Proglacial landscape evolution across the Antarctic Peninsula in a warming climate
Project Summary
The ice sheet margin around the Antarctic Peninsula receded rapidly from its Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) position on the continental shelf edge ~ 18 ka (Davies et al., 2012) to a position towards the head of fjords, and in some cases onto land. These former outlet glacier margins are sometimes marked by prominent (tens of km long) lateral moraine ridges along the major fjords. Coincidentally, sea level changes and isostasy created raised beaches, multiple shorelines and perched deltas (e.g. Fretwell et al., 2010). However, the rates and primary drivers of landscape evolution in NE Antarctic Peninsula in response to natural climate change are otherwise little known and are contentious, due in part to a lack of in situ observations, to sediment accumulations often being below sea level, the variety of glaciation styles and complex paraglacial adjustments during and after the deglaciation.
The Pleistocene–Holocene transition along the northern tip of Antarctic Peninsula is connected with a significant and rapid climate warming between 13 and 12 ka BP and predominant early Holocene hypsythermal conditions continuing until 9.5 ka BP (Mulvaney et al., 2012) resulting in consequent ice shelf collapse and glacier speed up (e.g. Bentley et al., 2005; Wallis et al., 2023; Roman et al. 2024). A number of late-Holocene advances have been proposed from a handful of sites (Hjort et al., 1997; Bentley et al., 2009; Carrivick et al., 2012; Kaplan et al., 2020), but the evidence for a Little Ice Age across the Antarctic Peninsula is debated (Mulvaney et al., 2012; Simms et al., 2021).
The opportunity to examine the composition, functioning and evolution of the ice-free proglacial parts of the Antarctic Peninsula is potentially extremely valuable, to yield new insights into the extent to which glaciers and their associated processes have shaped the landscape. These systems deliver vast volumes of meltwater and sediment to the bays and fjords of the Antarctic Peninsula (Griffith and Anderson, 1989; Kavan et al., 2017, 2023, Kavan, 2022) and ultimately to the Southern Ocean. These water and sediment fluxes (Stringer et al., 2024) are controlled by glacier fluctuations (e.g. Silva et al., 2020) and in turn strongly influence mineral exports (e.g. Bown et al., 2018) and primary production and hence food webs in the Southern Ocean (e.g. Wefer and Fischer, 1991; Friedlander et al., 2020; Gonçalves et al., 2022).
This project aims to assess landscape evolution across the Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene by using a novel combination of high-resolution 3D geospatial analysis; most likely including datasets such as the recently released REMA DEM and Planet imagery, and field surveys of geomorphology, sedimentology and with geochronological ambitions. It will develop the methods and analysis of Carrivick et al. (2018) as applied to the proglacial areas of the central European Alps. Field surveys will be based on the Ulu Peninsula of James Ross Island, the second largest ice free area in the whole of Antarctica Peninsula, with the support and logistics of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme and the Czech J.G.Mendel Antarctic Station. The present day glaciological status will be measured using satellite observations of ice speed, calving front location and height change. Combining these skills and approaches will permit local process-based interpretations and a regional picture to be assembled of Holocene landscape development across the Antarctica Peninsula. Questions concerning sediment fluxes from glaciated versus deglaciated catchments, geomorphological structure-composition (landsystems), geomorphological functioning (e.g. connectivity) and terrestrial-fjord linkages will be addressed.
This project aims to assess landscape evolution across the Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene by using a novel combination of high-resolution 3D geospatial analysis and field surveys of geomorphology, sedimentology and with geochronological ambitions. Field surveys will be based on the Ulu Peninsula of James Ross Island, the second largest ice free area in the whole of Antarctica Peninsula, with the support and logistics of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme and the Czech J.G.Mendel Antarctic Station. The present day glaciological status will be measured using satellite observations of ice speed, calving front location and height change. Combining these skills and approaches will permit local process-based interpretations and a regional picture to be assembled of Holocene landscape development across the Antarctica Peninsula. Questions concerning sediment fluxes from glaciated versus deglaciated catchments, geomorphological structure-composition (landsystems), geomorphological functioning (e.g. connectivity) and terrestrial-fjord linkages will be addressed.
Fit to NERC Science
This project is aligned with the NERC aim to understand the impact of climate change. It is aligned with the NERC societal challenge ‘managing environmental change’ by seeking understanding of how the processes of natural variability and human-influenced change work. This project will contribute to the UK’s and Czech’s Antarctic research ambitions which are to contribute to our understanding of how the planet works and predict how it will change, and to manage our presence in Antarctica responsibly, which represent the main direction of Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), as well as the Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP) within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). This project will also foster international collaboration.
Student profile
The prospective student should have, or expect to receive, a first class BSc degree, or a distinction at Masters level, in an appropriate discipline such as Physical Geography, Geology, Maths, Physics or Environmental Science. They should have interests and experience in most, if not all, of the following topics: geospatial analysis (raster and vector), remote sensing analysis, glacial geomorphology, sedimentology, fieldwork in remote and challenging environments. This experience together with other skills and interests that the applicant wishes to develop can be supported by the supervisors and developed during the project. A range of funding sources are available for the project which the candidate can apply to in collaboration with the supervisors.
Skills and training
Training in interdisciplinary research skills will include presenting your ongoing results and receiving constructive feedback from peers in a Research Support Group, from colleagues in the River Basins research cluster, in water@leeds, the Satellite Ice Dynamics (SID) group in the School of Earth and Environment, and at a university postgraduate research day. An additional important part of the research training will be to attend national and international conferences to present results and gain feedback. The student will be encouraged to write and submit papers for publication during the project. Discipline specific skills will be developed on reconstructing landscape evolution, sediment sources, pathways and sinks, and process geomorphology. Full training in field and office-based techniques will be provided, although it is anticipated that the successful candidate will have a background in geospatial analysis (within GIS), remote sensing, dGPS and fieldwork experience. This project will preferably involve data collection in the field, based at Czech J.G.Mendel Antarctic Station on the Ulu Peninsula of James Ross Island in collaboration with the Czech Antarctic Research Programme, contingent on funding, permits and logistics.
Enquiries
Informal enquiries should be directed to Jonathan Carrivick at j.l.carrivick(at)leeds.ac.uk.
Enquiries relating to the application process and funding can be sent to Jacqui Manton (j.manton(at)leeds.ac.uk)
References
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Carrivick, J.L., Heckmann, T., Turner, A. and Fischer, M., 2018. An assessment of landform composition and functioning with the first proglacial systems dataset of the central European Alps. Geomorphology.
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