Geological Society of America

38 Undergraduate Research I (Posters)

Saturday, 21 March 2020
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Grand Ballroom A–D

USING FORAMINIFERA TO CONSTRAIN GREENLAND ICE SHEET MELT DURING PAST PLEISTOCENE WARM PERIODS

Paper number: 38-16
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Authors

Maya Prabhakar Presenting Author
State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Elizabeth Thomas
University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Kaustubh Thirumalai
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Kaustubh Thirumalai
Brown University, Providence, RI
Steven C. Clemens
Brown University, Providence, RI

Abstract

Greenland’s ice is melting at an alarming rate. While there is direct evidence for periods where the Greenland Ice Sheet was much smaller than today, the timing of Greenland Ice Sheet melt during ancient warm periods is still poorly constrained. Foraminifera, surface-dwelling marine plankton, provide a means of studying melt events which exceed modern seasonal variation. Foraminifera 𝛿¹⁸O reflects surface ocean water 𝛿¹⁸O, which would have decreased in the surface ocean near the coast as the Greenland Ice Sheet melted during ancient warm periods. We produce a record of planktic foraminifera 𝛿¹⁸O of south Greenland from the mid- to late-Pleistocene, which will help us understand the dynamics of how the Greenland Ice Sheet may melt in modern and future warm periods.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 52, No. 2

doi: 10.1130/abs/2020SE-344566

© Copyright 2020 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.