The Evolution of the Patagonian Ice Sheet from 35 ka to the Present Day

Explore the evolution of the Patagonian Ice Sheet from 35,000 years ago to the present day in this comprehensive lecture. Delve into the diverse environments characterizing this ice sheet, including glaciolacustrine, land-terminating lowland lobes, high mountain glaciers, and glaciomarine settings. Examine the role of large dammed lakes in controlling ice dynamics as the sheet receded. Analyze sediment-landform assemblages and 1,669 published ages to reconstruct the ice sheet's evolution since the Last Glacial Maximum. Investigate the climatic and ice dynamical factors influencing ice recession, with particular focus on the current exceptional recession driven by a persistent negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode. Learn about key landsystems, including upland mountain glacier, lowland land-terminating glacial, and glaciomarine environments. Discover project aims, geomorphological methods, and palaeo ice-sheet reconstruction techniques. Explore the timing of key advances, annual recession rates, and palaeoclimatic controls on ice advance and recession in the Holocene, including the Southern Annular Mode "Pacemaker." Gain insights into Antarctic ice dynamics and draw conclusions about the Patagonian Ice Sheet's evolution and its implications for understanding climate change impacts on glacial systems.