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SUMMARY:A paleoclimate perspective on the (in)stability of the West Antarc
 tic Ice Sheet - Eric Wolff\, Department of Earth Sciences
DTSTART:20240123T120000Z
DTEND:20240123T130000Z
UID:TALK210181@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Rachael Rhodes
DESCRIPTION:There is intense interest in the future stability of the West 
 Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS).  Models range widely in their predictions and 
 in the physics they include.  Because the timescales for ice sheets are lo
 ng\, our best hope of constraining the solutions is to look at the past be
 haviour of WAIS. Two periods are of particular interest. The end of the la
 st glacial period is a time when we know that ice was retreating from its 
 glacial extent\, so we can study the pace of retreat. The last interglacia
 l (LIG) is a particularly important time because Antarctic temperature was
  higher than present and some models predict the complete loss of WAIS and
  of the large ice shelves adjacent to it.\n\nWithin the WACSWAIN (WArm Cli
 mate Stability of the West Antarctic ice sheet in the last INterglacial) p
 roject\, in 2019 we retrieved a 651 metre ice core to the bed of Skytrain 
 Ice Rise. This ice rise is adjacent to the Ronne Ice Shelf and the WAIS\, 
 but is expected to have maintained an independent ice flow because of the 
 protection afforded by the Ellsworth Mountains.  The ice core has been pro
 cessed and analysed continuously for a range of analytes\, including water
  isotopes\, methane and major chemistry.\n\nOur analyses show that the cor
 e is continuous through the last glacial period\, and most of the last int
 erglacial. Folds occur near the base\, in the ice at the older end of the 
 LIG\, so that although older ice may be present\, we can only interpret th
 e core to 125 ka.\n\nHere\, I will show what happened to the ice around Sk
 ytrain Ice Rise in the Holocene and the LIG\, and discuss the implications
  for the rate and extent of future ice loss.\n
LOCATION:Department of Earth Sciences\, Tilley Lecture Theatre
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