain down during the last glacial in the region and below this till is material which has been dated to 26 kyr BP. Geochemical analyses conducted on the core demonstrate similarities between the Holocene sequence and the preglacial material. The Holocene sequence shows enhanced biogenic production and periods of open water around 4 kyr BP, suggesting a climatic optimum around that time. A subsequent decline in conditions, probably a colder climate with greater extent of sea ice, is evident from 1 kyr BP to the present. The data support results from ice core studies on nearby Law Dome, which suggest there was a period of warming around 11.5 to 9 kyr BP, that recent summer temperatures are low relative to a few centuries ago, and that increasing winter temperatures are the main contributing factor to a recent overall warming in the region.

Download Full-text

No significant ice-sheet expansion beyond present ice margins during the past 4500 yr at Rauer Group, East Antarctica

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2010.04.004 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. 23-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sonja Berg ◽

Bernd Wagner ◽

Duanne A. White ◽

Martin Melles

Keyword(s):

Sediment Core ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Ice Sheet ◽

East Antarctica ◽

Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽

The Holocene ◽

The Core ◽

The Past ◽

Field Evidence ◽

History Of

AbstractThe history of glacial advances and retreats of the East Antarctic ice sheet during the Holocene is not well-known, due to limited field evidence in both the marine and terrestrial realm. A 257-cm-long sediment core was recovered from a marine inlet in the Rauer Group, East Antarctica, 1.8 km in front of the present ice-sheet margin. Radiocarbon dating and lithological characteristics reveal that the core comprises a complete marine record since 4500 yr. A significant ice-sheet expansion beyond present ice margins therefore did not occur during this period.

Download Full-text

The Holocene Diatom Flora of Marine Bays in the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica

Botanica Marina ◽

10.1515/bot.2003.010 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

H. Cremer ◽

D. Roberts ◽

A. McMinn ◽

D. Gore ◽

M. Melles

Keyword(s):

East Antarctica ◽

Diatom Flora ◽

The Holocene ◽

Windmill Islands

Download Full-text

A mid to late Holocene readvance of the Law Dome ice margin, Budd Coast, East Antarctica

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102096000570 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 395-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Ian D. Goodwin

Keyword(s):

East Antarctica ◽

Coastal Zones ◽

Glacial Retreat ◽

Geological Evidence ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

The Holocene ◽

Coastal Marine ◽

Windmill Islands ◽

The Law ◽

Geochemical Analyses

Glacial geological studies on the Windmill Islands and along the Budd Coast at the margin of the Law Dome, East Antarctica, indicate that the glacial extent of Law Dome has fluctuated during the Holocene. The morphology and structural geology of the present ice margin and Løken Moraines indicate that Law Dome has readvanced over part of the Windmill Islands since the culmination of the post-glacial retreat. Sedimentological and geochemical analyses show that Løken Moraines comprise reworked proglacial and coastal marine sediments and ice, which supports the morphological and structural evidence for a readvance. A chronology for the readvance is produced from relative lichenometry of Løken Moraines and coastal nunataks in conjunction with 14C radiocarbon dates from the proglacial and coastal zones. The combined glaciological and geological evidence suggests that the readvance occurred after c. 4000 yr BP in response to a positive mass balance on Law Dome during the Holocene.

Download Full-text