Title
Late Quaternary environmental and climate history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica
Author
Berg, S.
Wagner, B.
Cremer, H.
Leng, M.J.
Melles, M.
TNO Bouw en Ondergrond
Publication year
2010
Abstract
The Rauer Group is an archipelago in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. The ice-free islands and the surrounding shallow marine areas provide valuable archives for the reconstruction of the late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental and climatic history of the region. Two sediment records from two marine inlets of Rauer Group have been studied for their sedimentological, geochemical, and biological characteristics. Radiocarbon ages from one of the inlets indicate ice-free conditions within the last glacial cycle, probably during the second half of Marine Isotope Stage 3. Subsequent ice sheet coverage of Rauer Group during the Last Glacial Maxiumum (LGM) can be inferred from a till layer recovered in one of the basins. The inlets became ice-free prior to 11,200. cal yr BP, when biogenic sedimentation started. Deglacial processes in the catchments, however, influenced the inlets until ~. 9200. cal yr BP as evidenced by the input of minerogenic material. Marine productivity under relatively open water conditions indicates an early Holocene climate optimum until 8200. cal yr BP, which is followed by a cooler period with increased sea ice. Warmer conditions are inferred for the mid Holocene, when both basins experienced an input of freshwater between ~. 5700-3500. cal yr BP, probably due to ice-sheet melting and increased precipitation on the islands. Neoglacial cooling in the late Holocene since c. 3500. cal yr BP is reflected by an increase in sea ice in both inlets. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.
Subject
Earth & Environment
GM - Geomodelling
EELS - Earth, Environmental and Life Sciences
Geosciences
East Antarctica
Holocene
Marine sediments
Rauer Group
Holocene
ice sheet
marine sediment
paleoclimate
paleoenvironment
Pleistocene
sea ice
shallow water
Antarctica
East Antarctica
Prydz Bay
Rauer Islands
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TNO identifier
409798
ISSN
0031-0182
Source
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 297 (1), 201-213
Document type
article