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Evolution of the Cook Ice Cap (Kerguelen Islands) between the last centuries and 2100 ce based on cosmogenic dating and glacio-climatic modelling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2021

Deborah Verfaillie Open the ORCID record for Deborah Verfaillie [Opens in a new window] ,
Joanna Charton Open the ORCID record for Joanna Charton [Opens in a new window] ,
Irene Schimmelpfennig Open the ORCID record for Irene Schimmelpfennig [Opens in a new window] ,
Zoe Stroebele Open the ORCID record for Zoe Stroebele [Opens in a new window] ,
Vincent Jomelli Open the ORCID record for Vincent Jomelli [Opens in a new window] ,
François Bétard Open the ORCID record for François Bétard [Opens in a new window] ,
Vincent Favier Open the ORCID record for Vincent Favier [Opens in a new window] ,
Julien Cavero Open the ORCID record for Julien Cavero [Opens in a new window] ,
Etienne Berthier Open the ORCID record for Etienne Berthier [Opens in a new window]  and
Hugues Goosse Open the ORCID record for Hugues Goosse [Opens in a new window]
...Show all authors
Deborah Verfaillie*
Affiliation:
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Joanna Charton
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Irene Schimmelpfennig
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Zoe Stroebele
Affiliation:
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Meudon, France
Vincent Jomelli
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
François Bétard
Affiliation:
Université de Paris, UFR Géographie, Histoire, Économie et Sociétés (GHES), Laboratoire PRODIG, UMR CNRS 8586, Paris, France
Vincent Favier
Affiliation:
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IGE, CNRS, Grenoble, France
Julien Cavero
Affiliation:
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Meudon, France
Etienne Berthier
Affiliation:
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
Hugues Goosse
Affiliation:
Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Vincent Rinterknecht
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Claude Legentil
Affiliation:
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS Laboratoire de Géographie Physique, Meudon, France
Raphaelle Charrassin
Affiliation:
LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, IRD, UPS, Toulouse, France
Georges Aumaître
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Didier L. Bourlès
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Karim Keddadouche
Affiliation:
Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Coll France, UM 34 CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
*
deborah.verfaillie@gmail.com
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Abstract

The Cook Ice Cap (CIC) on the sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands recently experienced extremely negative surface mass balance. Further deglaciation could have important impacts on endemic and invasive fauna and flora. To put this exceptional glacier evolution into a multi-centennial-scale context, we refined the evolution of the CIC over the last millennium, investigated the associated climate conditions and explored its potential evolution by 2100 ce. A glaciological model, constrained by cosmic ray exposure dating of moraines, historical documents and recent direct mass balance observations, was used to simulate the ice-cap extents during different phases of advance and retreat between the last millennium and 2100 ce. Cosmogenic dating suggests glacial advance around the early Little Ice Age (LIA), consistent with findings from other sub-Antarctic studies, and the rather cold and humid conditions brought about by the negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). This study contributes to our currently limited understanding of palaeoclimate for the early LIA in the southern Indian Ocean. Glaciological modelling and observations confirm the recent decrease in CIC extent linked to the intensification of the SAM. Although affected by large uncertainties, future simulations suggest a complete disappearance of CIC by the end of the century.

Keywords

degree-day glaciological modelfuture projectionsglacial fluctuationsin situ cosmogenic chlorine-36 datingmorainessub-Antarctic islands
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , June 2021 , pp. 301 - 317
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Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2021

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Footnotes

*

ASTER Team

†

Deceased

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