USAP-DC

{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Thermochronology"}

[{"awards": "1939139 Scherer, Reed", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-120 -66,-117.5 -66,-115 -66,-112.5 -66,-110 -66,-107.5 -66,-105 -66,-102.5 -66,-100 -66,-97.5 -66,-95 -66,-95 -67.1,-95 -68.2,-95 -69.3,-95 -70.4,-95 -71.5,-95 -72.6,-95 -73.7,-95 -74.8,-95 -75.9,-95 -77,-97.5 -77,-100 -77,-102.5 -77,-105 -77,-107.5 -77,-110 -77,-112.5 -77,-115 -77,-117.5 -77,-120 -77,-120 -75.9,-120 -74.8,-120 -73.7,-120 -72.6,-120 -71.5,-120 -70.4,-120 -69.3,-120 -68.2,-120 -67.1,-120 -66))", "dataset_titles": "Last Interglacial Southern Ocean paleothermometry from diatom morphometrics: Analysis and application of the F. kerguelensis Valve Rectangularity Sea Surface Temperature proxy.; Pliocene diatom abundance, IODP 397-U1532", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601769", "doi": null, "keywords": "Antarctica; Biogenic Silica; Diatom", "people": "Scherer, Reed Paul", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Pliocene diatom abundance, IODP 397-U1532", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601769"}, {"dataset_uid": "601767", "doi": null, "keywords": "Amundsen Sea; Antarctica; Sabrina Coast; Southern Ocean", "people": "Ruggiero, Joseph", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Last Interglacial Southern Ocean paleothermometry from diatom morphometrics: Analysis and application of the F. kerguelensis Valve Rectangularity Sea Surface Temperature proxy.", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601767"}], "date_created": "Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Part I, Non-technical Abstract \u003cbr/\u003eConcerns that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) might be susceptible to releasing its ice as giant icebergs into the Southern Ocean due to a warming climate, raising global sea level, were first expressed more than 40 years ago. To best-assess this threat, scientists need to know whether such events occurred in the geologically recent past, during warm intervals of past glacial-interglacial cycles. Ocean drilling near the most vulnerable sector of the WAIS, in 2019, yielded seafloor geologic records demonstrating times when icebergs dropped large volumes of sands and pebbles, called ice-rafted detritus (IRD) in deep water of the Amundsen Sea. Occurring together with IRD that was eroded from bedrock beneath the ice sheets, there are abundant microfossils of diatoms (algal plankton), which indicate high biological productivity in the open ocean. The new sediment cores provide a complete, uninterrupted record of a time of dramatic fluctuations of ice sheet extent that occurred over the last 3 million years. Therefore, they provide the means to obtain clear answers to the question whether ice sheet collapse occurred in the past and offering clues to its potential future. This project will investigate sediment intervals where IRD coincides with evidence of high diatom production, to test whether these two criteria indicate rapid ice sheet collapse. Geochemical analysis of IRD pebbles will help trace the source of the icebergs to likely on-land sites. By analyzing conditions of high diatom and IRD accumulation in deep ocean sediment, where local coastal influences can be avoided, we will assess oceanographic and climatic conditions associated with past ice sheet collapse events. Diatoms provide powerful evidence of temperature and ocean productivity changes in the past, that, when linked to time, can translate into rates of ice sheet drawdown. These results will provide critical data for designing, constraining and testing the next suite computer models that can determine the likelihood and timing of future ice sheet collapse in a warming world. The project will include training of undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds, and the public will be introduced to Antarctic science and engaged through several different outreach efforts.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003ePart 2, Technical Abstract\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eNew drillcores from the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica (IODP Expedition 379) contain a continuous record of oceanographic changes and iceberg rafted debris (IRD) spanning the last 5 million years. This study aims to identify the signature of retreat/collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in these continental margin, deep-sea sediments by quantitatively analyzing, in detail, diatom and IRD records across glacial-interglacial lithostratigraphic transitions to establish the timing and frequency of Late Pliocene and Pleistocene WAIS collapse events. The investigators will secure age constraints and diagnostic observations of marine paleoenvironmental conditions for selected interglacial intervals of cores from sites U1532 and U1533, using high resolution micropaleontology of diatom assemblages coupled with microstratigraphic analysis of IRD depositional events, while petrography, geochronology and thermochronology of iceberg rafted clasts will provide evidence of iceberg sources and pathways. Depositional paleotemperatures will be assessed via a new paleotemperature proxy based on quantitative assessment of morphologic changes in the dominant Southern Ocean diatom Fragilariopsis kerguelensis. Their results will contribute to parameterization of new ice sheet models that seek to reconstruct and forecast West Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior. This project will directly contribute to undergraduate education at an undergraduate-only college and at a public university that serves a demographic typified by first generation university students and underrepresented groups. Spanning geology, geochemistry, sedimentology, paleontology and paleoceanography, the proposed work will allow undergraduate students to develop diverse skills through hands-on research within a collaborative team that is dedicated to societally relevant research. The two graduate students will conduct original research and work alongside/mentor undergraduates, making for a well-rounded research experience that prepares them for success in future academic or employment sectors. The discoveries that come from this deep-sea record from West Antarctica will be communicated by students and investigators at national and international conferences and an array of public science outreach events.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -95.0, "geometry": "POINT(-107.5 -71.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "ICEBERGS; SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE; Amundsen Sea; MICROFOSSILS", "locations": "Amundsen Sea", "north": -66.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e QUATERNARY; PHANEROZOIC \u003e CENOZOIC \u003e NEOGENE \u003e PLIOCENE", "persons": "Scherer, Reed Paul", "platforms": null, "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Testing the Linchpin of WAIS Collapse with Diatoms and IRD in Pleistocene and Late Pliocene Strata of the Resolution Drift, Amundsen Sea, Antarctica", "uid": "p0010451", "west": -120.0}, {"awards": "1917176 Siddoway, Christine; 1916982 Teyssier, Christian; 1917009 Thomson, Stuart", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-160.16 -67.15,-154.572 -67.15,-148.984 -67.15,-143.39600000000002 -67.15,-137.808 -67.15,-132.22 -67.15,-126.632 -67.15,-121.04400000000001 -67.15,-115.456 -67.15,-109.868 -67.15,-104.28 -67.15,-104.28 -68.165,-104.28 -69.18,-104.28 -70.19500000000001,-104.28 -71.21000000000001,-104.28 -72.225,-104.28 -73.24,-104.28 -74.255,-104.28 -75.27,-104.28 -76.285,-104.28 -77.3,-109.868 -77.3,-115.456 -77.3,-121.044 -77.3,-126.632 -77.3,-132.22 -77.3,-137.808 -77.3,-143.396 -77.3,-148.98399999999998 -77.3,-154.572 -77.3,-160.16 -77.3,-160.16 -76.285,-160.16 -75.27,-160.16 -74.255,-160.16 -73.24,-160.16 -72.225,-160.16 -71.21000000000001,-160.16 -70.19500000000001,-160.16 -69.18,-160.16 -68.165,-160.16 -67.15))", "dataset_titles": "Apatite fission track thermochronology data for detrital minerals, offshore clasts, and bedrock; U-Pb detrital zircon geochronological data, obtained by LA-ICP-MS", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200332", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "in progress", "science_program": null, "title": "U-Pb detrital zircon geochronological data, obtained by LA-ICP-MS", "url": ""}, {"dataset_uid": "200333", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "in progress", "science_program": null, "title": "Apatite fission track thermochronology data for detrital minerals, offshore clasts, and bedrock", "url": ""}], "date_created": "Wed, 19 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Sediment records off the coast of Marie Byrd Land (MBL), Antarctica suggest frequent and dramatic changes in the size of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) over short (tens of thousands of years) and long (millions of years) time frames in the past. WAIS currently overrides much of MBL and covers the rugged and scoured bedrock landscape. The ice sheet carved narrow linear troughs that reach depths of two to three thousand meters below sea level as outlet glaciers flowed from the interior of the continent to the oceans. As a result, large volumes of fragmented continental bedrock were carried out to the seabed. The glaciers cut downward into a region of crystalline rocks (i.e. granite) that display a significant temperature change as a function of rock depth. The strong geothermal gradient in the bedrock is favorable for determining when the bedrock became exhumed, or \"uncovered\" by action of the overriding icesheet or other processes. Our approach takes advantage of a reference horizon, or paleogeotherm, established when high-T mineral thermochronometers across Marie Byrd Land (MBL) cooled from temperatures of \u003e800\u00b0 C to 300\u00b0 C, due to rapid regional extension at ~100 Ma . The event imparted a signature through which the subsequent Cenozoic landscape history can be explored: MBL\u0027s elevated geothermal gradient, sustained during the Cenozoic, created favorable conditions for sensitive apatite and zircon low-T thermochronometers to record bedrock cooling related to glacial incision. \r\n\r\nAnalyzing the chemistry of minerals (zircon and apatite) within fragments of eroded rock will reveal the rate and timing of the bedrock erosion and development of topography in West Antarctica. This collaborative project addresses the following questions: When did the land become high enough for a large ice sheet to form? What was the regional pre-glacial topography? Under what climate conditions, and at what point in the growth of an ice sheet, did glaciers begin to cut sharply into bedrock to form the narrow troughs that flow seaward? The research will lead to greater understanding of past Antarctic ice sheet fluctuations and identify precise timing of glacial incisionm which will clarify the onset of WAIS glacier incision and assess the evolution of Cenozoic paleo-topography. The collaborative project provides training for one graduate and 8 undergraduate students in STEM. These students, together with PIs, will refine West Antarctic ice sheet history and obtain results that pertain to the international societal response to contemporary ice sheet change and its global consequences. \r\n\r\nThe methods used for the research include: \r\n\u2022Low-temperature (T) thermochronology and Pecube 3-D thermo-kinematic modeling, applied to the timing and characterizatio episodes of glacial erosional incision. \r\n\u2022Single-grain double- and triple-dating of zircon and apatite, to determine the detailed crustal thermal evolution of the region, enabling the research team to identify the comparative topographic influences on glaciation versus bedrock uplift induced by Eocene to present tectonism/magmatism. \r\n\r\nStudents and PIs employed state-of-the-art analytical facilities in Arizona and Minnesota, expanding the geo- and thermochronologic history of MBL from bedrock samples and offshore sedimentary deposits. The temperature and time data we acquired will provide constraints on paleotopography, isostasy, and the thermal evolution of MBL that will be modeled in 3D using Pecube model simulations. Within hot crust, less incision is required to expose bedrock containing the distinct thermochronometric profile; a prediction we are testing through use of inverse Pecube 3-D models of the thermal field through which bedrock and detrital samples cooled. Using results from Pecube, the ICI-Hot team will examine time-varying topography formed in response to changes in erosion rates, topographic relief, geothermal gradient and/or flexural isostatic rigidity. These effects are manifestations of dynamic processes in the WAIS, including ice sheet loading, ice volume fluctuations, relative motion upon crustal faults, and magmatism-related elevation increase across the MBL dome. The project makes use of pre-existing sample collections housed at the US Polar Rock Repository, IODP\u0027s Gulf Coast Core Repository, and the OSU Marine and Geology Repository. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -104.28, "geometry": "POINT(-132.22 -72.225)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Marie Byrd Land; GLACIERS/ICE SHEETS; Zircon; Subglacial Topography; FIELD SURVEYS; TECTONICS; Ice Sheet; Thermochronology; Apatite; ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS; Erosion; United States Of America; LABORATORY", "locations": "United States Of America; Marie Byrd Land", "north": -67.15, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": "PHANEROZOIC", "persons": "Siddoway, Christine; Thomson, Stuart; Teyssier, Christian", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "in progress", "repositories": "in progress", "science_programs": null, "south": -77.3, "title": "Collaborative Research: Ice sheet erosional interaction with hot geotherm in West Antarctica", "uid": "p0010386", "west": -160.16}, {"awards": "1443556 Thomson, Stuart; 1443342 Licht, Kathy", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Apatite (U-Th)/He and TREE Data Central Transantarctic Mountains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601462", "doi": "10.15784/601462", "keywords": "Antarctica; Beardmore Glacier; Erosion; Landscape Evolution; Shackleton Glacier; Transantarctic Mountains; (U-Th)/He", "people": "Thomson, Stuart; Hemming, Sidney R.; Reiners, Peter; He, John; Licht, Kathy", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Apatite (U-Th)/He and TREE Data Central Transantarctic Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601462"}], "date_created": "Wed, 09 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Antarctica is almost entirely covered by ice, in places over two miles thick. This ice hides a landscape that is less well known than the surface of Mars and represents one of Earth\u0027s last unexplored frontiers. Ice-penetrating radar images provide a remote glimpse of this landscape including ice-buried mountains larger than the European Alps and huge fjords twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The goal of this project is to collect sediment samples derived from these landscapes to determine when and under what conditions these features formed. Specifically, the project seeks to understand the landscape in the context of the history and dynamics of the overlying ice sheet and past mountain-building episodes. This project accomplishes this goal by analyzing sand collected during previous sea-floor drilling expeditions off the coast of Antarctica. This sand was supplied from the continent interior by ancient rivers when it was ice-free over 34 million year ago, and later by glaciers. The project will also study bedrock samples from rare ice-free parts of the Transantarctic Mountains. The primary activity is to apply multiple advanced dating techniques to single mineral grains contained within this sand and rock. Different methods and minerals yield different dates that provide insight into how Antarctica?s landscape has eroded over the many tens of millions of years during which sand was deposited offshore. The dating techniques that are being developed and enhanced for this study have broad application in many branches of geoscience research and industry. The project makes cost-effective use of pre-existing sample collections housed at NSF facilities including the US Polar Rock Repository, the Gulf Coast Core Repository, and the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility. The project will contribute to the STEM training of two graduate and two undergraduate students, and includes collaboration among four US universities as well as international collaboration between the US and France. The project also supports outreach in the form of a two-week open workshop giving ten students the opportunity to visit the University of Arizona to conduct STEM-based analytical work and training on Antarctic-based projects. Results from both the project and workshop will be disseminated through presentations at professional meetings, peer-reviewed publications, and through public outreach and media.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe main objective of this project is to reconstruct a chronology of East Antarctic subglacial landscape evolution to understand the tectonic and climatic forcing behind landscape modification, and how it has influenced past ice sheet inception and dynamics. Our approach focuses on acquiring a record of the cooling and erosion history contained in East Antarctic-derived detrital mineral grains and clasts in offshore sediments deposited both before and after the onset of Antarctic glaciation. Samples will be taken from existing drill core and marine sediment core material from offshore Wilkes Land (100\u00b0E-160\u00b0E) and the Ross Sea. Multiple geo- and thermo-chronometers will be employed to reconstruct source region cooling history including U-Pb, fission-track, and (U-Th)/He dating of zircon and apatite, and 40Ar/39Ar dating of hornblende, mica, and feldspar. This offshore record will be augmented and tested by applying the same methods to onshore bedrock samples in the Transantarctic Mountains obtained from the US Polar Rock Repository and through fieldwork. The onshore work will additionally address the debated incision history of the large glacial troughs that cut the range, now occupied by glaciers draining the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This includes collection of samples from several age-elevation transects, apatite 4He/3He thermochronometry, and Pecube thermo-kinematic modeling. Acquiring an extensive geo- and thermo-chronologic database will also provide valuable new information on the poorly known ice-hidden geology and tectonics of subglacial East Antarctica that has implications for improving supercontinent reconstructions and understanding continental break-up.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY; LANDSCAPE; AGE DETERMINATIONS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; GLACIAL PROCESSES; Transantarctic Mountains; USA/NSF; Thermochronology; Amd/Us; USAP-DC; TRACE ELEMENTS; Provenance Analysis; AMD; LANDFORMS; GLACIAL LANDFORMS", "locations": "Transantarctic Mountains", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Thomson, Stuart; Reiners, Peter; Licht, Kathy", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: East Antarctic Glacial Landscape Evolution (EAGLE): A Study using Combined Thermochronology, Geochronology and Provenance Analysis", "uid": "p0010188", "west": null}, {"awards": "1724670 Williams, Trevor", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-70 -60,-65 -60,-60 -60,-55 -60,-50 -60,-45 -60,-40 -60,-35 -60,-30 -60,-25 -60,-20 -60,-20 -62.5,-20 -65,-20 -67.5,-20 -70,-20 -72.5,-20 -75,-20 -77.5,-20 -80,-20 -82.5,-20 -85,-25 -85,-30 -85,-35 -85,-40 -85,-45 -85,-50 -85,-55 -85,-60 -85,-65 -85,-70 -85,-70 -82.5,-70 -80,-70 -77.5,-70 -75,-70 -72.5,-70 -70,-70 -67.5,-70 -65,-70 -62.5,-70 -60))", "dataset_titles": "Argon thermochronological data on detrital mineral grains from the Weddell Sea embayment", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "601377", "doi": "10.15784/601377", "keywords": "40Ar/39Ar Thermochronology; Antarctica; Argon; Chemistry:sediment; Chemistry:Sediment; Detrital Minerals; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marine Sediments; Mass Spectrometer; Provenance; R/v Polarstern; Sediment Core Data; Subglacial Till; Till; Weddell Sea", "people": "Williams, Trevor", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Argon thermochronological data on detrital mineral grains from the Weddell Sea embayment", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601377"}, {"dataset_uid": "601378", "doi": "10.15784/601378", "keywords": "40Ar/39Ar Thermochronology; Antarctica; Argon; Chemistry:sediment; Chemistry:Sediment; Detrital Minerals; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marine Sediments; Mass Spectrometer; Provenance; R/v Polarstern; Sediment Core Data; Subglacial Till; Till; Weddell Sea", "people": "Williams, Trevor", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Argon thermochronological data on detrital mineral grains from the Weddell Sea embayment", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601378"}, {"dataset_uid": "601379", "doi": "10.15784/601379", "keywords": "40Ar/39Ar Thermochronology; Antarctica; Argon; Chemistry:sediment; Chemistry:Sediment; Detrital Minerals; Glaciers/ice Sheet; Glaciers/Ice Sheet; Marine Geoscience; Mass Spectrometer; Provenance; R/v Polarstern; Sediment Core Data; Subglacial Till; Till; Weddell Sea", "people": "Williams, Trevor", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Argon thermochronological data on detrital mineral grains from the Weddell Sea embayment", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601379"}], "date_created": "Thu, 10 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Abstract for the general public:\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe margins of the Antarctic ice sheet have advanced and retreated repeatedly over the past few million years. Melting ice from the last retreat, from 19,000 to 9,000 years ago, raised sea levels by 8 meters or more, but the extents of previous retreats are less well known. The main goal of this project is to understand how Antarctic ice retreats: fast or slow, stepped or steady, and which parts of the ice sheet are most prone to retreat. Antarctica loses ice by two main processes: melting of the underside of floating ice shelves and calving of icebergs. Icebergs themselves are ephemeral, but they carry mineral grains and rock fragments that have been scoured from Antarctic bedrock. As the icebergs drift and melt, this \u0027iceberg-rafted debris\u0027 falls to the sea-bed and is steadily buried in marine sediments to form a record of iceberg activity and ice sheet retreat. The investigators will read this record of iceberg-rafted debris to find when and where Antarctic ice destabilized in the past. This information can help to predict how Antarctic ice will behave in a warming climate. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe study area is the Weddell Sea embayment, in the Atlantic sector of Antarctica. Principal sources of icebergs are the nearby Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea embayment, where ice streams drain about a quarter of Antarctic ice. The provenance of the iceberg-rafted debris (IRD), and the icebergs that carried it, will be found by matching the geochemical fingerprint (such as characteristic argon isotope ages) of individual mineral grains in the IRD to that of the corresponding source area. In more detail, the project will: \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e1. Define the geochemical fingerprints of the source areas of the glacially-eroded material using samples from each major ice stream entering the Weddell Sea. Existing data indicates that the hinterland of the Weddell embayment is made up of geochemically distinguishable source areas, making it possible to apply geochemical provenance techniques to determine the origin of Antarctica icebergs. Few samples of onshore tills are available from this area, so this project includes fieldwork to collect till samples to characterize detritus supplied by the Recovery and Foundation ice streams. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e2. Document the stratigraphic changes in provenance of iceberg-rafted debris (IRD) and glacially-eroded material in two deep water sediment cores in the NW Weddell Sea. Icebergs calved from ice streams in the embayment are carried by the Weddell Gyre and deposit IRD as they pass over the core sites. The provenance information identifies which groups of ice streams were actively eroding and exporting detritus to the ocean (via iceberg rafting and bottom currents), and the stratigraphy of the cores shows the relative sequence of ice stream activity through time. A further dimension is added by determining the time lag between fine sediment erosion and deposition, using a new method of uranium-series isotope measurements in fine grained material. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eTechnical abstract:\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e The behavior of the Antarctic ice sheets and ice streams is a critical topic for climate change and future sea level rise. The goal of this proposal is to constrain ice sheet response to changing climate in the Weddell Sea during the three most recent glacial terminations, as analogues for potential future warming. The project will also examine possible contributions to Meltwater Pulse 1A, and test the relative stability of the ice streams draining East and West Antarctica. Much of the West Antarctic ice may have melted during the Eemian (130 to 114 Ka), so it may be an analogue for predicting future ice drawdown over the coming centuries. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eGeochemical provenance fingerprinting of glacially eroded detritus provides a novel way to reconstruct the location and relative timing of glacial retreat during these terminations in the Weddell Sea embayment. The two major objectives of the project are to: \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e1. Define the provenance source areas by characterizing Ar, U-Pb, and Nd isotopic signatures, and heavy mineral and Fe-Ti oxide compositions of detrital minerals from each major ice stream entering the Weddell Sea, using onshore tills and existing sediment cores from the Ronne and Filchner Ice Shelves. Pilot data demonstrate that detritus originating from the east and west sides of the Weddell Sea embayment can be clearly distinguished, and published data indicates that the hinterland of the embayment is made up of geochemically distinguishable source areas. Few samples of onshore tills are available from this area, so this project includes fieldwork to collect till to characterize detritus supplied by the Recovery and Foundation ice streams. \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e2. Document the stratigraphic changes in provenance of iceberg-rafted debris (IRD) and glacially-eroded material in two deep water sediment cores in the NW Weddell Sea. Icebergs calved from ice streams in the embayment are carried by the Weddell Gyre and deposit IRD as they pass over the core sites. The provenance information will identify which ice streams were actively eroding and exporting detritus to the ocean (via iceberg rafting and bottom currents). The stratigraphy of the cores will show the relative sequence of ice stream activity through time. A further time dimension is added by determining the time lag between fine sediment erosion and deposition, using U-series comminution ages.", "east": -20.0, "geometry": "POINT(-45 -72.5)", "instruments": "IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e CORERS \u003e SEDIMENT CORERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e SPECTROMETERS/RADIOMETERS \u003e MASS SPECTROMETERS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "TERRIGENOUS SEDIMENTS; Subglacial Till; USAP-DC; ICEBERGS; AMD; USA/NSF; ISOTOPES; AGE DETERMINATIONS; Argon; Provenance; Till; Amd/Us; R/V POLARSTERN; FIELD INVESTIGATION; SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY; Weddell Sea; Antarctica; LABORATORY", "locations": "Weddell Sea; Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Williams, Trevor; Hemming, Sidney R.", "platforms": "LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY; WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V POLARSTERN", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -85.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Deglacial Ice Dynamics in the Weddell Sea Embayment using Sediment Provenance", "uid": "p0010128", "west": -70.0}, {"awards": "1246484 Balco, Gregory", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-62 -63.5,-61.8 -63.5,-61.6 -63.5,-61.4 -63.5,-61.2 -63.5,-61 -63.5,-60.8 -63.5,-60.6 -63.5,-60.4 -63.5,-60.2 -63.5,-60 -63.5,-60 -63.6,-60 -63.7,-60 -63.8,-60 -63.9,-60 -64,-60 -64.1,-60 -64.2,-60 -64.3,-60 -64.4,-60 -64.5,-60.2 -64.5,-60.4 -64.5,-60.6 -64.5,-60.8 -64.5,-61 -64.5,-61.2 -64.5,-61.4 -64.5,-61.6 -64.5,-61.8 -64.5,-62 -64.5,-62 -64.4,-62 -64.3,-62 -64.2,-62 -64.1,-62 -64,-62 -63.9,-62 -63.8,-62 -63.7,-62 -63.6,-62 -63.5))", "dataset_titles": "Data repositories for UC-Berkeley/BGC thermochronometry and thermochronology research", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "001232", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "PI website", "science_program": null, "title": "Data repositories for UC-Berkeley/BGC thermochronometry and thermochronology research", "url": "http://noblegas.berkeley.edu/~noblegas/datarepository.html"}], "date_created": "Mon, 02 Mar 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Intellectual Merit: \u003cbr/\u003eThe PIs propose to use the (U-Th)/He system in apatite to investigate the exhumation history, development of the present topography, and pattern of glacial erosion in the central Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic Peninsula has been glaciated since the Eocene and Pleistocene climate cooling is hypothesized to have suppressed, rather than enhanced, glacial erosion. To achieve these goals, the PIs will use a thermochronometric record of when and how the present glacial valley relief formed. A challenge to the proposed research is that, unlike Pleistocene glacial landscapes in temperate areas, the Peninsula is ice-covered and it is not possible to directly sample the bedrock surface. The PIs hope to learn about the timing and process of glacial valley formation through apatite (U-Th)/He and 4He/3He measurements on glacial sediment collected near the grounding lines of major glaciers draining the Peninsula. Learning how the Antarctic Peninsula landscape formed is important to discern how the mechanics of glacial erosion operate on long time scales, and to understand how glaciers mediate the interaction between climate change and orogenic mass balance. This work addresses a fundamental question in Antarctic earth science of how to infer geologic and geomorphic processes active on an ice-covered and inaccessible landscape.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBroader impacts: \u003cbr/\u003eThis proposal will bring new researchers into the Antarctic research community. A proposed collaboration with British Antarctic Survey researchers will build an international collaboration. The outcomes of this project have ancillary importance to other fields and addresses fundamental challenges in Antarctic Earth Science.", "east": -60.0, "geometry": "POINT(-61 -64)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Antarctica; Not provided; ICE SHEETS; Antarctic Peninsula", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula", "north": -63.5, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Shuster, David; Balco, Gregory", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "PI website", "repositories": "PI website", "science_programs": null, "south": -64.5, "title": "Antarctic Peninsula Exhumation and Landscape Development Investigated by Low-temperature Detrital Thermochronometry", "uid": "p0000067", "west": -62.0}, {"awards": "0739781 Blythe, Ann", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((155.77667 -79.793335,156.208836 -79.793335,156.641002 -79.793335,157.073168 -79.793335,157.505334 -79.793335,157.9375 -79.793335,158.369666 -79.793335,158.801832 -79.793335,159.233998 -79.793335,159.666164 -79.793335,160.09833 -79.793335,160.09833 -79.8578345,160.09833 -79.922334,160.09833 -79.9868335,160.09833 -80.051333,160.09833 -80.1158325,160.09833 -80.180332,160.09833 -80.2448315,160.09833 -80.309331,160.09833 -80.3738305,160.09833 -80.43833,159.666164 -80.43833,159.233998 -80.43833,158.801832 -80.43833,158.369666 -80.43833,157.9375 -80.43833,157.505334 -80.43833,157.073168 -80.43833,156.641002 -80.43833,156.208836 -80.43833,155.77667 -80.43833,155.77667 -80.3738305,155.77667 -80.309331,155.77667 -80.2448315,155.77667 -80.180332,155.77667 -80.1158325,155.77667 -80.051333,155.77667 -79.9868335,155.77667 -79.922334,155.77667 -79.8578345,155.77667 -79.793335))", "dataset_titles": "Thermochronologic and modelling test for a Mesozoic West Antarctic Plateau", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600082", "doi": "10.15784/600082", "keywords": "Antarctica; Fission Track Thermochronology; Geochemistry; Solid Earth; Transantarctic Mountains", "people": "Huerta, Audrey D.; Blythe, Ann Elizabeth", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Thermochronologic and modelling test for a Mesozoic West Antarctic Plateau", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600082"}], "date_created": "Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This project studies formation of the TransAntarctic Mountains (TAM) through numerical modeling based on cooling histories of apatite mineral grains. The TAM are the highest and longest rift-related mountain range in the world. Various models for their uplift have been proposed, the most provocative of which is that they are not uplifted, but instead are the eroded remnant of a plateau. This project evaluates that hypothesis by collecting apatites from around Byrd Glacier for fission track thermochronology. Results will be combined with a kinematic and thermal model to determine the TAM?s structural evolution. The plateau model, if correct, implies that the Byrd Glacier originated not as a glacier-carved valley through the TAM, but as a river system flowing in the opposite direction. Given that the Byrd Glacier is a key drainage for the East Antarctic ice sheet, this result has important implications for ice sheet models and interpretation of both regional geology and sediment records.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe main broader impacts are undergraduate research and a new collaboration between a primarily undergraduate and a research institution. Students will be involved in the field program, sample analyses, and numerical modeling.", "east": 160.09833, "geometry": "POINT(157.9375 -80.1158325)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -79.793335, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Blythe, Ann Elizabeth; Huerta, Audrey D.", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -80.43833, "title": "Collaborative Research: Thermochronologic and modelling test for a Mesozoic West Antarctic Plateau", "uid": "p0000677", "west": 155.77667}, {"awards": "0838722 Reiners, Peter; 0838729 Hemming, Sidney", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-67.2 -58,-43.98 -58,-20.76 -58,2.46 -58,25.68 -58,48.9 -58,72.12 -58,95.34 -58,118.56 -58,141.78 -58,165 -58,165 -59.2,165 -60.4,165 -61.6,165 -62.8,165 -64,165 -65.2,165 -66.4,165 -67.6,165 -68.8,165 -70,141.78 -70,118.56 -70,95.34 -70,72.12 -70,48.9 -70,25.68 -70,2.46 -70,-20.76 -70,-43.98 -70,-67.2 -70,-67.2 -68.8,-67.2 -67.6,-67.2 -66.4,-67.2 -65.2,-67.2 -64,-67.2 -62.8,-67.2 -61.6,-67.2 -60.4,-67.2 -59.2,-67.2 -58))", "dataset_titles": "Erosion History and Sediment Provenance of East Antarctica from Multi-method Detrital Geo- and Thermochronology", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600094", "doi": "10.15784/600094", "keywords": "Antarctica; Fission Track Thermochronology; Gamburtsev Mountains; Geochronology; Marine Sediments; Solid Earth; Southern Ocean", "people": "Hemming, Sidney R.", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Erosion History and Sediment Provenance of East Antarctica from Multi-method Detrital Geo- and Thermochronology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600094"}, {"dataset_uid": "600093", "doi": "10.15784/600093", "keywords": "Antarctica; Fission Track Thermochronology; Gamburtsev Mountains; Geochronology; Marine Sediments; NBP0101; ODP1166; ODP739; Prydz Bay; Solid Earth; Southern Ocean", "people": "Thomson, Stuart; Reiners, Peter; Gehrels, George", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Erosion History and Sediment Provenance of East Antarctica from Multi-method Detrital Geo- and Thermochronology", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600093"}], "date_created": "Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Much of the inventory of East Antarctic bedrock geochronology, as well as a record of its erosional history, is preserved in Cenozoic sediments around its margin. This project is to use these sediments to understand their sub-ice provenance and the erosional history of the shield by measuring ages of multiple geo- and thermochronometers on single detrital crystals and on multiple crystals in detrital clasts (U/Pb, fission-track, and (U-Th)/He dating of zircon and apatite, and 40Ar/39Ar dating of hornblende, mica, and feldspar). The combination of multi-chronometer ages in single grains and clasts provides a powerful fingerprint of bedrock sources, allowing us to trace provenance in Eocene fluvial sandstones through Quaternary diamicts around the margin. Multiple thermochronometric (cooling) ages in the same grains and clasts also allows us to interpret the timing and rates of erosion from these bedrock sources. Delineating a distribution of bedrock age units, their sediment transport connections, and their erosional histories over the Cenozoic, will in turn allow us to test tectonic models bearing on: (1) the origin of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, (2) fluvial and topographic evolution, and (3) the history of glacial growth and erosion.", "east": 165.0, "geometry": "POINT(48.9 -64)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "LABORATORY", "locations": null, "north": -58.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Reiners, Peter; Gehrels, George; Thompson, Stuart; Hemming, Sidney R.", "platforms": "OTHER \u003e PHYSICAL MODELS \u003e LABORATORY", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -70.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Erosion History and Sediment Provenance of East Antarctica from Multi-method Detrital Geo- and Thermochronology", "uid": "p0000506", "west": -67.2}, {"awards": "0816934 Thomson, Stuart; 0817163 Reiners, Peter", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((72 -66,72.3 -66,72.6 -66,72.9 -66,73.2 -66,73.5 -66,73.8 -66,74.1 -66,74.4 -66,74.7 -66,75 -66,75 -66.3,75 -66.6,75 -66.9,75 -67.2,75 -67.5,75 -67.8,75 -68.1,75 -68.4,75 -68.7,75 -69,74.7 -69,74.4 -69,74.1 -69,73.8 -69,73.5 -69,73.2 -69,72.9 -69,72.6 -69,72.3 -69,72 -69,72 -68.7,72 -68.4,72 -68.1,72 -67.8,72 -67.5,72 -67.2,72 -66.9,72 -66.6,72 -66.3,72 -66))", "dataset_titles": "Triple-dating (Pb-FT-He) of Antarctic Detritus and the Origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "600089", "doi": "10.15784/600089", "keywords": "Antarctica; Fission Track Thermochronology; Gamburtsev Mountains; Geochronology; Solid Earth", "people": "Thomson, Stuart", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Triple-dating (Pb-FT-He) of Antarctic Detritus and the Origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600089"}, {"dataset_uid": "600090", "doi": "10.15784/600090", "keywords": "Antarctica; Gamburtsev Mountains; Geochronology; Marine Sediments; NBP0101; ODP1166; Prydz Bay; Solid Earth; Southern Ocean", "people": "Reiners, Peter; Gehrels, George", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Triple-dating (Pb-FT-He) of Antarctic Detritus and the Origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/600090"}], "date_created": "Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "This Small Grant for Exploratory Research investigates the origin and evolution of the Gamburtsev subglacial mountains (GSM). These mountains are considered the nucleation point for Antarctica\u0027s largest ice sheets; however, being of indeterminate age, they may postdate ice sheet formation. As well, their formation could reflect tectonic events during the breakup of Gondwana. The project studies GSM-derived detrital zircon and apatite crystals from Prydz Bay obtained by the Ocean Drilling Program. Analytical work includes triple-dating thermochronometry by U/Pb, fission track, and (U/Th)/He methods. The combined technique offers insight into both high and low temperature processes, and is potentially sensitive to both the orogenic events and the subsequent cooling and exhumation due to erosion. In terms of broader impacts, this project supports research for a postdoctoral fellow and an", "east": 75.0, "geometry": "POINT(73.5 -67.5)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": -66.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences; Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Thompson, Stuart; Reiners, Peter; Gehrels, George", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "USAP-DC", "repositories": "USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -69.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: SGER: Triple-dating (Pb-FT-He) of Antarctic Detritus and the Origin of the Gamburtsev Mountains", "uid": "p0000210", "west": 72.0}, {"awards": "9909436 Farley, Kenneth", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "9909436 \u003cbr/\u003eFarley\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis award, provided by the Antarctic Geology and Geophysics Program of the Office of Polar Programs, supports an investigation of the uplift history of the Dry Valleys segment of the Transantarctic Mountains. The overall goal is to further constrain the exhumation history of the Transantarctic Mountains by using the newly developed apatite (U-Th)/He dating method on samples collected in vertical profiles. This approach, combined with existing apatite fission track information will constrain the rate and patterns of exhumation across the Transantarctic Mountains since their inception as a rift-flank uplift in the early Cenozoic.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThis project will complement other projects and build on previous interpretations of the exhumation and tectonic history determined using apatite fission track thermochronology. It will bridge the gap between information on erosion rates determined from fission track thermochronology and from cosmogenic surface exposure dating and integrate the exhumation history of the mountains with their landscape evolution. As such, the results from this project will address an outstanding problem in Antarctic science; namely the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and the timing of the transition from a \"warm\" dynamic ice sheet to a cold polar ice sheet. Highly relevant to this issue is the landscape evolution of the Transantarctic Mountains because many diverse lines of evidence for the rate of landscape evolution have been used to argue for a dynamic ice sheet up until either the Pliocene (the \"dynamic\" ice sheet model) or the middle Miocene (the \"stable\" ice sheet model). Understanding the past stability or dynamic fluctuations of the East Antarctic ice sheet with respect to the climate record is, of course, important for understanding how the present ice sheet may respond to global warming.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe specific objective of this project is to determine apatite (U-Th)/He age versus elevation trends for a number of vertical profiles from locations within the Transantarctic Mountain front and across the structural grain of the range. Fission track data already exist for all of these profiles, with apatite fission track ages ranging from 150-30 Ma. The greater precision of the (U-Th)/He technique and the fact it records information at lower temperatures (closure temperature of ~70 degrees Celsius; limits of 40-85 degrees Celsius for the He partial retention zone) will allow examination of the exhumation history of the TAM in more detail from ca 130 Ma to ~20 Ma. Another facet is to examine areas where Cretaceous exhumation is recorded and areas where the fission track profiles indicate periods of thermal and tectonic stability and minimal erosion throughout the Cretaceous. The variation of timing of the onset of more rapid exhumation accompanying uplift and formation of the Transantarctic Mountains in the early Cenozoic will also be examined.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": false, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Earth Sciences", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Farley, Kenneth", "platforms": "Not provided", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Collaborative Research: Exhumation of the Transantarctic Mountains: Constraints from (U-Th)/He Dating of Apatites", "uid": "p0000281", "west": null}]

View results on map Help on results map