Evidence for a “Little Ice Age” glacial advance within the Antarctic Peninsula – Examples from glacially-overrun raised beaches

Simms, Alexander R.; Bentley, Michael J.; Simkins, Lauren M.; Zurbuchen, Julie; Reynolds, Laura C.; DeWitt, Regina; Thomas, Elizabeth R.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107195

Cited by 25 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Centennial-scale fluctuations in glacier extent, glacial discharge and iceberg flux are recorded in the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula sectors 25,129,136,137 over the Late Holocene, as well as changes in ice shelf geometry 98 . In the Antarctic Peninsula, glacier variability is also indicated after ~2,800 years ago 138,139 : widespread but small-scale readvance is documented from ~400 to 90 years ago 129 , and ice mass loss is inferred from an increased rate of relative sea-level fall 3,100 years ago and ice unloading peaking at ~1,400 and 800 years ago 140,141 . Superimposed on these trends, proxy records from both sides of the Antarctic Peninsula indicate increases in glacial discharge during the past ~500 years, implying that ice volume loss might have continued throughout this period 25,137 .…”

Section: ();mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Antarctic Peninsula sector, and potentially elsewhere in Antarctica, episodes of local ice loss from ice surface ablation have been linked to an increasing occurrence of La Niña events and enhanced summer insolation 25 , as well as a positive Southern Annular Mode 137,144 , and the regrowth of ice shelves and glacier advances have been associated with periods of synoptic cooling 128,138,145 . Periods of low snow accumulation during the past millennium (between 1250 and 1800 ce) have been associated with reduced solar activity 146 and the cooler atmospheric conditions of the Little Ice Age 129,147 . A subsequent increase in snow accumulation from 1800 ce into the twentieth century has also been attributed to atmospheric circulation change, notably to variations in the Southern Annular Mode 40,148 .…”

Section: Drivers Of Final Pre-industrial Ice Volume Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene

Jones

Johnson

Lin

et al. 2022

Nat Rev Earth Environ

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The rate and magnitude of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) contribution to global sea-level rise beyond 2100 ce remains highly uncertain. Past changes of the AIS, however, offer opportunities to understand contemporary and future ice sheet behaviour. In this Review, we outline how the AIS evolved through the pre-industrial Holocene, 11,700 years ago to 1850 ce. Three main phases of ice sheet behaviour are identified: a period of rapid ice volume loss across all sectors in the Early and Mid Holocene; a retreat inland of the present-day ice sheet margin in some sectors, followed by readvance; and continued ice volume loss in several sectors during the past few millennia, and in some areas up to and into the industrial era. Global sea levels rose by 2.4-12 m owing to the period of rapid Antarctic ice loss and possibly fell by 0.35-1.2 m owing to subsequent readvance. Changes in the AIS during the Holocene were likely driven by similar processes to those acting today and predicted for the future, which are associated with oceanic and atmospheric conditions as well as bed topography. Further work is required to better understand these processes and to quantify Antarctica's contribution to past sea-level change.

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Section: ();mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Drivers Of Final Pre-industrial Ice Volume Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene

Jones

Johnson

Lin

et al. 2022

Nat Rev Earth Environ

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“…In the last ~500 years, the Nothofagus forest cover remained relatively constant, while carbon and nitrogen content rose. The declining benthic diatom community suggests reduced levels of turbulence and catchment instability, consistent with 1) an equatorward shifted SWW during a 'post-MCA' phase of negative SAM-like conditions; 2) extreme cold 'events' in most Southern Hemisphere palaeorecords (Neukom et al, 2014); 3) minor glacier advances across the Patagonian Ice Field and the Northern Antarctic Peninsula (Reynhout et al, 2019;Kaplan et al, 2020;Simms et al, 2021); and 4) the Northern Hemisphere 'Little Ice Age' (0.55-0.25 ka, 1,400-1,700 CE) (Mann et al, 2009;Kaufman et al, 2020;Perren et al, 2020). European weed species, such as Plantago and Rumex acetosella, became established in the Lago Pato catchment (Figure 8).…”

Section: 24mentioning

confidence: 81%

Late Glacial and Holocene Palaeolake History of the Última Esperanza Region of Southern Patagonia

et al. 2022

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We undertook multi-proxy analyses on two sediment cores from Lago Pato, a small lake basin at 51°S topographically separated from Lago del Toro in Torres del Paine (TdP), to provide insights into glacier dynamics and lake-level change in the TdP and Última Esperanza region over the last ∼30,000 cal a BP (30 ka). Lago Pato is situated in a region overridden by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field during the Last Glacial and in a transitional climatic zone of Southern Patagonia sensitive to seasonal- to millennial-scale changes in the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SWW). Results show that a deep ice-dammed and enlarged palaeolake encompassed Lago del Toro and Lago Pato c. 30–20 ka after the ice had retreated from local-Last Glacial Maximum (l-LGM) limits at c. 48–34 ka and during the build-up to the global-Last Glacial Maximum (g-LGM), c. 26–19 ka. Gaps in both sediment records between c. 20–13.4 ka and c. 20–10 ka suggest hiatuses in sediment accumulation during the g-LGM and Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) readvances and/or removal by lake lowering or flushing during the Late Glacial–early Holocene. The palaeolake level dropped from >100 m a.s.l. to ∼40–50 m a.s.l. towards the end of the ACR c. 13.4–13.0 ka, creating a shallower glaciolacustrine environment dammed by an ice tongue in the Estancia Puerto Consuelo–Última Esperanza fjord. Further lowering of the enlarged palaeolake level occurred when the ice thinned to <40 m a.s.l., eventually isolating Lago Pato from Lago del Toro and glaciogenic sediment input at c. 11.7 ka. After isolation, the ecology and water levels in Lago Pato became sensitive to regional climate shifts. The shallow, stable, and highly anoxic environment that developed after c. 11.7 ka is associated with weaker (or poleward shifted) SWW at 51°S and was replaced at c. 10 ka by an increasingly productive shallow-littoral lake with a variable lake-level and periodic shifts in anoxic-oxic bottom water conditions and ratios of benthic-planktonic diatoms. A more open Nothofagus forest, established at c. 8.6–7.5 ka, and more arid conditions c. 7.5–5.7 cal ka BP are linked to another phase of weaker (or poleward shifted) SWW at 51°S. More persistently wet conditions from c. 5.7 ka, with extensive closed Nothofagus forests and planktonic diatoms dominant, are associated with stronger (or equatorward shifted) SWW over 51°S. The abrupt return of benthic-to-tychoplanktonic diatoms after c. 3 ka reflects enhanced SWW at 51°S. Increasingly stable lacustrine and littoral wetland conditions established in the last ∼500 years reflect weaker SWW and lasted until recent decades.

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“…Since mass balance of the AIS is dependent on both mass gain (from snow accumulation) and mass loss (melt, sublimation, calving), surface mass balance (SMB) may also reflect changes in ice-sheet volume and elevation changes (Davis et al, 2005) that would be expected during retreat and readvance. For example, periods of low snow accumulation during the late Holocene have been linked to the Little Ice Age (Bertler et al, 2011;Simms et al, 2021). Currently, only seven ice coresfive from East Antarctica and two from West Antarctica, all from the ice-sheet interiorcapture changes in snow accumulation for the full Holocene (Buizert et al, 2021).…”

Section: Ice Coresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous locations [e.g., Ross Sea (Baroni and Orombelli, 1991;Hall and Denton, 2002;Baroni and Hall, 2004); South Shetland Islands (John and Sugden, 1971;Hall, 2010); Antarctic Peninsula (Simms et al, 2021)] show flights of raised beaches that extend up to, and presumably beneath, present-day glaciers. These observations imply an extended period of 210 reduced ice extent in the Holocene, permitting beach formation, subsequently followed by a late Holocene readvance.…”

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confidence: 99%

Review article: Existing and potential evidence for Holocene grounding-line retreat and readvance in Antarctica

Johnson

Venturelli

Balco

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Widespread existing geological records from above the modern ice-sheet surface and outboard of the current ice margin show that the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) was much more extensive at the Last Glacial Maximum (~20 ka) than at present. However, whether it was ever smaller than present during the last few millennia, and (if so) by how much, is known only for a few locations because direct evidence lies within or beneath the ice sheet, which is challenging to access. Here, we describe how retreat and readvance (henceforth “readvance”) of AIS grounding lines during the Holocene could be detected and quantified using subglacial bedrock, subglacial sediments, marine sediment cores, relative sea-level (RSL) records, radar data, and ice cores. Of these, only subglacial bedrock and subglacial sediments can provide direct evidence for readvance. Marine archives are of limited utility because readvance commonly covers evidence of earlier retreat. Nevertheless, stratigraphic transitions documenting change in environment may provide support for direct evidence from subglacial records, as can the presence of transgressions in RSL records. With independent age control, past changes in ice structure and flow patterns revealed by radar can be used to infer ice volume changes commensurate with readvance. Since ice cores capture changes in surface mass balance, elevation, and changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation that are known to drive grounding-line migration, they also have potential for identifying readvance. A multidisciplinary approach is likely to provide the strongest evidence for or against a smaller-than-present AIS in the Holocene.

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Evidence for a “Little Ice Age” glacial advance within the Antarctic Peninsula – Examples from glacially-overrun raised beaches

Cited by 25 publications

References 100 publications

Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene

Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene

Late Glacial and Holocene Palaeolake History of the Última Esperanza Region of Southern Patagonia

Review article: Existing and potential evidence for Holocene grounding-line retreat and readvance in Antarctica

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