Repeated loss of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet’s Amundsen Sea sector during late Pleistocene interglacials
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Sea-level reconstructions and numerical models suggest that the vulnerable West Antarctic Ice Sheet underwent major mass losses during the late Pleistocene, raising global sea level by several metres. However, direct evidence from ice-sheet proximal records for such retreat has remained inconclusive. Here we investigate variations in clay mineral assemblages and past ocean temperatures archived in West Antarctic continental margin sediments during the last 800,000 years. Our results demonstrate that the supply of glacigenic detritus sourced from the main outlet glaciers in the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ceased almost entirely during all previous warm periods, documenting the loss of their drainage basins. Concomitant seawater warming, revealed by a microfossil proxy, is attributed to intensified deep-water advection towards Antarctica’s Pacific margin, which is corroborated by the clay mineralogical evidence. Our findings show that ocean forcing can drive major deglaciation of West Antarctica and related global sea-level rise.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Werner Ehrmann, Young Kyu Park, Jinwook Kim, Steve M. Bohaty, Reed P. Scherer, Joseph A. Ruggiero, Julia S. Wellner, Karsten Gohl, Rebecca L. Totten, Robert D. Larter, Mariana Esteves, Johann P. Klages, James A. Smith, Thomas Frederichs, Keiji Horikawa, Sandra Passchier, Joseph R. Mastro, Thorsten Bauersachs, Becky A. Hopkins, Chuang Xuan, Colm Ó Cofaigh, Rachel W. Clark, James W. Marschalek, Patric Simões Pereira, Benedict T. I. Reinardy, Anna Ruth W. Halberstadt, Li Wu, Ellen A. Cowan, Christine S. Siddoway, Delaney E. Robinson, Masao Iwai, Liang Gao, Sidney R. Hemming, Michelle L. Penkrot, Theresa M. King, Jeremy M. Lloyd, Denise K. Kulhanek
Institutions: British Antarctic Survey, Leipzig University, Yonsei University, Korea Polar Research Institute, Heidelberg University, Northern Illinois University, Colorado School of Mines, University of Houston, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, University of Bremen, University of Alabama, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University of Toyama, Montclair State University, RWTH Aachen University, University of Liverpool, University of Southampton, Imperial College London, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, The University of Texas at Austin, Tongji University, State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Guangdong Ocean University, Appalachian State University, Colorado College, Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University, Kōchi University, China University of Geosciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Texas A&M University, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Durham University, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
OpenAlex ID: W7225657177