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The Spatial Structure of the 128 ka Antarctic Sea Ice Minimum
Author(s) -
Holloway Max D.,
Sime Louise C.,
Allen Claire S.,
Hillenbrand ClausDieter,
Bunch Pete,
Wolff Eric,
Valdes Paul J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2017gl074594
Subject(s) - sea ice , geology , antarctic sea ice , ice core , arctic ice pack , oceanography , interglacial , climatology , proxy (statistics) , cryosphere , sea ice thickness , ice sheet , glacial period , geomorphology , machine learning , computer science
Abstract We compare multi‐ice core data with δ 18 O model output for the early last interglacial Antarctic sea ice minimum. The spatial pattern of δ 18 O across Antarctica is sensitive to the spatial pattern of sea ice retreat. Local sea ice retreat increases the proportion of winter precipitation, depleting δ 18 O at ice core sites. However, retreat also enriches δ 18 O because of the reduced source‐to‐site distance for atmospheric vapor. The joint overall effect is for δ 18 O to increase as sea ice is reduced. Our data‐model comparison indicates a winter sea ice retreat of 67, 59, and 43% relative to preindustrial in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. A compilation of Southern Ocean sea ice proxy data provides weak support for this reconstruction. However, most published marine core sites are located too far north of the 128,000 years B.P. sea ice edge, preventing independent corroboration for this sea ice reconstruction.