Constraining Plio-Pleistocene West Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior from the Ohio Range and Scott Glacier

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Modeling fluctuations in the extent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over time is a principal goal of the glaciological community. These models will provide a critical basis for predictions of future sea level change, and therefore this work great societal relevance. The mid-Pliocene time interval is of particular interest, as it is the most recent period in which global temperatures were warmer and atmospheric CO2 concentrations may have been higher than current levels. However, observational constraints on fluctuations in the WAIS older than the last glacial maximum are rare. The investigators propose to collect geochemical data from the Ohio Range and Scott Glacier to quantify past variability in the height of the WAIS. Limited available cosmogenic nuclide data are broadly consistent with a model indicating that Pliocene WAIS elevations and volumes were smaller than at present, and that WAIS collapse was common. The PIs will use geologic observations and cosmogenic nuclide concentrations from bedrock samples at multiple locations and at multiple elevations, including sub-ice samples, to constrain WAIS ice volume changes in a "dipstick" like fashion. Data obtained from the proposed research will provide targets for data-ice sheet model comparisons to accurately characterize Plio-Pleistocene and future WAIS behavior. As part of this project, the investigators will work with the Natural History Museum and the Earth & Planetary Science department at Harvard to develop an exhibit that will become part of the Museum's recently opened Earth and Planetary Science Gallery. The project involves mentoring of a female graduate student as well as an undergraduate student.