Do blue-ice moraines in the Heritage Range show the West Antarctic ice sheet survived the last interglacial?
Do blue-ice moraines in the Heritage Range show the West Antarctic ice sheet survived the last interglacial?
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DOI：
10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.01.027
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发表时间：
2012-06
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
C. Fogwill;A. Hein;M. J. Bentley;D. Sugden
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Fogwill;A. Hein;M. J. Bentley;D. Sugden
我们提出了一个假设，最好地解释宇宙成因的同位素数据的蓝色冰碛在遗产范围内，西南极洲。冰碛的年龄意味着，它们以及与之相关的冰盖表面，至少在最后一次间冰期/冰期循环中一直存在于冰原岛峰的侧面。这意味着，尽管南极西部冰盖（WAIS）的厚度在冰川周期中可能会波动，但中央圆顶至少保持了20万年，甚至可能保持了40万年。这一发现如果得到证实，将有助于我们理解WAIS对气候变化的敏感性。此外，这将是一个强大的地貌约束模型的过去行为的冰盖在冰川周期，从而预测未来的冰盖在一个变暖的世界。
We present a hypothesis that best explains cosmogenic isotope data on blue-ice moraines in the Heritage Range, West Antarctica. The age of the moraines implies that they, and the related ice-sheet surface with which they are associated, have persisted on the flanks of nunataks throughout at least the last interglacial/glacial cycle. The implication is that although the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) may have fluctuated in thickness during glacial cycles, the central dome has remained intact for at least 200kyr and possibly even for 400kyr. Such a finding, if substantiated, would contribute to our understanding of the sensitivity of the WAIS to climate change. Further it would be a powerful geomorphic constraint on models of the past behaviour of the ice sheet during glacial cycles and thus those predicting the future of the ice sheet in a warming world.