title: Rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier in the early Holocene.
abstract: Pine Island Glacier, a major outlet of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, has been undergoing rapid thinning and retreat for the past two decades. We demonstrate, using glacial-geological and geochronological data, that Pine Island Glacier (PIG) also experienced rapid thinning during the early Holocene, around 8000 years ago. Cosmogenic (10)Be concentrations in glacially transported rocks show that this thinning was sustained for decades to centuries at an average rate of more than 100 centimeters per year, which is comparable with contemporary thinning rates. The most likely mechanism was a reduction in ice shelf buttressing. Our findings reveal that PIG has experienced rapid thinning at least once in the past and that, once set in motion, rapid ice sheet changes in this region can persist for centuries.
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Finkel
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rood
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gohl
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balco
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Larter
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schaefer
mesh_terms: D001608:Beryllium / Q000032:analysis; D046448:Ice Cover; D062312:Islands; D009038:Motion; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D001608:Beryllium