Deglacial to Recent Paleoceanography of the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica: A Multi-proxy Study of Ice-ocean Interactions at the Outlet of the Aurora Subglacial Basin

While glacial retreat in West Antarctica is linked to ocean warming, less is known about the response of East Antarctica’s glaciers. Totten Glacier, located on the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica is presently retreating.

Totten’s retreat is important because it is associated with warm ocean waters and because the glacier drains part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet that contains enough ice to raise global sea levels ~3.5 meters. Mud accumulating on the seafloor around Antarctica is composed of sediment from the adjacent continent, as well as the skeletons and debris from microscopic marine organisms. As mud accumulates, so does a record of past environmental changes, including ocean temperatures and the advance and retreat of glaciers.