Multiple episodes of ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin during the Last Interglacial

Mutsumi Iizuka; Osamu Seki; David J Wilson; Yusuke Suganuma; Keiji Horikawa; Tina van de Flierdt; Minoru Ikehara; Takuya Itaki; Tomohisa Irino; Masanobu Yamamoto; Motohiro Hirabayashi; Hiroyuki Matsuzaki; Saiko Sugisaki

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37325-y

Multiple episodes of ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin during the Last Interglacial

Nat Commun. 2023 Apr 18;14(1):2129. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37325-y.

Authors

Mutsumi Iizuka^{1

2

3}, Osamu Seki^{4

5}, David J Wilson⁶, Yusuke Suganuma^{7

8}, Keiji Horikawa⁹, Tina van de Flierdt¹⁰, Minoru Ikehara¹¹, Takuya Itaki¹², Tomohisa Irino^{13

14}, Masanobu Yamamoto^{13

14}, Motohiro Hirabayashi⁷, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki¹⁵, Saiko Sugisaki¹²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. mutsumi.i@pop.lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
² Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. mutsumi.i@pop.lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
³ Geological Survey of Japan, The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan. mutsumi.i@pop.lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
⁴ Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. seki@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
⁵ Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. seki@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
⁶ London Geochemistry and Isotope Centre (LOGIC), Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University College London and Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK.
⁷ National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Japan.
⁸ Department of Polar Science, School of Multidisciplinary Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Tachikawa, Japan.
⁹ Faculty of Science, Academic Assembly, University of Toyama, Gofuku, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
¹¹ Marine Core Research Institute (MaCRI), Kochi University, Nankoku, Japan.
¹² Geological Survey of Japan, The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan.
¹³ Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
¹⁴ Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
¹⁵ Micro Analysis Laboratory, Tandem accelerator (MALT), The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Japan.

Abstract

The Last Interglacial (LIG: 130,000-115,000 years ago) was a period of warmer global mean temperatures and higher and more variable sea levels than the Holocene (11,700-0 years ago). Therefore, a better understanding of Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics during this interval would provide valuable insights for projecting sea-level change in future warming scenarios. Here we present a high-resolution record constraining ice-sheet changes in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) of East Antarctica during the LIG, based on analysis of sediment provenance and an ice melt proxy in a marine sediment core retrieved from the Wilkes Land margin. Our sedimentary records, together with existing ice-core records, reveal dynamic fluctuations of the ice sheet in the WSB, with thinning, melting, and potentially retreat leading to ice loss during both early and late stages of the LIG. We suggest that such changes along the East Antarctic Ice Sheet margin may have contributed to fluctuating global sea levels during the LIG.

Abstract

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