东南极冰盖的形成和长期不稳定
Sean P S Gulick1, Amelia E Shevenell2, Aleksandr Montelli1
1Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78758, USA.
Nature
|December 15, 2017
概括
东南极冰层 (EAIS) 在以欧纪时期具有显著的冰量,早于其大陆规模的形成. 冰川活动显示出对气候变暖的敏感性, 表明未来海平面上升的贡献可能被低估.
科学领域:
- 古气候学
- 冰川学
- 海洋地质学
背景情况:
- 南极的冰盖已经发展了5000万年,但有限的地质记录阻碍了对东南极冰盖 (EAIS) 的理解.
- 欧罗拉冰川盆地是海洋终点,位于海平面以下,这表明它对气候变化敏感.
- 欧罗拉冰下盆地将冰流向萨布里纳海岸, 这一区域对于了解EAIS的动态至关重要.
研究的目的:
- 使用海洋地质数据重建东南极冰盖 (EAIS) 的过去行为.
- 评估奥罗拉冰川盆地对过去气候干扰的敏感性.
- 改进未来EAIS对全球海平面上升的贡献的预测.
主要方法:
- 分析来自欧罗拉低冰盆地的海上大陆架的海洋地质和地质物理数据.
- 地质记录的年代确定冰川事件的时间表.
- 解释冰川地形,包括道谷,以推断过去的冰盖状况.
主要成果:
- 海洋终结冰川存在于萨布里纳海岸的早期到中期,这意味着在奥罗拉亚冰川盆地里有大量的前-34万年冰.
- 在Oligocene和Miocene期间,EAIS至少在萨布里娜海岸的架上前进后退了11次.
- 表面融水丰富的亚极冰川的证据表明对变暖的敏感性,类似于预测的未来条件.
结论:
- 过去的EAIS行为是动态的,受海洋温度,大气温度和表面融水的影响.
- 对于未来的冰块质量平衡,EAIS对气候变暖具有敏感性.
- 目前的海平面上升预测可能低估了EAIS的潜在贡献,因为它对气候变暖有动态反应.
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