Proxies and pitfalls - The late Quaternary glacial evolution of Schirmacher and Larsemann Oases, East Antarctica

摘要

Despite a fairly vast paleoclimatic database, the mechanisms of millennial-scale global climate change remain an enigma. The reconstruction of the climatic and environmental history of the Antarctic region is primarily based on the proxy records in ice and lacustrine/marine sediment sequences. These records not only bring out the highly textured nature of the short-term climatic variability across Antarctica but also some significant differences in proximal areas. Two contrasting results from the two coastal oases of East Antarctica and the uncertainties with the available radiocarbon dates highlight not only the need for a multi-proxy, multi-site approach to deciphering the glacial history of Antarctica based on terrestrial records, but also on the need to exercise caution in translating the results from isolated Antarctic terrestrial records to the global scenario.