Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T12:43:02.093Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Quaternary Diatom Assemblages from Prydz Bay, Eastern Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Fiona Taylor  and
Andrew McMinn
Fiona Taylor
Affiliation:
Antarctic Co-operative Research Centre and Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, GPO Box 252-80, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia, E-mail: [email protected]
Andrew McMinn
Affiliation:
Antarctic Co-operative Research Centre and Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, GPO Box 252-80, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The paleo-depositional environment of inner Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, has been reconstructed for the past 21,320 14C yr B.P., using diatom assemblages and sediment facies from a short, 352-cm-long gravity core. Between 21,320 and 11,650 14C yr B.P., compact tillite and diamicton are present in the core, and diatom frustules are rare to absent. These data suggest that an ice sheet grounded over the site during the last glacial maximum. Following glacial retreat, siliceous muddy ooze was deposited, from 11,650 to 2600 14C yr B.P., in an open marine setting. During this stage, diatom frustules are abundant and well preserved, and Thalassiosira antarctica resting spores and Fragilariopsis curta dominate the assemblage. This assemblage suggests open marine deposition in an environment where the spatial and temporal distribution of sea ice is less than today. Since 2600 14C yr B.P., sea-ice and ice-edge diatom species have become more abundant, and neoglacial cooling is inferred. The assemblage is similar to that forming currently in Prydz Bay, where sea ice is absent (<10% cover) for 2–3 months of the year and permanent ice edge and/or multiyear sea ice remains in close proximity to the site.

Keywords

Prydz BayQuaternarydiatomsThalassiosira antarcticasea ice
Type
Other
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 151 - 161
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamson, D.A., and Pickard, J. Cainozoic history of the Vestfold Hills. Pickard, J. Antarctic Oasis. Terrestrial Environments and History of the Vestfold Hills. (1986). Academic Press, Sydney. 63–93.Google Scholar
Anderson, J., Kurtz, D., Domack, E., and Balshaw, K. Glacial and glacial marine sediments of the Antarctic continental shelf. Journal of Geology 88, (1980). 399–414.Google Scholar
Armand, L.K. An ocean of ice—Advances in the estimation of past sea ice in the Southern Ocean. GSA Today 10, (2000). 1–7.Google Scholar
Arrigo, K.R., Robinson, D.H., and Sullivan, C.W. A high resolution study of the platelet ice ecosystem in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; Photosynthetic and bio-optical characteristics of a dense microalgal bloom. Marine Ecology Progress Series 98, (1993). 173–185.Google Scholar
Bard, E. Ice age temperatures and geochemistry. Science 284, (1999). 1133–1134.Google Scholar
Baroni, C., and Orombelli, G. Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica. Geology 22, (1994). 23–26.Google Scholar
Bird, M.I., Chivas, A.R., Radnell, C.J., and Burton, H.J. Sedimentological and stable-isotope evolution of lakes in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 84, (1993). 109–130.Google Scholar
Björck, S., Håkansson, H., Zale, R., Karlén, W., and Liedeberg Jönsson, B. A late Holocene lake sediment sequence from Livingstone Island, South Shetland Islands, with palaeoclimatic implications. Antarctic Science 3, (1991). 61–72.Google Scholar
Burckle, L. Diatom evidence bearing on the Holocene in the South Atlantic. Quaternary Research 2, (1972). 323–326.Google Scholar
Burckle, L., Jacobs, S., and McLaughlin, R. Late austral spring diatom distribution between New Zealand and the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica: Hydrographic and sediment correlations. Micropaleontology 33, (1987). 74–81.Google Scholar
Crosta, X., Pichon, J.-J., and Burckle, L. Application to modern analog technique to marine Antarctic diatoms: Reconstruction of maximum sea ice extent at the Last Glacial Maximum. Paleoceanography 13, (1998). 284–297.Google Scholar
Cunningham, W.L., and Leventer, A. Diatom assemblages in surface sediments of the Ross Sea: Relationship to present oceanographic conditions. Antarctic Science 10, (1998). 134–146.Google Scholar
Cunningham, W.L., Leventer, A., Andrews, J.T., Jennings, A.E., and Licht, K.A. Late Pleistocene–Holocene marine conditions in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Evidence from the diatom record. The Holocene 9, (1999). 129–139.Google Scholar
Domack, E.W. Biogenic facies in the Antarctic glacimarine environment: Basis for a polar glacimarine summary. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 63, (1988). 357–372.Google Scholar
Domack, E., Jull, A., and Donahue, D. Holocene chronology for the unconsolidated sediments at Hole 740A: Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results 119, (1991). 727–750.Google Scholar
Domack, E., O'Brien, P., Harris, P., Taylor, F., Quilty, P., DeSantis, L., and Raker, B. Late Quaternary sediment facies in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica and their relationship to glacial advance onto the continental shelf. Antarctic Science 10, (1998). 234–244.Google Scholar
Domack, E., Jacobson, E.A., Shipp, S., and Anderson, J.B. Late Pleistocene–Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic ice sheet system in the Ross Sea: Part 2—Sedimentologic and stratigraphic signature. GSA Bulletin 111, (1999). 1517–1536.Google Scholar
Domack, E., Leventer, A., Dunbar, R., Taylor, F., and Brachfeld, S. Chronology of the Palmer Deep Site, Antarctic Peninsula: A Holocene paleoenvironmental reference for the circum-Antarctic. The Holocene 11, (2001). 1–9.Google Scholar
Franklin, D.C. Recent diatom and foraminiferal assemblages in surface sediments of Prydz Bay, Antarctica. ANARE Research Notes 90, (1993). Google Scholar
Franklin, D.C. The Sedimentology of Holocene Prydz Bay: Sedimentary Patterns and Processes. (1997). University of Tasmania, Hobart.Google Scholar
Fryxell, G., Kang, S., and Reap, M. AMERIEZ 1986: Phytoplankton at the Weddell Sea ice edge. Antarctic Journal of the United States 23, (1987). 129–133.Google Scholar
Gersonde, R., and Zielinski, U. The reconstruction of late Quaternary Antarctic sea-ice distribution; the use of diatoms as a proxy for sea-ice. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 162, (2000). 263–286.Google Scholar
Gloersen, P, Campbell, W. J, Cavalieri, D. J, Comiso, J. C, Parkinson, C. L, and Zwally, H. J. (1992). Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice, 1978–1987: Satellite Passive-microwave Observations and Analysis. NASA Special Publication, 511, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Hargraves, P.E., and French, F.W. Diatom resting spores: Significance and strategies. Fryxell, G.A. Survival Strategies of the Algae. (1983). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. 49–68.Google Scholar
Harris, P.T., Taylor, F., Pushina, Z., Leitchenkov, G., O'Brien, P.E., and Smirnov, V. Lithofacies distribution in relation to the geomorphic provinces of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 10, (1998). 227–235.Google Scholar
Ingólfsson, Ó., Hjort, C., Berkman, P.A., Björck, S., Colhoun, E., Goodwin, I.D., Hall, B., Hirakawa, K., Melles, M., Möller, P., and Prentice, M.L. Antarctic glacial history since the last Glacial Maximum: An overview of the record on land. Antarctic Science 10, (1998). 326–344.Google Scholar
Jones, V.J., Hodgson, D., and Chepstow-Lusty, A. Palaeolimnological evidence for marked Holocene environmental changes on Signy Island. The Holocene 10, (2000). 43–60.Google Scholar
Katoh, K. Deletion of less-abundant species from ecological data. Diatom 8, (1993). 1–5.Google Scholar
Kellogg, T., and Kellogg, D. Antarctic cryogenic sediments: Biotic and inorganic facies of ice shelf and marine-based ice sheet environments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 67, (1988). 51–74.Google Scholar
Kirby, M., Domack, E.W., and McClennen, C.E. Magnetic stratigraphy and sedimentology of Holocene glacial marine deposits in the Palmer Deep, Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica: Implications for climate change?. Marine Geology 4, (1998). 247–259.Google Scholar
Krebs, K.J., Lipps, J., and Burckle, J. Ice diatom flora, Arthur Harbor, Antarctica. Polar Biology 7, (1987). 163–171.Google Scholar
Leventer, A. Modern distribution of diatoms in sediments of George V Coast, Antarctica. Marine Micropaleontology 19, (1992). 315–332.Google Scholar
Leventer, A., and Dunbar, R. Recent diatom record of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; Implications for history of sea ice extent. Paleoceanography 3, (1988). 259–274.Google Scholar
Leventer, A., and Dunbar, R. Factors influencing the distribution of diatoms and other algae in the Ross Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research 101, (1996). 18489–18500.Google Scholar
Leventer, A., Dunbar, R., and DeMaster, D.J. Diatom evidence for Late Holocene climatic events in Granite Harbor, Antarctica. Paleoceanography 8, (1993). 373–386.Google Scholar
Leventer, A., Domack, E.W., Ishman, S.E., Brachfeld, S., McClennen, C.E., and Manley, P. Productivity cycles of 200–300 years in the Antarctic Peninsula region: Understanding linkages among the sun, atmosphere, oceans, sea ice, and biota. GSA Bulletin 108, (1996). 1626–1644.Google Scholar
Lizotte, M.P., and Sullivan, C.W. Rates of photoadaptation in sea ice diatoms from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Journal of Phycology 27, (1991). 367–373.Google Scholar
Massom, R.A., Harris, P.T., Michael, K.J., and Potter, M.J. The distribution and formative processes of latent-heat polynyas in East Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology 27, (1998). 420–426.Google Scholar
McMinn, A. Late Holocene increase in sea ice extent in fjord of the Vestfold Hills, eastern Antarctica. Antarctic Science 12, (2000). 80–88.Google Scholar
McMinn, A., Gibson, J., Hodgson, D., and Aschman, J. Nutrient limitation in Ellis Fjord, eastern Antarctica. Polar Biology 15, (1995). 269–276.Google Scholar
Nelson, D.M., and Smith, W.O. Phytoplankton bloom dynamics at the western Ross Sea ice edge—II. Mesocale cycling of nitrogen and silicon. Deep-Sea Research 33, (1986). 1389–1412.Google Scholar
Nelson, D.M., and Tréguer, P. Role of silicon as a limiting nutrient to Antarctic diatoms: Evidence from kinetic studies in the Ross Sea ice-edge zone. Marine Ecology Progress Series 80, (1992). 255–264.Google Scholar
Nunes Vaz, R., and Lennon, G. Physical oceanography of the Prydz Bay region of Antarctic waters. Deep-Sea Research 43, (1996). 603–641.Google Scholar
O'Brien, P.E. Morphology and late glacial history of Prydz Bay, Antarctica, based on echo sounder data. Terra Antarctica 1, (1994). 403–405.Google Scholar
O'Brien, P.E., and Harris, P.T. Patterns of glacial erosion and deposition in Prydz Bay and the past behaviour of the Lambert Glacier. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 130, (1996). 79–85.Google Scholar
O'Brien, P.E., Cooper, A.K., Richter, C., and Baldauf, B. Prydz Bay–Cooperation Sea, Antarctica: Glacial history and paleoceanography. Leg 178 Scientific Prospectus (1999). Google Scholar
Pichon, J.-J., Labracherie, M., Labeyrie, L., and Duprat, J. Transfer functions between diatom assemblages and surface hydrology in the Southern Ocean. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 61, (1987). 79–95.Google Scholar
Pichon, J.-J., Labeyrie, L., Baraeille, G., Labracherie, M., Duprat, J., and Jouzel, J. Surface water temperature changes in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere over the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Paleoceanography 7, (1992). 289–318.Google Scholar
Pickard, J. Holocene winds of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 25, (1982). 353–358.Google Scholar
Quilty, P. Distribution of foraminiferids in sediments of Prydz Bay, Antarctica. South Australian Department of Mines and Energy Special Publication 5, (1985). 329–340.Google Scholar
Roberts, D., and McMinn, A. A weighted-averaging regression and calibration model for inferring lakewater salinity from fossil diatom assemblages in saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills: A new tool for interpreting Holocene lake histories in Antarctica. Journal of Paleolimnology 19, (1998). 99–113.Google Scholar
Roberts, D., and McMinn, A. A diatom-based palaeosalinity history of Ace Lake, Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. The Holocene 9, (1999). 401–408.Google Scholar
Robinson, D.H., Arrigo, K.R., Iturriaga, R., and Sullivan, C.W. Microalgal light-harvesting in extreme low-light environments in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Journal of Phycology 31, (1995). 508–520.Google Scholar
Scott, P., McMinn, A., and Hosie, G. Physical parameters influencing diatom community structure in eastern Antarctic sea ice. Polar Biology 14, (1994). 507–517.Google Scholar
Shevenell, A., Domack, E., and Kernan, G. Record of Holocene palaeoclimate change along the Antarctic Peninsula: Evidence from glacial marine sediments, Lallemand Fjord. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 130, (1996). 55–64.Google Scholar
Smetacek, V., Scharek, R., Gordon, L.I., Eicken, H., Fahrback, E., Rohardt, G., and Moore, S. Early spring phytoplankton blooms in ice platelet layers of the southern Weddell Sea. Deep-Sea Research 39, (1992). 153–168.Google Scholar
Smith, N., and Tréguer, P. Physical and chemical oceanography in the vicinity of Prydz Bay, Antarctica. Smith, N., and Tréguer, P. Southern Ocean Ecology: The BIOMASS Perspective. (1994). Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. 25–45.Google Scholar
Smith, N., Zhaoqian, D., Kerry, K., and Wright, S. Water masses and circulation in the region of Prydz Bay, Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research 31, (1984). 153–168.Google Scholar
Stagg, H. The structure and origin of Prydz Bay and Mac. Robertson Shelf, East Antarctica. Tectonophysics 114, (1985). 315–340.Google Scholar
Tanimura, Y., Fukucki, M., Watanabe, K., and Moriwaki, K. Diatoms in water column and sea-ice in Lützow-Holm Bay, Antarctica, and their preservation in the underlying sediments. Bulletin of the National Science Museum 16, (1990). 15–39.Google Scholar
Taylor, F. Sedimentary Diatom Assemblages of Prydz Bay and Mac. Robertson Shelf, East Antarctica, and Their Use as Palaeoecological Indicators. (1999). University of Tasmania, Hobart.Google Scholar
Taylor, F., McMinn, A., and Franklin, D. Distribution of diatoms in surface sediments of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Marine Micropaleontology 32, (1997). 209–229.Google Scholar
Taylor, F., Whitehead, J., and Domack, E. Holocene paleoclimate change in the Antarctic Peninsula: Evidence from the diatom, sedimentary and geochemical record. Marine Micropaleontology. 41, (2001). 25–44.Google Scholar
Truesdale, R., and Kellogg, T. Ross Sea diatoms: Modern assemblage distributions and their relationship to ecologic, oceanographic and sedimentary conditions. Marine Micropaleontology 4, (1979). 13–31.Google Scholar
Villareal, T.A., and Fryxell, G.A. Temperature effects on the valve structure of the bipolar diatoms Thalassiosira antarctica and Porosira glacialis . Polar Biology 2, (1983). 163–169.Google Scholar
Whitehead, J.M., and McMinn, A. Paleodepth determination from Antarctic benthic diatom assemblages. Marine Micropaleontology 29, (1997). 301–318.Google Scholar
Wong, A. Structure and Dynamics of Prydz Bay, Antarctica, as Inferred from a Summer Hydrographic Data Set. (1994). University of TasmaniaInstitute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, Hobart.Google Scholar
Worby, A.P., Massom, R.A., Allison, I., Lytle, V.I., and Heil, P. East Antarctic sea ice: A review of its structure, properties and drift. Antarctic Research Series 74, (1998). 41–67.Google Scholar
Yoon, H.I., Park, B.-K., Kim, Y., and Kim, D. Glaciomarine sedimentation and its paleoceanographic implications along the fjord margins in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, during the last 6000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 157, (2000). 189–211.Google Scholar
Zielinski, U., and Gersonde, R. Diatom distribution in Southern Ocean surface sediments (Atlantic Sector): Implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 129, (1997). 213–250.Google Scholar