A new sea-level record for the Neogene/Quaternary boundary reveals transition to a more stable East Antarctic Ice Sheet
Kim A. Jakob, Paul A. Wilson, Jörg Pross, Thomas H. G. Ezard, Jens Fiebig, Janne Repschläger, Oliver Friedrich
Abstract
) ranged from present-day (>400 parts per million volume, ppmv) to preindustrial (<280 ppmv) values. Our data reveal clear glacial-interglacial cycles in global ice volume and sea level largely driven by the growth and decay of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, sea-level values during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 101 (∼2.55 Ma) also signal substantial melting of the EAIS, and peak sea levels during MIS G7 (∼2.75 Ma) and, perhaps, MIS G1 (∼2.63 Ma) are also suggestive of EAIS instability. During the succeeding glacial-interglacial cycles (MIS 100 to 95), sea levels were distinctly lower than before, strongly suggesting a link between greater stability of the EAIS and increased land-ice volumes in the Northern Hemisphere. We propose that lower sea levels driven by ice-sheet growth in the Northern Hemisphere decreased EAIS susceptibility to ocean melting. Our findings have implications for future EAIS vulnerability to a rapidly warming world.