Direct Geologic Constraints on the Timing of Late Holocene Ice Thickening in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica
Abstract Constraining past West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) change helps validate numerical models simulating future ice sheet dynamics. Following rapid deglaciation during the mid‐Holocene, ice near Thwaites Glacier was ∼35 m thinner than present; however, the timing of ice regrowth to its present configuration remains unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we present cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages of cobbles from the surface of a moraine situated between Thwaites and Pope glaciers. We infer that the moraine formed and stabilized in the Late Holocene (∼1.4 ka) when a small glacier thickened. We also present a novel reconstruction of WAIS volume constrained by sea‐level data, which demonstrates that moraine formation coincided with a large‐scale WAIS readvance. Our new geologic constraints will help inform models of the solid Earth response to surface mass loading, improving our understanding of ice sheet dynamics in a vulnerable part of WAIS.
Authors
- Marion McKenzie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1130-4937)
- Ryan A. Venturelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9548-0382)
- Dylan H. Rood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4425-4702)
- Joanne S. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4537-4447)
- Klaus M. Wilcken (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6870-2047)
- Keir A. Nichols (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9447-9918)
- John Woodward (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4980-4080)
- Stephen J. Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3407-9127)
- Roger Creel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6382-6545)
- Jonathan Adams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8511-8766)
- Katie Brown
Institutions
- British Antarctic Survey (GB)
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (AU)
- Colorado School of Mines (US)
- Northumbria University (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2024-12-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl110350
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.75
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
- Sight Research UK
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Office of Polar Programs
- British Antarctic Survey