Sediment from Southern Ocean to Provide Clues on Antarctic Climate History
11.01.2010 - Water & Oceans, Ice & Snow, Flora & Fauna, Antarctic
Scientists from Victoria University’s Antarctic Research Centre in Wellington, New Zealand are now headed for Antarctica to drill seabed cores off Wilkes Land on the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Shelf. The scientists will be investigating links between past climate change and the stability of the Antarctic ice sheets.
The ship will drill up to 1,150 metres through the seabed, taking core samples from the coast of Antarctica out to the abyssal plain at bottom of the Southern Ocean. Preliminary analysis of the cores will then be done on the ship, however most of them will be sent to the Antarctica Marine Geology Research Facility at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
According to the scientists, a transition from a greenhouse climate to an ice climate happened in Antarctica some 33 million years ago, which had an impact on global sea levels. By retrieving seabed core samples from sediments from that period, they hope to find the timing and nature of the onset of glaciations and provide a detailed record of the variability of Antarctic climate over millions of years.
The drill cores will also provide clues to the extent to which the glaciation of Antarctica was triggered by dropping levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as information on how the ocean and sea ice changed over time and the extent to which to cover of sea ice helped to prevent carbon dioxide in the ocean from being released into the atmosphere.
Their findings may be particularly important if warming due to human activity leads to more sea ice melting and a consequent rise in sea levels.
