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Accumulation and marine forcing of ice dynamics in the western Ross Sea during the last deglaciation

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Abstract

The grounding line of the ice sheet in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, retreated between the Last Glacial Maximum and the present. However, the timing of the retreat and the interplay of factors controlling ice stability in this region1 remain uncertain. Here we use 180 radiocarbon dates to reconstruct the chronology of moraine construction on the headlands adjacent to western McMurdo Sound. On the basis of these dates we then assess the timing of ice expansion and retreat in the Ross drainage system that is fed from both the East and West Antarctic ice sheets. We find that grounded ice in the western Ross Sea achieved its greatest thickness and extent during the last termination, between 12,800 and 18,700 years ago. Maximum ice thickness at our site coincides with a period of high accumulation as recorded by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core2. Recession of the ice sheet from the headland moraines began about 12,800 years ago, despite continued high accumulation and the expansion of land-based glaciers at this time. We therefore suggest that the grounding-line retreat reflects an increased marine influence as sea levels rose and the ocean warmed. We suggest that future instability in the ice sheet grounding line may occur whenever the ocean forcing is stronger than forcing from accumulation.

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Figure 1: Geologic setting of the McMurdo Sound field area.
Figure 2: The headland moraine belt of western McMurdo Sound.
Figure 3: Comparison of dates of the last ice-sheet maximum in the western Ross Sea with other climate proxies.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. R. Arnold, E. Dengler, C. Mako, G. McKinney, P. Ryan and P. Strand assisted in the field. We thank A. Putnam for constructive criticism.

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Author notes

  1. Stephanie L. Heath, Margaret S. Jackson & Tobias N. B. Koffman

    Present address: Present addresses: Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA (S.L.H.); Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03775, USA (M.S.J.); Geochemistry, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA (T.N.B.K.).,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Climate Sciences and the Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine 04469, USA

    Brenda L. Hall, George H. Denton, Stephanie L. Heath, Margaret S. Jackson & Tobias N. B. Koffman

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  1. Brenda L. Hall
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  2. George H. Denton
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  3. Stephanie L. Heath
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Contributions

B.L.H. and G.H.D. conceived and implemented the project. B.L.H., S.L.H., M.S.J. and T.N.B.K. collected and analysed the data. G.H.D. and B.L.H. analysed and interpreted glacial records in the Ross Sea region in terms of accumulation changes. B.L.H. and G.H.D. wrote the paper, with contributions from all authors.

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Correspondence to Brenda L. Hall.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hall, B., Denton, G., Heath, S. et al. Accumulation and marine forcing of ice dynamics in the western Ross Sea during the last deglaciation. Nature Geosci 8, 625–628 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2478

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