Antarctic Deep Water Circulation and Continental Weathering from the Eocene Greenhouse to the Oligocene Icehouse (IODP Expedition 318, Wilkes Land).
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Earth Science and Engineering
Abstract
We are currently living in a world of climate change. Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are rising at a rate unprecedented in the history of the Earth, and there is no doubt that a large part of this rise is due to human acitivity. Our ability to predict the effects of increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and associated warming, heavily depends on understanding the relationship between physical, chemical, and biological processes in the Earth system, which are intrinsically coupled to temperature and atmospheric CO2 through so called 'feedback mechanisms'. But how can we study such mechanisms? One important aspect is to study how the modern climate system operates, by direct observations. However, such observations can only cover time spans, which are relatively short. To see the full swings of the climate system, we need to go beyond human observations and look at climate archives of the past, such as sediment cores recovered from the bottom of the ocean. More than 30 years of internationally coordinated ocean drilling has retrieved drillcores containing climate records from hundreds of locations all across the ocean basins, reaching back in time more than 100 million years. Reconstruction of various parameters of the climate system from such cores, such as ocean temperatures, intensity of continental weathering, or past ocean circulation patterns, has provided valuable insights into the climate system, existing feedback mechanisms and how they operated in the past. The most significant (natural) climate swing of the past 65 million years was the transition from the Greenhouse world, characterised by subtropical conditions even at high latitudes (Arctic and Antarctic; ~50 million years ago) to the icehouse world we are currently living in (i.e., warm temperature at low latitudes, cold temperatures at high latitudes; started ~33 million years ago). To understand this climate transition, we have to study what actually happened at high latitudes. Expedition 318 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) took on this challenge and aimed to drill for the first time in 10 years sediment cores close to the Antarctic continent. Drilling in the vicinity of Antarctica is a technically challenging task due to weather and ice conditions, but also due to the nature of the often coarse-grained sediments at the seafloor. Expedition 318 took place in January to March 2010, and what we came back with is a spectacular record of sediments that tells us a story about peak greenhouse conditions, the earliest moments of the icehouse world, and the history of the Antarctic ice sheet all the way from ~30 million years ago to today. While this material will enable us to address many longstanding questions in climate change, it is especially noteworthy that this is the first time peak greenhouse sediments have been recovered from an area proximal to the East Antarctic coast. These sediments, together with the ones characteristic of the first moments of the icehouse world, build the center of our proposed study. We developed a research plan to study continental weathering and ocean circulation, two of the key climate variables, in the new cores. Our results will build a critical step in developing a more comprehensive understanding of drivers, amplifiers, and feedbacks in the climate system.
Publications
Robinson S
(2021)
Global continental and marine detrital eNd: An updated compilation for use in understanding marine Nd cycling
in Chemical Geology
Uenzelmann-Neben G
(2022)
Deep water inflow slowed offshore expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet at the Eocene-Oligocene transition
in Communications Earth & Environment
Pierce E
(2017)
Evidence for a dynamic East Antarctic ice sheet during the mid-Miocene climate transition
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Huck C
(2016)
Robustness of fossil fish teeth for seawater neodymium isotope reconstructions under variable redox conditions in an ancient shallow marine setting
in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Passchier S
(2013)
Early Eocene to middle Miocene cooling and aridification of East Antarctica
in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Van De Flierdt T
(2011)
Continental weathering through the onset of Antarctic glaciation
in Geology
Cox S
(2010)
Extremely low long-term erosion rates around the Gamburtsev Mountains in interior East Antarctica
in Geophysical Research Letters
Evangelinos D
(2022)
Absence of a strong, deep-reaching Antarctic Circumpolar Current zonal flow across the Tasmanian gateway during the Oligocene to early Miocene
in Global and Planetary Change
Evangelinos D
(2020)
Late Oligocene-Miocene proto-Antarctic Circumpolar Current dynamics off the Wilkes Land margin, East Antarctica
in Global and Planetary Change
Title | Grantham art prize |
Description | Melanie King created spinach anthotype of the B46 iceberg that calved off Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. |
Type Of Art | Artwork |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | Great interactions with the general audience at the award ceremony and following reception. |
URL | https://www.melaniek.co.uk/pine-island-glacier#! |
Description | Our data show that a tropical environment prevailed on the Antarctic continent during the Eocene warmth some 50 million years ago (e.g. palm trees in coastal areas). The first continental scale ice sheets reached the margin of Wilkes Land margin some 34 million years ago, and this transition into an icehouse world led to a fundamental change in Southern Ocean ecosystems. From then on the large ice sheet was not stagnant but waxing and waning under the heart beat of well-known natural climate cycles due to the earth's orbit around the sun and resulting changes in solar insolation . Our analyses of the chemical composition and make-up of the sediments drilled off Antarctica tell a story of a pronounced change in climate conditions around Antarctica over the past 50 million years. The project furthermore delivered supporting evidence for a palynology study that documents (sub)tropical conditions on Antarctica's low lying margins during the warm Eocene (~50 million years ago) and an ecosystem study demonstrating the onset of modern-like ecosystems in the Southern Ocean after the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Ocean circulation reconstructions throughout the greenhouse-icehouse transition showed some interesting results in that we found strong indication for deep and bottom water production around the Antarctic margin, even during times of pronounced warmth, making the case for convection in high latitudes due to seasonal temperature contrasts. |
Exploitation Route | We are working on further developing isotope geochemical sediment provenance analyses as a tool in the icehouse world to constrain ice extent on Antarctica. Our results across a variety to timescales provide the first ice-proximal records for some of the periods discussed and are hence invaluable for understanding the bigger picture of climate change and the response of ice sheets to different environmental conditions. |
Sectors | Education Environment |
Description | The results on palm trees growing on coastal Antarctica some 50 million years ago have been all over the media, and definitely contributed to educating the general public on natural climate change questions. |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | Grantham Briefing paper |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/publications/briefing-papers/what-ancient-climates-tell-us-about... |
Description | Antarctic ice sheet history revealed by marine sediment provenance |
Amount | £9,900 (GBP) |
Funding ID | IE110878 |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |
Description | Deglacial ice dynamics in the Weddell Sea embayment using sediment provenance |
Amount | £320,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ANT 1342213 |
Organisation | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | ESSAC-ECORD Research Grant |
Amount | £1,600 (GBP) |
Organisation | European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | History of the East Antarctic ice sheet since the mid-Miocene: new evidence from provenance of ice-rafted debris |
Amount | £215,029 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ANT 0944489 |
Organisation | National Science Foundation (NSF) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start |
Description | Ocean-ice Interaction in the Ross Sea during Past Warm Periods |
Amount | £25,152 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/R018219/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2018 |
End | 12/2019 |
Description | Reconstructing the stability of the Antarctic ice sheets |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | A Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | Major and trace element analysis |
Organisation | Open University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Analysis of fish teeth for their Nd isotopic composition. |
Collaborator Contribution | Analysis of fish teeth for their major and trace element composition. |
Impact | Numerous publications across a range of projects. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Atmosphere exhibiton |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Helped with scientific advise during the design phase of the atmosphere exhibition in the Science Museum (opened in autumn 2010). I take now every year our new first year students to the exhibition and make them present on some aspect of the atmosphere exhibition. It is well received by visitors of the museum. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Blog from IODP expedition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I run a blog reporting live from IODP expedition 318 to Wilkes Land, Antarctica. Many enthusiastic comments about my blog from friend, family, students, and the general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Chasing Ice |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Panelist on a screening of the documentary 'Chasing Ice' at Imperial College London. The audience was stunned by the wonderful pictures presented in this film, but also by the scientific facts revealed by it. They appreciated the presence of science experts on the topic to follow up their questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | EGU poster presentation 2011 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Poster presentation at the EGU 2011 in Vienna, on 'Bulk sediment geochemistry as a tool in palaeoclimate studies; preliminary results from shipboard analyses of IODP Expedition 318' highlighting the value of shipboard bulk sediment geochemistry for preliminary interpretations. Positive comments on modification of IODP protocols for shipboard geochemistry on palaeoceanography legs. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
Description | Earthclass |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Annual open day event by the Department of Earth Science and Engineering to educate school kids on Earth Science topics. The children loved to see how you can take a fish tank, partnered with a bit of salty water, ice cubes and heating elements, and produce ocean circulation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011,2012 |
Description | Evening talk 2013 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Evening talk on Antarctic Science at the Amateur Geological Society in London. Good follow up discussions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Great Exhibition Road Festival |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Penguin mask workshop - >50 people attended this family and kids events to engage with Antarctic exploration and science by making Penguin masks |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/event/penguin-mask-workshop/ |
Description | Great Exhibition Road Festival - Blast from the Past |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The Great Exhibition Road Festival is a new three day celebration of curiosity, discovery and exploration that brings together science and the arts in the spirit of the Great Exhibition of 1851.We had a stand to bring the science done by the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) closer to a general audience. From climate change, over earthquakes, to impacts that killed the dinosaurs. We had truly fantastic interactions with countless member of the public, young and old, scientifically-inclined and intrigued. The festival was visited by 60,000 people and our stand was on the main road. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/193776/great-exhibition-road-festival-2019-earns/ |
Description | Great Exhibition Road Festival - Uncovering our future in Antarctica's past |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Sparked questions and discussion afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/event/uncovering-our-future-antarcticas-past/?backto=w... |
Description | History of Antarctic drilling video |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Participated in filming for a video on the history of Antarctic drilling. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN9faSiGUZQ |
Description | Imperial College Podcast for release of Nature paper |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Audio podcast related to the release of the Pross et al. (2012) paper in Nature. People still come up to me and say 'where there really palm trees in Antarctica some 50 million years ago? how do you know?'. It has been a great story to communicate to the general public and to explain how palaeoclimate research works. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
Description | Inaugural lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Inaugural lecture to a broad audience of colleagues, friends, and the general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/96929/drilling-for-our-future-in-antarcticas-past/ |
Description | London International Youth Science Forum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Outreach talk on Antarctic Science at the London International Youth Science Forum Enthusiastic response from participating pupils. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | MAGIC Elements |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Hundreds of under-12s visited the Imperial Festival stand on MAGIC Elements with their parents. They dressed up as scientists, learned about elements and isotopes, and even about how Antarctica once was a continent with palm trees at its shorelines. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/185986/imperial-festival-transforms-under-12s-into-mini/ |
Description | Media contact Grantham |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Part of a small group of Grantham affiliates that helps with media requests. My expertise is in the are of palaeoclimate and Antarctic ice sheets |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018,2019 |
Description | Open Day 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talk about Earth Science at College wide Open Day. Hopefully it inspires pupils to come and study Earth Sciences! |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Pint of Science 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Outreach talk in a pub to explain science to the general public in a friendly environment. Sparked great discussions on Antarctic ice sheets and sea level change under future climate conditions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Pint of Science 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Outreach talk in a pub to explain science to the general public in a friendly environment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://pintofscience.co.uk/event/understanding-antarctica |
Description | Shipboard outreach program |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A number of weekly videos as well as a trailer and an expedition summary were produced by a professional videographer on the JOIDES Resolution and were distributed via YouTube. Gained lots of enthusiastic responses and marked a novel way to do outreach on an IODP expedition. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
Description | Talk for year 4 in Judith Kerr primary school |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | I talked to school pupils who had discussed Antarctic discovery as part of their curriculum about my experiences on research expeditions to Antarctica. I probably have never answer more questions in one hour than from these enthusiastic 7-year olds. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tweets about climate change, Antarctica, women in science, STEM related topics and (Earth) Science in general. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020 |
Description | UK Antarctic Research talk 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Overview talk on the provenance work on Antarctic ice sheets. Was received well by the Antarctic research community. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | UK IODP conference 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Keynote speaker at the UK IODP conference. Reported results of IODP Expedition 318 to date. Great feedback on how successful this particular expedition was, and great discussions about the work done in my group. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | Year 9 girls summer school |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Webinar to enthuse year 9 girls for engineering - sparked questions and discussions |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | evening lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Evening talk at the Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society in NE London on 'Reconstructing the history of the Antarctic ice sheet. Clues from the past for the future?' Talk lead to a very good discussion with the members of the society and a follow up write-up in their monthly newsletter. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |