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Evidence for a late Wisconsin glaciation of the Weddell Sea

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Abstract

The huge ice shelves in West Antarctica—the Ross and Filch-ner/Ronne Ice Shelves—have probably extended out on the continental shelf during the late Wisconsin1. Previous discussions, which have focused on the Ross Sea, have suggested (1) that the ice extended across the whole continental shelf2,3 or (2) that there was only a minor expansion4. Here we present sedimentological data from the Weddell Sea (Fig. 1) which suggest that a late Wisconsin grounded ice sheet extended to the shelf edge. The evidence includes a recent thicker ice in Ellsworth Mountains at the head of the Filchner/Ronne Ice Shelf5. This thickening would lead to an expansion of the inland ice sheet over the continental shelf, filling up the Weddell Sea embayment

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  1. Norsk Polarinstitutt, Boks 158, 1330, Oslo Lufthavn, Norway

    A. Elverhøi

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  1. A. Elverhøi
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Elverhøi, A. Evidence for a late Wisconsin glaciation of the Weddell Sea. Nature 293, 641–642 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293641a0

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