Geological Record of Late Wisconsin/Holocene Ice Sheet Advance and Retreat from the Ross Sea

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Marine geological and geophysical studies of the Ross Sea and Weddell Sea continental shelves provide evidence that the ice sheet grounded near the shelf edge in these areas during the late Wisconsinan, and that the retreat of the ice sheet to its present position was rapid and probably episodic. This Award supports a project which will establish the most recent (late Wisconsin-Holocene) history of ice sheet advance and retreat in Ross Sea. The objectives include: 1) reconstruction the late Wisconsin paleodrainage regime, including ice stream drainage divides; 2) reconstruction of former grounding zone positions; 3) constraint of the timing of ice sheet retreat from the shelf; and 4) acquisition of geophysical, sedimentological, and paleontological data which may provide indicators of the environmental factors that may have influenced to ice sheet retreat. This is a joint effort between Rice University, the University of Colorado, and Hamilton College. The project involves experts in a wide variety of fields, and will interface with glaciologists, physical oceanographers, and climatologists who will address the problem of ice sheet stability and the record of climatic and glaciological change.