The late Quaternary environmental- and climate history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica
The late Quaternary climate history of the East Antarctic is of great importance, since the role of the Antarctic region in global climate change is still not fully understood. Climate reconstructions based on ice cores and on sediment cores from the open ocean often provide equivocal results, which points to regional differences and complex feedbacks. Archives from the few ice-free coastal areas in the East Antarctic therefore provide valuable information on the climate history along the coast and form a link between off-shore records and the interior of the continent.
In Austral summer 2007 extensive fieldwork was carried out on the ice-free islands of Rauer Group, eastern Prydz Bay, with logistical support of RV Polarstern. Marine and lacustrine sediment sequences recovered from the islands in close proximity to the present ice sheet margin provide unique material for the reconstruction of climatic and environmental conditions during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Additionally geomorphological investigations complete the picture of glaciation, deglaciation and relative sea level.
Publications
- Hodgson, D.A., Whitehouse, P.L., DeCort, G., Berg, S., Verleyen, E., Tavernier, I., Roberts, S.J., Vyverman, W., Sabbe, K., O'Brien, P. 2016. Rapid early Holocene sea-level rise in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Global and Planetary Change 139, 128-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.12.020
- Verleyen E., Hodgson D. A., Sabbe K., Cremer H., Emslie S.D., Gibson J. A. E., Hall B., Imura S., Kudoh S., Marshall G. J., McMinn A., Melles M., Newman L., Roberts D., Roberts S.J., Singh S.M., Sterken M., Tavernier I., Verkulich S. R., Van de Vyver E., Nieuwenhuyze W., Wagner B., Vyverman W. (2011): Post-glacial climate variability along the East Antarctic coastal margin - Evidence from shallow marine and coastal terrestrial records. Earth-Science Reviews 104, 199-212.
- Berg, S., Wagner, B., Cremer, H., Leng, M.J. and Melles, M. (2010): Late Quaternary environmental and climate history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology DOI 10.1016/j.palaeo2010.08002
- Berg, S., Wagner, B., White, D. and Melles, M. (2010): No significant ice-sheet expansion beyond present ice margins during the last 4500 yr at Rauer Group, East Antarctica. Quaternary Research 74, 23-25 DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2010.04.004.
- White, D.A., Bennike, O., Berg, S., Harley, S.L., Fink, D., Kiernan, K., McConnell, A. and Wagner, B. (2009): Geomorphology and glacial history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica. Quaternary Research 72, 80-90.
- Berg, S., Wagner, B., White, D.A., Cremer, H., Bennike, O. and Melles, M. (2009): New marine core record of Late Pleistocene glaciation history, Rauer Group, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 21, 299-300.
- Wagner, B., Bennike, O., Berg, S., Fritz, M., Klatt, O., Klug, M., Muhle, K., Ortlepp, S., Vogel, H., White, D. (2008): Late Quaternary environmental history of the Rauer Group, Prydz Bay region, as deduced from lake and marine basin sediments. Reports on Polar and Marine Research 583, 80-94.
- Bennike O., Wagner B. (2007): Rauer Islands i Antarktis - I Naturens Verden 10, 2-13.
- Bennike O., Wagner B. (2007): Rauer Islands i Antarktis - II Naturens Verden 11, 2-11.
