Holocene glacial history and sea level changes on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Summary, in English

A reconstruction of deglaciation and associated sea-level changes on northern James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, based on lithostratigraphical and geomorphological studies, shows that the initial deglaciation of presently ice-free areas occurred slightly before 7400 14C yr BP. Sea-level in connection with the deglaciation was around 30 m a.s.l. A glacier readvance in Brandy Bay, of at least 7 km, with the initial 3 km over land, reached a position off the present coast at ca. 4600 yr BP. The culmination of the advance was of short duration, and by 4300 yr BP the coastal lowlands again were ice-free. A distinct marine level at 16–18 m a.s.l. was contemporaneous with or slightly post-dates the Brandy Bay advance, thus indicating the relative sea-level around 4600–4500 yr BP. Our results from James Ross Island confirm that over large areas in this part of Antarctica the last deglaciation occurred late.

• Author: Christian Hjort; Ólafur Ingólfsson; Per Möller; J M Lirio
• Department/s: Quaternary Sciences
• Publishing year: 1997
• Language: English
• Pages: 259-273
• Publication/Series: Journal of Quaternary Science
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 4
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1417(199707/08)12:4<259::AID-JQS307>3.0.CO;2-6
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• Topic: Geology
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1099-1417