Sproson Adam D, Yokoyama Yusuke, Miyairi Yosuke, Aze Takahiro, Totten Rebecca L
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan.
Biogeochemistry Research Center, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan.
Nat Commun. 2022 May 20;13(1):2434. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30076-2.
The primary Antarctic contribution to modern sea-level rise is glacial discharge from the Amundsen Sea sector of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The main processes responsible for ice mass loss include: (1) ocean-driven melting of ice shelves by upwelling of warm water onto the continental shelf; and (2) atmospheric-driven surface melting of glaciers along the Antarctic coast. Understanding the relative influence of these processes on glacial stability is imperative to predicting sea-level rise. Employing a beryllium isotope-based reconstruction of ice-shelf history, we demonstrate that glaciers flowing into the Amundsen Sea Embayment underwent melting and retreat between 9 and 6 thousand years ago. Despite warm ocean water influence, this melting event was mainly forced by atmospheric circulation changes over continental West Antarctica, linked via a Rossby wave train to tropical Pacific Ocean warming. This millennial-scale glacial history may be used to validate contemporary ice-sheet models and improve sea-level projections.
南极对现代海平面上升的主要贡献是南极西部冰盖阿蒙森海区域的冰川排放。造成冰量损失的主要过程包括：（1）温暖海水上升到大陆架上，导致海洋驱动冰架融化；（2）大气驱动南极海岸沿线冰川表面融化。了解这些过程对冰川稳定性的相对影响对于预测海平面上升至关重要。通过基于铍同位素的冰架历史重建，我们证明流入阿蒙森海湾区的冰川在9000至6000年前经历了融化和退缩。尽管受到温暖海水的影响，但这次融化事件主要是由南极西部大陆上空的大气环流变化驱动的，通过罗斯比波列与热带太平洋变暖相联系。这一千年尺度的冰川历史可用于验证当代冰盖模型并改进海平面预测。
