Antarctic Climate Evolution (eBook)

Fabio Florindo, Martin Siegert (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2008 | 1. Auflage
606 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-08-093161-6 (ISBN)

Infos

This is the first book dedicated to the developing knowledge on how the world's largest ice sheet formed and changed over its 34 million years history. In explaining the story of Antartica, information on terrestrial and marine geology, sedimentology, glacier geophysics (including airborne reconnaissance), shipborne geophysics, and numerical ice sheet and climate modelling, will be interwoven within eleven chapters, each deling with an important historical theme. The approach will be to first 'set the scene', involving chapters dedicated to how ice sheets and their glacial history can be measured. This opening section will provide information necessary to comprehend the latter section of the book, in which five chapters will related the glacial and climate evolution of Antartica during the most important time-frames in which changes have occurred.

* An overview of antarctic climate change, analysing historical, present day and future developments
* Contributions from leading experts and scholars from around the world
* Informs and updates climate change scientists and experts in related areas of study

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Antarctic Climate Evolution is the first book dedicated to furthering knowledge on the evolution of the world's largest ice sheet over its ~34 million year history. This volume provides the latest information on subjects ranging from terrestrial and marine geology to sedimentology and glacier geophysics. - An overview of Antarctic climate change, analyzing historical, present-day and future developments- Contributions from leading experts and scholars from around the world- Informs and updates climate change scientists and experts in related areas of study

Inhalt

Front cover 1
Antarctic Climate Evolution 4
Copyright page 5
Contents 6
Preface 12
Chapter 1. Antarctic Climate Evolution 14
1.1. Introduction 14
1.2. Antarctic Glacial History 17
1.3. Structure and Content of the Book 22
References 23
Chapter 2. The International Polar Years: A History of Developments in Antarctic Climate Evolution 26
2.1. Introduction 26
2.2. The First International Polar Year (1882-1883) 27
2.3. The Second International Polar Year (1932-1933) 32
2.4. The Third International Polar YearsolInternational Geophysical Year (1957-1958) 35
2.5. The Fourth International Polar Year (2007-2008) 40
References 43
Chapter 3. A History of Antarctic Cenozoic Glaciation - View from the Margin 46
3.1. Introduction 48
3.2. Mid-Twentieth Century Advances (1956-1972) 51
3.3. First Antarctic Drilling (1972-1975) 52
3.4. Developments in Drilling and Thinking in the Late 1970s 59
3.5. Discoveries Offshore and on the Continent in the 1980s 60
3.6. Advances in the 1990s 66
3.7. Advances in the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century 71
3.8. Future Prospects for Improving Knowledge of the History of the Antarctic Ice Sheet 76
Acknowledgements 82
References 83
Chapter 4. Circulation and Water Masses of the Southern Ocean: A Review 98
4.1. Introduction 99
4.2. Water Mass Formation and Dispersal 101
4.3. Ocean Circulation 110
4.4. Oceanographic Variability and Change 116
Acknowledgements 120
References 121
Chapter 5. Cenozoic Climate History from Seismic Reflection and Drilling Studies on the Antarctic Continental Margin 128
5.1. Introduction 129
5.2. Ross Sea (G. Brancolini and G. Leitchenkov) 131
5.3. Wilkes Land (C. Escutia and P. O’Brien) 140
5.4. Prydz Bay (P. O’Brien and G. Leitchenkov) 148
5.5. Weddell Sea (Y. Kristoffersen and W. Jokat) 157
5.6. Antarctic Peninsula (R. Larter) 165
5.7. Other Sectors of the Antarctic Continental Margin 174
5.8. Discussion 175
5.9. Summary 185
Acknowledgements 187
References 187
Foldouts 246
Chapter 6. Numerical Modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet 248
6.1. Introduction 248
6.2. Ice-Sheet Processes 249
6.3. Ice-Sheet Models 251
6.4. Model Inputs 254
6.5. EISMINT 255
6.6. Comparing Ice-Sheet Models with Antarctic Glaciological Data 258
6.7. Ice-Sheet Reconstructions 262
6.8. Summary 266
References 267
Chapter 7. The Antarctic Continent in Gondwanaland: A Tectonic Review and Potential Research Targets for Future Investigations 270
7.1. Introduction 271
7.2. The Present-Day Geotectonic Setting of Antarctica 272
7.3. The Main Geological Units of Antarctica Before Gondwana Amalgamation 274
7.4. Antarctica in the Gondwana Supercontinent 278
7.5. Antarctic Record of Gondwana Break-Up and Dispersal of the Southern Hemisphere Continents 289
7.6. Open Problems and Potential Research Themes for Future Geoscience Investigations in Antarctica 300
Acknowledgements 304
References 305
Chapter 8. From Greenhouse to Icehouse - The EocenesolOligocene in Antarctica 322
8.1. Introduction 323
8.2. Climate Signals from the Sedimentary Record 324
8.3. Climate Signals from the Terrestrial Realm - Fossil Plants and Palynomorphs 338
8.4. Environmental Changes Documented by Marine Microfossils 348
8.5. Evolution of Ocean Temperatures and Global Ice Volume During the Eocene to Oligocene from the Ocean Isotope Record 355
8.6. Connection of CO2 and Ice-Sheet Inception at the E/O Boundary - Computer Modelling 357
8.7. Summary 362
Acknowledgements 364
References 364
Chapter 9. The Oligocene-Miocene Boundary - Antarctic Climate Response to Orbital Forcing 382
9.1. Introduction 383
9.2. Proxy Records 387
9.3. Records from the Antarctic Margin 392
9.4. Possible Drivers of Change Across the Oligocene-Miocene Boundary 398
9.5. Summary and Conclusions 405
References 406
Chapter 10. Middle Miocene to Pliocene History of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean 414
10.1. Introduction 415
10.2. East Antarctic Terrestrial Environments 417
10.3. West Antarctic Terrestrial Environments 430
10.4. The Marine Record of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet 437
10.5. The Marine Record of the West Antarctic and Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheets 442
10.6. Marine Records of the Southern Ocean 446
10.7. Modelling Antarctic Climates and Ice Sheets 450
10.8. Summary 454
Acknowledgements 459
References 459
Chapter 11. Late Pliocene-Pleistocene Antarctic Climate Variability at Orbital and Suborbital Scale: Ice Sheet, Ocean and Atmospheric Interactions 478
11.1. Introduction 480
11.2. Glacial Variability from the Continental Margin Geological Record 482
11.3. Atmospheric Variability from Ice Cores 492
11.4. Oceanic Variability from Southern Ocean Sediment Cores 501
11.5. Modelling of Pleistocene Ice Volume Variations 514
11.6. Synthesis: Antarctic Climate Evolution Since sim3Ma 522
Acknowledgements 526
References 527
Chapter 12. Antarctica at the Last Glacial Maximum, Deglaciation and the Holocene 544
12.1. Introduction 545
12.2. Response of the Ice Sheets to Glacial Climate and Late Quaternary Ice-Sheet Reconstructions 546
12.3. Geological Information 548
12.4. Numerical Modelling Reconstructions 563
12.5. Summary 573
References 574
Chapter 13. Concluding Remarks: Recent Changes in Antarctica and Future Research 584
References 588
Subject Index 590

Textauszug

Chapter 2 The International Polar Years: A History of Developments in Antarctic Climate Evolution

Fabio Florindo1,*, Antonio Meloni1, Martin Siegert2

1 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy

2 School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, The King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK

* Corresponding author. Tel.: [phone]; Fax: [phone];

E-mail address: [e-mail]

Abstract

The first three International Polar Years (IPYs; 1882–1883, 1932–1933, 1957–1958) were major periods of intense multidisciplinary polar research, bringing significant new insights into global processes and laying the foundation of knowledge of the polar regions for future decades. The fourth IPY (2007–2009) continues the tradition of international science years and is one of the most ambitious internationally coordinated scientific research programmes ever attempted. In contrast to the three previous IPYs, the new IPY incorporates research within social science and its interface with the natural sciences. The new IPY also includes a wide range of education and outreach activities, and a commitment to excite and train the next generation of polar researchers. We discuss briefly the history of the IPYs, and their contribution to comprehending Antarctic Climate Evolution.

2.1 Introduction

The polar regions play key roles in global climate change and have profoundly affected environments during the Cenozoic, influencing sea levels, atmospheric composition and dynamics, and ocean circulation. Starting from the end of the nineteenth century, several major internationally coordinated explorations of the polar regions have taken place, which have improved our understanding of them and how they influence the world. The most prominent periods of exploration were: the first International Polar Year (IPY) of 1882–1883 (e.g. Heathcote and Armitage, 1959; Wood and Overland, 2006), the so-called Heroic Age of polar exploration, stimulated by the International Geographical Congress of 1895, which had made Antarctica a target, the second IPY (1932–1933) (e.g. Gerson 1958) and the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957–1958 (e.g. Buedeler, 1957; Korsmo, 2007), later extended to include 1959 and which started life as the third IPY. These were major initiatives that involved an intense period of multidisciplinary polar research bringing significant new insights into global processes and laying the foundation of knowledge of the polar regions for future decades.

The first two IPYs and the IGY involved an increasing number of countries and scientists, and produced unprecedented levels of knowledge and understanding in many fields of research. The 12 countries of the first IPY grew to 67 in the IGY, in which some 5,000 scientists and support staff were engaged in Antarctica alone. They not only changed the way science was conducted in the polar regions, from single nation programmes to complex multinational collaborations, they also standardised measurements, made data freely available to all and initiated the system of World Data Centers.

The fourth IPY, 2007–2009 (Allison et al., 2007), is one of the largest collaborative science programs ever attempted. It continues the tradition of international science years, includes multidisciplinary research operating in both polar regions, and involves some 50,000 participants from 63 countries. A wide range of scientific problems will be addressed, including issues related to society. It differs from the three previous IPYs in that it includes all natural science disciplines – not just physics and geophysics, it incorporates the social sciences, and it includes a wide range of education and outreach activities aimed at attracting the next generation of polar scientists and engaging the attention of the public and policy makers. In this chapter, we discuss briefly the history of the polar years, and their contribution to comprehending Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE).

2.2 The First International Polar Year (1882–1883)

In August 1874, Captain Karl Weyprecht (1838–1881) (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) returned from an Arctic expedition, of which he was leader. The Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expedition (1871–1874) aimed to explore the northwest of Nowaja Semlja, in the search for the Northeast Passage. During that Arctic expedition on the ice-strengthened schooner ‘Admiral Tegetthoff’, they discovered Franz Joseph Land (890 km from the North Pole) and gathered valuable information about the drift of icebergs and about meteorological and magnetic conditions in the Arctic. Although it was a successful expedition, it occurred to Weyprecht that single nation expeditions of this nature, often having geographical discovery as their primary goal, could only advance the frontiers of scientific knowledge to a limited extent. Knowing that answers to the fundamental questions of meteorology and geophysics were most likely to be found near the Earth's poles, Weyprecht became an avid advocate of internationally coordinated exploration of the polar regions; his views were influential in the formation of the largest coordinated series of scientific expeditions taken in the polar regions during the nineteenth century, namely what is now known as the first IPY of 1882–1883.

Figure 2.1 Carl Weyprecht (1838–1881) ideas initiated the first IPY (photo courtesy: Archive, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research).

Figure 2.2 The cover page of the ‘Illustrierten Wiener Extrablattes’ (Viennese Illustrated Special Edition), 25 September 1874. The cover heralds the return of the leaders of the Austro-Hungarian North Pole Expeditions, Carl Weyprecht and Julius Payer.

During the 48th Meeting of ‘German Naturalists and Physicians’ in Graz (18 September 1875), Weyprecht gave a lecture about the ‘Basic principles of Arctic research’, in which he suggested establishing a network of fixed Arctic observation stations (Baker, 1982).

In 1879, during the second International Meteorological Conference in Rome, these ideas were presented together with those of Georg von Neumayer (1826–1909), first Director of the German Hydrographic Office in Hamburg. Here it was recommended to discuss the erection of a number of observatories in the Arctic and Antarctic for simultaneous hourly meteorological and magnetic observations around the poles.

These ideas generated international interest and, during the first International Polar Conference at the German Hydrographical Office in Hamburg (1–5 October 1879), an organising body called the International Polar Commission, chaired by Neumayer, was established. This commission included Denmark, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Netherlands, France, the United States and Great Britain, with the assistance of the new Dominion of Canada. During that conference, the first IPY was planned for the biennium 1881–1882. The following year, during the second International Polar Conference in Bern (7–9 August 1880) this commission agreed to postpone the IPY and declared that it would be held in 1882–1883 to coincide with a transit of Venus across the face of the Sun, on 6 December 1882. In doing so simultaneous observations from different places on the globe could be made to calculate the astronomical unit (AU=nearly 150 million kilometres; the distance between the Earth and Sun).

Between 1 and 8 August 1881, during the third International Polar Conference, held in St. Petersburg, and 5 months after Weyprecht's death on 29th March 1881 in Michelstadt, the International Polar Commission outlined the details of the first IPY, to last from 1 August 1882 until 1 September 1883 (Heathcote and Armitage, 1959).

In total, 12 countries participated in the first IPY resulting in 15 coordinated expeditions to the poles (13 to the Arctic, and 2 to peri-Antarctic islands). Fourteen research stations were established (Fig. 2.3) where researchers conducted experiments and gathered data (hourly records) over the course of the year that would greatly enhance the basis of then current knowledge of the Earth's magnetic field, surface weather conditions and astronomy. Two of these stations were in the Southern Hemisphere: Orange Bay at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego (established by France) and Moltke-Hafen at Royal Bay, South Georgia (established by Germany). Another 34 permanent stations were located outside Polar territories (e.g. Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Bombay) bringing the number of stations participating in the IPY to 48. This first IPY was primarily focused on physics – especially meteorology, magnetism and auroral studies, rather than on interdisciplinary work, but its investigations did extend, though locally and in a limited fashion, to other fields like botany, geology and zoology. One of the most significant results of the first IPY was the mapping of the Aurora Borealis – known at the time as the Northern Lights – showing that it often occurs in an almost circular belt centred on the north magnetic pole.

Figure 2.3 North polar chart, showing Arctic research stations during the first IPY. During the first IPY, eleven nations established fourteen principal research stations across the polar regions. Twelve stations were in the Arctic and two stations were in the Antarctic...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.10.2008
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Meteorologie / Klimatologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Mineralogie / Paläontologie
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Umwelttechnik / Biotechnologie
• ISBN-10: 0-08-093161-8 / 0080931618
• ISBN-13: 978-0-08-093161-6 / 9780080931616