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Hata S, Kawamata M, Doi K. Outbursts from an ice-marginal lake in Antarctica in 1969-1971 and 2017, revealed by aerial photographs and satellite data. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20619. [PMID: 38012284 PMCID: PMC10682390 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47522-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The liquid water around the Antarctic Ice Sheet plays a key role in modulating both the vulnerability of ice shelves to hydrofracturing and ice discharge from outlet glaciers. Therefore, it needs to be adequately constrained for precise future projections of ice-mass loss and global sea-level rise. Although glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) pose one of the greatest risks in glacierized mountainous regions, any long-term monitoring of Antarctic ice-marginal lakes and their associated potential for GLOFs has been neglected until recently owing to the limited number of such events reported in Antarctica. Here we present direct evidence of repeated GLOFs from Lake Kaminotani-Ike, an ice-sheet-dammed lake in East Antarctica, via an analysis of historical aerial photographs and recent satellite data. Two GLOFs occurred in 1969-1971 and 2017, with discharge volumes of (8.6 ± 1.5) × 107 and (7.1 ± 0.4) × 107 m3, respectively, making them two of the largest GLOFs in Antarctica. A southerly oceanward pathway beneath the ice sheet is the most likely drainage route of these GLOF events based on the available surface- and bed-elevation datasets. Furthermore, the 2017 event occurred during the austral winter, thereby implying the possibility of year-round active subglacial networks in Antarctica. Our results highlight that studies on Antarctic ice-marginal lakes provide an opportunity to better understand Antarctic hydrological processes and emphasize the need for both detailed monitoring of ice-marginal lakes and detailed surveying of the subglacial environments of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuntaro Hata
- Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
- Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
| | - Moto Kawamata
- Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute, Sapporo, Japan
| | - Koichiro Doi
- National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
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Rodriguez JAP, Wilhelm MB, Travis B, Kargel JS, Zarroca M, Berman DC, Cohen J, Baker V, Lopez A, Buckner D. Exploring the evidence of Middle Amazonian aquifer sedimentary outburst residues in a Martian chaotic terrain. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17524. [PMID: 37853014 PMCID: PMC10584912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39060-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The quest for past Martian life hinges on locating surface formations linked to ancient habitability. While Mars' surface is considered to have become cryogenic ~3.7 Ga, stable subsurface aquifers persisted long after this transition. Their extensive collapse triggered megafloods ~3.4 Ga, and the resulting outflow channel excavation generated voluminous sediment eroded from the highlands. These materials are considered to have extensively covered the northern lowlands. Here, we show evidence that a lacustrine sedimentary residue within Hydraotes Chaos formed due to regional aquifer upwelling and ponding into an interior basin. Unlike the northern lowland counterparts, its sedimentary makeup likely consists of aquifer-expelled materials, offering a potential window into the nature of Mars' subsurface habitability. Furthermore, the lake's residue's estimated age is ~1.1 Ga (~3.2 Ga post-peak aquifer drainage during the Late Hesperian), enhancing the prospects for organic matter preservation. This deposit's inferred fine-grained composition, coupled with the presence of coexisting mud volcanoes and diapirs, suggest that its source aquifer existed within abundant subsurface mudstones, water ice, and evaporites, forming part of the region's extremely ancient (~ 4 Ga) highland stratigraphy. Our numerical models suggest that magmatically induced phase segregation within these materials generated enormous water-filled chambers. The meltwater, originating from varying thermally affected mudstone depths, could have potentially harbored diverse biosignatures, which could have become concentrated within the lake's sedimentary residue. Thus, we propose that Hydraotes Chaos merits priority consideration in future missions aiming to detect Martian biosignatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Alexis P Rodriguez
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA.
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Bryan Travis
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Kargel
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Mario Zarroca
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel C Berman
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Jacob Cohen
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA
| | - Victor Baker
- Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Anthony Lopez
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Denise Buckner
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA
- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
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Stokes CR, Abram NJ, Bentley MJ, Edwards TL, England MH, Foppert A, Jamieson SSR, Jones RS, King MA, Lenaerts JTM, Medley B, Miles BWJ, Paxman GJG, Ritz C, van de Flierdt T, Whitehouse PL. Response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to past and future climate change. Nature 2022; 608:275-286. [PMID: 35948707 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04946-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet contains the vast majority of Earth's glacier ice (about 52 metres sea-level equivalent), but is often viewed as less vulnerable to global warming than the West Antarctic or Greenland ice sheets. However, some regions of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet have lost mass over recent decades, prompting the need to re-evaluate its sensitivity to climate change. Here we review the response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to past warm periods, synthesize current observations of change and evaluate future projections. Some marine-based catchments that underwent notable mass loss during past warm periods are losing mass at present but most projections indicate increased accumulation across the East Antarctic Ice Sheet over the twenty-first century, keeping the ice sheet broadly in balance. Beyond 2100, high-emissions scenarios generate increased ice discharge and potentially several metres of sea-level rise within just a few centuries, but substantial mass loss could be averted if the Paris Agreement to limit warming below 2 degrees Celsius is satisfied.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nerilie J Abram
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.,Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | | | | | - Matthew H England
- Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Annie Foppert
- Australian Antarctic Program Partnership, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | | | - Richard S Jones
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.,Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Matt A King
- School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.,Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Jan T M Lenaerts
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Brooke Medley
- Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - Guy J G Paxman
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Catherine Ritz
- Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Tina van de Flierdt
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
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