A HOLOCENE CLIMATE CHANGE HISTORY OF FOUR BAYS ON THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA

The polar regions of the Earth are highly sensitive to global climate change and are therefore considered ideal places to study paleoclimates. Within previous Antarctic research, ice core records have displayed detailed long-term (glacial-interglacial) oscillations; however, more research into short-term climate patterns using Antarctic marine sediment is needed. Antarctic marine sediment provides a high-resolution record of climate change within the region that can be analyzed in conjunction with ice cores from the continent and other paleoclimate reconstructions.

This study will focus on four Holocene cores of marine sediment from the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) region. The four sites include: Maxwell Bay located in the South Shetland Islands west of the AP; Lapeyrere Bay located on the coast of Anvers Island west of the AP; Herbert Sound located on the coast of James Ross Island east of the AP; and the Firth of Tay located between Joinville and Dundee Islands on the AP's eastern tip. The climate records for each bay will be determined using three physical properties (grain size, magnetic susceptibility, and electrical resistivity), clay mineral analysis, and radiocarbon dating. The physical properties will indicate where the climate swings are located within the cores; the clay mineral analysis will clarify whether the sediment is terrigenous or oceanic; and the radiocarbon dating will elucidate when exactly the transitions from glacial to interglacial periods within the Holocene occurred.

Once these high-resolution climate records are constructed for each bay, comparisons between the bays will be made to determine whether geographic locations of the bays (east versus west side of the AP) significantly impact the climate swings observed. Currently, oceanographic and meteorological (including both wind and precipitation patterns) differences exist between the two sides of the AP which effect their glacial character. If the climate histories on either side of the peninsula differ at all throughout the Holocene, it can be theorized that these oceanographic and meteorological differences were responsible. This information will contribute to the overall climate change research by providing a detailed Holocene record, and more specifically, it will enhance other Holocene records of the Antarctic Peninsula.