Abstract

Antarctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system, affecting a range of physical and biogeochemical feedbacks, and supporting unique ecosystems. During the Last Glacial period, Antarctic sea ice was more extensive than today, but uncertainties remain in geological (marine sediments), glaciological (ice core), and climate model reconstructions of past sea-ice extent.

Here, we present a novel archive of past sea-ice environments from regurgitated stomach oils of snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea), recovered from breeding colonies in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Our reconstructions span the last ~50,00 years, during which time Antarctic sea ice expanded to its maximum extent, then retreated from the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene. In this talk I’ll outline how we are unpicking the complex multi-proxy signals of diet and environmental change, and how these might link to changes in the Antarctic ice sheet and Southern Ocean circulation over the same time intervals.