Pliocene Paleoclimate and East Antarctic Ice-Sheet History from Surficial Ash Deposits

The preservation, age, and stratigraphic relation of an in situ ashfall layer with an underlying desert pavement in Arena Valley, southern Victoria Land, indicate that a cold-desert climate has persisted in Arena Valley during the past 4.3 million years. These data indicate that the present East Ant...

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Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 260; no. 5108; pp. 667 - 670
Main Authors Marchant, David R., Swisher, Carl C., Lux, Daniel R., West, David P., Denton, George H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Society for the Advancement of Science 30.04.1993
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Subjects
540110
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
ANTARCTICA
Atmospheric temperature
CENOZOIC ERA
Climate models
CLIMATIC CHANGE
CRYOSPHERE
Crystals
Desert pavements
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GEOLOGIC AGES
Glacial ablation
Global warming
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
ICE
ICE CAPS
Ice sheets
MELTING
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
Pliocene
PLIOCENE EPOCH
POLAR REGIONS
TERTIARY PERIOD
Valleys
Volcanic ash
Antarctica
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Summary:The preservation, age, and stratigraphic relation of an in situ ashfall layer with an underlying desert pavement in Arena Valley, southern Victoria Land, indicate that a cold-desert climate has persisted in Arena Valley during the past 4.3 million years. These data indicate that the present East Antarctic Ice Sheet has endured for this time and that average temperatures during the Pliocene in Arena Valley were no greater than 3°C above present values. One implication is that the collapse of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet due to greenhouse warming is unlikely, even if global atmospheric temperatures rise to levels last experienced during mid-Pliocene times.
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.260.5108.667