Sensitivity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to Climate Change over the Last Two Glacial/Interglacial Cycles

This project was designed to develop knowledge of the extent of the Ross Sea ice sheet during the last two glaciations and to develop a chronology for the last glacial maximum and penultimate glaciation. To this end, we had the following goals: 1) Map the extent of the Ross Sea ice sheet along the western coast of McMurdo Sound from Taylor Valley to the southern Royal Society Range. 2) Develop a radiocarbon chronology for the last glacial maximum from dates of algal mats within moraines. 3) Produce a uranium-thorium chronology to gain information on the timing of the penultimate glaciation. 4) Synthesize the data to develop a better understanding not only of the behavior of the Antarctic ice sheet during ice-age cycles, but also of the role of the ice sheet in transmitting or driving climate changes