Assessing the role of oceanic forcing in West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat since the Last Glacial Maximum
Lead Research Organisation:
British Antarctic Survey
Department Name: Science Programmes
Abstract
Accurate predictions of sea-level rise are critical if governments are to plan for the future in a warming world. For London and other low-lying parts of the UK, knowing when and by how much sea level will rise will determine when costly infrastructure like the Thames Barrier is upgraded. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified rapidly melting ice sheets as the main source of accelerating sea level rise and stated that collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will cause sea-level to rise at rates much higher than currently predicted.
Understanding the behaviour of glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is key to the accuracy of such predictions. They represent one-third of the total discharge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and are currently contributing to sea level rise at a significant and accelerating rate. It is widely understood that increased glacier melting in this region is driven by incursions of warm ocean water, called Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). This warm water flows onto the continental shelf and beneath the floating parts of the glaciers where it melts the glacier ice. Measurements have shown that the temperature and volume of CDW in the Amundsen Sea has increased during the past decade, which has coincided with increased glacier melting and sea level rise. We also know that the arrival of CDW to the area is affected by the weather systems over the ocean which means that CDW is sensitive to changes in atmospheric conditions.
Although the idea that warm water is driving glacier retreat is now firmly established, it is unclear (and a factor limiting our ability to predict future changes) how the volume and temperature of CDW has varied over longer timescales. The current generation of predictive ice sheet models assume that melting of the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea will be maintained or increase in future. However with only two decades of ocean temperature data from the Amundsen Sea it is difficult to confirm whether the models are accurate.
Given the rate of ice loss in this area and the implications for sea defence planning worldwide, there is a fundamental need to understand the long-term history of CDW incursion and whether the ocean temperatures we see today are unique or have varied substantially in the past. This research will directly address this lack of knowledge by reconstructing ocean temperature in the Amundsen Sea over the past 25,000 years and its relationship to past ice sheet retreat.
To achieve this we will apply two independent methods to reconstruct past ocean temperatures from well-dated marine sediment cores from the Amundsen Sea. The first method uses specific organic remains (from marine microbes that live in the surface waters) whilst the second method uses the chemical composition of calcareous shells found in the sediments. Using these different techniques we will be able to reconstruct surface, sub-surface and deep water temperatures and compare them to well-dated records of ice sheet retreat over the past 25,000 years. If our results show that past ice sheet retreats coincided with warm ocean temperatures, then we can quantify the relationship between incursions of CDW and ice sheet retreat. One implication of this could be that modern changes are part of a long term 'trajectory' that needs to be incorporated into predictive models. On the other hand, if the timing of ice sheet retreat did not coincide with the presence of warm water, or that incursions of CDW has varied substantially in the past then this would also have significant implications for future predictions. Ultimately our data will help underpin the next generation of ice sheet models and in turn, well-validated ice sheet models will be able to better predict future sea-level rise. Overall this project will deliver significant improvements in our understanding of the sensitivity of ice sheets to incursions of warm water.
Understanding the behaviour of glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is key to the accuracy of such predictions. They represent one-third of the total discharge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and are currently contributing to sea level rise at a significant and accelerating rate. It is widely understood that increased glacier melting in this region is driven by incursions of warm ocean water, called Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). This warm water flows onto the continental shelf and beneath the floating parts of the glaciers where it melts the glacier ice. Measurements have shown that the temperature and volume of CDW in the Amundsen Sea has increased during the past decade, which has coincided with increased glacier melting and sea level rise. We also know that the arrival of CDW to the area is affected by the weather systems over the ocean which means that CDW is sensitive to changes in atmospheric conditions.
Although the idea that warm water is driving glacier retreat is now firmly established, it is unclear (and a factor limiting our ability to predict future changes) how the volume and temperature of CDW has varied over longer timescales. The current generation of predictive ice sheet models assume that melting of the glaciers in the Amundsen Sea will be maintained or increase in future. However with only two decades of ocean temperature data from the Amundsen Sea it is difficult to confirm whether the models are accurate.
Given the rate of ice loss in this area and the implications for sea defence planning worldwide, there is a fundamental need to understand the long-term history of CDW incursion and whether the ocean temperatures we see today are unique or have varied substantially in the past. This research will directly address this lack of knowledge by reconstructing ocean temperature in the Amundsen Sea over the past 25,000 years and its relationship to past ice sheet retreat.
To achieve this we will apply two independent methods to reconstruct past ocean temperatures from well-dated marine sediment cores from the Amundsen Sea. The first method uses specific organic remains (from marine microbes that live in the surface waters) whilst the second method uses the chemical composition of calcareous shells found in the sediments. Using these different techniques we will be able to reconstruct surface, sub-surface and deep water temperatures and compare them to well-dated records of ice sheet retreat over the past 25,000 years. If our results show that past ice sheet retreats coincided with warm ocean temperatures, then we can quantify the relationship between incursions of CDW and ice sheet retreat. One implication of this could be that modern changes are part of a long term 'trajectory' that needs to be incorporated into predictive models. On the other hand, if the timing of ice sheet retreat did not coincide with the presence of warm water, or that incursions of CDW has varied substantially in the past then this would also have significant implications for future predictions. Ultimately our data will help underpin the next generation of ice sheet models and in turn, well-validated ice sheet models will be able to better predict future sea-level rise. Overall this project will deliver significant improvements in our understanding of the sensitivity of ice sheets to incursions of warm water.
Planned Impact
1. Who will benefit?
Academics: Our project will deliver detailed information about ocean temperature over the past 25,000 years that will be useful to a range of academics and especially ice sheet modellers who have a role in producing local, regional and global sea-level projections (e.g. UK Climate Impacts Programme).
Government & policy makers: (1) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is by far the most influential group synthesising and delivering sea-level rise projections to policy-makers; and (2) Governmental and non-governmental advisors (e.g. Dept. of Energy & Climate Change, UK Environment Agency), who monitor prediction of sea level change. They will use output from models constrained by our data.
Society: Melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and future sea-level rise is high on the public agenda having been widely reported in the UK and world media. Thus, we will have considerable potential to engage wider public interest.
NERC: Predicting the response of ice sheets to sea-level rise is key goal of NERC's strategic science policy. Critical to our understanding of the stability of ice sheets is the role of warm deep-water upwelling in driving both contemporary and past ice sheet changes. The proposed research will therefore help to meet objectives in NERC's science strategy and especially its Ice Sheet Stability programme (i.e. iSTAR-B & C)
2. How?
Academics: We will engage with the wider modelling community through our links with PP Pollard, who is currently a leading international expert in modelling the past retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Amundsen Sea. Specifically, we plan to hold a one-day data-model integration workshop at the British Antarctic Survey. Our aim is to bring together ice sheet modellers from the UK and European community to discuss data and develop approaches to reduce uncertainties in sea-level predictions for the Amundsen Sea. Our records of ocean temperature and ice sheet retreat will be a key dataset for use in their models, and we will make it available for a future intercomparison exercise.
Government & policy makers: Our results will be published in peer-reviewed literature which the IPCC use as a primary basis for their work. We will write a Science Briefing Document for Government and submit a white paper to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting to demonstrate how our research outcomes are relevant to everyday lives. We will use these documents to engage with other non-governmental advisors (e.g. Living With Environmental Change partnership, UK Environment Agency) who closely monitor research regarding sea-level projections and who are effective at bringing scientific discovery to policy makers.
Society: To promote our findings to the public, and enthuse the next generation in science, PI Smith will become a STEM TEAM Ambassador for Cambridgeshire and give annual talks to local schools throughout the duration of the project. Regular science up-dates will be published via a project blog and Twitter account and we will include our results in the BAS schools pack, which provides an excellent educational material for schools.
NERC: PI Smith will produce a podcast and article for Planet Earth, NERC's online quarterly magazine, about the results of our research. In addition, Co-I Hendry has recently been elected to the NERC UK Polar Partnerships steering committee, which will ensure that our results reach a wider NERC community.
Academics: Our project will deliver detailed information about ocean temperature over the past 25,000 years that will be useful to a range of academics and especially ice sheet modellers who have a role in producing local, regional and global sea-level projections (e.g. UK Climate Impacts Programme).
Government & policy makers: (1) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is by far the most influential group synthesising and delivering sea-level rise projections to policy-makers; and (2) Governmental and non-governmental advisors (e.g. Dept. of Energy & Climate Change, UK Environment Agency), who monitor prediction of sea level change. They will use output from models constrained by our data.
Society: Melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and future sea-level rise is high on the public agenda having been widely reported in the UK and world media. Thus, we will have considerable potential to engage wider public interest.
NERC: Predicting the response of ice sheets to sea-level rise is key goal of NERC's strategic science policy. Critical to our understanding of the stability of ice sheets is the role of warm deep-water upwelling in driving both contemporary and past ice sheet changes. The proposed research will therefore help to meet objectives in NERC's science strategy and especially its Ice Sheet Stability programme (i.e. iSTAR-B & C)
2. How?
Academics: We will engage with the wider modelling community through our links with PP Pollard, who is currently a leading international expert in modelling the past retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Amundsen Sea. Specifically, we plan to hold a one-day data-model integration workshop at the British Antarctic Survey. Our aim is to bring together ice sheet modellers from the UK and European community to discuss data and develop approaches to reduce uncertainties in sea-level predictions for the Amundsen Sea. Our records of ocean temperature and ice sheet retreat will be a key dataset for use in their models, and we will make it available for a future intercomparison exercise.
Government & policy makers: Our results will be published in peer-reviewed literature which the IPCC use as a primary basis for their work. We will write a Science Briefing Document for Government and submit a white paper to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting to demonstrate how our research outcomes are relevant to everyday lives. We will use these documents to engage with other non-governmental advisors (e.g. Living With Environmental Change partnership, UK Environment Agency) who closely monitor research regarding sea-level projections and who are effective at bringing scientific discovery to policy makers.
Society: To promote our findings to the public, and enthuse the next generation in science, PI Smith will become a STEM TEAM Ambassador for Cambridgeshire and give annual talks to local schools throughout the duration of the project. Regular science up-dates will be published via a project blog and Twitter account and we will include our results in the BAS schools pack, which provides an excellent educational material for schools.
NERC: PI Smith will produce a podcast and article for Planet Earth, NERC's online quarterly magazine, about the results of our research. In addition, Co-I Hendry has recently been elected to the NERC UK Polar Partnerships steering committee, which will ensure that our results reach a wider NERC community.
Organisations
- British Antarctic Survey (Lead Research Organisation)
- University of Canberra (Collaboration)
- University of South Florida (Collaboration)
- ETH Zurich (Collaboration)
- Penn State University (Collaboration)
- Victoria University of Wellington (Collaboration)
- Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Collaboration)
- Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Project Partner)
- Pennsylvania State University (Project Partner)
Publications
Dickens WA
(2019)
Enhanced glacial discharge from the eastern Antarctic Peninsula since the 1700s associated with a positive Southern Annular Mode.
in Scientific reports
Hillenbrand CD
(2017)
West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat driven by Holocene warm water incursions.
in Nature
Jenkins A
(2016)
Decadal Ocean Forcing and Antarctic Ice Sheet Response: Lessons from the Amundsen Sea
in Oceanography
Johnson J
(2020)
Deglaciation of Pope Glacier implies widespread early Holocene ice sheet thinning in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica
in Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Jones R
(2022)
Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene
in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Jones, R.S.
(2022)
Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene
in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Lamping N
(2020)
Highly branched isoprenoids reveal onset of deglaciation followed by dynamic sea-ice conditions in the western Amundsen Sea, Antarctica
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Lamping, N
(2020)
Highly branched isoprenoids reveal onset of deglaciation followed by dynamic sea-ice conditions in the western Amundsen Sea, Antarctica
in Quaternary Science Reviews
Description | We have developed the first regional (Amundsen Sea) magnesium/calcium (Mg/Ca) temperature calibration. A manuscript (Mawbey et al., 2020) detailing this calibration was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. This allows ocean temperature to be derived from the geochemical analysis of certain calcareous micro-fossils (in this case the benthic foraminifera Trifarina sp.). We have also developed further understanding of the use of biomarkers (GDGTs) to establish absolute sub-surface ocean temperatures in the Amundsen Sea. A manuscript (Spence-Jones et al., in revision) detailing these results has been submitted Biogeosciences. We anticipate two additional papers detailing the first downcore palaeo-temperature recconstructions (spanning the past ~20,000 years) for the Amundsen Sea: 1) Mawbey, Smith et al., in prep. Circumpolar Deep Water is the primary driver of ice sheet retreat. 2) Spencer-Jones, Smith et al., in prep. Environmental changes in the western Amundsen Sea during the past ~11,500 years. I have also contributed to three project-related papers by colleagues at AWI, BAS and Imperial College: 1. Lamping, N., Müller, J., Esper, O., Hillenbrand, C.-D., Smith, J.A., Kuhn, G. (2020). Highly branched isoprenoids reveal onset of deglaciation followed by dynamic sea-ice conditions in the western Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews 228, 16103. 2. Johnson, J., Schaefer, J., Roberts, S.J., Rood, D., Whitehouse, P., Pollard, D., Smith, J.A. (2020). Deglaciation of Pope Glacier implies widespread early Holocene ice sheet thinning in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 548, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116501. 3. Pereira, P.S., van de Flierdt, T., Hemming, S.R., Frederichs, T, Hammond, S.J., Brachfeld, S., Doherty, C., Kuhn, G., Smith, J.A., Klages, J.P., Hillenbrand, C.-D. (2020) The geochemical and mineralogical fingerprint of West Antarctica's weak underbelly: Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. Chemical Geology, 550. 15 pp. 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.119649 |
Exploitation Route | Future attempts to derive accurate past (palaeo) ocean temperatures will rely on our calibrations and datasets. Thus the resulting publications will be transformative and well cited. |
Sectors | Education Environment Other |
Description | Anthropogenic Forcing of Antarctic Ice Loss (AnthroFAIL) |
Amount | £497,704 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/X000397/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2023 |
End | 06/2026 |
Description | NSFPLR-NERC: THwaites Offshore Research (THOR) |
Amount | £977,470 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/S006664/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2018 |
End | 09/2025 |
Description | UK SWAIS 2C |
Amount | £785,743 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/X009386/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2024 |
End | 01/2027 |
Title | Developed proxies to reconstruct ocean temperature |
Description | Our project developed trace metal and intact polar lipids for use in Polar regions and specifically, the Antarctic continental shelf |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Community take-up of methods |
Title | Downcore Mg/Ca, d18O, d13C data from Amundsen Sea |
Description | We have generated >150 Mg/Ca, d18O and d13C datapoints that will be used to reconstruct past ocean temperatures in the Amundsen Sea. This data will contribute to our knowledge of the past sensitivity of the WAIS to variations in warm water that will ultimately help underpin future predictioins about the contribution of the WAIS to sea-level rise. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | The data will be published in summer/Autumn 2019 |
Title | Downcore biomaker data |
Description | Databse of >150 biomaker (GDGT, IPL) information from numerous sediment core and water samples from the Amundsen Sea |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | These results will be published in 2019 |
Description | Advances in dating methods |
Organisation | ETH Zurich |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Dating marine sequences from glaci-proximal environments around Antarctica is challenging. We have collaborated with specialist Dr Lukas Wacker (ETH, Zurich) to improve this situation by applying multiple dating methods |
Collaborator Contribution | Implemented state-of-the-art radiocarbon dating methods (MICADAS) |
Impact | Papers are currently submitted/in-preparation |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Circum-Antarctic core top calibration |
Organisation | University of South Florida |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-ordinated an effort to improve core top calibration for Mg/Ca |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners at USF (and AWI Bremerhaven) supply samples from the East Antarctic margin and Weddell Sea respectively. |
Impact | Mawbey, Elaine M., Hendry, Katharine R., Greaves, Mervyn J., Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter , Kuhn, Gerhard, Spencer-Jones, Charlotte L., McClymont, Erin L., Vadman, Kara J., Shevenell, Amelia E., Jernas, Patrycja E., Smith, James A. (2020). Mg/Ca-Temperature Calibration of Polar Benthic foraminifera species for reconstruction of bottom water temperatures on the Antarctic shelf. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 283. 54-66. 10.1016/j.gca.2020.05.027. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Collaboration with AWI |
Organisation | Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Novel/innovative analytical methods to existing AWI samples. |
Collaborator Contribution | Supply samples, contextual information and expertise |
Impact | No outputs yet |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Collaboration with Professor David Pollard, Penn State |
Organisation | Penn State University |
Department | Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Established a working relationship over email. Organized a meet-up at BAS to discuss project and deliverables |
Collaborator Contribution | Prof. Pollard will deliver state-of-the-art ice sheet modelling to help answer the aims set out in our proposal in year 3-yr of the project |
Impact | Established a working relationship over email. Organized a meet-up at BAS to discuss project and deliverables |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Developing Beryllium isotopes as a proxy deep water upwelling and ice shelf history |
Organisation | University of Canberra |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have supplied sample material and expertise on warm water intrusions/up welling and how this relates to glacial history in key sectors of Antarctica (Amundsen Sea, Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea). |
Collaborator Contribution | This work has been able to resolve the sources of 10Be around Antarctica, and assess its utility as a proxy for ice shelf presence or absence. |
Impact | PhD Thesis by Matthew R. Jeromson: Beryllium isotopes across Antarctica's continental shelf: can they be used as a proxy for ice shelf environment, meltwater discharge, or upwelling? University of Canberra, 2022 Paper in prep: Jeromson, M.R., et al. Tracing Circumpolar Deep-Water upwelling around Antarctica with Beryllium-isotopes |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Re-run samples to assess TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of 86 carbon atoms) proxy |
Organisation | Victoria University of Wellington |
Country | New Zealand |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provide samples from core VC424 (Amundsen Sea Polynya) to assess TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of 86 carbon atoms) proxy |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr Bella Duncan (Research Fellow in Organic Geochemistry, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ) offered to run a test set of samples from core VC424 to see if her laboratory could obtain better signals than our analytical results from Durham |
Impact | Ongoing collaboration, awaiting laboratory results |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | ITGC workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Workshop discussing use of ocean proxies to reconstruct ocean temperature |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Science dissemination |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Various conference talk(s) to scientists, postrgraduate students, media and general public. Each talk led to numerous questions and extensive discussions with international and national piers, partners and collaborators. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017,2018 |
Description | Social media |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | We established a project website and twitter account (January 2016) to promote awareness of our project and findings. The twitter account (CDW_25k) will be used to report progress and new findings to the general public and scientific communities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | https://twitter.com/cdw_25 |