C1: Applying the Cosmogenic Nuclide Dipstick Model for Deglaciation of Mt. Washington

Guidebook for field trips in Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire: New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, p. 247-272

A thicker Antarctic ice stream during the mid-Pliocene warm period

This work is supported by Stockholm University (APS), Norwegian Polar Institute/NARE under Grant “MAGIC-DML” (OF), the US National Science Foundation under Grant No. OPP-1542930 (NAL and JMH), Swedish Research Council under Grant No. 2016-04422 (JMH and APS), and the German Research Foundation Priority Programme 1158 “Antarctic Research” under Grant No. 365737614 (IR and Matthias Prange). R.S.J. is supported by the Australian Research Council under grants DE210101923 and SR200100005 (Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future). The computations and data handling were enabled by resources provided by the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), partially funded by the Swedish Research Council through grant agreement No. 2018-05973.Ice streams regulate most ice mass loss in Antarctica. Determining ice stream response to warmer conditions during the Pliocene could provide insights into their future behaviour, but this is hindered by a poor representation of subglacial topography in ice-sheet models. We address this limitation using a high-resolution model for Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica). We show that contrary to dynamic thinning of the region’s ice streams following ice-shelf collapse, the largest ice stream, Jutulstraumen, thickens by 700 m despite lying on a retrograde bed slope. We attribute this counterintuitive thickening to a shallower Pliocene subglacial topography and inherent high lateral stresses at its flux gate. These conditions constrict ice drainage and, combined with increased snowfall, allow ice accumulation upstream. Similar stress balances and increased precipitation projections occur across 27% of present-day East Antarctica, and understanding how lateral stresses regulate ice-stream discharge is necessary for accurately assessing Antarctica’s future sea-level rise contribution.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A topographic hinge-zone divides coastal and inland ice dynamic regimes in East Antarctica

The impact of late Cenozoic climate on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is uncertain. Poorly constrained patterns of relative ice thinning and thickening impair the reconstruction of past ice-sheet dynamics and global sea-level budgets. Here we quantify long-term ice cover of mountains protruding the ice-sheet surface in western Dronning Maud Land, using cosmogenic Chlorine-36, Aluminium-26, Beryllium-10, and Neon-21 from bedrock in an inverse modeling approach. We find that near-coastal sites experienced ice burial up to 75–97% of time since 1 Ma, while interior sites only experienced brief periods of ice burial, generally <20% of time since 1 Ma. Based on these results, we suggest that the escarpment in Dronning Maud Land acts as a hinge-zone, where ice-dynamic changes driven by grounding-line migration are attenuated inland from the coastal portions of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and where precipitation-controlled ice-thickness variations on the polar plateau taper off towards the coast

Antarctic ice stream thickening under Pliocene warmth

Ice streams regulate most ice mass loss in Antarctica. Determining their response to Pliocene warmth could provide insights into their future behaviour, but is hindered by poor representation of subglacial topography in ice-sheet models. We address this limitation using a high-resolution regional model for Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica). We show that the region’s largest ice stream, Jutulstraumen, thickens by 700 m under warm late-Pliocene conditions despite ice-shelf collapse and a retrograde bed slope, while nearby ice streams thin. While it is known that unstable retreat on a retrograde slope can be slowed under certain conditions, this finding illustrates that an ice stream can thicken and gain mass. We attribute thickening to high lateral stresses at its flux gate, which constrict ice drainage. Similar stress balances occur today in 27% of East Antarctica, and understanding how lateral stresses regulate ice-stream discharge is necessary for accurately assessing Antarctica’s sea-level rise contribution

Antarctic ice stream thickening under Pliocene warmth

Ice streams regulate most ice mass loss in Antarctica. Determining their response to Pliocene warmth could provide insights into their future behaviour, but is hindered by poor representation of subglacial topography in ice-sheet models. We address this limitation using a high-resolution regional model for Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica). We show that the region’s largest ice stream, Jutulstraumen, thickens by 700 m under warm late-Pliocene conditions despite ice-shelf collapse and a retrograde bed slope, while nearby ice streams thin. While it is known that unstable retreat on a retrograde slope can be slowed under certain conditions, this finding illustrates that an ice stream can thicken and gain mass. We attribute thickening to high lateral stresses at its flux gate, which constrict ice drainage. Similar stress balances occur today in 27% of East Antarctica, and understanding how lateral stresses regulate ice-stream discharge is necessary for accurately assessing Antarctica’s sea-level rise contribution