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Lost cold Antarctic deserts inferred from unusual sulfate formation and isotope signatures

Author

Listed:
  • Tao Sun

    (Louisiana State University
    NASA Johnson Space Center
    Present address: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA)

  • Richard A. Socki

    (ESCG, NASA Johnson Space Center
    Present address: Baker Hughes, Inc. Houston, Texas 77073, USA)

  • David L. Bish

    (Indiana University)

  • Ralph P. Harvey

    (Case Western Reserve University)

  • Huiming Bao

    (Louisiana State University)

  • Paul B. Niles

    (NASA Johnson Space Center)

  • Ricardo Cavicchioli

    (University of New South Wales)

  • Eric Tonui

    (Upstream Technology
    Present address: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204, USA)

Abstract

The Antarctic ice cap significantly affects global ocean circulation and climate. Continental glaciogenic sedimentary deposits provide direct physical evidence of the glacial history of the Antarctic interior, but these data are sparse. Here we investigate a new indicator of ice sheet evolution: sulfates within the glaciogenic deposits from the Lewis Cliff Ice Tongue of the central Transantarctic Mountains. The sulfates exhibit unique isotope signatures, including δ34S up to +50‰ for mirabilite evaporites, Δ17O up to +2.3‰ for dissolved sulfate within contemporary melt-water ponds, and extremely negative δ18O as low as −22.2‰. The isotopic data imply that the sulfates formed under environmental conditions similar to today’s McMurdo Dry Valleys, suggesting that ice-free cold deserts may have existed between the South Pole and the Transantarctic Mountains since the Miocene during periods when the ice sheet size was smaller than today, but with an overall similar to modern global hydrological cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao Sun & Richard A. Socki & David L. Bish & Ralph P. Harvey & Huiming Bao & Paul B. Niles & Ricardo Cavicchioli & Eric Tonui, 2015. "Lost cold Antarctic deserts inferred from unusual sulfate formation and isotope signatures," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-7, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8579
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8579
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