LATE HOLOCENE DEGLACIATION OF MARIE BYRD LAND, WEST ANTARCTICA
John O. Stone, Greg Balco, David E. Sugden, Marc W. Caffee, Louis C. Sass III, Seth G. Cowdery, Christine Siddoway
Science 299, 99-102 (2003)
Abstract
Surface exposure ages of glacial deposits in the Ford Ranges, western Marie Byrd Land indicate continuous thinning of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, by more than 700 meters near the coast, throughout the past 10,000 years. Deglaciation lagged the disappearance of ice sheets in the northern hemisphere by thousands of years, and may still be underway. These results provide further evidence that parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are on a long-term trajectory of decline. West Antarctic melting contributed water to the oceans in the late Holocene, and may continue to do so in future.
