HR: 0800h
AN: PP41A-0627    [Abstracts]
TI: Correlation of Holocene Paleoenvironmental Events Across the Antarctic Peninsula, a Marine Sedimentary Perspective
AU: * Willmott, V
EM: vwillmot@hamilton.edu
AF: Hamilton College, Dept. of Geosciences, 198 College Hill Rd, Clinton, NY 13323 United States
AU: * Willmott, V
EM: vwillmot@hamilton.edu
AF: University of Barcelona, GRC Geociencies Marines, C/ Marti i Franques s/n, Barcelona, 08028 Spain
AU: Domack, E W
EM: edomack@hamilton.edu
AF: Hamilton College, Dept. of Geosciences, 198 College Hill Rd, Clinton, NY 13323 United States
AU: Canals, M
EM: miquelcanals@ub.edu
AF: University of Barcelona, GRC Geociencies Marines, C/ Marti i Franques s/n, Barcelona, 08028 Spain
AB: The Antarctic Peninsula is one of the most climate sensitive regions in the world, although the trans Peninsula contrasts in glaciologic and oceanographic setting confers a different sedimentologic signal between the eastern and the western sides. The western side of the Antarctic Peninsula is bathed in relatively warmth waters derived from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and driven by the westerly winds, while the eastern side carries with the colder Modified Weddell Sea water that flows nothwards as a part of the Weddel Gyre. On the western side of the Peninsula large amounts of snow are brought in leading to high accumulation and lower snow lines, while on the Weddell Sea side snowfall is less and the equilibrium lines elevations (ELA) are significantly higher. This contrast in accumulation and ELA clearly produces glaciers on the eastern side of the Peninsula that respond more rapidly to short term climatic perturbations, reflected dramatically with the decay of ice shelves and input of siliciclastic (meltwater) detritus. Correlation between adjacent drill and core sites was achieved using physical properties, preserved total organic carbon, particle size, ice rafted detritus, sedimentary structures and marker horizons found in overlap segments of the cores. In addition radiocarbon, 210Pb activity profiles, paleomagnetic intensity and tephra-chronology are used to provide a chronologic control of the cores. This overlap ensured the construction of a composite stratigraphic section over ~700 km distance and permitted us to examine not only how correlative units vary with position in the margin but the occurrence and timing of the major Holocene events and small oscillations in the paleoenvironmental signal. Specifically we focus upon the millennial-scale changes consistent with climate intervals including the Middle Holocene optimum (~9.0 ka to 3.5 ka), the Neoglacial onset (3.5 ka) and superimposed multi-century scale (solar induced) variations across the region.
DE: 3344 Paleoclimatology (0473, 4900)
DE: 4900 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY (0473, 3344)
DE: 4901 Abrupt/rapid climate change (1605)
DE: 9310 Antarctica (4207)
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005