Geology and Seismic Stratigraphy of the Antarctic Margin

Download or read book Geology and Seismic Stratigraphy of the Antarctic Margin written by Alan K. Cooper and published by Wiley-AGU. This book was released on 1997-01-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Antarctic Ice Sheet has greatly affected global climate, sea level, ocean circulation, and southern hemisphere biota during Cenozoic times. Much of our understanding of the evolution of the ice sheet has been inferred from isotopic studies on distant deep-ocean sediments, because few Cenozoic rocks are exposed on the Antarctic continent. Yet, large differences occur between past ice volumes inferred from isotopic studies and those inferred from low-latitude sea-level variation. The massive quantities of glacially transported terrigenous sediments that lie beneath the Antarctic continental margin provide an additional, more direct record of the inferred ice sheet fluctuations. Volume 68 addresses the history of ice sheet fluctuations as recorded by geological and geophysical investigations of selected areas of the Antarctic continental margin. As described below, the volume gives data and results from on-going research by a major multinational project directed toward better understanding the impact of Antarctic Ice Sheet fluctuations on global sea levels and climates.