A complex deglacial retreat history of the Anvers Island Trough paleo-ice stream

Abstract:

Marine-terminating ice regulates the mass balance and stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets and, ultimately, global sea level. However, predictions of future ice sheet response to climate change are limited by short observational time-series and the complexity of associated forcings and feedbacks. Here, we present new chronologic and multiproxy data from 7 marine sediment records from the outer to inner shelf down the axis of the Anvers Island Trough and into Palmer Deep that better constrain the timing and rate of ice retreat and improve understanding of the mechanisms driving deglaciation of this hypothesized paleo-ice stream. The retreat chronology is based on 16 CaCO₃ (foraminifer and mollusk) and 45 ramped pyrolysis (acid-insoluble organic matter) AMS ¹⁴C dates. Radiocarbon dates from the laminated diatom ooze and mud facies immediately above the glacial diamicton indicate that deglaciation of the mid-Anvers Island Trough post-dated the Palmer Deep deglaciation by ~2000 uncorrected ¹⁴C years and that collapse of the mid-shelf system was rapid, if not instantaneous. The laminated facies, present throughout the suite of cores, is consistent with the calving bay reentrant model for deglaciation. However, this facies is limited (~15 couplets) on the mid-shelf and expanded (~127 couplets) on the inner-shelf, suggesting regional differences in calving bay duration. Planktic and benthic foraminifer isotopes, together with foraminifer and diatom assemblages, and biogeochemical data provide evidence for the presence of warmer nutrient-rich modified Circumpolar Deep Water throughout the Anvers Island Trough during deglaciation. The observed retreat complexity may relate to a hypothesized mid-shelf ice-dome system and requires additional geological and geophysical data to understand ice retreat patterns south and west of Palmer Deep. Such data will provide important new constraints for ice sheet models.