The catastrophic break-ups of the fl oating Larsen A and B ice shelves (Antarctica) in 1995 and 2002 and associated acceleration of glaciers that fl owed into these ice shelves were among the most dramatic glaciological events observed in historical time. This raises a question about the larger West Antarctic ice shelves. Do these shelves, with their much greater glacial discharge, have a history of collapse? Here we describe features from the seafl oor in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica, which we interpret as having been formed during a massive ice shelf break-up and associated grounding line retreat. This evidence exists in the form of seafl oor landforms that we argue were produced daily as a consequence of tidally infl uenced motion of mega-icebergs maintained upright in an iceberg armada produced from the disintegrating ice shelf and retreating grounding line. The break-up occurred prior to ca. 12 ka and was likely a response to rapid sea-level rise or ocean warming at that time.

While still under development with more refinements needed, completely transvaginal cholecystectomy using MAGS instruments is feasible. By offering triangulation and rigidity, MAGS may facilitate a NOTES approach while alleviating shortcomings of a flexible platform.

Antarctica's continental-scale ice sheets have evolved over the past 50 million years. However, the dearth of ice-proximal geological records limits our understanding of past East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) behaviour and thus our ability to evaluate its response to ongoing environmental change. The EAIS is marine-terminating and grounded below sea level within the Aurora subglacial basin, indicating that this catchment, which drains ice to the Sabrina Coast, may be sensitive to climate perturbations. Here we show, using marine geological and geophysical data from the continental shelf seaward of the Aurora subglacial basin, that marine-terminating glaciers existed at the Sabrina Coast by the early to middle Eocene epoch. This finding implies the existence of substantial ice volume in the Aurora subglacial basin before continental-scale ice sheets were established about 34 million years ago. Subsequently, ice advanced across and retreated from the Sabrina Coast continental shelf at least 11 times during the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. Tunnel valleys associated with half of these glaciations indicate that a surface-meltwater-rich sub-polar glacial system existed under climate conditions similar to those anticipated with continued anthropogenic warming. Cooling since the late Miocene resulted in an expanded polar EAIS and a limited glacial response to Pliocene warmth in the Aurora subglacial basin catchment. Geological records from the Sabrina Coast shelf indicate that, in addition to ocean temperature, atmospheric temperature and surface-derived meltwater influenced East Antarctic ice mass balance under warmer-than-present climate conditions. Our results imply a dynamic EAIS response with continued anthropogenic warming and suggest that the EAIS contribution to future global sea-level projections may be under-estimated.

Single trocar laparoscopic nephrectomy using magnetically anchored instrumentation is technically feasible, demonstrating that intracorporeal instrument manipulation may overcome the limitations of current laparoscopic and robotic surgery by allowing unhindered intra-abdominal movement. This single access technique may be used with natural orifice surgery approaches and it has the potential to realize incision-free intra-abdominal surgery.

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Use of a MAGS camera results in fewer instrument collisions, improves surgical working space, and provides an image comparable to that in standard laparoscopy.

[1] Erosion rates have been estimated for a number of glaciated basins around the world, mostly based on modern observations (last few decades) of sediment fluxes to fjords. We use time-constrained sediment volumes delivered by Marinelli Glacier (55°S), an outlet glacier of the Cordillera Darwin ice cap, southern Patagonian Andes, Tierra del Fuego, to determine erosion rates across different timescales. Sediment volumes are derived using a dense grid of high-and low-frequency single channel seismic data and swath bathymetry data along with piston and Kasten cores. Our results show dramatic differences in erosion rates over different timescales. Erosion rates at Marinelli Glacier diminish about 80% (or by factor of ∼5) with each ten-fold increase in the time span over which erosion rates are averaged: 29.3 mm/yr for the last 45 years, 5.3 mm/yr for the last 364 years, and 0.5 mm/yr for the last 12,500 years. These results indicate that modern sediment yields and erosion rates from temperate tidewater glaciers can exceed long-term values over the time of deglaciation after the Last Glacial Maximum (centennial and millennial timescales) by up to 2 orders of magnitude. In view of the low exhumation rates of Cordillera Darwin (∼0.07 mm/yr average for the last 30 Myr), modern erosion rates could be up to 3 orders of magnitude higher than rates over geological time. We conclude that the pattern of erosion rate variation with time reflects the sensitivity of glaciers to climate variability.

International audienceWe report paleomagnetic results for 131 sites from the modern forearc of northern Chile (25°S and 28°S). Remanent magnetization in volcanic and intrusive rocks is mostly primary, while a secondary magnetization is observed in sedimentary rocks. Comparison of locality-mean directions with expected paleomagnetic directions indicates vertical axis rotations from -7.3° +/- 21.6° counterclockwise to 52.7° +/- 17° clockwise. Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rocks from the Coastal Cordillera and Cretaceous to Paleocene rocks from the Central Depression show similar magnitude (>30°) clockwise rotations, while more variable rotations occur in Mesozoic to Eocene rocks of the Precordillera. Clockwise rotations in Mesozoic and Paleogene rocks occur in the Chilean Frontal Cordillera south of 27°30'S. Paleomagnetic results in three large Miocene ignimbrite sheets overlying rotated and nonrotated older rocks in the Precordillera and Pre-Andean Depression which show no relative rotation between sites indicate that most rotations within the study area occurred prior to 18 Ma (early Miocene) and likely during and after the ``Incaic'' tectonic event, which affected large tracts of the central Andes. The postulated onset of rotations in the north Chilean forearc was contemporaneous with the beginning of horizontal shortening and uplift of the Eastern Cordillera in Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. Rotation of the Chilean forearc, enhancement of the curvature of the central Andes, and the formation of the Bolivian Orocline seem to be, for the most part, closely linked to the evolution of the Eocene-Oligocene tectonics of the Eastern Cordillera