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Limited Retreat of the Wilkes Basin Ice Sheet During the Last Interglacial
Author(s) -
Sutter J.,
Eisen O.,
Werner M.,
Grosfeld K.,
Kleiner T.,
Fischer H.
Publication year - 2020
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 - 10.1029/2020gl088131
Subject(s) - geology , interglacial , ice sheet , ice core , ice sheet model , antarctic ice sheet , oceanography , cryosphere , ice stream , paleoclimatology , antarctic sea ice , sea ice , climatology , glacial period , physical geography , paleontology , climate change , geography
The response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to global warming represents a major source of uncertainty in sea‐level projections. Thinning of the East Antarctic George V and Sabrina Coast ice cover is currently taking place, and regional ice‐sheet instability episodes might have been triggered in past warm climates. However, the magnitude of ice retreat in the past cannot yet be quantitatively derived from paleo‐proxy records alone. We propose that a runaway retreat of the George V coast grounding line and subsequent instability of the Wilkes Basin ice sheet would either leave a clear imprint on the water isotope composition in the Talos Dome region or prohibit a Talos Dome ice‐core record from the Last Interglacial altogether. Testing this hypothesis, our ice‐sheet model simulations suggest that Wilkes Basin ice‐sheet retreat remained relatively limited during the Last Interglacial and provide a constraint on Last Interglacial East Antarctic grounding line stability.