Magnetic hysteresis parameters of ODP Site 178-1096 (Table T1)

These hemipelagic drifts were targeted for their potential to preserve a continuous record of the behavior of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last 10 m.y. It has been proposed that drift development is linked to advances and retreats of the Antarctic continental ice sheet (Pudsey and Camerlenghi, 1998, doi:10.1017/S0954102098000376, and references therein; Barker, Camerlenghi, Acton, et al., 1999, doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.178.1999).

However, the sediment is characterized by a very low carbonate content, with foraminifers restricted to very narrow intervals. This lack of carbonate precludes the construction of a delta18O or CaCO3 stratigraphy, depriving these sites of an important chronologic tool and global ice volume proxy.