scholarly journals The deglaciation of Barton Peninsula (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) based on geomorphological evidence and lacustrine records

Polar Record ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Oliva ◽  
Dermot Antoniades ◽  
Enrique Serrano ◽  
Santiago Giralt ◽  
Emma J. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Glacial Retreat ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Barton Peninsula

AbstractBarton Peninsula is an ice-free area located in the southwest corner of King George Island (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica). Following the Last Glacial Maximum, several geomorphological features developed in newly exposed ice-free terrain and their distribution provide insights about past environmental evolution of the area. Three moraine systems are indicative of three main glacial phases within the long-term glacial retreat, which also favoured the development of numerous lakes. Five of these lakes were cored to understand in greater detail the pattern of deglaciation through the study of lacustrine records. Radiocarbon dates from basal lacustrine sediments enabled the reconstruction of the chronology of Holocene glacial retreat. Tephra layers present in lake sediments provided additional independent age constraints on environmental changes based on geochemical and geochronological correlation with Deception Island-derived tephra. Shrinking of the Collins Glacier exposed the southern coastal fringe of Barton Peninsula at 8 cal ky BP. After a period of relative stability during the mid-Holocene, the ice cap started retreating northwards after 3.7 cal ky BP, confining some glaciers within valleys as shown by moraine systems. Lake sediments confirm a period of relative glacial stability during the last 2.4 cal ky BP.

scholarly journals Climate sensitivity of the ice cap of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 154-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter H. Knap ◽  
Johannes Oerlemans ◽  
Martin Cabée
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Current State ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Business As Usual

A two-dimensional vertically integrated ice-flow model has been used to simulate the current state of the ice cap of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, as well as the sensitivity of this state to climate change. The model was forced by an energy-balance model that generates the specific mass balance from climatological input data of two research stations. It proved difficult to simulate-satisfactorily the entire geometry of the present-day ice cap. Nevertheless, it was possible to simulate a steady-state ice cap whose volume and areal extent approximate the (estimated) current situation. Several experiments have indicated that this state is highly sensitive to climate change. The model predicts that cooling by 1 K will increase the ice volume by 10% and warming by 1 K will decrease it by 36%. A 10% change in precipitation will alter the ice volume by less than 8%. Application of the IPCC-90 Business-as-Usual scenario leads to a 55% reduction in the ice volume by the year AD 2100, compared to the present-day situation. The response of the ice cap to warming is therefore totally different from the response of the main Antarctic ice sheet which is believed to gain mass by increasing temperatures.

scholarly journals Glaciological studies on the King George Island ice cap, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 105-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Jiahong ◽  
Kang Jiancheng ◽  
Han Jiankang ◽  
Xie Zichu ◽  
Liu Leibao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Stable State ◽  
Equilibrium Line ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Equilibrium Line Altitude ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The Mean

The King George Island ice cap, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, was studied between 1985 and 1992. At the steady-state equilibrium-line altitude of the ice cap, the mean annual temperature is -3.6°C, the mean summer (December-February) temperature is 0°C and annual precipitation is 800 mm w.e. Precipitation increases rapidly with elevation, and annual accumulation rate at the Main Dome summit reaches 2480 mm a−1. Between 1985 and 1991 the equilibrium-line elevation averaged 140-150 m a.s.l. The ice cap has been in an overall stable state for the past 20 years, going from a weak negative to a small positive mass imbalance as increased precipitation outweighs the effects of rising temperatures. Temperatures at the bottom of the active layer over most of the accumulation area are close to 0°C, with colder temperatures down to -1.9°C in the ablation zone. Soluble impurities in the ice cap are mainly from marine sources, while undissolved mineral material amounts to only 15-54% of the total microparticle content.

scholarly journals Climate sensitivity of the ice cap of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 154-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter H. Knap ◽  
Johannes Oerlemans ◽  
Martin Cabée
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Current State ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Business As Usual

A two-dimensional vertically integrated ice-flow model has been used to simulate the current state of the ice cap of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, as well as the sensitivity of this state to climate change. The model was forced by an energy-balance model that generates the specific mass balance from climatological input data of two research stations. It proved difficult to simulate-satisfactorily the entire geometry of the present-day ice cap. Nevertheless, it was possible to simulate a steady-state ice cap whose volume and areal extent approximate the (estimated) current situation. Several experiments have indicated that this state is highly sensitive to climate change. The model predicts that cooling by 1 K will increase the ice volume by 10% and warming by 1 K will decrease it by 36%. A 10% change in precipitation will alter the ice volume by less than 8%. Application of the IPCC-90 Business-as-Usual scenario leads to a 55% reduction in the ice volume by the yearAD2100, compared to the present-day situation. The response of the ice cap to warming is therefore totally different from the response of the main Antarctic ice sheet which is believed to gain mass by increasing temperatures.

scholarly journals Geometry and thermal regime of the King George Island ice cap, Antarctica, from GPR and GPS

2010 ◽  
Vol 51 (55) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Blindow ◽  
Sonja K. Suckro ◽  
Martin Rückamp ◽  
Matthias Braun ◽  
Marion Schindler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Thermal Regime ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Bed Topography ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Global Positioning ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractKing George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands, close to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The annual mean temperature on the island has increased by 1°C during the past three decades, and the ice cap that covers the majority of the island is sensitive to climatic change. We present data from two field campaigns (1997 and 2007): 700 km of global positioning system (GPS) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles were collected on Arctowski Icefield and on the adjacent central part. The data were analysed to determine the surface and bed topography and the thermal regime of the ice. Average ice thickness is 250 m and maximum thickness is 420 m. The GPR profiles show isochrones throughout the ice cap which depict the uparching of Raymond bumps beneath or close to the ice divides. A water table from percolation of meltwater in the snowpack shows the firn-ice boundary at ∼ 3 5 m depth. The firn layer may be temperate due to the release of latent heat. In the area below 400ma.s.l., backscatter by water inclusions is abundant for ice depths below the water table. We interpret this as evidence for temperate ice. Scatter decreases significantly above 400 m. Ice temperatures below the water table in this part of the ice cap are subject to further field and modelling investigations.

The geology of King George Island, South Shetland Islands: uniting local geological maps and stratigraphical columns

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastian Lopez ◽  
Joaquin Bastias ◽  
Daniela Matus ◽  
Ricardo Jaña ◽  
Marcelo Leppe
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
The South ◽  
Moby Dick ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The North ◽  
South Shetlands ◽  
Geological Map

<p>King George Island is the largest one of the South Shetland Islands group distributed parallel to and separated by the Bransfield Strait of the northern tip of Antarctic Peninsula. The archipelago of the South Shetlands is mainly composed of the products of the active margin developed as a result of the subduction of the Phoenix Plate beneath the continental crust of the Antarctic Peninsula (e.g. Barker, 1982; Bastias et al., 2019). The lithologies are largely dominated by Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary and volcanic successions that are cut by a few hypabyssal plutons. While some authors have suggested a southwest to northeast trend along the archipelago from older to younger magmatic activity (e.g. Haase et al., 2012), others have indicated that some of the magmatic events may have been recorded along the entire archipelago (e.g. Valanginian arc rocks; Bastias et al., 2019). Regardless, King George Island hosts an exceptional stratigraphical record of the Cenozoic period. Moreover, this island is mostly covered by an ice cap at the present day, which is commonly terminated with ice cliffs around much of the island. The southern edge of the island host Mesozoic and Paleogene successions, these rocks are dominated by volcanic and volcaniclastic units. The rocks in King George Island are generally young to the east and to the north ends. Cape Melville, the southeast extreme of the island, hosts the youngest sedimentary rocks known on the island: the Moby Dick Group (Birkenmajer, 1985).</p><p>While several authors have presented local studies in the King George Island over the last three decades, an integrated assessment of the outcropping units in the entire island remains unexplored. A new geological map for King George Island will allow to update the current understanding of the stratigraphy of the South Shetland Islands, which will help to support not only the geological studies but also those focused on the environmental and paleontological record.</p><p>Barker, 1982. Journal of the Geological Society 19, 787-801. (DOI: 10.1144/gsjgs.139.6.0787)</p><p>Bastias et al. (2019). International Geology Review 62 (11), 1467-1484. (DOI: 10.1080/00206814.2019.1655669)</p><p>Birkenmajer (1985). Bulletin Polish Academic Earth Sciences 33:15-23.</p><p>Haase et al. (2012). Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 163, 1103-1119. (DOI: 10.1007/s00410-012-0719-7).</p>

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