Geological insights from the newly discovered granite of Sif island between Thwaites and Pine Island Glaciers
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Large-scale geological structures have controlled the long-term development of the bed and thus the flow of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). However, complete ice cover has obscured the age and exact positions of faults and geological boundaries beneath Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier, two major WAIS outlets in the Amundsen Sea sector. Here, we characterise the only rock outcrop between these two glaciers, which was exposed by the retreat of slow-flowing coastal ice in the early 2010s to form the new “Sif Island”. The island comprises of granite, zircon U-Pb dated to ~177-174 Ma and characterised by initial εNd, 87Sr/86Sr and εHf isotope compositions of -2.3, 0.7061 and -1.3, respectively. These characteristics resemble Thurston Island/Antarctic Peninsula crustal block rocks, strongly suggesting that the Sif Island granite belongs to this province and placing the crustal block’s boundary with the Marie Byrd Land province under Thwaites Glacier or its eastern shear margin. Low temperature thermochronological data reveal that the granite underwent rapid cooling following emplacement, rapidly cooled again at ~100-90 Ma, and then remained close to the Earth’s surface until present. These data help date vertical displacement across the major tectonic structure beneath Pine Island Glacier to the Late Cretaceous.
Editor(s)
Atkins, C
Date Issued
2024-04
Date Acceptance
2023-09-04
ISSN
0954-1020
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Start Page
51
End Page
74
Journal / Book Title
Antarctic Science
Volume
36
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antarctic Science Ltd This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Identifier
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/geological-insights-from-the-newly-discovered-granite-of-sif-island-between-thwaites-and-pine-island-glaciers/CAE5C390EFD5965CC7402F2B2F18651B
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
UK
Date Publish Online
2024-02-20