Recent advances in understanding Antarctic climate evolution

Martin J. Siegert, University of Edinburgh
Peter Barrett, Victoria University of Wellington
Robert M. Deconto, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Robert Dunbar, Stanford University
Colm O. Cofaigh, Durham University
Sandra Passchier, Montclair State University
Tim Naish, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

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DOI:10.1017/S0954102008000941

Abstract

Geological evidence shows that the ice sheet and climate in Antarctica has changed considerably since the onset of glaciation around 34 million years ago. By analysing this evidence, important information concerning processes responsible for ice sheet growth and decay can be determined, which is vital for appreciating future changes in Antarctica. Geological records are diverse and their analyses require a variety of techniques. They are, however, essential for the establishment of hypotheses regarding past Antarctic changes. Numerical models of ice and climate are useful for testing such hypotheses, and in recent years there have been several advances in our knowledge relating to ice sheet history gained from these tests. This paper documents five case studies, employing a full range of techniques, to exemplify recent insights into Antarctic climate evolution from modelling ice sheet inception in the earliest Oligocene to quantifying Neogene ice sheet fluctuations and process-led investigations of recent (last glacial) changes.