Ice sheet–free West Antarctica during peak early Oligocene glaciation
One of Earth’s most fundamental climate shifts – the greenhouse-icehouse transition 34 Ma ago – initiated Antarctic ice-sheet build-up, influencing global climate until today. However, the extent of the ice sheet during the Early Oligocene Glacial Maximum (~33.7–33.2 Ma) that immediately followed this transition, a critical knowledge gap for assessing feedbacks between permanently glaciated areas and early Cenozoic global climate reorganization, is uncertain. Here, we present shallow-marine drilling data constraining earliest Oligocene environmental conditions on West Antarctica’s Pacific margin – a key region for understanding Antarctic ice sheet-evolution. These data indicate a cool-temperate environment, with mild ocean and air temperatures preventing West Antarctic Ice Sheet formation. Climate-ice sheet modeling corroborates a highly asymmetric Antarctic ice sheet, thereby revealing its differential regional response to past and future climatic change.
AWI Organizations > Climate Sciences > Paleo-climate Dynamics
AWI Organizations > Geosciences > Geophysics
AWI Organizations > Geosciences > Marine Geology and Paleontology
Helmholtz Research Programs > CHANGING EARTH (2021-2027) > PT2:Ocean and Cryosphere in Climate > ST2.3: Sea Level Change
Klages_etal_2024_Ice_sheet-free_West_Antarctica_during_EOGM_Science_First_Release.pdf - Other
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