New insights in the evolution of Antarctic glaciation from depth conversion of well-log calibrated seismic section of Prydz Bay

Abstract

The understanding of the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is crucial for the comprehension of the history of past global climate. The debate regarding the age of the transition to modern “dry- and cold-based” ice sheet after the Neogene polythermal conditions has taken place over more than 20 years. An evident change in the geometry of the depositional systems of the Prydz Bay continental margin demarked the initiation of the Prydz Channel Fan and has been inferred to correspond to this transition. The improvement in the age placement of this change contributes to unravel the last stages of the Antarctic glacial history. We predicted the spatial distribution of P-wave velocity data along both dip- and strike-oriented seismic profiles that intersect 3 Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites on the Prydz Bay continental shelf. We used this information to assist the correlation of the existing litho- and bio-stratigraphic information among the drilling sites and to produce an accurate geometric reconstruction of the Neogene shelf units through depth-migration of the seismic data. The revised stratigraphy that we obtained suggests an early late to late early Pliocene age for the seismic reflector at the base of the Prydz Channel Fan. This age, younger than previously proposed, is consistent with the age inferred for similar geometric changes identified in different Antarctic margins.