Seabed corrugations beneath an Antarctic ice shelf revealed by autonomous underwater vehicle survey: Origin and implications for the history of Pine Island Glacier

Ice shelves are critical features in the debate about West Antarctic ice sheet change and sea level rise, both because they limit ice discharge and because they are sensitive to change in the surrounding ocean. The Pine Island Glacier ice shelf has been thinning rapidly since at least the early 1990s, which has caused its trunk to accelerate and retreat. Although the ice shelf front has remained stable for the past six decades, past periods of ice shelf collapse have been inferred from relict seabed "corrugations" (corrugated ridges), preserved 340 km from the glacier in Pine Island Trough. Here we present high-resolution bathymetry gathered by an autonomous underwater vehicle operating beneath an Antarctic ice shelf, which provides evidence of long-term change in Pine Island Glacier. Corrugations and ploughmarks on a sub-ice shelf ridge that was a former grounding line closely resemble those observed offshore, interpreted previously as the result of iceberg grounding. The same interpretation here would indicate a significantly reduced ice shelf extent within the last 11 kyr, implying Holocene glacier retreat beyond present limits, or a past tidewater glacier regime different from today. The alternative, that corrugations were not formed in open water, would question ice shelf collapse events interpreted from the geological record, revealing detail of another bed-shaping process occurring at glacier margins. We assess hypotheses for corrugation formation and suggest periodic grounding of ice shelf keels during glacier unpinning as a viable origin. This interpretation requires neither loss of the ice shelf nor glacier retreat and is consistent with a "stable" grounding-line configuration throughout the Holocene

Evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake on the Antarctic continental shelf

Subglacial lakes are widespread beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet but their control on ice-sheet dynamics and their ability to harbour life remain poorly characterized. Here we present evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake on the Antarctic continental shelf. A distinct sediment facies recovered from a bedrock basin in Pine Island Bay indicates deposition within a low-energy lake environment. Diffusive-advection modelling demonstrates that low chloride concentrations in the pore water of the corresponding sediments can only be explained by initial deposition of this facies in a freshwater setting. These observations indicate that an active subglacial meltwater network, similar to that observed beneath the extant ice sheet, was also active during the last glacial period. It also provides a new framework for refining the exploration of these unique environments

EEG alterations during treatment with olanzapine

The aim of this naturalistic observational study was to investigate EEG alterations in patients under olanzapine treatment with a special regard to olanzapine dose and plasma concentration. Twenty-two in-patients of a psychiatric university ward with the monodiagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20.0), who received a monotherapy of olanzapine were included in this study. All patients had a normal alpha-EEG before drug therapy, and did not suffer from brain-organic dysfunctions, as verified by clinical examination and cMRI scans. EEG and olanzapine plasma levels were determined under steady-state conditions (between 18 and 22 days after begin of treatment). In 9 patients (40.9%), pathological EEG changes (one with spike-waves) consecutive to olanzapine treatment were observed. The dose of olanzapine was significantly higher in patients with changes of the EEG than in patients without changes (24.4 mg/day (SD: 8.1) vs. 12.7 mg/day (SD: 4.8); T = −4.3, df = 21, P < 0.001). In patients with EEG changes, the blood plasma concentration of olanzapine (45.6 μg/l (SD: 30.9) vs. 26.3 μg/l (SD: 21.6) tended to be also higher. The sensitivity of olanzapine dosage to predict EEG changes was 66.7%, the specificity 100% (Youden-index: 0.67). EEG abnormalities during olanzapine treatment are common. These are significantly dose dependent. Thus, EEG control recordings should be mandatory during olanzapine treatment with special emphasis on dosages exceeding 20 mg per day, although keeping in mind that EEGs have only a limited predictive power regarding future epileptic seizures

First evidence for a late LGM subglacial lake in Pine Island Bay, Antarctica

Subglacial lakes are widespread beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet and as a source for subglacial meltwater they are assumed to modulate ice stream velocity. Further, the evacuation of subglacial meltwater at the ice sheet margin influences ocean circulation and geochemical cycles. However, despite their importance„ subglacial lakes are one of the least explored environments on our planet. As a consequence, their importance for ice sheet dynamics and their ability to harbour life remain poorly characterised. We present the first direct evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake on the Antarctic continental shelf, document- ing that subglacial meltwater was stored during the last glacial period and evacuated during the subsequent deglaciation. A distinct sediment facies observed in a core recovered from a small bedrock basin in Pine Island Bay, Amundsen Sea, is indicative of deposition within a low-energy subglacial lake setting. Diffusive modelling demonstrates that low chloride concentrations in the pore water of this characteristic sediment facies can only be explained by original deposition in a freshwater setting. We also show that the location of the subglacial lake within a basin on the inner shelf is consistent with the predicted distribution of subglacial lakes based on bathymetric data. This finding will enable future modelling studies to investigate how the geometry and capacity of subglacial lake systems can influence ice dynamics when the substrate and profile of the ice sheet is known – especially in the highly sensitive area known as the "weak underbelly" of the WAIS. With the exception of a direct lake water access at Subglacial Lake Vostok, and some centimetres of sediment retrieval from Subglacial Lake Whillans, the subglacial hydrological system in Antarctica has hitherto mostly been explored using remote sensing and numerical models that suggest the number of potential lake sites to more than 12.000. Our study not only provides first empirical evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake but also delivers a framework for investigating and refining exploration of these unique subglacial lake environments and their sediments beneath thick contemporary ice sheets. Our approach, however, is easier and cheaper to conduct by using ship borne coring equipment on the seasonal ice-free continental shelf

Reconstruction of changes in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet since the Last Glacial Maximum

Marine and terrestrial geological and marine geophysical data that constrain deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of the sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) draining into the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea have been collated and used as the basis for a set of time-slice reconstructions. The drainage basins in these sectors constitute a little more than one-quarter of the area of the WAIS, but account for about one-third of its surface accumulation. Their mass balance is becoming increasingly negative, and therefore they account for an even larger fraction of current WAIS discharge. If all of the ice in these sectors of the WAIS were discharged to the ocean, global sea level would rise by ca2m. There is compelling evidence that grounding lines of palaeo-ice streams were at, or close to, the continental shelf edge along the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea margins during the last glacial period. However, the few cosmogenic surface exposure ages and ice core data available from the interior of West Antarctica indicate that ice surface elevations there have changed little since the LGM. In the few areas from which cosmogenic surface exposure ages have been determined near the margin of the ice sheet, they generally suggest that there has been a gradual decrease in ice surface elevation since pre-Holocene times. Radiocarbon dates from glacimarine and the earliest seasonally open marine sediments in continental shelf cores that have been interpreted as providing approximate ages for post-LGM grounding-line retreat indicate different trajectories of palaeo-ice stream recession in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea embayments. The areas were probably subject to similar oceanic, atmospheric and eustatic forcing, in which case the differences are probably largely a consequence of how topographic and geological factors have affected ice flow, and of topographic influences on snow accumulation and warm water inflow across the continental shelf. Pauses in ice retreat are recorded where there are "bottle necks" in cross-shelf troughs in both embayments. The highest retreat rates presently constrained by radiocarbon dates from sediment cores are found where the grounding line retreated across deep basins on the inner shelf in the Amundsen Sea, which is consistent with the marine ice sheet instability hypothesis. Deglacial ages from the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) and Eltanin Bay (southern Bellingshausen Sea) indicate that the ice sheet had already retreated close to its modern limits by early Holocene time, which suggests that the rapid ice thinning, flow acceleration, and grounding line retreat observed in this sector over recent decades are unusual in the context of the past 10,000 years

Rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in the pre-satellite era

Understanding the recent history of Thwaites Glacier, and the processes controlling its ongoing retreat, is key to projecting Antarctic contributions to future sea-level rise. Of particular concern is how the glacier grounding zone might evolve over coming decades where it is stabilized by sea-floor bathymetric highs. Here we use geophysical data from an autonomous underwater vehicle deployed at the Thwaites Glacier ice front, to document the ocean-floor imprint of past retreat from a sea-bed promontory. We show patterns of back-stepping sedimentary ridges formed daily by a mechanism of tidal lifting and settling at the grounding line at a time when Thwaites Glacier was more advanced than it is today. Over a duration of 5.5 months, Thwaites grounding zone retreated at a rate of >2.1 km per year—twice the rate observed by satellite at the fastest retreating part of the grounding zone between 2011 and 2019. Our results suggest that sustained pulses of rapid retreat have occurred at Thwaites Glacier in the past two centuries. Similar rapid retreat pulses are likely to occur in the near future when the grounding zone migrates back off stabilizing high points on the sea floor

Subglacial lakes, seafloor geomorphology, and deglaciation history in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica during the last glacial termination

Subglacial meltwater largely facilitates rapid but nonlinear ice flow beneath concurrent ice streams, and there is widespread evidence for a dynamic subglacial water system beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. It steers and affects the pattern of ice flow and is a direct result of boundary processes acting at the ice sheet bed, i.e. pressure-induced basal melting. Consequently, the occurrence of subglacial meltwater plays an important role in bedrock erosion, subsequent re-deposition, and in shaping the topography of ice-sheet beds. Here we present new geological, geophysical, and geochemical data from sediment cores recovered from the continental shelf in Pine Island Bay. We interpret the data as reliably indicating palaeo-subglacial lake deposition beneath the formerly expanded West Antarctic Ice Sheet, presumably during and/or subsequent to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (Kuhn et al. 2017). Characteristic changes of sedimentary facies and geochemical profiles within these cores that were recovered on RV Polarstern expeditions ANT-XXIII/4 (2006) and ANT-XXVI/3 (2010), support the presence of an active and expanded subglacial lake system in at least five basins. The basins, which also have been targeted by sediment coring during the recent RV Polarstern cruise PS104 (2017), had been carved into bedrock over previous glacial cycles and were then filled with several meters of sediments. These findings have important implications for palaeo ice-sheet dynamics, suggesting the presence of considerable amounts of water lubricating the ice-bed interface, eventually leading to the subglacial deposition of lake sediments and water-saturated soft tills. Based on our recent findings, we conclude that the transition from the subglacial lake to an ocean-influenced environment took place during deglaciation at the transition from the LGM to the Holocene. We suggest that the ice sheet thinned and the subglacial lake basins successively transformed to sub-ice cavities, flushed by tidal currents at this time. We will present estimates of ice thickness for buoyancy at the grounding line for the time when the grounding line retreated landward across the rim of the subglacial lake. These estimates are based on the bathymetric setting, a glacial isostatic adjustment model, a global sea level curve, and the available chronological information. Our findings have implications for ice sheet models, which need to consider the predominantly non-linear effects related to subglacial hydrology. Keywords: West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), Sub-Ice processes, Deglaciation processes References Kuhn, G., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Kasten, S., Smith, J. A., Nitsche, F. O., Frederichs, T., Wiers, S., Ehrmann, W., Klages, J. P., Mogollón, J. M., 2017. Evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake on the Antarctic continental shelf. Nature Communications, 8, 15591

New details about the LGM extent and subsequent retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the easternmost Amundsen Sea Embayment shelf

In recent years several previously undiscovered grounding-zone wedges (GZWs) have been described within the Abbot-Cosgrove palaeo-ice stream trough on the easternmost Amundsen Sea Embayment shelf. These GZWs document both the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 26.5-19 cal. ka BP) grounding-line extent and the subsequent episodic retreat within this trough that neighbors the larger Pine Island-Thwaites trough to the west. Here we combine bathymetric, seismic, and geologic data showing that 1) the grounding line in Abbot Trough did not reach the continental shelf break at any time during the last glacial period, and 2) a prominent stacked GZW constructed from six individual wedges lying upon another was deposited 100 km upstream from the LGM grounding-line position. The available data allow for calculating volumes for most of these individual GZWs and for the entire stack. Sediment cores were recovered seawards from the outermost GZW in the trough, and from the individual wedges of the stacked GZW in order to define the LGM grounding-line extent, and provide minimum grounding-line retreat ages for the respective positions on the stacked GZW. We present implications of a grounded-ice free outer shelf throughout the last glacial period. Furthermore, we assess the significance of the grounding-line stillstand period recorded by the stacked GZW in Abbot Trough for the timing of post-LGM retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the Amundsen Sea Embayment shelf

Morphological and geological features of Drake Passage, Antarctica, from a new digital bathymetric model

The Drake Passage is an oceanic gateway of about 850 km width located between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula that connects the southeastern Pacific Ocean with the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It is an important gateway for mantle flow, oceanographic water masses, and migrations of biota. This sector developed within the framework of the geodynamic evolution of the Scotia Arc, including continental fragmentation processes and oceanic crust creation, since the oblique divergence of the South American plate to the north and the Antarctic plate to the south started in the Eocene. As a consequence of its complex tectonic evolution and subsequent submarine processes, as sedimentary infill and erosion mainly controlled by bottom currents and active tectonics, this region shows a varied physiography. We present a detailed map of the bathymetry and geological setting of the Drake Passage that is mainly founded on a new compilation of precise multibeam bathymetric data obtained on 120 cruises between 1992 and 2015, resulting in a new Digital Bathymetric Model with 200 × 200 m cell spacing. The map covers an area of 1,465,000 km2 between parallels 52°S and 63°S and meridians 70°W and 50°W at scale 1:1,600,000 allowing the identification of the main seafloor features. In addition, the map includes useful geological information related to magnetism, seismicity and tectonics. This work constitutes an international cooperative effort and is part of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean project, under the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research umbrella

Synchronous retreat of Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers in response to external forcings in the presatellite era

Today, relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water is melting Thwaites Glacier at the base of its ice shelf and at the grounding zone, contributing to significant ice retreat. Accelerating ice loss has been observed since the 1970s; however, it is unclear when this phase of significant melting initiated. We analyzed the marine sedimentary record to reconstruct Thwaites Glacier’s history from the early Holocene to present. Marine geophysical surveys were carried out along the floating ice-shelf margin to identify core locations from various geomorphic settings. We use sedimentological data and physical properties to define sedimentary facies at seven core sites. Glaciomarine sediment deposits reveal that the grounded ice in the Amundsen Sea Embayment had already retreated to within ~45 km of the modern grounding zone prior to ca. 9,400 y ago. Sediments deposited within the past 100+ y record abrupt changes in environmental conditions. On seafloor highs, these shifts document ice-shelf thinning initiating at least as early as the 1940s. Sediments recovered from deep basins reflect a transition from ice proximal to slightly more distal conditions, suggesting ongoing grounding-zone retreat since the 1950s. The timing of ice-shelf unpinning from the seafloor for Thwaites Glacier coincides with similar records from neighboring Pine Island Glacier. Our work provides robust new evidence that glacier retreat in the Amundsen Sea was initiated in the mid-twentieth century, likely associated with climate variability