Study Links Antarctica's 34 Million-Year Glaciation to 2-Km Uplift From Jurassic Breakup
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 6
Study Links Antarctica's 34 Million-Year Glaciation to 2-Km Uplift From Jurassic Breakup
2 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 6
Summary
Science-published modeling says East Antarctica rose enough by 45 million years ago for mountain glaciers to form, helping trigger the ice sheet that spread across the continent about 34 million years ago.
The study argues Jurassic breakup from Africa about 170 million years ago set off mantle “waves” that lifted the land, building a coastal cliff roughly 2 kilometers high and an elevated plateau stretching about 2,000 kilometers inland.
That extra height mattered because air cools about 1C for every 100 meters gained, allowing snow and ice to accumulate even while global climate remained relatively mild and CO2 decline alone could not explain Antarctica's earlier freeze than the Arctic.
Gernon's team says thermochronology in exposed Antarctic rocks and radar data over the ice-buried Gamburtsev mountains broadly match the modeled uplift timeline.
The findings also sharpen a modern warning: ice sheets can melt far faster than they grow, and erosion after collapse means they may not simply regrow under future warming.