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Abstract Terrestrial climate records for Antarctica, beyond the age limit of ice cores, are restricted to the few unglaciated areas with exposed rock outcrops. Marine sediments on Antarctica's continental shelves contain records of past oceanic and terrestrial environments that can provide important insights into Antarctic climate evolution. The SHALDRIL II (Shallow Drilling on the Antarctic Continental Margin) expedition recovered sedimentary sequences from the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula of late Eocene, Oligocene, middle Miocene, and early Pliocene age that provides insights into Cenozoic Antarctic climate and ice sheet development. Here, we use biomarker data to assess atmospheric and oceanic temperatures and glacial reworking from the late Eocene to the early Pliocene. Analyses of hopanes andn‐alkanes indicate increased erosion of mature (thermally altered) soil biomarker components reworked by glacial erosion. Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers from soil bacteria suggest similar air temperatures of 12°C ± 1°C (1σ,n = 46) for months above freezing for Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene timeslices but much colder (and likely shorter) periods of thaw during the Pliocene (5°C ± 1°C,n = 4) on the Antarctic Peninsula. TEX86‐based (Tetraether index of 86 carbons) sea surface temperature estimates indicate ocean cooling from 7°C ± 3°C (n = 10) in the Miocene to 3°C ± 1°C (n = 3) in the Pliocene, consistent with deep ocean cooling. Resulting temperature records provide useful constraints for ice sheet and climate model simulations seeking to improve understanding of ice sheet response under a range of climate conditions.
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This content will become publicly available on December 1, 2025
Geologically constrained 2-million-year-long simulations of Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat and expansion through the Pliocene
Abstract Pliocene global temperatures periodically exceeded modern levels, offering insights into ice sheet sensitivity to warm climates. Ice-proximal geologic records from this period provide crucial but limited glimpses of Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior. We use an ice sheet model driven by climate model snapshots to simulate transient glacial cyclicity from 4.5 to 2.6 Ma, providing spatial and temporal context for geologic records. By evaluating model simulations against a comprehensive synthesis of geologic data, we translate the intermittent geologic record into a continuous reconstruction of Antarctic sea level contributions, revealing a dynamic ice sheet that contributed up to 25 m of glacial-interglacial sea level change. Model grounding line behavior across all major Antarctic catchments exhibits an extended period of receded ice during the mid-Pliocene, coincident with proximal geologic data around Antarctica but earlier than peak warmth in the Northern Hemisphere. Marine ice sheet collapse is triggered with 1.5 °C model subsurface ocean warming.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2035080
- PAR ID:
- 10554504
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer Nature
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 15
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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