Pub Date : 2024-05-17DOI: 10.1017/s0954102024000075
D. Lacelle, Michelle Christy, B. Faucher, Pablo Sobron, Dale T. Andersen
Secondary carbonate precipitates on the surface of clasts have rarely been reported from Antarctica. Here, we infer the origin, age and palaeo-environmental significance of the calcite crusts in the Untersee Oasis, East Antarctica. The distribution of calcite crusts, which are up to 1 mm thick, is limited to locations with residual snow patches, and they have some of the highest δ18O (up to +17.4‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW)) and δ13C (up to +14.6‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB)) compositions of any carbonate deposits in terrestrial polar environments. Their δ18O and δ13C values are substantially enriched with respect to the isotopic values expected from equilibrium precipitation from the δ18O and δ13CDIC (DIC = dissolved inorganic carbon) of snow meltwater. The formation of the calcite crusts is ascribed to the evaporation of residual snow meltwater and the low relative humidity and strong winds, favouring a kinetic isotope effect. The 14C age distribution of the calcite crusts (1550 cal yr bp to modern) provides a minimum age for ice retreat and drainage of the palaeo-lake in Aurkjosen Cirque. However, in this polar desert environment in which surface melting is limited, the calcite crusts require sufficient snow accumulation and air temperatures warm enough to generate meltwater, and their age distribution corresponds to the late Holocene warm-wet climate period.
{"title":"Palaeo-environmental significance of evaporative calcite crusts in the Untersee Oasis, East Antarctica","authors":"D. Lacelle, Michelle Christy, B. Faucher, Pablo Sobron, Dale T. Andersen","doi":"10.1017/s0954102024000075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102024000075","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Secondary carbonate precipitates on the surface of clasts have rarely been reported from Antarctica. Here, we infer the origin, age and palaeo-environmental significance of the calcite crusts in the Untersee Oasis, East Antarctica. The distribution of calcite crusts, which are up to 1 mm thick, is limited to locations with residual snow patches, and they have some of the highest δ18O (up to +17.4‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW)) and δ13C (up to +14.6‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB)) compositions of any carbonate deposits in terrestrial polar environments. Their δ18O and δ13C values are substantially enriched with respect to the isotopic values expected from equilibrium precipitation from the δ18O and δ13CDIC (DIC = dissolved inorganic carbon) of snow meltwater. The formation of the calcite crusts is ascribed to the evaporation of residual snow meltwater and the low relative humidity and strong winds, favouring a kinetic isotope effect. The 14C age distribution of the calcite crusts (1550 cal yr bp to modern) provides a minimum age for ice retreat and drainage of the palaeo-lake in Aurkjosen Cirque. However, in this polar desert environment in which surface melting is limited, the calcite crusts require sufficient snow accumulation and air temperatures warm enough to generate meltwater, and their age distribution corresponds to the late Holocene warm-wet climate period.","PeriodicalId":504564,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"2 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140963034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-25DOI: 10.1017/s0954102024000130
Peter Fretwell
Sea ice, and particularly land-fast sea ice, is crucial for emperor penguins as a breeding and moulting platform and foraging habitat (Barbraud & Weimerskirch 2001). Emperor penguins use land-fast sea ice as a breeding platform to raise their chicks, from egg hatching in late July to mid-August until fledging, typically between mid-December and early January.
{"title":"A 6 year assessment of low sea-ice impacts on emperor penguins","authors":"Peter Fretwell","doi":"10.1017/s0954102024000130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102024000130","url":null,"abstract":"Sea ice, and particularly land-fast sea ice, is crucial for emperor penguins as a breeding and moulting platform and foraging habitat (Barbraud & Weimerskirch 2001). Emperor penguins use land-fast sea ice as a breeding platform to raise their chicks, from egg hatching in late July to mid-August until fledging, typically between mid-December and early January.","PeriodicalId":504564,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"21 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140655993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.1017/s095410202400018x
Laurence J. Clarke, Eric J. Raes, Toby Travers, Patti Virtue, Dana M. Bergstrom
{"title":"Extremophile hypolithic communities in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica – ERRATUM","authors":"Laurence J. Clarke, Eric J. Raes, Toby Travers, Patti Virtue, Dana M. Bergstrom","doi":"10.1017/s095410202400018x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s095410202400018x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":504564,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"19 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140668220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}