Search for: All records

Abstract Over the last 3.3 million years, the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) has undergone phases of ice sheet growth and decay, impacting sea level and climate globally. Presently, the largely marine‐terminating AIS loses mass primarily by iceberg calving and basal melt of ice shelves. Quantifying past rates and timing of AIS melt is vital to understanding future cryosphere and sea level changes. One proxy for past ice sheet instabilities is iceberg rafted debris (IRD) fluxes. However, traditional methods of IRD quantification are labor‐intensive. Here, we present a new method of identifying IRD grains in sediment core X‐ray images using a convolutional neural network machine learning algorithm. We present a 3.3‐million‐year record of AIS IRD melt events using sediment cores from International Ocean Discovery Program Sites U1536, U1537, and U1538 in the Southern Ocean's “Iceberg Alley.” We identify two increases in the IRD fluxes throughout this period, at ∼1.8 and 0.43 Ma. We propose that after 1.8 Ma, the AIS expanded and transitioned from a primarily terrestrial‐terminating to a primarily marine‐terminating ice sheet. Therefore, after 1.8 Ma, glacial terminations and AIS iceberg discharge are associated with variations in global ice volume, presumably through the mechanism of sea level and, therefore, grounding line change. The second AIS regime change occurs during the Mid‐Brunhes Event (∼0.43 Ma). After this time, there are heightened and continuous IRD fluxes at each glacial termination, indicating increased AIS size and instability after this time. 

Abstract We document an apparent downward displacement of the Matuyama‐Brunhes magnetic reversal by ∼20 m at Scotia Sea International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1538 (Pirie Basin) by comparison with the well‐defined paleomagnetic record at nearby Site U1537 (Dove Basin). Detailed stratigraphic correlation between the two sites is possible due to similar lithologic variations. However, the two sites have distinctly different porewater geochemistry. Notably, Site U1538 indicates a greater demand for electron acceptors to oxidize organic carbon and Fe²⁺enrichment below the depth of SO₄²⁻depletion. Magnetic parameters indicate enrichment of an authigenic magnetic mineral with strong remanence properties around the depth of SO₄²⁻depletion (∼46 m at Site U1538) relative to magnetic parameters at correlative depths at Site U1537. Fe²⁺enrichment below the depth of SO₄²⁻depletion is not predicted based on the energetically favorable order of electron acceptors for microbial respiration but is documented here and in other depositional settings. This indicates Fe²⁺production exceeds the production of H₂S by SO₄²⁻reduction, providing a geochemical environment that favors the production and preservation of ferrimagnetic remanence‐bearing iron sulfides over paramagnetic pyrite and, thus, a mechanism for deep chemical remanent magnetization acquisition at depths of tens of meters. The influence of authigenic ferrimagnetic iron sulfides on paleomagnetic signals can be difficult to demonstrate with magnetic properties alone; therefore, this finding has implications for evaluating the fidelity of magnetostratigraphic records with complementary geochemical data. Such situations should be considered in other depositional environments with similar porewater Fe²⁺accumulation below the SO₄²⁻reduction depth. 

Abstract Early Pleistocene Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)‐31 (1.081–1.062 Ma) is a unique interval of extreme global warming, including evidence of a West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) collapse. Here we present a new 1,000‐year resolution, spanning 1.110–1.030 Ma, diatom‐based reconstruction of primary productivity, relative sea surface temperature changes, sea‐ice proximity/open ocean conditions and diatom species absolute abundances during MIS‐31, from the Scotia Sea (59°S) using deep‐sea sediments collected during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 382. The lower Jaramillo magnetic reversal (base of C1r.1n, 1.071 Ma) provides a robust and independent time‐stratigraphic marker to correlate records from other drill cores in the Antarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean (AZSO). An increase in open ocean speciesFragilariopsis kerguelensisin early MIS‐31 at 53°S (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1,094) correlates with increased obliquity forcing, whereas at 59°S (IODP Site U1537; this study) three progressively increasing, successive peaks in the relative abundance ofF. kerguelensiscorrelate with Southern Hemisphere‐phased precession pacing. These observations reveal a complex pattern of ocean temperature change and sustained sea surface temperature increase lasting longer than a precession cycle within the Atlantic sector of the AZSO. Timing of an inferred WAIS collapse is consistent with delayed warmth (possibly driven by sea‐ice dynamics) in the southern AZSO, supporting models that indicate WAIS sensitivity to local sub‐ice shelf melting. Anthropogenically enhanced impingement of relatively warm water beneath the ice shelves today highlights the importance of understanding dynamic responses of the WAIS during MIS‐31, a warmer than Holocene interglacial. 

Abstract Ice loss in the Southern Hemisphere has been greatest over the past 30 years in West Antarctica. The high sensitivity of this region to climate change has motivated geologists to examine marine sedimentary records for evidence of past episodes of West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) instability. Sediments accumulating in the Scotia Sea are useful to examine for this purpose because they receive iceberg‐rafted debris (IBRD) sourced from the Pacific‐ and Atlantic‐facing sectors of West Antarctica. Here we report on the sedimentology and provenance of the oldest of three cm‐scale coarse‐grained layers recovered from this sea at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1538. These layers are preserved in opal‐rich sediments deposited ∼1.2 Ma during a relatively warm regional climate. Our microCT‐based analysis of the layer's in‐situ fabric confirms its ice‐rafted origin. We further infer that it is the product of an intense but short‐lived episode of IBRD deposition. Based on the petrography of its sand fraction and the Phanerozoic⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of hornblende and mica it contains, we conclude that the IBRD it contains was likely sourced from the Weddell Sea and/or Amundsen Sea embayment(s) of West Antarctica. We attribute the high concentrations of IBRD in these layers to “dirty” icebergs calved from the WAIS following its retreat inland from its modern grounding line. These layers also sit at the top of a ∼366‐m thick Pliocene and early Pleistocene sequence that is much more dropstone‐rich than its overlying sediments. We speculate this fact may reflect that WAIS mass‐balance was highly dynamic during the ∼41‐kyr (inter)glacial world. 

Abstract. Biostratigraphy is frequently used to generate age models and is significant to understanding the rate and timing of Cenozoic climate change. Records from the Southern Ocean (SO) are particularly valuable in understanding the past behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, whereby clues to this behavior can be gained from the presence and composition of preserved microfossils. Diatoms, a nearly ubiquitous group of microalgae that make cell walls out of opal, preserve well in Southern Ocean sediments and have been used extensively in Southern Ocean biostratigraphy. Here, we present an updated diatom biostratigraphy of the Southern Ocean extending 3.3 Myr from sediments recovered during International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 382 “Iceberg Alley” Site U1537. Furthermore, we compare a tuned age model to a paleomagnetic-based age model to provide two independent estimates of ages of these datums with quantified uncertainty. The high sedimentation rate found at Site U1537 allows detailed age assessment, allowing the generation of more finely tuned age models in Southern Ocean sediments. 

Data files for rock magnetic data collected on discrete samples at the Institute for Rock Magnetism, University of Minnesota on a Quantum Designs Magnetic Properties System 3 (MPMS3) and Lakeshore Model 8600 Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). Data include Field Cooled (FC), Zero Field Cooled (ZFC), and Low Temperature Cycling of Room Temperature Saturation Isothermal Remanent Magnetization (LTC-RTSIRM) curves measured on the MPMS and Hysteresis Loops, Direct Current Demagnetization Curves, and Hysteresis Loops collected on the VSM. 

{"Abstract":["Supplementary tables in support of "Antarctic response to orbital forcing during the intensification of extensive bipolar glaciation (1.75-3.30 Ma) from relative paleomagnetic intensity (RPI) stratigraphy of the Dove Basin, Scotia Sea, in Iceberg Alley.""]} 

Glacial-marine sediments from the Antarctic continental margin provide a record of depositional environment, oceanographic variability and ice dynamics that is tapped with scientific ocean drilling. This study focuses on Ocean Drilling Program Core 693A-2R, a 9.7 m sediment core retrieved from near the continental margin of the Archean Grunehogna Craton in Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica. The results contribute to a better understanding of ice-shelf behavior in DML during the mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT), a well-known transition from 40-kyr to 100-kyr cycle periods. The age model, constructed based on Sr isotope stratigraphy and geomagnetic reversals, indicates that the core spans 1.20 to 0.65 Ma. The dynamic behavior of DML ice shelves with periodic iceberg calving is revealed by the glacial–interglacial variation in sedimentation patterns, with interglacials characterized by higher concentrations of ice-rafted debris (IRD) associated with enhanced paleo- productivity than glacial intervals. The responses of DML ice shelves to warm climates are represented by a prolonged interglacial period at 1.0–1.1 Ma (MIS 31–27) and significant interglacial expressions during MIS 19 and 17. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of individual ice-rafted hornblende grains are compared with the on-land geology of DML and neighboring regions to determine the provenances of IRD. Specifically, 40Ar/39Ar results record pri- marily late Neoproterozoic to Cambrian ages (600–400 Ma) with a predominant peak of 520–480 Ma. This Pan- African/Ross orogeny signature is very common in East Antarctica but is not found in the most proximal margin of the Grunehogna Craton, and is instead associated with the region of DML several hundred kilometers east of the deposition site. This indicates that significant discharges of icebergs occurred in the remote DML, which were then transported by the westward-flowing Antarctic Coastal Current to deposit IRD at the studied site during the MPT. This study establishes a confirmed MPT sedimentary sequence off DML, against which future MPT proxy records from the Weddell Sea embayment and other sectors in Antarctica can be compared and correlated, and provides a basis for more detailed analyses of the response of DML ice sheet to Pleistocene climate variations. 

Computed Tomography (CT) Data Collected on IODP Site U1537 u-channel samples using the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine Toshiba Aquillon 64 Slice Medical CT Scanner in collaboration with the Oregon State University Marine and Geology Repository.  U-channels were measured in batches of 8 with derived CT data selecting only a portion of these original files for each u-channel.  All data are archived in DICOM format and have been processed using SedCT Matlab Tools (Reilly et al., 2017; 10.1002/2017GC006884).   Files Include: U1537 U-Channel CT DICOM Files (Original).zip Data in DICOM format from original scans measured in batches of 8.  Includes excel spreadsheet with identifying information for which sections were measured in each scan. U1537A U-Channel CT DICOM Files (Split).zip Data in DICOM format, segmented so each u-channel is a sperate file.  Folder system organized by section with two subfolders included for scans that needed to be run in two scans (nominally sections longer than 1 m).  Includes U1537A sections: 24H-2A, 24H-3A, 24H-4A, 25H-3A, 25H-4A, 25H-5A, 25H-6A, 26H-2A, 26H-3A, 26H-4A, 26H-5A, 26H-6A, 26H-7A, 26H-8A, 27F-3A, 2F-4A. U1537D U-Channel CT DICOM Files (Split).zip Data in DICOM format, segmented so each u-channel is a sperate file.  Folder system organized by section with two subfolders included for scans that needed to be run in two scans (nominally sections longer than 1 m).  Includes U1537D sections: 24H-1W, 24H-2W, 24H-3W, 24H-4W, 24H-5W, 24H-6W, 25H-1W, 25H-2W, 25H-3W, 25H-4W, 25H-5W, 25H-6W, 25H-7W, 26H-5W, 26H-6W, 26H-7W, 27H-2W, 27H-3W, 27H-4W, 27H-5W,  27H-6W, 27H-W, 28F-1W, 28F-2W, 28F-3W, 29F-1W, 29F-2W, 29F-3W, 29F-4W, 30F-1W, 30F-2W, 30F-3W, 30F-4W, 31F-1W, 31F-2W, 31F-3W, 31F-4W. U1537A SedCT Output.zip CT#s, unscaled TIFF files, and PNG files scaled to 200-1400 HU for U1537A u-channels generated using SedCT Matlab Tools. U1537D SedCT Output.zip CT#s, unscaled TIFF files, and PNG files scaled to 200-1400 HU for U1537D u-channels generated using SedCT Matlab Tools. CTnumbers.zip CT# data organized for each core into excel spreadsheets.