Influence of Late Holocene climate on Lake Eggers hydrology, McMurdo Sound

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
E.J. Chamberlain ◽  
A.J. Christ ◽  
R.W. Fulweiler
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Lake Ice ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Ice Accumulation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ground Penetrating ◽  
Western Ross Sea

Abstract Ice-covered lakes in Antarctica preserve records of regional hydroclimate and harbour extreme ecosystems that may serve as terrestrial analogues for exobiotic environments. Here, we examine the impacts of hydroclimate and landscape on the formation history of Lake Eggers, a small ice-sealed lake, located in the coastal polar desert of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (78°S). Using ground penetrating radar surveys and three lake ice cores we characterize the ice morphology and chemistry. Lake ice geochemistry indicates that Lake Eggers is fed primarily from local snowmelt that accreted onto the lake surface during runoff events. Radiocarbon ages of ice-encased algae suggest basal ice formed at least 735 ± 20 calibrated years before present (1215 C.E.). Persisting through the Late Holocene, Lake Eggers alternated between periods of ice accumulation and sublimation driven by regional climate variability in the western Ross Sea. For example, particulate organic matter displayed varying δ15N ratios with depth, corresponding to sea ice fluctuations in the western Ross Sea during the Late Holocene. These results suggest a strong climatic control on the hydrologic regime shifts shaping ice formation at Lake Eggers.

Impact of the B-15 iceberg “stranding event” on the physical and biological properties of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 593-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Remy ◽  
S. Becquevort ◽  
T.G. Haskell ◽  
J.-L. Tison
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Algae Biomass ◽  
Second Year

AbstractIce cores were sampled at four stations in McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea) between 1999 and 2003. At the beginning of year 2000, a very large iceberg (B-15) detached itself from the Ross Ice Shelf and stranded at the entrance of the Sound, preventing the usual oceanic circulation purging of the annual sea ice cover from this area. Ice textural studies showed that a second year sea ice cover was built-up at three out of the four stations: ice thickness increased to about 3 m. Repeated alternation of columnar and platelet ice appeared, and bulk salinity showed a strong decrease, principally in the upper part of the ice sheet, with associated brine volume decrease. Physical modification influenced the biology as well. By decreasing the light and space available for organisms in the sea ice cover, the stranding of B-15 has i) hampered autotrophic productivity, with chlorophyllaconcentration and algae biomass significantly lower for second year ice stations, and ii) affected trophic relationships such as the bacterial biomass/chlaconcentration correlation, or the autotrophic to heterotrophic ratio.

The local Last Glacial Maximum in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: Implications for ice-sheet behavior in the Ross Sea Embayment

2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Christ ◽  
Paul R. Bierman
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Transantarctic Mountains ◽  
Western Ross Sea

AbstractDuring the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a grounded ice sheet filled the Ross Sea Embayment in Antarctica and deposited glacial sediments on volcanic islands and peninsulas in McMurdo Sound and coastal regions of the Transantarctic Mountains. The flow geometry and retreat history of this ice are debated, with contrasting views yielding divergent implications for the interaction between and stability of the East and West Antarctic ice sheets during late Quaternary time. Here, we present terrestrial geomorphologic evidence and reconstruct former ice-marginal environments, ice sheet elevations, and ice-flow directions in McMurdo Sound. Fossil algae in ice-marginal sediments provide a coherent radiocarbon chronology of maximum ice extent and deglaciation. We integrate these data with marine records to reconstruct grounded ice dynamics in McMurdo Sound and the western Ross Sea. The combined data set suggests ice flow toward the Transantarctic Mountains in McMurdo Sound during peak glaciation, with thick, grounded ice at or near its maximum position between 19.6 and 12.3 ka. Persistent grounded ice in McMurdo Sound and across the western Ross Sea after Meltwater Pulse 1a (14.0–14.5 ka) suggests that this sector of Antarctica did not significantly contribute to this rapid sea-level rise event. Our data show no significant advance of locally derived ice from the Transantarctic Mountains into McMurdo Sound during the local LGM.

Structural characteristics and development of sea ice in the western Ross Sea

1993 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. O. Jeffries ◽  
W. F. Weeks
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Western Ross Sea

The internal structure of ice cores from western Ross Sea pack ice floes showed considerable diversity. Snow-ice formation made a small, but significant contribution to ice growth. Frazil ice was common and its growth clearly occurred during both the pancake cycle and deformation events. Congelation ice was also common, in both its crystallographically aligned and non-aligned varieties. Platelet ice was found in only one core next to the Drygalski Ice Tongue, an observation adding to the increasing evidence that this unusual ice type occurs primarily in coastal pack ice near ice tongues and ice shelves. The diverse internal structure of the floes indicates that sea ice development in the Ross Sea is as complex as that in the Weddell Sea and more complex than in the Arctic. The mean ice thickness at the ice core sites varied between 0.71 m and 1.52 m. The thinnest ice generally occurred in the outer pack ice zone. Regardless of latitude, the ice thickness data are further evidence that Antarctic sea ice is thinner than Arctic sea ice.

Late Holocene glacial history of Scimitar Glacier, Mt. Waddington area, British Columbia Coast Mountains, Canada

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 1195-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Craig ◽  
Dan J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Climate Trends ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
History Of ◽  
Glacial Expansion

Scimitar Glacier originates below the northeast face of Mt. Waddington in the southern British Columbia Coast Mountains and flows 18 km down valley to calve into a proglacial lake. At several locations, downwasting of the glacier surface has exposed stacked till units separated by wood-bearing horizons in the proximal slopes of lateral moraines flanking the glacier. Historical moraine collapse and erosional breaching has also revealed the remains of standing trees buried in moraine-dammed lake sediments. Radiocarbon and tree-ring dating show that Scimitar Glacier expanded down valley at least three times in the late Holocene. The earliest evidence found for ice expansion indicates Scimitar Glacier was advancing in 3167–2737 cal years BP in association with the regional Tiedemann Advance. Following this advance, the glacier downwasted prior to expanding in 1568–1412 cal years BP during the First Millennial Advance. A final period phase of moraine construction was initiated during late Little Ice Age glacial expansion before A.D. 1742 and extended until at least A.D. 1851, after which Scimitar Glacier began to recede and downwaste. This record is comparable to that recorded at other glaciers in the southern British Columbia Coast Mountains and confirms the long-term relationship between regional climate trends and glacier behaviour in this setting.

scholarly journals The Ross Sea Dipole – temperature, snow accumulation and sea ice variability in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica, over the past 2700 years

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy A. N. Bertler ◽  
Howard Conway ◽  
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen ◽  
Daniel B. Emanuelsson ◽  
Mai Winstrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Isotopic Enrichment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Western Ross Sea

Abstract. High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections. Here, we present data from a new, annually dated ice core record from the eastern Ross Sea, named the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution (RICE) ice core. Comparison of this record with climate reanalysis data for the 1979–2012 interval shows that RICE reliably captures temperature and snow precipitation variability in the region. Trends over the past 2700 years in RICE are shown to be distinct from those in West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea captured by other ice cores. For most of this interval, the eastern Ross Sea was warming (or showing isotopic enrichment for other reasons), with increased snow accumulation and perhaps decreased sea ice concentration. However, West Antarctica cooled and the western Ross Sea showed no significant isotope temperature trend. This pattern here is referred to as the Ross Sea Dipole. Notably, during the Little Ice Age, West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea experienced colder than average temperatures, while the eastern Ross Sea underwent a period of warming or increased isotopic enrichment. From the 17th century onwards, this dipole relationship changed. All three regions show current warming, with snow accumulation declining in West Antarctica and the eastern Ross Sea but increasing in the western Ross Sea. We interpret this pattern as reflecting an increase in sea ice in the eastern Ross Sea with perhaps the establishment of a modern Roosevelt Island polynya as a local moisture source for RICE.

Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages and glacial history of late Quaternary Ross Sea drift in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

1995 ◽  
Vol 131 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 41-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Brook ◽  
Mark D. Kurz ◽  
Robert P. Ackert ◽  
Grant Raisbeck ◽  
Françoise Yiou
Keyword(s):  
Ross Sea ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Mcmurdo Sound ◽  
Cosmogenic Nuclide ◽  
History Of ◽  
Exposure Ages

Twentieth-Century Surface Temperature Trends in the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica: Evidence from a High-Resolution Ice Core

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 3629-3636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate E. Sinclair ◽  
Nancy A. N. Bertler ◽  
Tas D. van Ommen
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Southern Annular Mode ◽  
Temperature Record ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
Western Ross Sea

Abstract A 125-yr ice core record of climate from the Whitehall Glacier ice divide provides exceptionally high-resolution stable isotope data from the northwest margin of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. This is the only proxy data available to extend the instrumental record of temperature in this region, where little is known about climate variability over the past two centuries. Using ECMWF Interim Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) data, this study develops a precipitation-weighted δ18O-temperature transfer function of 0.62‰ °C−1, which is comparable to other proximal ice cores, such as Taylor, Talos, and Law Domes. Reconstructed mean annual temperatures show no significant change between 1882 and 2006. However, a decrease in cold season [April–September (AMJJAS)] temperatures of −1.59° ± 0.84°C decade−1 (at 90% confidence) is observed since 1979. This cooling trend is in contrast to a surface temperature record from Ross Island (Scott Base) where significant spring warming is observed. It is also coincident with a positive trend in the southern annular mode, which is linked to stronger southerly winds and increased sea ice extent and duration in the western Ross Sea.

scholarly journals A 1400-Year Oxygen Isotope History from the Ross Sea Area, Antarctica

1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 94-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.M. Grootes ◽  
M. Stuiver ◽  
T.L. Saling ◽  
P.A. Mayewski ◽  
M.J. Spencer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ross Sea ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
Ross Ice Shelf ◽  
Isotope Record ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Sea Area

Four ice cores from the Ross Sea drainage, Antarctica, show patterns of δ18O variations on a time scale of decades to centuries over the last 1400 years without change in the long-term average δ18O. Century scale δ18O fluctuations in the two cores drilled in the Ross Ice Shelf at Station J-9 (82°23′S, 168°38′W, elevation 60 m) are highly correlated (P < 2 × 10−4). The long isotope record (>30 000 a) of the 1978 J-9 core thus represents local conditions over at least 102 m and on time scales of 100 years and longer.Regional correlations between the J-9 δ18O records and those from Ridge BC (82°54′S, 136°40′W, elevation 509 m) and the Dominion Range (85°15′S, 166°10′E, elevation 2700 m) are barely significant (P ≈ 0.05 for J-9 '76 and Dominion Range, 580 to 1400 years ago) or absent. The failure to find clear regional isotope trends related to climate fluctuations may reflect the finding that between 1957 and 1982 the area was in the transition zone between areas with opposite temperature trends, and showed little or no temperature change. The fact that the records nevertheless show significant δ18O fluctuations highlights the need to base regional climate reconstructions on a regional suite of ice-core records.

scholarly journals Physical properties of shallow ice cores from Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1173-1186
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Ruth Thomas ◽  
Guisella Gacitúa ◽  
Joel B. Pedro ◽  
Amy Constance Faith King ◽  
Bradley Markle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Bellingshausen Sea ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Abstract. The sub-Antarctic is one of the most data-sparse regions on earth. A number of glaciated Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands have the potential to provide unique ice core records of past climate, atmospheric circulation, and sea ice. However, very little is known about the glaciology of these remote islands or their vulnerability to warming atmospheric temperature. Here we present melt histories and density profiles from shallow ice (firn) cores (14 to 24 m) drilled on three sub-Antarctic islands and two Antarctic coastal domes. Additionally, complementary ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data were collected to further characterize each site and assess the spatial distribution of the observed melt layers. This study includes the first ever firn cores from Bouvet Island (54∘25′19′′ S, 03∘23′27′′ E) in the South Atlantic, from Peter I Island (68∘51′05′′ S, 90∘30′35′′ W) in the Bellingshausen Sea, and from Young Island (66∘31′44′′ S, 162∘33′21′′ E) in the Ross Sea sector's Balleny island chain. Despite their sub-Antarctic location, surface melt is low at most sites (melt layers account for ∼ 10 % of total core), with undisturbed ice layers in the upper ∼ 40 m, suggesting minimal impact of meltwater percolation. The exception is Young Island, where melt layers account for 47 % of the firn core. Surface snow densities range from 0.47 to 0.52 kg m−3, with close-off depths ranging from 21 to 51 m. Based on the measured density, we estimate that the bottom ages of a 100 m ice core drilled on Peter 1 Island would reach ∼ 1856 CE and ∼ 1874 CE at Young Island.

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