Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-jwnkl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T23:59:08.710Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fluctuation history of the interior East Antarctic Ice Sheet since mid-Pliocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2008

Feixin Huang ,
Xiaohan Liu ,
Ping Kong ,
David Fink ,
Yitai Ju ,
Aimin Fang ,
Liangjun Yu ,
Xiaoli Li  and
Chunguang Na
Feixin Huang*
Affiliation:
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
Xiaohan Liu
Affiliation:
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
Ping Kong
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
David Fink
Affiliation:
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Menai, NSW 2234, Australia
Yitai Ju
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
Aimin Fang
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
Liangjun Yu
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
Xiaoli Li
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
Chunguang Na
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
*
*fxhuang@itpcas.ac.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al measurements from bedrock exposures in East Antarctica provide indications of how long the rock surface has been free from glacial cover. Samples from the crests of Zakharoff Ridge and Mount Harding, two typical nunataks in the Grove Mountains, show minimum 10Be ages of 2.00 ± 0.22 and 2.30 ± 0.26 Ma, respectively. These ages suggest that the crests were above the ice sheet at least since the Plio–Pleistocene boundary. Adopting a ‘reasonable’ erosion rate of 5–10 cm Ma-1 increases the exposure ages of these two samples to extend into the mid-Pliocene. The bedrock exposure ages steadily decrease with decreasing elevation on the two nunataks, which indicates ~200 m decrease of the ice sheet in the Grove Mountains since mid-Pliocene time. Seven higher elevation samples exhibit a simple exposure history, which indicates that the ice sheet in the Grove Mountains decreased only ~100 m over a period as long as 1–2 Ma. This suggests that the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) was relatively stable during the Pliocene warm interval. Five lower elevation samples suggest a complex exposure history, and indicate that the maximum subsequent increase of the EAIS was only 100 m higher than the present ice surface. Considering the uncertainties, their total initial exposure and subsequent burial time could be later than mid-Pliocene, which may not conflict with the stable mid-Pliocene scenario.

Keywords

bedrockcosmogenicexposure ageGrove Mountainsstable
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 197 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackert, R.P. Jr & Kurz, M.D. 2004. Age and uplift rates of Sirius Group sediments in the Dominion Range, Antarctica, from surface exposure dating and geomorphology. Global and Planetary Change, 42, 207–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, J.B. 1999. Antarctic marine geology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 289 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersson, C., Warnke, D.A., Channell, J.E.T., Stoner, J. & Jansen, E. 2002. The mid-Pliocene (4.3–2.6 Ma) benthic stable isotope record of the Southern Ocean: ODP Sites 1092 and 704, Meteor Rise. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 182, 165–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, P.J., Adams, C.J., Mcintosh, W.C., Swisher III, C.C. & Wilson, G.S. 1992. Geochronological evidence supporting Antarctic deglaciation three million years ago. Nature, 359, 816–818.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentley, M.J. 1999. Volume of Antarctic ice at the Last Glacial Maximum, and its impact on global sea level change. Quaternary Science Reviews, 18, 1569–1595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bierman, P.R., Marsella, K.A., Patterson, C., Davis, P.T. & Caffee, M. 1999. Mid-Pleistocene cosmogenic minimum-age limits for pre-Wisconsinan glacial surfaces in southwestern Minnesota and southern Baffin Island: a multiple nuclide approach. Geomorphology, 27, 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clapperton, C.M. & Sugden, D.E. 1990. Late Cenozoic glacial history of the Ross Embayment, Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 9, 253–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, P.U., Alley, R.B. & Pollard, D. 1999. Northern hemisphere ice-sheet influences on global climate change. Science, 286, 1104–1111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denton, G.H. & Hughes, T.J. 2002. Reconstructing the Antarctic Ice Sheet at the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, 193–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denton, G.H., Prentice, M.L. & Burckle, L.H. 1991. Cenozoic history of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. In Tingey, R.J., ed. The geology of Antarctica. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 365–433.Google Scholar
Fang, A.M., Liu, X.H., Li, X.L., Huang, F.X. & Yu, L.J. 2005. Cenozoic glaciogenic sedimentary record in the Grove Mountains of East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 17, 237–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fink, D., Mckelvey, B., Hambrey, M.J., Fabel, D. & Brown, R. 2006. Pleistocene deglaciation chronology of the Amery Oasis and Radok Lake, northern Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 243, 229–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fogwill, C.J., Bentley, M.J., Sugden, D.E., Kerr, A.R. & Kubik, P.W. 2004. Cosmogenic nuclides 10Be and 21Al imply limited Antarctic Ice Sheet thickening and low erosion in the Shackleton Range for > 1 m.y. Geology, 32, 265–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granger, D.E. & Muzikar, P.F. 2001. Dating sediment burial with in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides: theory, techniques, and limitations. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 188, 269–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haywood, A.M., Valdes, P.J., Sellwood, B.W. & Kaplan, J.O. 2002. Antarctic climate during the middle Pliocene: model sensitivity to ice sheet variation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 182, 93–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huybrechts, P. 2002. Sea-level changes at the LGM from ice-dynamic reconstructions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets during the glacial cycles. Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, 203–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingólfsson, Ó., Hjort, C., Berkman, P.A., Björck, S., Colhoun, E., Goodwin, I.D., Hall, B., Hirakawa, K., Melles, M., Möller, P. & Prentice, M.L. 1998. Antarctic glacial history since the Last Glacial Maximum: an overview of the record on land. Antarctic Science, 10, 326–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ivy-Ochs, S., Schlüchter, C., Kubik, P.W., Dittrich-Hannen, B. & Beer, J. 1995. Minimum 10Be exposure ages of early Pliocene for the Table Mountain plateau and the Sirius Group at Mount Fleming, Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Geology, 23, 1007–1010.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohl, C.P. & Nishiizumi, K. 1992. Chemical isolation of quartz for measurement of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 56, 3583–3587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, D. 1991. Cosmic ray labelling of erosion surface: in situ nuclide production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 104, 424–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, X.L., Liu, X.H., Ju, Y.T. & Huang, F.X. 2003. Properties of soils in Grove Mountains, East Antarctica. Science in China, 46, 683–693.Google Scholar
Liu, X.H., Zhao, Y., Liu, X.C. & Yu, L.J. 2003. Geology of the Grove Mountains in East Antarctica: new evidence for the final suture of Gondwana Land. Science in China, 46, 305–319.Google Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Denton, G.H., Bockheim, J.G., Wilson, S.C. & Kerr, A.R. 1994. Quaternary changes in level of the upper Taylor Glacier, Antarctica: implications for paleoclimate and East Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics. Boreas, 23, 29–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Swisher III, C.C., Lux, D.R., West, D.P. Jr & Denton, G.H. 1993. Pliocene paleoclimate and East Antarctic Ice Sheet history from surficial ash deposits. Science, 260, 667–670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M.F. & Mabin, M.C.G. 1998. Antarctic Neogene landscapes - in the refrigerator or in the deep freeze? GSA Today, 8, 1–8.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Kohl, C.P., Arnold, J.R., Klein, J., Fink, D. & Middleton, R. 1991. Cosmic ray produced 10Be and 26Al in Antarctic rocks: exposure and erosion history. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 104, 440–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Winterer, E.L., Kohl, C.P., Klein, J., Middleton, R., Lal, D. & Arnold, J.R. 1989. Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26Al in quartz from glacially polished rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research, 94, 17 907–17 915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petit, J.R., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D., Barkov, N.I., Barnola, J.-M., Basile, I., Bender, M., Chappellaz, J., Davis, M., Delaygue, G., Delmotte, M., Kotlyakov, V.M., Legrand, M., Lipenkov, V.Y., Lorius, C., Pépin, L., Ritz, C., Saltzman, E. & Stievenard, M. 1999. Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature, 399, 429–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymo, M.E. 1994. The initiation of northern hemisphere glaciation. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 22, 353–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schäfer, J.M., Ivy-Ochs, S., Wieler, R., Leya, I., Baur, H., Denton, G.H. & Schlüchter, C. 1999. Cosmogenic noble gas studies in the oldest landscape on earth: surface exposure ages of the Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 167, 215–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staiger, J.W., Marchant, D.R., Schaefer, J.M., Oberholzer, P., Johnson, J.V., Lewis, A.R. & Swanger, K.M. 2006. Plio–Pleistocene history of Ferrar Glacier, Antarctica: implications for climate and ice sheet stability. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 243, 489–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, J.O. 2000. Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production. Journal of Geophysical Research, 105, 23 753–23 759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugden, D.E., Balco, G., Cowdery, S.G., Stone, J.O. & Sass, L.C. III 2005. Selective glacial erosion and weathering zones in the coastal mountains of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Geomorphology, 67, 317–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugden, D.E., Marchant, D.R., Potter, N. Jr, Souchez, R.A., Denton, G.H., Swisher III, C.C. & Tison, J. 1995. Preservation of Miocene glacier ice in East Antarctica. Nature, 376, 412–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugden, D.E., Summerfield, M.A., Denton, G.H., Wilch, T.I., McIntosh, W.C., Marchant, D.R. & Rutford, R.H. 1999. Landscape development in the Royal Society Range, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica: stability since the mid-Miocene. Geomorphology, 28, 181–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warnke, D.A., Marzo, B. & Hodell, D.A. 1996. Major deglaciation of east Antarctic during the early Late Pliocene? Not likely from a marine perspective, Marine Micropaleontology, 27, 237–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, P.N. & Harwood, D.M. 1991. Late Cenozoic glacial history of the Ross Embayment, Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews, 10, 215–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, P.N., Harwood, D.M., McKelvey, B.C., Mercer, J.H. & Stott, J.D. 1984. Cenozoic marine sedimentation and ice-volume variation on the East Antarctic craton. Geology, 12, 287–291.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, G.S. 1995. The Neogene East Antarctic Ice Sheet: a dynamic or stable feature? Quaternary Science Reviews, 14, 101–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, G.S., Barron, J.A., Ashworth, A.C., Askin, R.A., Carter, J.A., Curren, M.G., Dalhuisen, D.H., Friedman, E.I., Fyodorov-Davidov, D.G., Gilichinsky, D.A., Harper, M.A., Harwood, D.M., Hiemstra, J.F., Janecek, T.R., Licht, K.J., Ostroumov, V.E., Powell, R.D., Rivkina, E.M., Rose, S.A., Stroeven, A.P., Stroeven, P., van der Meer, J.J.M. & Wizevich, M.C. 2002. The Mount Feather Diamicton of the Sirius Group: an accumulation of indicators of Neogene Antarctic glacial and climatic history. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 182, 117–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar