Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 12/01/2007 - 14:12
Forums
Antarctic Ice Sheet Studies

Hey Brandon!!!

Glad to see that you finally made it to Mactown. I am working on some lesson plans and figured you can help me out. When Antarctica was part of Gondwanland was it ice free? When was the last time the continent was ice free? What is the age of the oldest ice currently on the continent and where is it located?

 On a somewhat different topic. Is there much concern about the WAIS melting enough to cause "significant" sea level changes?

Thanks

Kirk

Mon, 12/03/2007 - 10:44

Brandon Gillette

Hi Kirk. I'll admit I had to go to the source for knowledge here. Huw Horgan, one of the CReSIS team members was asked to help respond to your questions. I hope you'll find the information useful.*When Antarctica was part of Gondwanland was it ice free?*Not sure, probably no ice sheets (if equitorial), maybe alpine style glaciation.
*When was the last time the continent was ice free?*Glaciation began ~35 Myr ago, permanent ice ~24 Myr ago
*What is the age ofthe oldest ice currently on the continent and where is it located?*Oldest ice cored in the Antarctic ~800 000 yrs old at Dome Concordia, East Antarctica (there may be older of course).
*On a somewhat different topic. Is there much concern about the WAIS melting enough to cause significant sea level changes?*Concerns surround the feedbacks associated with warming. Ice dymnamic responses can cause mass loss out of proportion to actual melt. For instance removing ice shelves can result in accelerated flow of glaciers/ Similarly supplying water to the bed can accelerate glacier flow. These responses are at present highly uncertain.
~Huw