Multiple episodes of ice loss from the Wilkes Subglacial Basin during the Last Interglacial

Mutsumi Iizuka (), Osamu Seki (), David J. Wilson, Yusuke Suganuma, Keiji Horikawa, Tina Flierdt, Minoru Ikehara, Takuya Itaki, Tomohisa Irino, Masanobu Yamamoto, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Hiroyuki Matsuzaki and Saiko Sugisaki
Additional contact information
Mutsumi Iizuka: Hokkaido University
Osamu Seki: Hokkaido University
David J. Wilson: University College London and Birkbeck, University of London
Yusuke Suganuma: National Institute of Polar Research
Keiji Horikawa: University of Toyama
Tina Flierdt: Imperial College London
Minoru Ikehara: Kochi University
Takuya Itaki: The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Tomohisa Irino: Hokkaido University
Masanobu Yamamoto: Hokkaido University
Motohiro Hirabayashi: National Institute of Polar Research
Hiroyuki Matsuzaki: The University of Tokyo
Saiko Sugisaki: The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The Last Interglacial (LIG: 130,000–115,000 years ago) was a period of warmer global mean temperatures and higher and more variable sea levels than the Holocene (11,700–0 years ago). Therefore, a better understanding of Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics during this interval would provide valuable insights for projecting sea-level change in future warming scenarios. Here we present a high-resolution record constraining ice-sheet changes in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) of East Antarctica during the LIG, based on analysis of sediment provenance and an ice melt proxy in a marine sediment core retrieved from the Wilkes Land margin. Our sedimentary records, together with existing ice-core records, reveal dynamic fluctuations of the ice sheet in the WSB, with thinning, melting, and potentially retreat leading to ice loss during both early and late stages of the LIG. We suggest that such changes along the East Antarctic Ice Sheet margin may have contributed to fluctuating global sea levels during the LIG.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37325-y

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