Introduction to 'long-term changes in Southern high-latitude ice sheets and climate, the Cenozoic history'

Abstract

The Cenozoic evolution of the Antarctic cryosphere and fluctuations in its ice sheet cover are considered to be one of the major influences on low- and mid-latitude deep-sea sedimentary records. Long-term Cenozoic trends and short-term climate fluctuations (≤40 ka) alike are inferred to have been driven or modulated by changes in Antarctic ice sheet volume (Kennett, 1977; Imbrie and Imbrie, 1980; Zachos et al., 1997, 2001; Shackleton et al., 1999; Lear et al., 2000; Naish et al., 2001). Similarly, changes in sea level elevations at continental margins are also inferred to result from growth and decay in Antarctic ice sheet volume throughout the Cenozoic (Barrett et al., 1987; Haq et al., 1987). Yet, direct records of the Antarctic cryosphere and its ice sheets are sparse at best, and much of the inference remains untested. Recent efforts have begun to change this, and the last decade has seen several expeditions to the Antarctic and Southern Oceans, which have recovered new high-quality sedimentary core and seismic reflection records of Southern high-latitude Cenozoic ice sheets and climate. These include the Cape Roberts Project (CRP) (Cape Roberts Science Team, 1998; Hambrey et al., 1998; Cape Roberts Science Team, 1999; Barrett et al., 2000; Cape Roberts Science Team, 2000; Barrett et al., 2001; Davey et al., 2001), ODP Leg 177 (Gersonde et al., 1999, 2003), Leg 178 (Barker et al., 1999, 2002), Leg 182 (Feary et al., 2000; Hine et al., 2004), Leg 188 (O’Brien et al., 2001; Cooper et al., 2004), and Leg 189 (Exon et al., 2001, in press), and various RVIB NB Palmer and Polarstern cruises. Recent results from these expeditions were presented at a special session of the EGS–AGU Joint assembly held in Nice, France, in April 2003. The focus of the session was the many orders and scales of variation of Antarctic ice sheets and climate from Antarctic and sub-Antarctic records derived from outcrop studies, deep sea and continental margin drilling, and seismic reflection investigations. The session also included new modelling results utilizing new data from these recent expeditions and preliminary results of geophysical surveys defining sub-ice shelf and sea ice sedimentary basins identified as drilling targets in the near future under the ANDRILL program (Harwood et al., 2002; Florindo et al., 2003a).