Antarctic ice-shelf collapse in Holocene driven by meltwater release feedbacks

Abstract Circumpolar Deep Water inflow onto Antarctica’s continental shelves is a key driver of accelerated Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss, both presently and during the last deglaciation. However, the mechanisms driving enhanced inflow and the resultant impact on large-scale ice-sheet retreat events are still not fully understood. Here we address this topic using marine sediment cores from Lützow–Holm Bay, East Antarctica, through analyses of sedimentary beryllium isotopes and complementary proxies. These records, when compared to inland mountain outcrop records, show that ice-shelf collapse and simultaneous inland ice-sheet thinning ~9,000 years ago were associated with enhanced Circumpolar Deep Water inflow and sea-level rise. A hierarchical modelling approach that combines climate and high-resolution ocean simulations suggests that freshwater discharge from adjacent Antarctic sectors into the Southern Ocean probably enhanced the regional inflow into submarine troughs in Lützow–Holm Bay between 10,000 and 9,000 years ago. We propose a feedback loop whereby meltwater from rapidly retreating Antarctic sectors since the Last Glacial Maximum enhanced stratification and Circumpolar Deep Water incursions onto adjacent shelves. Alongside relative sea-level rise, this meltwater feedback triggers further ice-shelf instability and enhances dynamic inland ice discharge, highlighting a mechanism relevant to future Antarctic Ice Sheet changes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Geoscience
Published
2025-11-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01829-7
Primary Topic
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Antarctic ice-shelf collapse in Holocene driven by meltwater release feedbacks

Ayako Abe‐Ouchi, Takeshige Ishiwa, Masato Ito, Jun’ichi Okuno et al.
Nature Geoscience
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
article

Antarctic ice-shelf collapse in Holocene driven by meltwater release feedbacks

Ayako Abe‐Ouchi, Takeshige Ishiwa, Masato Ito, Jun’ichi Okuno, Atsuko Amano, Yuki Tokuda, Takashi Obase, Naohisa Nishida, Daisuke Hirano, Kazuya Kusahara, Masao Iwai, Takuya Itaki, Takanobu Sawagaki, Osamu Seki, Yuji Katō, Hokuto Iwatani, Yuki Haneda, Moto Kawamata, Robert M. McKay, Yûsuke Suganuma, Koji Seike, Takayuki Omori, Shigeru Aoki, Kota Katsuki, Hiroki Matsui, Motohiro Hirabayashi, F.J. Jiménez-Espejo, Shin Sugiyama, Masakazu Fujii, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki, Yoshiaki Suzuki, Hideki Miura, Takeyasu Yamagata, Minoru Ikehara
article en

Abstract

Abstract Circumpolar Deep Water inflow onto Antarctica’s continental shelves is a key driver of accelerated Antarctic Ice Sheet mass loss, both presently and during the last deglaciation. However, the mechanisms driving enhanced inflow and the resultant impact on large-scale ice-sheet retreat events are still not fully understood. Here we address this topic using marine sediment cores from Lützow–Holm Bay, East Antarctica, through analyses of sedimentary beryllium isotopes and complementary proxies. These records, when compared to inland mountain outcrop records, show that ice-shelf collapse and simultaneous inland ice-sheet thinning ~9,000 years ago were associated with enhanced Circumpolar Deep Water inflow and sea-level rise. A hierarchical modelling approach that combines climate and high-resolution ocean simulations suggests that freshwater discharge from adjacent Antarctic sectors into the Southern Ocean probably enhanced the regional inflow into submarine troughs in Lützow–Holm Bay between 10,000 and 9,000 years ago. We propose a feedback loop whereby meltwater from rapidly retreating Antarctic sectors since the Last Glacial Maximum enhanced stratification and Circumpolar Deep Water incursions onto adjacent shelves. Alongside relative sea-level rise, this meltwater feedback triggers further ice-shelf instability and enhances dynamic inland ice discharge, highlighting a mechanism relevant to future Antarctic Ice Sheet changes.

Nature GeoscienceVol. 18(12)
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP), Aomori Public University (JP), Tokyo Medical University (JP), Tokyo Gakugei University (JP), Shimane University (JP), Yamaguchi University (JP), University of Canberra (AU), The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI (JP), Akita University (JP), Hosei University (JP), Hokkaido University (JP), Tottori University of Environmental Studies (JP), UNSW Sydney (AU), National Institute of Polar Research (JP), Victoria University of Wellington (NZ), Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (ES), Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region (JP), Geological Survey of Japan (JP), Public Works Research Institute (JP), Research Organization of Information and Systems (JP), ACT Government (AU), Akita International University (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP), Kōchi University (JP)
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, ACT Government, Royal Society Te Apārangi, Victoria University of Wellington, University of New South Wales, Victoria University, Shimane University, University of Tokyo, Hokkaido University, National Institute of Polar Research, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Marsden Fund, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo
Openalex Percentile: Top 62%
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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