A new bathymetric compilation for the South Orkney Islands region, Antarctic Peninsula (49°-39°W to 64°-59°S): Insights into the glacial development of the continental shelf

Dickens, William A., Graham, Alastair G. C., Smith, James A., Dowdeswell, Julian A., Larter, Robert D., Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter, Trathan, Phil N., Arndt, Jan Erik and Kuhn, Gerhard 2014. A new bathymetric compilation for the South Orkney Islands region, Antarctic Peninsula (49°-39°W to 64°-59°S): Insights into the glacial development of the continental shelf. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 15 (6) , pp. 2494-2514. 10.1002/2014GC005323

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Abstract

We present a new, high resolution (300 m) bathymetric grid of the continental shelf surrounding the South Orkney Islands, northeast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The new grid, derived from a compilation of marine echo-sounding data, improves previous regional bathymetric representations and helps to visualize the morphology of the shelf in unrivalled detail. The compilation forms important baseline information for a range of scientific applications and end users including oceanographers, glacial modelers, biologists, and geologists. In particular, due to the limited understanding of glacial history in this region, the bathymetry provides the first detailed insights into past glacial regimes. The continental shelf is dominated by seven glacially eroded troughs, marking the pathways of glacial outlets that once drained a former ice cap centered on the South Orkney Islands. During previous glacial periods, grounded ice extended to the shelf edge north of the islands. A large, ∼250 km long sediment depocenter, interpreted as a maximum former ice limit of one or more Cenozoic glaciations, suggests that ice was only grounded to the ∼300–350 m contour in the south. Hypsometric analyses support this interpretation, indicating that a significant proportion of the shelf has been unaffected by glacial erosion. Using these observations, we propose a preliminary ice cap reconstruction for maximum glaciation of the South Orkney plateau, suggesting an ice coverage of about ∼19,000 km2. The timing of maximum ice extent, number of past advances and pattern of subsequent deglaciation(s) remain uncertain and will require further targeted marine geological and geophysical investigations to resolve.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher:	Wiley Open Access
ISSN:	1525-2027
Date of Acceptance:	11 May 2014
Last Modified:	13 Feb 2024 12:01
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/165933

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