Direct Geologic Constraints on the Timing of Late Holocene Ice Thickening in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica

Nichols, Keir A.; Adams, Jonathan R.; Brown, Katie; Creel, Roger C.; McKenzie, Marion A.; Venturelli, Ryan A.; Johnson, Joanne S.; Rood, Dylan H.; Wilcken, Klaus; Woodward, John; Roberts, Stephen J.

doi:10.1029/2024GL110350

Title: Direct Geologic Constraints on the Timing of Late Holocene Ice Thickening in the Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica

Journal Article · 18 December 2024 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL110350 · OSTI ID:2483355

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^[2]; Brown, Katie ^[3];

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^[8]; Roberts, Stephen J. ^[6]

Imperial College London London UK
Imperial College London London UK, British Antarctic Survey Cambridge UK
University College London London UK
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Falmouth MA USA
Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USA
British Antarctic Survey Cambridge UK
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Lucas Heights NSW Australia
Northumbria University Newcastle Upon Tyne UK

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.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 2483355

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 51; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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