Description: Radiocarbon and uranium-thorium dating results are presented from a genus of calcitic Antarctic cold-water octocorals (family Coralliidae), which were collected from the Marie Byrd Seamounts in the Amundsen Sea (Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean) andwhich to date have not been investigated geochemically. The geochronological results are set in contextwith solution and laser ablation-basedelement/Ca ratios (Li, B,Mg,Mn, Sr,Ba, U,Th). Octocoral radiocarbon ages on living corals are in excellent agreement with modern ambient deep-water Δ14C, while multiple samples of individual fossil coral specimens yielded reproducible radiocarbon ages. Provided that local radiocarbon reservoir ages can be derived for a given time, fossil Amundsen Sea octocorals should be reliably dateable by means of radiocarbon. In contrast to the encouraging radiocarbon findings, the uranium-series data are more difficult to interpret. The uranium concentration of these calcitic octocorals is an order of magnitude lower than in the aragonitic hexacorals that are conventionally used for geochronological investigations. While modern and Late Holocene octocorals yield initial δ234U in good agreement with modern seawater, our results reveal preferential inward diffusion of dissolved alpha-recoiled 234U and its impact on fossil coral δ234U. Besides alpha-recoil related 234U diffusion, high-resolution sampling of two fossil octocorals further demonstrates that diagenetic uraniummobility has offset apparent coral U-series ages. Combined with the preferential alpha-recoil 234U diffusion, this process has prevented fossil octocorals from preserving a closed system U-series calendar age for longer than a few thousand years. Moreover, several corals investigated contain significant initial thorium, which cannot be adequately corrected for because of an apparently variable initial 232Th/230Th. Our results demonstrate that calcitic cold-water corals are unsuitable for reliable U-series dating. Mg/Ca ratios within single octocoral specimens are internally strikingly homogeneous, and appear promising in terms of their response to ambient temperature. Magnesium/lithium ratios are significantly higher than usually observed in other deep marine calcifiers and for many of our studied corals are remarkably close to seawater compositions. Although this family of octocorals is unsuitable for glacial deep-water Δ14C reconstructions, our findings highlight some important differences between hexacoral (aragonitic) and octocoral (calcitic) biomineralisation. Calcitic octocorals could still be useful for trace element and some isotopic studies, such as reconstruction of ambient deep water neodymium isotope composition or pH, via boron isotopic measurements.

Description: We analyzed 214 new core-top samples for their CaCO3 content from shelves all around Antarctica in order to understand their distribution and contribution to the marine carbon cycle. The distribution of sedimentary CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is connected to environmental parameters where we considered water depth, width of the shelf, sea-ice coverage and primary production. While CaCO3 contents of surface sediments are usually low, high (〉 15%) CaCO3 contents occur at shallow water depths (150–200 m) on the narrow shelves of the eastern Weddell Sea and at a depth range of 600–900 m on the broader and deeper shelves of the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and western Weddell Seas. Regions with high primary production, such as the Ross Sea and the western Antarctic Peninsula region, have generally low CaCO3 contents in the surface sediments. The predominant mineral phase of CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is low-magnesium calcite. With respect to ocean acidification, our findings suggest that dissolution of carbonates in Antarctic shelf sediments may be an important negative feedback only after the onset of calcite undersaturation on the Antarctic shelves. Macrozoobenthic CaCO3 standing stocks do not increase the CaCO3 budget significantly as they are two orders of magnitude lower than the budget of the sediments. This first circumpolar compilation of Antarctic shelf carbonate data does not claim to be complete. Future studies are encouraged and needed to fill data gaps especially in the under-sampled southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean.

Description: Highlights: • Nd and Hf are released from sediments to the water column in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. • Seawater Nd and Hf isotope compositions show opposed trends close to the Marie Byrd Seamounts. • AABW is isotopically distinct in Nd between the Atlantic and the Pacific sectors. • Hf isotope variations occur between the sectors, but not with depth in each sector. Abstract: Neodymium and hafnium isotopes and elemental concentrations (Sm, Nd, Hf, Zr) have been measured in three water column profiles south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in, and to the east of the Ross Sea, in conjunction with five bottom water samples from the Amundsen Sea Embayment. Neodymium and hafnium both appear to be released from sediments in the Embayment. In the case of Nd, this is reflected in radiogenic isotope compositions (εNdεNd up to −5.4) and highly elevated concentrations (up to 41 pmol/kg). Hafnium isotopes, on the other hand, are only very slightly altered relative to the open ocean sites, and boundary release is most prominently indicated by elevated concentrations (〉1 pmol/kg versus ∼0.7 pmol/kg). There is also a local input of both Hf and Nd at the Marie Byrd Seamounts, which leads to Nd isotope compositions as radiogenic as −3.1, and hafnium shifted to less radiogenic compositions in local bottom water. A compilation of the new data with literature data reveals a consistent view of the influence of Antarctica on the Nd isotope composition in Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Sector specific Nd addition shifts AABW formed in the Atlantic sector to less radiogenic isotope compositions (average εNd=−9εNd=−9) relative to LCDW (average εNd=−8.4εNd=−8.4), whereas AABW in the Pacific sector is shifted to more radiogenic values (average εNd=−7εNd=−7). The evolution towards more radiogenic εNdεNd with depth in LCDW in the Pacific sector is likely to reflect admixture of AABW but, in addition, is also controlled by boundary exchange with the slope as observed at the Marie Byrd Seamounts. Hafnium isotopes are relatively homogeneous in the data set, ranging between εHf=+2εHf=+2 and +3.8 for most samples, excluding less radiogenic compositions in deep waters close to the Marie Byrd Seamounts. The Hf isotope composition in the Pacific sector is, however, slightly less radiogenic than in the Atlantic, corresponding to an average of +3 relative to an average of +3.8. This probably reflects unradiogenic Hf inputs from Antarctica to the Pacific sector, which are vertically homogenized by reversible scavenging. The Hf isotope heterogeneity in LCDW between both sectors is likely to indicate a shorter seawater residence time for Hf than for Nd, which is consistent with the dissolved – particulate phase partitioning of both elements.

Description: Neodymium and hafnium isotopes and elemental concentrations (Sm, Nd, Hf, Zr) have been measured in three water column profiles south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in, and to the east of the Ross Sea, in conjunction with five bottom water samples from the Amundsen Sea Embayment. Neodymium and hafnium both appear to be released from sediments in the Embayment. In the case of Nd, this is reflected in radiogenic isotope compositions (εNd up to −5.4) and highly elevated concentrations (up to 41 pmol/kg). Hafnium isotopes, on the other hand, are only very slightly altered relative to the open ocean sites, and boundary release is most prominently indicated by elevated concentrations (〉1 pmol/kg versus ∼0.7 pmol/kg). There is also a local input of both Hf and Nd at the Marie Byrd Seamounts, which leads to Nd isotope compositions as radiogenic as −3.1, and hafnium shifted to less radiogenic compositions in local bottom water. A compilation of the new data with literature data reveals a consistent view of the influence of Antarctica on the Nd isotope composition in Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Sector specific Nd addition shifts AABW formed in the Atlantic sector to less radiogenic isotope compositions (average εNd = −9) relative to LCDW (average εNd = −8.4), whereas AABW in the Pacific sector is shifted to more radiogenic values (average εNd = −7). The evolution towards more radiogenic εNd with depth in LCDW in the Pacific sector is likely to reflect admixture of AABW but, in addition, is also controlled by boundary exchange with the slope as observed at the Marie Byrd Seamounts. Hafnium isotopes are relatively homogeneous in the data set, ranging between εHf = +2 and +3.8 for most samples, excluding less radiogenic compositions in deep waters close to the Marie Byrd Seamounts. The Hf isotope composition in the Pacific sector is, however, slightly less radiogenic than in the Atlantic, corresponding to an average of +3 relative to an average of +3.8. This probably reflects unradiogenic Hf inputs from Antarctica to the Pacific sector, which are vertically homogenized by reversible scavenging. The Hf isotope heterogeneity in LCDW between both sectors is likely to indicate a shorter seawater residence time for Hf than for Nd, which is consistent with the dissolved – particulate phase partitioning of both elements

Description: Defining the extent of the Last Glacial Maximum Antarctic Ice Sheet and the timing of its subsequent retreat still remains poorly understood for numerous drainage sectors. New marine geoscientific field data from a formerly unstudied West Antarctic continental shelf sector reveal the last maximum extent of the ice sheet and its initial retreat. It is shown how modern continental shelf regions must have already been evacuated at a remarkably early stage, thereby validating a rather diachronous retreat pattern of the Antarctic Ice Sheet following its last maximum extent.

Description: High-resolution swath bathymetry data collected during several research cruises over the past two decades reveal a palaeo-ice stream trough (Abbot Glacial Trough) crossing the middle and outer shelf of the easternmost Amundsen Sea Embayment, east of the main Pine Island Trough. Regions of both fast palaeo-ice flow (within the central trough) and slow palaeo-ice flow (on adjacent seafloor highs referred to as inter-ice stream ridges) bear glacial landforms indicative of phases of grounding-line stabilization of the ice sheet. We associate a grounding-zone wedge situated within the outer Abbot Glacial Trough with a grounding-zone wedge in outer Pine Island Trough and suggest a synchronous grounding-line halt in both troughs. New sediment echosounder and sediment core data collected from outer Abbot Glacial Trough, between the seaward limit of the grounding-zone wedge and the shelf edge, reveal an up to 6 m-thick well stratified drape that is composed of unconsolidated glaciomarine sediments occasionally bearing calcareous microfossils. In order to decipher whether this unusually thick sediment drape might indicate sub-ice shelf and/or seasonal-open marine deposition throughout or since the Last Glacial Maximum, we used a multi-proxy approach to characterize its lithofacies and applied radiocarbon dating of calcareous microfossils. Here we present our initial results and discuss since when the outer shelf in the eastern Amundsen Sea has been free of grounded-ice. Such information will 1) improve ice sheet models that aim to reconstruct the flow and extent of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum, 2) help to quantify the ice volume of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during this time, and 3) prove or reject the possibility that Antarctic benthic biota endured glacial periods in outer shelf refugia.

Description: The history of grounded ice-sheet extent on the southern Weddell Sea shelf during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the timing of post-LGM ice-sheet retreat are poorly constrained. Several glaciological models reconstructed widespread grounding and major thickening of the Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Weddell Sea sector at the LGM. In contrast, recently published onshore data and modelling results concluded only very limited LGM-thickening of glaciers and ice streams feeding into the modern Filchner and Ronne ice shelves. These studies concluded that during the LGM ice shelves rather than grounded ice covered the Filchner and Ronne troughs, two deep palaeo-ice stream troughs eroded into the southern Weddell Sea shelf. Here we review previously published and unpublished marine geophysical and geological data from the southern Weddell Sea shelf. The stratigraphy and geometry of reflectors in acoustic sub-bottom profiles are similar to those from other West Antarctic palaeo-ice stream troughs, where grounded ice had advanced to the shelf break at the LGM. Numerous cores from the southern Weddell Sea shelf recovered sequences with properties typical for subglacially deposited tills or subglacially compacted sediments. These data sets give evidence that grounded ice had advanced across the shelf during the past, thereby grounding in even the deepest parts of the Filchner and Ronne troughs. Radiocarbon dates from glaciomarine sediments overlying the subglacial deposits are limited, but indicate that the ice grounding occurred at the LGM and that ice retreat started before w15.1 corrected 14C kyrs before present (BP) on the outer shelf and before w7.7 corrected 14C kyrs BP on the inner shelf, which is broadly synchronous with ice retreat in other Antarctic sectors. The apparent mismatch between the ice-sheet reconstructions from marine and terrestrial data can be attributed to ice streams with very low surface profiles (similar to those of “ice plains”) that had advanced through Filchner Trough and Ronne Trough at the LGM. Considering the global sea-level lowstand of w130 m below present, a low surface slope of the expanded LGM-ice sheet in the southern Weddell Sea can reconcile grounding-line advance to the shelf break with limited thickening of glaciers and ice streams in the hinterland. This scenario implies that ice-sheet growth in the Weddell Sea sector during the LGM and ice-sheet drawdown throughout the last deglaciation could only have made minor contributions to the major global sea-level fluctuations during these times.

Description: Marine and terrestrial geological and marine geophysical data that constrain deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of the sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) draining into the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea have been collated and used as the basis for a set of time-slice reconstructions. The drainage basins in these sectors constitute a little more than one-quarter of the area of the WAIS, but account for about one-third of its surface accumulation. Their mass balance is becoming increasingly negative, and therefore they account for an even larger fraction of current WAIS discharge. If all of the ice in these sectors of the WAIS was discharged to the ocean, global sea level would rise by ca. 2 m. There is compelling evidence that grounding lines of palaeo-ice streams were at, or close to, the continental shelf edge along the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea margins during the last glacial period. However, the few cosmogenic surface exposure ages and ice core data available from the interior of West Antarctica indicate that ice surface elevations there have changed little since the LGM. In the few areas from which cosmogenic surface exposure ages have been determined near the margin of the ice sheet, they generally suggest that there has been a gradual decrease in ice surface elevation since pre-Holocene times. Radiocarbon dates from glacimarine and the earliest seasonally open marine sediments in continental shelf cores that have been interpreted as providing approximate ages for post-LGM grounding-line retreat indicate different trajectories of palaeo-ice stream recession in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea embayments. The areas were probably subject to similar oceanic, atmospheric and eustatic forcing, in which case the differences are probably largely a consequence of how topographic and geological factors have affected ice flow, and of topographic influences on snow accumulation and warm water inflow across the continental shelf. Pauses in ice retreat are recorded where there are “bottle necks” in cross-shelf troughs in both embayments. The highest retreat rates presently constrained by radiocarbon dates from sediment cores are found where the grounding line retreated across deep basins on the inner shelf in the Amundsen Sea, which is consistent with the marine ice-sheet instability hypothesis. Deglacial ages from the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) and Eltanin Bay (southern Bellingshausen Sea) indicate that the ice sheet had already retreated close to its modern limits by early Holocene time, which suggests that the rapid ice thinning, flow acceleration, and grounding line retreat observed in this sector over recent decades are unusual in the context of the past 10,000 years.

Description: Abstract The Weddell Sea sector is one of the main formation sites for Antarctic Bottom Water and an outlet for about one fifth of Antarctica's continental ice volume. Over the last few decades, studies on glacial–geological records in this sector have provided conflicting reconstructions of changes in ice-sheet extent and ice-sheet thickness since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM at ca 23–19 calibrated kiloyears before present, cal ka BP). Terrestrial geomorphological records and exposure ages obtained from rocks in the hinterland of the Weddell Sea, ice-sheet thickness constraints from ice cores and some radiocarbon dates on offshore sediments were interpreted to indicate no significant ice thickening and locally restricted grounding-line advance at the LGM. Other marine geological and geophysical studies concluded that subglacial bedforms mapped on the Weddell Sea continental shelf, subglacial deposits and sediments over-compacted by overriding ice recovered in cores, and the few available radiocarbon ages from marine sediments are consistent with major ice-sheet advance at the LGM. Reflecting the geological interpretations, different ice-sheet models have reconstructed conflicting {LGM} ice-sheet configurations for the Weddell Sea sector. Consequently, the estimated contributions of ice-sheet build-up in the Weddell Sea sector to the {LGM} sea-level low-stand of ~130 m vary considerably. In this paper, we summarise and review the geological records of past ice-sheet margins and past ice-sheet elevations in the Weddell Sea sector. We compile marine and terrestrial chronological data constraining former ice-sheet size, thereby highlighting different levels of certainty, and present two alternative scenarios of the {LGM} ice-sheet configuration, including time-slice reconstructions for post-LGM grounding-line retreat. Moreover, we discuss consistencies and possible reasons for inconsistencies between the various reconstructions and propose objectives for future research. The aim of our study is to provide two alternative interpretations of glacial–geological datasets on Antarctic Ice-Sheet History for the Weddell Sea sector, which can be utilised to test and improve numerical ice-sheet models.