Late Cenozoic Antarctic paleoclimate reconstructed from volcanic ashes in the Dry Valleys region of southern Victoria Land

Marchant, David R.; Denton, George H.; Swisher, Carl C.; Potter, Noel

doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1996)108<0181:lcaprf>2.3.co;2

Cited by 134 publications

(87 citation statements)

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“…This diatomite appears to coincide with the widely recognized early Pliocene global warming and accompanying higher sea levels (Dowsett et al, 1999;Ravelo et al, 2004), for which there is evidence elsewhere on the Antarctic margin (e.g., Whitehead et al, 2005). However, well-dated deposits and geomorphological evidence from the adjacent McMurdo Dry Valleys indicate a polar climate persisted there throughout this period (Marchant et al, 1996). Within this interval the core is strongly cyclic in nature, and is characterized by 12 glacial-interglacial cycles that is typically composed of a sharp-based lower interval of diamictite in the upper few meters that passes upward into a ~5-to 10-m-thick unit of biosiliceous ooze or biosiliceous-bearing mudstone (diatomite).…”

Section: Early Pliocene Diamictite and Diatomite Sedimentary Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 74%

Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling

et al. 2007

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Section: Early Pliocene Diamictite and Diatomite Sedimentary Cyclesmentioning

confidence: 74%

Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling

et al. 2007

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“…12). Again, the presence of regolith with volcanic ash wedges that has survived for over 13.6 million years in the Asgard Range points to minimal rates of denudation (Marchant et al 1996). Attributing potholes to erosion by wind raises the problem of explaining why they should be preferentially located on north-and northeastfacing slopes, the sheltered lee side in relation to the dominant wind, rather than the exposed upwind side.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meltwater features that suggest miocene ice‐sheet overriding of the transantarctic mountains in victoria land, antarctica

Denton

Sugden

2005

Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography

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. We illustrate here spectacular meltwater features associated with outburst floods beneath an ice sheet that overrode the Transantarctic Mountains in southern Victoria Land. Because of long‐term hyperarid polar climate, these features are part of an ancient landscape preserved for about 14 million years. Some channels are associated with areal scouring of basement rocks extending from sea level to as much as 1200–2100 m elevation in coastal regions. Scablands with scallops, potholes and plunge pools are cut in Beacon Super group sandstones and Ferrar Dolerite and cover wide areas of high western plateaus near the mountain crest. Subglacial channel systems commonly originate near divides and converge downhill toward the northeast. We argue that the landforms were created beneath a major Antarctic Ice Sheet that submerged the whole area, with the possible exception of the high peaks of the Royal Society Range, as it flowed northeastward toward the outer Antarctic continental shelf. Areal scouring, associated with warm‐based regimes, is restricted to the lower slopes close to the coast. In the higher terra in, meltwater channels and scabland alongside preserved patches of regolith are best explained by the breaching of cold‐based ice on the mountain rim by subglacial melt water outbursts. Melt from warm‐based ice, along with subglacial lakes trapped upstream of the mountain rim, are possible sources of the meltwater necessary to form the channel systems and scablands.

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“…2) and the driest cold place on Earth (Marchant et al 1996). The precipitation, exclusively snow is often less than 10 mm water-equivalent (weq) per year, ranging from 3 mm to less than 100 mm in the location closer to the sea (Fountain et al 2009).…”

Section: Antarctic Mcmurdo Dry Valleysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

et al. 2017

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Scientists use the Earth as a tool for astrobiology by analyzing planetary field analogues (i.e. terrestrial samples and field sites that resemble planetary bodies in our Solar System). In addition, they expose the selected planetary field analogues in simulation chambers to conditions that mimic the ones of planets, moons and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space conditions, as well as the chemistry occurring in interstellar and cometary ices. This paper reviews the ways the Earth is used by astrobiologists: (i) by conducting planetary field analogue studies to investigate extant life from extreme environments, its metabolisms, adaptation strategies and modern biosignatures; (ii) by conducting planetary field analogue studies to investigate extinct life from the oldest rocks on our planet and its biosignatures; (iii) by exposing terrestrial samples to simulated space or planetary environments and producing a sample analogue to investigate changes in minerals, biosignatures and microorganisms. The European Space Agency (ESA) created a topical team in 2011 to investigate recent activities using the Earth as a tool for astrobiology and to formulate recommendations and scientific needs to improve ground-based astrobiological research. Space is an important tool for astrobiology (see Horneck et al. in Astrobiology, 16:201-243, 2016;Cottin et al., 2017), but access to space is limited. Complementing research on Earth provides fast access, more replications and higher sample throughput. The major conclusions of the topical team and suggestions for the future include more scientifically qualified calls for field campaigns with planetary analogy, and a centralized point of contact at ESA or the EU for the organization of a survey of such expeditions. An improvement of the coordinated logistics, infrastructures and funding system supporting the combination of field work with planetary simulation investigations, as well as an optimization of the scientific return and data processing, data storage and data distribution is also needed. Finally, a coordinated EU or ESA education and outreach program would improve the participation of the public in the astrobiological activities.

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Late Cenozoic Antarctic paleoclimate reconstructed from volcanic ashes in the Dry Valleys region of southern Victoria Land

Cited by 134 publications

References 0 publications

Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling

Late Cenozoic Climate History of the Ross Embayment from the AND-1B Drill Hole: Culmination of Three Decades of Antarctic Margin Drilling

Meltwater features that suggest miocene ice‐sheet overriding of the transantarctic mountains in victoria land, antarctica

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

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