Bedrock erosion surfaces record former East Antarctic Ice Sheet extent

Paxman, G.J.G.; Jamieson, S.S.R.; Ferraccioli, F.; Bentley, M.J.; Ross, N.; Armadillo, E.; Gasson, E.G.W.; Leitchenkov, G.; DeConto, R.M.

Abstract

East Antarctica hosts large subglacial basins into which the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) likely retreated during past warmer climates. However, the extent of retreat remains poorly constrained, making quantifying past and predicted future contributions to global sea level rise from these marine basins challenging. Geomorphological analysis and flexural modeling within the Wilkes Subglacial Basin is used to reconstruct the ice margin during warm intervals of the Oligocene–Miocene. Flat‐lying bedrock plateaus are indicative of an ice sheet margin positioned >400–500 km inland of the modern grounding zone for extended periods of the Oligocene–Miocene, equivalent to a 2 meter rise in global sea level. Our findings imply that if major EAIS retreat occurs in the future, isostatic rebound will enable the plateau surfaces to act as seeding points for extensive ice rises, thus limiting extensive ice margin retreat of the scale seen during the early EAIS.

Citation

Paxman, G., Jamieson, S., Ferraccioli, F., Bentley, M., Ross, N., Armadillo, E., …DeConto, R. (2018). Bedrock erosion surfaces record former East Antarctic Ice Sheet extent. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(9), 4114-4123. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl077268

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 14, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Apr 27, 2018
• Publication Date: May 16, 2018
• Deposit Date: Sep 20, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 30, 2018
• Journal: Geophysical Research Letters
• Print ISSN: 0094-8276
• Electronic ISSN: 1944-8007
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 4114-4123
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018gl077268
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1348915