Ice volume variations and provenance trends in the Oligocene-early Miocene glaciomarine sediments of the Central Ross Sea, Antarctica (DSDP Site 270)

Olivetti, Valerio; Balestrieri, Maria Laura; Chew, David; Zurli, L.; Zattin, Massımılıano; Pace, Donato; Cornamusini, Gianluca; Perotti, Matteo

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104042

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Apatite fission tracks were measured on 10 grains and yielded seven ages spanning ∼112–92 Ma, with other grains dating to ∼75, 72, and 46 Ma (Table S4 in Supporting Information ). These mid‐ to late‐Cretaceous and Eocene age populations are observed in many Ross Sea sediments, particularly toward the eastern Ross Sea (Li et al., 2020; Olivetti et al., 2023; Perotti et al., 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…The Byrd ice core debris data also show an unusually large fraction of Permian‐Early Jurassic (∼290–180 Ma) mineral grains compared to sub‐ice stream tills and sediments from the Ross (Licht et al., 2014; Marschalek et al., 2021; Olivetti et al., 2023; Perotti et al., 2017) and Amundsen (Simões Pereira et al., 2018, 2020) seas. In all these regions, Permian‐Early Jurassic ages are typically a minor contribution; far less than the ∼40% of the zircon U‐Pb and ∼33% of the hornblende 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages in the Byrd ice core debris.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Late Ross Orogeny (∼520–475 Ma) granites and volcanic rocks ‐ potentially reworked through synorogenic metasediments ‐ are likely to be significant contributors to the Byrd debris (Figure 3d; Vogel et al., 2006). However, there is a notable absence of older Ross/Pan African Orogeny zircons of ∼650–520 Ma age (Figure 3a), which are ubiquitous in sub‐ice stream tills and marine sediments in the Ross Sea sector (Licht et al., 2014; Marschalek et al., 2021; Olivetti et al., 2023; Perotti et al., 2017). Rocks of this age must therefore be absent near the Byrd ice core.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Byrd Ice Core Debris Constrains the Sediment Provenance Signature of Central West Antarctica

Marschalek,

Blard,

Sarigulyan

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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Provenance records from sediments deposited offshore of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) can help identify past major ice retreat, thus constraining ice‐sheet models projecting future sea‐level rise. Interpretations from such records are, however, hampered by the ice obscuring Antarctica's geology. Here, we explore central West Antarctica's subglacial geology using basal debris from within the Byrd ice core, drilled to the bed in 1968. Sand grain microtextures and a high kaolinite content (∼38–42%) reveal the debris consists predominantly of eroded sedimentary detritus, likely deposited initially in a warm, pre‐Oligocene, subaerial environment. Detrital hornblende 40Ar/39Ar ages suggest proximal late Cenozoic subglacial volcanism. The debris has a distinct provenance signature, with: common Permian‐Early Jurassic mineral grains; absent early Ross Orogeny grains; a high kaolinite content; and high 143Nd/144Nd and low 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Detecting this “fingerprint” in Antarctic sedimentary records could imply major WAIS retreat, revealing the WAIS's sensitivity to future warming.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Byrd Ice Core Debris Constrains the Sediment Provenance Signature of Central West Antarctica

Marschalek,

Blard,

Sarigulyan

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Accordingly, the size of the Amundsen Sea river catchment must have been much larger and differed considerably from previous assumptions of preglacial Antarctic river networks (which were based on the modern Antarctic topography) ( 64 ). The appearance in the Ross Sea stratigraphic record at ~24.5 Ma of zircon yielding Cretaceous to Triassic U-Pb ages characteristic of West Antarctica ( 65 ) provides a minimum age for capture of the distal part of this drainage system ( 66 ). Capture is therefore constrained between ~44 to 34 Ma (Polarstern sandstone deposition) and ~24 to 25 Ma, synchronously with uplift of the Mt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large-scale transcontinental river system crossed West Antarctica during the Eocene

Zundel,

Spiegel,

Mark

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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Extensive ice coverage largely prevents investigations of Antarctica’s unglaciated past. Knowledge about environmental and tectonic development before large-scale glaciation, however, is important for understanding the transition into the modern icehouse world. We report geochronological and sedimentological data from a drill core from the Amundsen Sea shelf, providing insights into tectonic and topographic conditions during the Eocene (~44 to 34 million years ago), shortly before major ice sheet buildup. Our findings reveal the Eocene as a transition period from >40 million years of relative tectonic quiescence toward reactivation of the West Antarctic Rift System, coinciding with incipient volcanism, rise of the Transantarctic Mountains, and renewed sedimentation under temperate climate conditions. The recovered sediments were deposited in a coastal-estuarine swamp environment at the outlet of a >1500-km-long transcontinental river system, draining from the rising Transantarctic Mountains into the Amundsen Sea. Much of West Antarctica hence lied above sea level, but low topographic relief combined with low elevation inhibited widespread ice sheet formation.

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“…Off the flanks of these fault-bound basement highs, wider troughs in the basement were imaged and attributed to the erosion of ice streams flowing off these basement highs. During the late Oligocene, ice caps nucleated on these subaerial basement features (De Santis et al, 1995;Olivetti et al, 2023). Thermal subsidence following the onset of mid-Cretaceous West Antarctic Rift System extension (Karner et al, 2005;Wilson & Luyendyk, 2009) gradually submerged these basement highs (De Santis, 1999;Olivetti et al, 2023).…”

Section: Glacial Initializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne Geophysical Investigation beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf

Tankersley

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The Ross Ice Shelf controls the flow of ice into the ocean from catchments consisting of both the East and West Antarctic Ice Sheets. These catchments hold a volume of ice equivalent to ∼12 m of global sea level rise. To adequately understand how this ice will respond to a warming world requires knowledge of the properties and parameters which influence how the ice sheet behaves. These boundary conditions include fundamental knowledge of the Earth, such as the shape of the bed beneath the ice, the seafloor, and the geologic structures of the upper crust. Knowledge of the physiography and sub-surface geology is severely lacking beneath ice shelves due to their inaccessibility.Here, we use airborne geophysical data from an extensive survey over the Ross Ice Shelf to better understand these boundary conditions. From the analysis of airborne magnetics data, we model the thickness of sediment, the shape of the crystalline basement, and the likely locations of faults throughout the crust under the Ross Ice Shelf. We find a continuous drape of sediment over the seafloor, including deep and narrow fault-bound sedimentary basins beneath the Siple Coast.Using airborne gravity data, and distributed seismic constraints over the ice shelf, we develop and implement a gravity inversion to recover a higher-resolution bathymetry model beneath the ice shelf. This bathymetry model and our quantifica- tion of spatial uncertainty highlight locations likely important for sub-ice shelf ocean circulation and possible recent pinning points. In the process of these geophysical investigations, we reveal a wide range of insights relating to how bathymetry and geology play a critical role in the past, present, and future dynamics of the ice sheet, and how this region has developed over its tectonic history.

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Ice volume variations and provenance trends in the Oligocene-early Miocene glaciomarine sediments of the Central Ross Sea, Antarctica (DSDP Site 270)

Cited by 9 publications

References 64 publications

Byrd Ice Core Debris Constrains the Sediment Provenance Signature of Central West Antarctica

Byrd Ice Core Debris Constrains the Sediment Provenance Signature of Central West Antarctica

A large-scale transcontinental river system crossed West Antarctica during the Eocene

Airborne Geophysical Investigation beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf

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