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Direct evidence of aeolian deposition of marine diatoms to an ice sheet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2012

A.L. Budgeon ,
D. Roberts ,
M. Gasparon  and
N. Adams
A.L. Budgeon*
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
D. Roberts
Affiliation:
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
M. Gasparon
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
N. Adams
Affiliation:
Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

Antarctic snow samples collected from the Wilkins Runway, c. 50 km inland from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica, contain aeolian-derived diatoms. The diatom assemblage preserved is exclusively of marine origin. As diatoms are excellent indicators of source conditions, we are able to confirm that an unusual weather event, with anomalous north-westerly winds blowing at around 10 m s-1, resulted in the deposition of coastal marine species at the Wilkins Runway. The composition of the floral assemblage collected indicate that the parent water mass was from a coastal marine region undergoing typical Antarctic summer conditions with periods of both consolidated sea ice and open water. On inspection of available satellite imagery, these conditions were found upwind of the deposition site. This study provides a methodology for diatoms found within ice cores to be identified and the source region to be determined. It also provides evidence for a large-scale aeolian deposition of marine diatoms to an ice sheet, which may have implications for the interpretation of controversial marine diatoms found in sediments that have been used as evidence for the retreat of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Keywords

aeolian transportice coresnowsourceWindmill Islands
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 24 , Issue 5 , 13 September 2012 , pp. 527 - 535
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2012

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Footnotes

†

deceased 23 March 2012

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