Transition in Late Quaternary Paleoclimate in Schirmacher Region, East Antarctica as Revealed from Lake Sediments

Authors

  • Hari B. Srivastava
     Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – 221 005
  • Prakash K. Shrivastava
     Geological Survey of India, State Unit: Sikkim, Gangtok – 737 101
  • Sandip K. Roy
     Geological Survey of India, Polar Studies Division, Faridabad – 121 001
  • M. Javed Beg
     National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vaso-Da-Gama, Goa – 403 804
  • Rajesh Asthana
     Geological Survey of India, Central Head Quarters, M-IV, Kolkata – 700 016
  • Pawan Govil
     Birbal Sahani Institute of Paleosciences, Lucknow – 226 007
  • Kamlesh Verma
     XRD Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, Faridabad – 121 001

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0920-z

Abstract

The lacustrine sediments are one of the best sources to provide information on climate change, specially in peri-glacial climatic region. Schirmacher Oasis, located on the Princess Astrid Coast in Queen Maud Land, is one of the few areas in East Antarctica that provides valuable information on paleoclimate of the region with various depositional features formed due to deglaciation process. This Oasis is dotted with more than 100 lakes of proglacial, land-locked and epi-shelf type. The multi-proxy sedimentological data, generated from the sediment cores from land-locked lakes and grab sample from a proglacial lake, lying in the same drainage line in the central part of Schirmacher region has provided better insight into the paleoclimatic evolution of the region. The immature and chemically unaltered lake sediments have shown restricted drainage pattern. Different phases of warmer and cooler intervals are highlighted by the patterns of fluctuations in different sedimentological and statistical parameters. The dominance of glacial signatures is very clear on the lake sediments as revealed by the surface textures of quartz grains. Physical weathering has mainly controlled the overall sediments and the composition of clay fraction. The clay minerals indicate a gradual shift in the weathering regime and therewith in climate from strongly glacial to fluvioglacial specially around 42 ka. This indicates beginning of warming of the area much before the LGM. But the warm period is not strong enough to alter the overall clay chemistry. Proxy records indicate short-period climatic oscillations during late Quaternary.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Issue

Volume 91, Issue 6, June 2018 Pages (645-764)

Section

Research Articles

Downloads

Published

2018-06-01

How to Cite

Srivastava, H. B., Shrivastava, P. K., Roy, S. K., Javed Beg, M., Asthana, R., Govil, P., & Verma, K. (2018). Transition in Late Quaternary Paleoclimate in Schirmacher Region, East Antarctica as Revealed from Lake Sediments. Journal of Geological Society of India, 91(6), 651–663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-018-0920-z
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Achyuthan, H., Asthana, R., Ravindra, R. and Eastoe, C. (2008) Radiocarbon Dates and Sedimentation within the Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica. SCAR / IASC IPY, Open Sci. Conf., 8 – 11th July, St. Petersburg, Russia, 155.

Asthana, R., and Chaturvedi, A. (1998) The grain size behavior and morphoscopy of supraglacial sediments, south of Schirmacher Oasis, E. Antarctica. Jour. Geol. Soc. India, v.52, pp.557-568.

Asthana, R., Shrivastava, P.K., Beg, M.J., Shome, S., Kachroo, K. (2009) Surface microtextures of quartz grains from glaciolacus- trine sediment core from Priyadarshini Lake, Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica as revealed under scanning electron microscope. Indian Jour. Geosci., v.63(2), pp.205-214.

Asthana, R., Shrivastava, P.K., Beg, M.J., Swain A.K., Dharwadkar A., Roy S.K. and Srivastava H.B. (2013) Sedimentary processes in two different polar periglacial environments: Examples from Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Publ., no.381, pp411-427.

Boulton, G.S. (1978) Boulder shapes and grain size distribution of debris as indicators of transport paths through a glacial and till genesis. Sedimentology, v.25, pp.773-799.

Boulton, G.S., Dent, D.L. andMorris, E.M. (1974) Subglacial shearing and crushing, and the role of water pressures in tills from south-east Iceland. Geogr. Ann. A, Phys. Geogr., v.56, pp.15-145.

Dilli, K. and Pant, R.K. (1994) Clay minerals as indicators of the provenance and paleoclimatic record of the Kashmir loess. Jour. Geol. Soc. India, v.44, pp563-574.

Ehrmann, W., Setti, M., and Marinoni, L. (2005) Clay minerals in Cenozoic sediments off Cape Roberts (McMurdo Sound, Antarctica) reveal palaeoclimatic history. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol., v.229(3), pp.187–211.

Georgiev, V.M. and Stoffers, P. (1980) Surface textures of quartz grains from Late Pleistocene to Holocene sediments of the Persian Gulf/ Gulf of Oman e an application of the scanning electron microscope. Mar. Geol., v.6, pp85-96.

Hambrey, M.J., Webb, P.-N., Harwood, D.M. and Krissek, L.A. (2003) Neogene glacial record from the Sirius Group of the Shackleton Glacier region, central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull., v.115(8), pp.994–1015. doi:10.1130/B25183.1

Helland, P.E. and Holmes, M.A. (1997) Surface textural analysis of quartz grains from ODP site 918 off the southeast coast of Greenland suggests glaciation of southern Greenland at 11 Ma. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.135, pp.109-121.

Helland, P. E. and Diffendal Jr, R.F. (1993) Probable glacial climatic conditions in source areas during deposition of parts of the ash hollow formation, Ogallala Group (Late Tertiary), of western Nebraska. Amer. Jour of Sci., v.293, pp.744-757.

Jacksons, M.L. (1979) Soil Chemical Analysis- Advanced Course. 2nd Edition, 11th printing. Madison, Wisconsin, pp.169-251.

Krinsley D.H. and Doornkamp J.C. (1973) Glossary of Quartz Sand Grain Textures. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

Krinsley, D.H. and Funnell B.M. (1965) Environmental history of sand grains from the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of Norfolk, England. Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, v.121, pp.435-461.

Linde, K., Mycielska-Dowgallo, E. (1980) Some experimentally produced microtextures on grain surfaces of quartz and sand. Geogr. Ann., v.62A, pp.171-184.

Mahaney, W.C. (1990) Glacially-crushed quartz grains in late Quaternary deposits in the Virunga Mountains, Rwanda”indicators of wind transport from the north. Boreas, v.19, pp.81–84.

Mahaney, W.C., Claridge, G.C. and Campbell, I. (1996) Microtextures on quartz grains in tills from Antarctica. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.121, pp.89-103.

Mahaney, W.C. and Kalm, V. (1995) Scanning electron microscopy of Pleistocene tills in Estonia. Boreas, v.24, pp.13-29.

Mahesh, B.S., Warrier, A. K., Mohan, R., Tiwari, M., Babu, A., Chandran, A., Asthana, R. and Ravindra, R. (2015) Response of Long Lake sediment to Antarctic climate: A perspective gained from sedimentary organic geochemistry and particle size analysis. Polar Science, pp.1-9

Manickam, S., and Barbaroux, L. (1987) Variations in the surface texture of suspended quartz grains in the Loire River: an SEM study. Sedimentology, v.34, pp.495-510.

Manker, J.P. and Ponder, R.D. (1978) Quartz grain surface features in fluvial environments of northeastern Georgia. Jour. Sediment. Petrol., v.48, pp.1227-1232.

Margolis, S.V. and Krinsley, D.H. (1974) Processes of formation and environmental occurrence of microfeatures on detrital quartz grains. Amer. Jour. Sci., v.274, pp.449-464.

Margolis, S.V. and Kennett, J.P. (1971) Cenozoic palaeoglacial history of Antarctica recorded in sub-Antarctic deep sea cores. Amer. Jour. Sci., v.271, pp.1-36.

Passchier, S., Uscinowicz, S., Laban, C. (1997) Sediment supply and transport direction in the gulf of Gdansk as observed from SEM analysis of quartz grain surface textures. Prace Panstwowego Instytutu Geologicznego, v.158, pp.1-27.

Petschick, R., Kuhn, G. and Gingele, F. (1996) Clay mineral distribution in surface sediments of the South Atlantic: sources transport and relation to oceanography. Mar. Geol., v.130, pp.203-229.

Phartiyal, B., Sharma, A. and Bera, S.K. (2011) Glacial lates and geomorphological evolution of Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica during Late Quaternary. Quaternary Internat., v.235, pp.128-136.

Shrivastava, P.K., Asthana, R., Beg, M.J., Singh, J. (2009) Climatic fluctuation imprinted in quartz grains of lake sediments from Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann Hills area, East Antarctica. Indian Jour. Geosci., v.63(1), pp.87-96.

Srivastava, A.K., Ingle, P.S., Lunge, H. S. and Khare, N. (2012) Grain size characterictics of deposits derived from different glacigenic environments of Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica, Geologos 18, 251-266.

Smalley, I.J., 1966. The properties of glacial loess and the formation of loess deposits. Jour. Sediment. Petrol., v.36, pp.669-676.

Strand, K., Passchier, S., Nasi, J. (2003) Implications of quartz grain microtextures for onset of Eocene/Oligocene glaciation in Prydz Bay, ODP site 1166, Antarctica. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoecol., v.198, pp.101-111.

Tulaczyk, S.M., Kamb, B., Scherer, R.P., Engelhardt, H.F. (1998) Sedimentary processes at the base of a west Antarctic ice stream: constraints from textural and compositional properties of subglacial debris. Jour. Sediment. Res., v.68, pp.487-496.

Warrier, A.K., Mahesh, B.S., Mohan, R., Shankar, R., Asthana, R. and Ravindra, R. (2014) Glacial–interglacial climatic variations at the Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica: The first report from environmental magnetism. Palaeogeo. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoeco., v.412, pp.249–260.

Whalley, W.B. and Krinsley, D.H. (1974) A scanning electron microscope study of surface textures of quartz grains from glacial environments. Sedimentology,, v.21, pp.87-105

Williams, A.T. and Morgan, P. (1993) Scanning electron microscope evidence for offshoreeonshore sand transport at Fire Island New York, USA. Sedimentology, v.40, pp.63-77.

Windon, H.L. (1976) Litliogenous material in marine sediments. In: Riley, J.P. & Chester, R. (Eds.). Cheiiical Oceanoap I5.Academic Press. New York, pp.103-135.

Most read articles by the same author(s)