Within the Ruker Province of East Antarctica, there is evidence for several key geological events that have occurred coincidently with periods of dynamic earth evolution. A detailed evaluation of the tectonic history of the region is therefore required. This research focuses on the tectonic development of the Ruker Province. The main aspects of this research can be summarised as follows: (1) an evaluation of the gross crustal architecture of the region through the development of a new stratigraphic and structural framework; (2) new U-Th-Pb (LA-ICPMS) age data from detrital zircon grains extracted from thick metasedimentary units that comprise a major component of the Ruker Province; (3) new 40Ar/39Ar data from metamorphic minerals to determine the cooling history of the province; (4) mineral equilibria modelling of metamorphic mineral assemblages to constrain pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions during key orogenic events; (5) a kinematic analysis of brittle/ductile deformation features. Ideas developed from these new data provide inferences on the assembly and dispersion of the late Proterozoic super-continents Rodinia (c. 1000 Ma) and Gondwana (c. 500 Ma).

The cold, lightless, and high pressure aquatic environment at the base of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is of interest to a wide range of disciplines. Stable subglacial lakes and their connecting channels remain perennially liquid three kilometers below some of the coldest places on Earth. The presence of subglacial water impacts flow of the overlying ice and provides clues to the geologic properties of the bedrock below, and may harbor unique life forms which have evolved out of contact with the atmosphere for millions of years. Periodic release of water from this system may impact ocean circulation at the margins of the ice sheet. This research uses airborne radar sounding, with its unique ability to infer properties within and at the base of the ice sheet over large spatial scales, to locate and characterize this unique environment. Subglacial lakes, the primary storage mechanism for subglacial water, have been located and classified into four categories on the basis of the radar reflection properties from the sub-ice interface: Definite lakes are brighter than their surroundings by at least two decibels (relatively bright), and are both consistently reflective (specular) and have a reflection coefficient greater than --10 decibels (absolutely bright). Dim lakes are relatively bright and specular but not absolutely bright, possibly indicating non-steady dynamics in the overlying ice. Fuzzy lakes are both relatively and absolutely bright, but not specular, and may indicate saturated sediments or high frequency spatially heterogeneous distributions of sediment and liquid water (i.e. a braided steam). Indistinct lakes are absolutely bright and specular but no brighter than their surroundings. Lakes themselves and the different classes of lakes are not arranged randomly throughout Antarctica but are clustered around ice divides, ice stream onsets and prominent bedrock troughs, with each cluster demonstrating a different characteristic lake classification distribution. In the bedrock trough of Adventure Subglacial Trench, analysis of satellite altimetry is combined with radar sounding data to calculate a mass budget and infer a flow mechanism for a two cubic kilometer discharge reported to have traveled between two lakes in the region from 1996 -1998. The volume released from the source lake exceeded the volume received by the destination lakes by one and a tenth cubic kilometers, indicating that some water must have escaped downstream from the lowest destination lake over the course of the event. Release of water from the source lake preceded arrival of the water at the destination lakes, 260 kilometers away, by about three months. Water continued draining from the destination lakes for several years after surface subsidence at the source lake had ceased. By 2003, a total of one and a half cubic km or nearly 75% of the water released by the source lake had traveled downstream from the destination lakes. Hydraulic modeling work indicates that the initial release of water from the source lake could have been accommodated by a self-enlarging semicircular channel. Subsequent evolution of the discharge and the three-month delay between release of water from the source lake and arrival of that water at the destination lakes indicates that a shallower and broader distributed water system is responsible for the transport of subglacial water in this region. Such a system would be more stable for the given icebedrock geometry and may explain the observations of intermittent flat bright bedrock reflections in radar data acquired upstream from the destination lake in 2000. For the purpose of better understanding the long-term water budget of the Dome C region, an area upstream of Adventure Trench, eleven dated isochronal internal layers within the ice penetrating radar data were tracked. An age-depth relationship, derived from the European ice core through Dome C is used to calculate strain, estimate melt, model ice temperature, and determine absolute basal reflectivity for the entire region which covers over 28,000 square kilometers. The two largest subglacial lakes within the survey, Concordia and Vincennes, are both associated with enhanced basal melting on their upstream shores at rates locally greater than two millimeters per year. Widely distributed melt rates in the major topographic valleys upstream of these lakes are generally less than one millimeter per year throughout the region with slightly higher melts in the basin draining into Vincennes Subglacial Lake. Although published estimates for geothermal flux are capable of explaining the behavior of ice and water in most of the area, an additional source of basal heat is required to explain melt anomalies and subglacial lakes along the Concordia Ridge. Lake Concordia is expected to discharge water on a similar scale and duration as that observed in Adventure Trench, with a repeat cycle of a few hundred years. / text

No description available.

The Antarctic plays an important role in the global climate system. On the one hand, the Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest freshwater reservoir on Earth. On the other hand, a major proportion of the global bottom-water formation takes place in Antarctic shelf regions, forcing the global thermohaline circulation. The main goal of this dissertation is to provide new insights into the dynamics and stability of the EAIS during the Quaternary. Additionally, variations in the activity of bottom-water formation and their causes are investigated. The dissertation is a German contribution to the International Polar Year 2007/ 2008 and was funded by the ‘Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft’ (DFG) within the scope of priority program 1158 ‘Antarctic research with comparative studies in Arctic ice regions’. During RV Polarstern expedition ANT-XXIII/9, glaciomarine sediments were recovered from the Prydz Bay-Kerguelen region. Prydz Bay is a key region for the study of East EAIS dynamics, as 16% of the EAIS are drained through the Lambert Glacier into the bay. Thereby, the glacier transports sediment into Prydz Bay which is then further distributed by calving icebergs or by current transport. The scientific approach of this dissertation is the reconstruction of past glaciomarine environments to infer on the response of the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system to climate shifts during the Quaternary. To characterize the depositional setting, sedimentological methods are used and statistical analyses are applied. Mineralogical and (bio)geochemical methods provide a means to reconstruct sediment provenances and to provide evidence on changes in the primary production in the surface water column. Age-depth models were constructed based on palaeomagnetic and palaeointensity measurements, diatom stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating. Sea-bed surface sediments in the investigation area show distinct variations in terms of their clay minerals and heavy-mineral assemblages. Considerable differences in the mineralogical composition of surface sediments are determined on the continental shelf. Clay minerals as well as heavy minerals provide useful parameters to differentiate between sediments which originated from erosion of crystalline rocks and sediments originating from Permo-Triassic deposits. Consequently, mineralogical parameters can be used to reconstruct the provenance of current-transported and ice-rafted material. The investigated sediment cores cover the time intervals of the last 1.4 Ma (continental slope) and the last 12.8 cal. ka BP (MacRobertson shelf). The sediment deposits were mainly influenced by glacial and oceanographic processes and further by biological activity (continental shelf), meltwater input and possibly gravitational transport. Sediments from the continental slope document two major deglacial events: the first deglaciation is associated with the mid-Pleistocene warming recognized around the Antarctic. In Prydz Bay, the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf retreated far to the south and high biogenic productivity commenced or biogenic remains were better preserved due to increased sedimentation rates. Thereafter, stable glacial conditions continued until 400 - 500 ka BP. Calving of icebergs was restricted to the western part of the Lambert Glacier. The deeper bathymetry in this area allows for floating ice shelf even during times of decreased sea-level. Between 400 - 500 ka BP and the last interglacial (marine isotope stage 5) the glacier was more dynamic. During or shortly after the last interglacial the LAIS retreated again due to sea-level rise of 6 - 9 m. Both deglacial events correlate with a reduction in the thickness of ice masses in the Prince Charles Mountains. It indicates that a disintegration of the Amery Ice Shelf possibly led to increased drainage of ice masses from the Prydz Bay hinterland. A new end-member modelling algorithm was successfully applied on sediments from the MacRobertson shelf used to unmix the sand grain size fractions sorted by current activity and ice transport, respectively. Ice retreat on MacRobertson Shelf commenced 12.8 cal. ka BP and ended around 5.5 cal. ka BP. During the Holocene, strong fluctuations of the bottomwater activity were observed, probably related to variations of sea-ice formation in the Cape Darnley polynya. Increased activity of bottom-water flow was reconstructed at transitions from warm to cool conditions, whereas bottom-water activity receded during the mid- Holocene climate optimum. It can be concluded that the Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system was relatively stable in terms of climate variations during the Quaternary. In contrast, bottom-water formation due to polynya activity was very sensitive to changes in atmospheric forcing and should gain more attention in future research. / Die Antarktis spielt im globalen Umweltsystem eine tragende Rolle. Mit ihrem mächtigen Eispanzer ist sie nicht nur der größte Süsswasserspeicher auf der Erde, in ihren Schelfregionen wird auch ein Großteil der globalen Bodenwassermassen gebildet, welche die globale thermohaline Zirkulation antreiben. Hauptziel dieser Arbeit, welche einen deutschen Beitrag zum Internationalen Polarjahr 2007/ 2008 liefert, war es, neue Erkenntnisse hinsichtlich der Stabilität des Ostantarktischen Eisschildes während des Quartärs zu liefern. Weiterhin sollten Aussagen über Variationen in der Bildung von Antarktischem Bodenwasser und deren Ursachen getroffen werden. Dazu wurde im Rahmen der ‚Polarstern‘ Expedition ANT-XXIII/9 eine Beprobung glaziomariner Sedimente zwischen Prydz Bucht und Kerguelen Plateau durchgeführt. Diese Region eignet sich zur Untersuchung der Ostantarktischen Eisdynamik besonders gut, da hier der Lambert Gletscher, etwa 16% des Ostantarktischen Eispanzers drainiert. Er transportiert dabei Sediment nach Norden, das schließlich die Prydz Bucht erreicht und durch direkten Transport über kalbende Eisberge oder durch Umlagerung und Verteilung mithilfe von Meeresströmungen weiter verfrachtet wird. Der wissenschaftliche Ansatz dieser Arbeit besteht darin, über die Verteilung dieser Sedimente in Raum und Zeit, d.h. über Variationen des glaziomarinen Paläoregimes, die Reaktion des Lambert Gletschers und des vorgelagerten Amery Schelfeises auf Klimaschwankungen während des Quartärs zu rekonstruieren. Dabei werden sowohl sedimentologische Methoden unter Einbeziehung neuer statistischer Möglichkeiten angewandt, um Sedimentationsprozesse zu charakterisieren, als auch mineralogische und (bio)geochemische Parameter verwendet, um Aussagen über die Herkunft der Sedimente und Änderungen in der Produktivität im Oberflächenwasser treffen zu können. Die Altersbestimmung der Sedimentkerne erfolgte mittels Paläomagnetik, Paläointensitäten, Biostratigraphie und Radiokarbondatierungen. Die Oberflächensedimente im Untersuchungsgebiet zeigen deutliche Unterschiede sowohl hinsichtlich ihrer Tonmineral- als auch Schwermineralzusammensetzung. Beide mineralogischen Parameter zeigen die größten Differerenzen auf dem Schelf. Dort lassen sich deutlich Sedimente der Prydz Bucht von Sedimenten des MacRobertson Shelfes differenzieren. Sie stellen daher ein gutes Hilfsmittel dar, um sowohl die Herkunft von eis- als auch strömungstransportiertem Material zu rekonstruieren. Die untersuchten Sedimentkerne decken den Zeitraum der letzten 1,4 Millionen Jahre (Kontinentalhang) bzw. der letzten 12,8 tausend kal. Jahre v. H. ab (MacRobertson Schelf). Die abgelagerten Sedimente wurden i. W. durch glaziale und ozeanographische Einflüsse geprägt, aber auch durch Bioproduktion (Schelf) bzw. durch Schmelzwassereinträge und möglicherweise gravitative Prozesse (Kontinentalhang). In den Sedimenten des Kontinentalhangs sind zwei starke Enteisungsereignisse überliefert: Das erste Ereignis steht mit dem mittelpleistozänen Klimaoptimum in Verbindung, das auch in anderen antarktischen Regionen nachgewiesen wurde. Es führte in der Prydz Bucht zu einem weitreichenden Rückzug des Lambert Gletscher-Amery Schelfeises (LAIS) und gleichzeitig zu einer hohen Primärproduktion. Danach herrschten bis etwa 400 - 500 tausend Jahre v. H. stabile glaziale Bedingungen. Kalbung von Eisbergen war wahrscheinlich auf den westlichen Teil des Lambert Gletschers begrenzt, wo eine tiefere Bathymetrie auch bei niedrigerem globalen Meeresspiegel noch Aufschwimmen des Gletschereises erlaubt. Zwischen 400 - 500 tausend Jahren v. H. und vermutlich dem letzten Interglazial wurde der Gletscher schließlich wieder dynamischer, um mit oder kurz nach dem letzten Interglazial (Meeresspiegel etwa 6 - 9 m höher) eine weitere Phase deutlichen Rückzuges zu durchlaufen. Beide Ereignisse lassen sich mit Phasen der Eisreduktion in den Prinz Charles Bergen korrelieren, d.h. der Rückzug des Lambert Gletschers hatte möglicherweise ein erhöhtes Nachfließen von Eismassen aus dem Hinterland zur Folge. An den Sedimenten des Schelfkernes wurde ein neu entwickeltes Verfahren der Endmember-Modellierung erfolgreich getestet. Der Eisrückzug auf dem MacRobertson Schelf begann etwa 12,8 tausend kal. Jahre v. H. und war gegen 5,5 tausend kal. Jahre v. H. abgeschlossen. Während des Holozäns kam es zu starken Schwankungen in der Bodenwasseraktivität, die höchst wahrscheinlich mit der Neubildungsrate von Meereis in der Kap Darnley Polynia in Zusammenhang stehen. Besonders auffallend war eine erhöhte Bodenwasseraktivität am Übergang von Warm- zu Kaltphasen bzw. ihr extremer Rückgang während des Mittel-Holozänen Klimaoptimums. Insgesamt zeigen die Ergebnisse der Arbeit, dass sich das LAIS während des Quartärs relativ stabil gegenüber Klimaveränderungen verhalten hat. Die Bodenwasserproduktion in Polynien dagegen reagierte sehr empfindlich auf relative geringe atmosphärische Veränderungen und bedarf in Zukunft verstärkter Aufmerksamkeit.

Includes bibliographical references. / 122, [68] leaves, [7] leaves of plates : ill. (chiefly col.), maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The aims of this thesis are to determine the provenance of the Permian sands of southern Australia, to correlate the provenance of the Permian sands with the known geology and tectonics of East Antarctica and to determine those features of light and heavy minerals that are most useful as provenance indicators. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1996

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Earth Sciences, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-215).

Abstract This thesis examines the Mid-Pliocene climatic extreme ca. three million years ago (Ma) which was the latest longtime warm period. It is an important topic because the climate back then was warmer compared with the present. The bipolar regions are studied because they represent the largest areas that control the global climate. This study is based on clay mineral research that may significantly improve our knowledge of the Mid-Pliocene climate when combined with other palaeoenvironmental data. The paleoclimatological objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate how clay minerals reflect the Mid-Pliocene Global Warmth event, 2) to study ice sheet development at high latitudes, especially in East-Antarctica, and the history of ice rafting and sea ice, especially in the Arctic Ocean. This thesis deals with the clay mineral distribution and compositional analysis of the Pliocene-aged marine sediment sequences provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). The first studied site, Site 1165, is located at the continental rise of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, and the second studied site, Site 911, is located at the Yermak Plateau, north of Svalbard, in the Arctic Ocean. The Pliocene smectite clay minerals at Site 1165 were mainly derived from Antarctic continental sources and transported to the site primarly by bottom currents related to warm events during the last 5 Ma. The evidence obtained in this study shows that the East Antarctic ice sheet may have been a dynamic ice sheet during the past 5 Ma, especially during the Mid-Pliocene. The results from the Mid-Pliocene possibly suggest a general warming trend. Based on the composition of the heavy minerals and clay minerals, at Site 911, the Pliocene smectite clay minerals were mainly transported within sea ice by the Siberian branch of the Transpolar Drift. The results indicate a warming trend at approximately 3 Ma after which they indicate a shift back to glacial conditions. Based on this study, the Mid-Pliocene Global Warmth can be observed in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Im Rahmen einer deutsch-australischen Forschungskooperation erfolgte im Südsommer 2001/2002 eine Expedition in die Amery-Oase (70°50’S, 68°00’E), die im Einzugsgebiet des Lambert-Gletscher/Amery-Schelfeis-Systems, dem größten ostantarktischen Eis-Drainagesystem, liegt. Von deutscher Seite wurden im Zuge der Geländekampagne erstmals lakustrine Sedimentsequenzen gewonnen, um die bislang wenig erforschte spätquartäre Klima- und Umweltgeschichte dieser rund 1800 km² großen eisfreien Region zu rekonstruieren. Die drei untersuchten Glazialseen Beaver, Radok und Terrasovoje unterscheiden sich sowohl deutlich in ihrer Größe, Bathymetrie und den hydrologischen Merkmalen sowie in ihren Sedimentabfolgen. <br><br> Einen Schwerpunkte dieser Doktorarbeit bildet die Rekonstruktion der Sedimentationsprozesse und des Ablagerungsmilieus sowie Untersuchungen zur Herkunft des detritischen Sedimentmaterials in den Seebecken. Der methodische Ansatz verfolgt die Charakterisierung der klastischen Sedimentfazies an Hand lithologisch-granulometrischer Merkmale sowie mineralogisch-geochemischer Analysen der Sedimentherkunft. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt ist die Rekonstruktion der holozänen biogen gesteuerten Ablagerungsbedingungen im Terrasovoje-See, die Rückschlüsse auf den kurzfristigen postglazialen Klima- und Umweltwandel in der Amery-Oase gestattet. Dabei wurden mikrofazielle Untersuchungsmethoden und hochauflösende Elementscannermessungen angewandt. <br><br> Die klastische Sedimentherkunft in den drei Seen unterscheidet sich räumlich deutlich voneinander und spiegelt den komplexen geologischen Aufbau der Amery-Oase wider. Als Sedimentquellen konnten präkambrische Metamorphite, permotriassische Sedimentgesteine und tertiäre Lockersedimente identifiziert werden. Die Varibilität der Herkunftssignale ist zeitlich weniger deutlich als räumlich ausgeprägt und deutet auf relativ konstante Liefergebiete in den einzelnen Seen hin. <br><br> Das glaziolakustrine Ablagerungsmilieu der drei untersuchten Seen zeigt klare räumliche und zeitliche Unterschiede. In allen drei Seen setzen sich die älteren Sedimente aus grobkörnigem, häufig diamiktischem Material zusammen, während die jüngeren Sedimente aus feinkörnigen Laminiten bestehen. Die lithofazielle Zweiteilung in den Sedimentabfolgen deutet auf einen Rückzug der Gletscher und/oder einen Anstieg der Wassertiefen im Übergang von den grobkörnigen zu den feinkörnigen Ablagerungseinheiten hin. Die oberen feinkörnigen Kernabschnitte spiegeln in allen drei Seen die postglaziale lakustrine Sedimentation wider. Im Beaver-See wird die postglaziale Fazies durch laminierte klastische Stillwassersedimente repräsentiert, im Radok-See durch Turbiditsequenzen und im Terrasovoje-See durch Algenlaminite. <br><br> Abgesehen vom Terrasovoje-See ist die zeitliche Einordnung der Fazieswechsel auf Grund mangelnder Altersinformationen schwer erfassbar. Im Terrasovoje-See setzte die postglaziale Sedimentation um rund 12,4 cal. ka ein. Somit weisen die darunterliegenden glazigenen Klastika mindestens ein spätpleistozänes Alter auf. Die sedimentologischen Eigenschaften, Änderungen der Sedimentationsraten und organogene Zusammensetzung der postglazialen Biogenlaminite des Terrasovoje-Sees deuten auf Variationen der paläolimnologischen Bedingungen hinsichtlich Eisbedeckung, biologischer Produktivität, Wasserstand, Redoxbedingungen und Salinität hin, die mit regionalen holozänen Klimaänderungen in Verbindung gebracht werden können. Weitere Anhaltspunkte ergeben sich aus der Zusammensetzung und den Mächtigkeitsvariationen der Laminae, die generell aus Wechsellagerungen von Cyanobakterienmatten mit feinklastischen Lagen bestehen. Lagenzählungen der Laminae belegen Änderungen des Ablagerungsmilieus auf subdekadischen Zeitskalen, wobei zeitweilige jährliche Signale nicht ausgeschlossen werden können. Unter Berücksichtigung aller faziellen Indikatoren lässt sich aus der Sedimentabfolge des Terrasovoje-Sees ein frühholozänes Klimaoptimum zwischen 9 und 7 cal. ka sowie weitere Wärmephasen zwischen 3,2 und 2,3 cal. ka sowie 1,5 und 1,0 cal. ka ableiten. <br><br> Im Vergleich mit Eiskernarchiven und anderen Seesedimentabfolgen aus ostantarktischen Oasen zeigt sich, dass das Auftreten postglazialer Warmphasen nicht allenorts einem allgemein gültigen räumlich-zeitlichen Muster folgt. Die Ursachen hierfür liegen vermutlich in den lokalen geographischen Gegebenheiten. Es lässt sich daraus schliessen, dass die bisher vorliegenden Klimarekonstruktionen eher das Lokalklima an einem Untersuchungsstandort als das Großklima der Ostantarktis reflektieren. Daraus ergibt sich die Notwendigkeit weiterer Untersuchungen von antarktischen Klimaarchiven und Untersuchungsstandorten, um örtliche von überregionalen Klimasignalen besser unterscheiden zu können. / In the scope of a German-Australian research cooperation field work was conducted in the Amery Oasis (70°50’S, 68°00’E), situated in the Lambert Glacier/Amery Ice Shelf region, the largest East Antarctic ice drainage system. The German part comprised the retrieval of lacustrine sediment cores for the reconstruction of the late Quaternary development of the palaeoenvironment in the 1800 km² large ice-free region. The three studied glacial lakes Beaver, Radok, and Terrasovoje reveal marked differences in size, hydrology and their sedimentary inventory. The goals of this thesis were to infer the onset of depostion in the lacustrine basins and to characterize changes in the depositional environment in the course of glacial retreat and the postglacial climate development. The methodic approach followed the recognition of sedimentary facies variability and sediment sources by means of facies analysis and mineralogical-geochemical provenance analysis. Another aspect was the high-resolution reconstruction of postglacial biogenic sedimentary modes in Lake Terrasovoje that provide insights into the short-term Holocene palaeo-climatic and palaeoenvironmental development. <br><br> The origin of siliciclastics shows marked spatial differences between the lakes, reflecting the complex geological setting of the Amery Oasis. The main detrital sources comprise crystalline rocks of the East Antarctic craton, Permotriassic and Tertiary sedimentary rocks. The temporal variability of sediment provenance is less developed than the spatial pattern, pointing to relatively constant sediment sources through time in the respective lakes. <br><br> The glaciolacustrine depositional environment of the three lakes shows clear spatial and temporal contrasts. In all lakes, the older sediments are composed of coarse, partly diamictic lithologies, while the younger materials consist of fine-grained laminites. The twofold lithofacial pattern is related to regional glacial retreat at the boundary between both sedimentary units that reduced direct glacigenic sediment input. In the epishelf Lake Beaver, in addition, the effect of postglacial sea-level rise led also to the rise of lake level and shifted the study site towards a more distal position from the shore, away from the influence of coarse clastic sediment input. The upper sedimentary units of the three lakes are dominated by fine-grained sediments, which only occasionally include ice-rafted dropstones. The postglacial sediments comprise clastic stillwater laminites at Lake Beaver, finely laminated turbidites in Lake Radok, and algal laminites in Lake Terrasovoje. <br><br> Apart from Lake Terrasovoje the timing of the lithological change is hard to determine, because of missing age constraints. At Lake Terrasovoje, the postglacial sequence started at approximately 12.4 cal. ka BP, suggesting an late Pleistocene age for the underlying glacial sediments. Sedimentological features, changes in sedimentation rates, and the compositional variability of the organic-rich postglacial laminites in Lake Terrasovoje point to variations in the palaeolimnic environment in terms of ice cover, biological productivity, lake level, redox conditions, and salinity that can be related to the regional Holocene climate history. Further evidence arises from the structure, composition, and thickness variations of the laminae, which basically consist of alternations of algal mats (cyanobacteria) and fine-clastic layers. The counting of laminae couplets reveal changes in the depositional enviroment at sub-decadal time scales that partly might include annual layering. Under the consideration of all sedimentological facies indicators, the postglacial laminite sequence of Lake Terrasovoje documents an early Holocene climate optimum between 9 and 7 cal. ka as well as two warm spells between 3.2 and 2.3 cal. ka and 1.5 and 1.0 cal. ka, respectively. <br><br> In comparison with ice-core records and lake records from other East Antarctic ice-free regions, it becomes evident that the appearence of warm episodes does not follow a consistent spatial-temporal pattern. Common trends comprise the existence of an early Holocene climate optimum, as seen in the ice-core records and in the Amery Oasis, and several warm episodes in the middle to late Holocene that are often time-transgressive. The cause of this inconsistent pattern probably can be explained by local boundary conditions that affect the study sites, such as topography, maritime influences and the distance to glacial ice. Therefore, many climate reconstructions basically document local climate rather than overregional Antarctic climate. In conclusion, there is need for ongoing palaeoclimatic studies in East Antarctica and the establishment of a dense network of study sites to distinguish and validate local from overregional palaeoclimatic fingerprints.

No description available.

Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) is the process by which the solid Earth responds to past and present-day changes in glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets. This thesis focuses on vertical crustal motion of the Earth caused by GIA, which is influenced by several factors including lithosphere thickness, mantle viscosity profile, and changes to the thickness and extent of surface ice. The viscosity of the mantle beneath Antarctica is a poorly constrained quantity due to the rarity of relative sea-level and heat flow observations. Other methods for obtaining a better-constrained mantle viscosity model must be investigated to obtain more accurate GIA model predictions. The first section of this study uses seismic wave tomography to determine mantle viscosity. By calculating the deviation of the P- and S-wave velocities relative to a reference Earth model (PREM), the viscosity can be determined. For Antarctica mantle viscosities obtained from S20A (Ekstrom and Dziewonski, 1998) seismic tomography in the asthenosphere range from 1016 Pa∙s to 1023 Pa∙s, with smaller viscosities beneath West Antarctica and higher viscosities beneath East Antarctica. This agrees with viscosity expectations based on findings from the Basin and Range area of North America, which is an analogue to the West Antarctic Rift System. Section two compares bedrock elevations in Antarctica to crustal thicknesses, to infer mantle temperatures and draw conclusions about mantle viscosity. Data from CRUST 2.0 (Bassin et al., 2000), BEDMAP (Lythe and Vaughan, 2001) and specific studies of crustal thickness in Antarctica were examined. It was found that the regions of Antarctica that are expected to have low viscosities agree with the hot mantle trend found by Hyndman (2010) while the regions expected to have high viscosity are in better agreement with the trend for cold mantle. Bevis et al. (2009) described new GPS observations of crustal uplift in Antarctica and compared the results to GIA model predictions, including IJ05 (Ivins and James, 2005). Here, we have generated IJ05 predictions for a three layered mantle (viscosities ranging over more than four orders of magnitude) and compared them to the GPS observations using a χ2 measure of goodness-of-fit. The IJ05 predictions that agree best with the Bevis et al. observations have a χ2 of 16, less than the null hypothesis value of 42. These large values for the best-fit model indicate the need for model revisions and/or that uncertainties are too optimistic. Equally important, the mantle viscosities of the best-fit models are much higher than expected for West Antarctica. The smallest χ2 values are found for an asthenosphere viscosity of 1021 Pa•s, transition zone viscosity of 1023 Pa∙s and lower mantle viscosity of 2 x 1023 Pa∙s, whereas the expected viscosity of the asthenosphere beneath West Antarctica is probably less than 1020 Pa∙s. This suggests that revisions to the IJ05 ice sheet history are required. Simulated annealing was performed on the ice sheet history and it was found that changes to the recent ice load history have the strongest effect on GIA predictions. / Graduate