Scratching the surface: a new marine sediment provenance record from the continental slope of central Wilkes Land, East Antarctica

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Main Authors: Tooze, Sian, Halpin, Jacqueline A, Chase, Zanna, Armand, Leanne K, O'Brien, Philip E, Noble, Taryn L
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2019
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author Tooze, Sian
Halpin, Jacqueline A
Chase, Zanna
Armand, Leanne K
O'Brien, Philip E
Noble, Taryn L
author_facet Tooze, Sian
Halpin, Jacqueline A
Chase, Zanna
Armand, Leanne K
O'Brien, Philip E
Noble, Taryn L
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents The subglacial geology in Wilkes Land, East Antarctica is masked by thick ice and remains largely unexplored. Yet the underlying crustal architecture records evidence of repeated supercontinent cycles and provides the geological template for the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Sediment eroded from under the ice is ultimately deposited in the ocean, such that marine sediment can be used to characterise the adjacent subglacial geology. We use detrital grain morphology, geochemistry and isotopic data from a kasten core to construct a new marine sediment provenance record for the continental slope of central Wilkes Land, and provide new isotopic signatures from proximal coastal outcrops for comparison. We establish the source rock type, age and provenance, and the associated transport pathways and mechanisms responsible for detrital sediment input from 23.5 ka to present. A principally igneous source is revealed with dominant age populations between c. 1200-1100 Ma and c. 1600-1300 Ma, characteristic of the proximal Banzare, Nuyina and Wilkes Provinces. The detrital geochronology suggests no change in sediment provenance over the last 23.5 ka, despite major ice sheet retreat during this time. A minor c. 700-500 Ma detrital age population unknown from the central Wilkes region was likely transported westward via icebergs to the core site. These findings broadly correspond with earlier interpretations of the subglacial geology and erosion rates at the base of the ice sheet predicted from two ice sheet models, demonstrating the value of sediment provenance studies for uncovering proximal subglacial geology and reconstructing past ice sheet configurations.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_907799
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2019
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Scratching the surface: a new marine sediment provenance record from the continental slope of central Wilkes Land, East Antarctica
Tooze, Sian
Halpin, Jacqueline A
Chase, Zanna
Armand, Leanne K
O'Brien, Philip E
Noble, Taryn L

The subglacial geology in Wilkes Land, East Antarctica is masked by thick ice and remains largely unexplored. Yet the underlying crustal architecture records evidence of repeated supercontinent cycles and provides the geological template for the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Sediment eroded from under the ice is ultimately deposited in the ocean, such that marine sediment can be used to characterise the adjacent subglacial geology. We use detrital grain morphology, geochemistry and isotopic data from a kasten core to construct a new marine sediment provenance record for the continental slope of central Wilkes Land, and provide new isotopic signatures from proximal coastal outcrops for comparison. We establish the source rock type, age and provenance, and the associated transport pathways and mechanisms responsible for detrital sediment input from 23.5 ka to present. A principally igneous source is revealed with dominant age populations between c. 1200-1100 Ma and c. 1600-1300 Ma, characteristic of the proximal Banzare, Nuyina and Wilkes Provinces. The detrital geochronology suggests no change in sediment provenance over the last 23.5 ka, despite major ice sheet retreat during this time. A minor c. 700-500 Ma detrital age population unknown from the central Wilkes region was likely transported westward via icebergs to the core site. These findings broadly correspond with earlier interpretations of the subglacial geology and erosion rates at the base of the ice sheet predicted from two ice sheet models, demonstrating the value of sediment provenance studies for uncovering proximal subglacial geology and reconstructing past ice sheet configurations.
title Scratching the surface: a new marine sediment provenance record from the continental slope of central Wilkes Land, East Antarctica
topic
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.907799