Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Stability of the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene epoch

Nature volume 436, pages 681–685 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

The stability of the Antarctic ice shelves in a warming climate has long been discussed1, and the recent collapse of a significant part, over 12,500 km2 in area, of the Larsen ice shelf off the Antarctic Peninsula2,3 has led to a refocus toward the implications of ice shelf decay for the stability of Antarctica's grounded ice4,5,6. Some smaller Antarctic ice shelves have undergone periodic growth and decay over the past 11,000 yr (refs 7–11), but these ice shelves are at the climatic limit of ice shelf viability12 and are therefore expected to respond rapidly to natural climate variability at century to millennial scales8,9,10,11. Here we use records of diatoms, detrital material and geochemical parameters from six marine sediment cores in the vicinity of the Larsen ice shelf to demonstrate that the recent collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf is unprecedented during the Holocene. We infer from our oxygen isotope measurements in planktonic foraminifera that the Larsen B ice shelf has been thinning throughout the Holocene, and we suggest that the recent prolonged period of warming in the Antarctic Peninsula region13,14, in combination with the long-term thinning, has led to collapse of the ice shelf.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Location maps, satellite imagery and ocean profiles.
Figure 2: Bottom photographs and core stratigraphy for sea-floor stations within the Larsen B embayment.
Figure 3: Microfossil abundance and radioactive 210 Pb activity within marine sediment cores from beneath the Larsen ice shelf.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mercer, J. H. West Antarctic ice sheet and CO2 greenhouse effect: a threat of disaster. Nature 271, 321–325 (1978)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Vaughan, D. G. & Doake, C. S. M. Recent atmospheric warming and retreat of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula. Nature 379, 328–331 (1996)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Scambos, T., Hulbe, C. & Fahnestock, M. Climate-induced ice shelf disintegration in the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 79–92 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  4. De Angelis, H. & Skvarca, P. Glacier surge after ice shelf collapse. Science 299, 1560–1562 (2003)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Scambos, T. A., Bohlander, J. A., Shuman, C. A. & Skvarca, P. Glacier acceleration and thinning after ice shelf collapse in the Larsen B embayment, Antarctica. Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, L18402, doi:10.1029/2004GL020670 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rignot, E. et al. Accelerated ice discharge from the Antarctic Peninsula following the collapse of Larsen B ice shelf. Geophys. Res. Lett. 31, L18401, doi:10.1029/2004GL020697 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Clapperton, C. M. & Sugden, D. E. Late Quaternary glacial history of the George VI Sound area, West Antarctica. Quat. Res 18, 243–267 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Domack, E. W. et al. Late Holocene advance of the Müller Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula: sedimentologic, geochemical, and palaeontological evidence. Antarct. Sci. 7, 159–170 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hjort, C., Bentley, M. J. & Ingólfsson, O. Holocene and pre-Holocene temporary disappearance of the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarct. Sci 13, 296–301 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Pudsey, C. J. & Evans, J. First survey of Antarctic sub-ice shelf sediments reveals mid-Holocene ice shelf retreat. Geol. 29, 787–790 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Brachfeld, S. et al. Holocene history of the Larsen-A Ice Shelf constrained by geomagnetic paleointensity dating. Geology 31, 749–752 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Morris, E. M. & Vaughan, D. G. Glaciologic climate relationships spatial and temporal variation of surface temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula and the limit of viability of ice shelves. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 61–68 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Scambos, T. A., Hulbe, C., Fahenstock, M. & Bohlander, J. The link between climate warming and break-up of ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula. J. Glaciol. 154, 516–530 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  14. King, J. et al. Antarctic Peninsula climate variability and its causes as revealed by analysis of instrumental records. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 17–30 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gilbert, R. & Domack, E. W. The sedimentary record of disintegrating ice shelves in a warming climate, Antarctic Peninsula. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 4, 1038, doi:1029/2002GC000441 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Domack, E. W., Jacobson, E. A., Shipp, S. S. & Anderson, J. B. Late Pleistocene- Holocene retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet system in the Ross Sea: Part 2 — sedimentologic and stratigraphic signature. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 111, 1517–1536 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. MacAyeal, D. R., Scambos, T. A., Hulbe, C. & Fahnestock, M. A. Catastrophic ice-shelf break-up by an ice-shelf-fragment capsize mechanism. J. Glaciol. 49, 22–36 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Frank, M. et al. North Atlantic Deep Water export to the Southern Ocean over the past 14 Myr: evidence from Nd and Pb isotopes in ferromanganese crusts. Paleoceanography 17, doi: 10.102912000PA000606 (2002)

  19. Ishman, S. E. & Szymcek, P. Foraminiferal distributions in the former Larsen-A ice shelf and Prince Gustav Channel region, eastern Antarctic Peninsula margin: a baseline for Holocene paleoenvironmental change. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 239–260 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Jacobs, S. S., Gordon, A. L. & Ardai, J. L. Jr . Circulation and melting beneath the Ross Ice Shelf. Science 203, 439–445 (1979)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Gilbert, R., Domack, E. W. & Camerlenghi, A. Deglacial history of the Greenpeace Trough: ice sheet to ice shelf transition in the northwestern Weddell Sea. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 195–204 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Shepherd, A., Wingham, D., Payne, T. & Skvarca, P. Larsen Ice Shelf has progressively thinned. Science 302, 856–859 (2003)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Pahnke, K., Zahn, R., Elderfield, H. & Schultz, M. 340,000-year centennial-scale marine record of Southern Hemisphere climate oscillation. Science 301, 948–952 (2003)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Norris, R. D., Park, B. K., Kang, S. H. & Khim, B. K. Stable isotope and ecological habitat of planktonic foraminifera adjacent to the ice edge in the western Weddell Sea. Geosci. J. 2, 88–98 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Nicholls, K. W. et al. Water mass modification over the continental shelf north of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica. J. Geophys. Res. 108, doi:10.1029/2002JC001713 (2003)

  26. Doane, S. S. Oceanographic Observations in Front of the Larsen B Ice Shelf; Antarctica Prior to its Collapse in 2002. BA thesis, Hamilton College (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Scherer, R. P. A new method for the determination of absolute abundance of diatoms and other silt-sized sedimentary particles. J. Paleolimnol. 12, 171–179 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Domack, E. W. et al. Marine sedimentary record of natural variability and recent warming in the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarct. Res. Ser. 79, 205–224 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Evans, J. et al. Late Quaternary glacial history, flow dynamics and sedimentation along the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. Quat. Sci. Rev. 24, 741–774 (2005)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work as supported by grants from the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs. Timely support of analytical needs at the University of Arizona Accelerator Facility and the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass Spectrometer laboratory was appreciated, as were the contributions of H. Schrum, E. Backman and K. Bart, and the comments by M. Canals, E. Rignot, L. Padman and T. Scambos.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, Hamilton College, New York, 13323, Clinton, USA

    Eugene Domack, Diana Duran & Sarah Doane

  2. Department of Geology, Colgate University, New York, 13346, Hamilton, USA

    Amy Leventer

  3. Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Illinois, 62901, Carbondale, USA

    Scott Ishman & Scott McCallum

  4. Department of Stratigraphy, Paleontology, and Marine Geosciences, University of Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    David Amblas

  5. Physics Department, Hamilton College, New York, 13323, Clinton, USA

    Jim Ring

  6. Department of Geography, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, ON K7L 3N6, Canada

    Robert Gilbert

  7. Department of Earth Science, University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire, 03824, Durham, USA

    Michael Prentice

Authors
  1. Eugene Domack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Diana Duran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Amy Leventer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Scott Ishman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sarah Doane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Scott McCallum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. David Amblas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jim Ring
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Robert Gilbert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Michael Prentice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eugene Domack.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Reprints and permissions information is available at npg.nature.com/reprintsandpermissions. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Notes

This file contains two Supplementary Figures and a list of additional references. Supplementary Figure S1 illustrates the back scatter data from our multi-beam survey in the LIS-B region. The figures are composites so the caption is listed separately afterwards. Supplementary Figure S2 with caption illustrates variation in grain composition (petrology) within core KC-5 in the LIS-B region. (DOC 906 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Domack, E., Duran, D., Leventer, A. et al. Stability of the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene epoch. Nature 436, 681–685 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03908

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03908

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing
  NODES
INTERN 1
Note 1
twitter 1