Summary: GEOLOGY, October 2009 955
INTRODUCTION
Given current climate concerns, finding a
direct ice-proximal record of the climate dur-
ing the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum
(MMCO) in Antarctica is crucial to allow mod-
elers to project better how the ice sheet might
respond to future global warming. Geochemical
evidence from deep-sea proxy records indicates
that the climate during the MMCO was sig-
nificantly warmer than today (Lear et al., 2000;
Zachos et al., 2001), but until ANDRILL (Ant-
arctic geologic drilling program; Florindo et al.,
2008; Harwood et al., 2009), a complete proxi-
mal record of the MMCO had never been suc-
cessfully sampled in Antarctica. In the austral
summer of 2007, a 1138.54 m core was drilled
from a sea-ice platform in southern McMurdo
Sound (77°45.488S; 165°16.613E). Deposits
are characterized by lithological changes reflect-

Source: Acton, Gary - Department of Geology, University of California, Davis

Collections: Geosciences