Cenozoic glacier fluctuations in polar regions - terrestrial records from Antarctica and the north Atlantic sector of the Arctic

Abstract

The oldest recorded Cenozoic terrestrial glaciations have been dated to 30-35 Ma in Antarctica and 3-5 Ma in the Atlantic Arctic. Fluctuations of temperate to subpolar Pliocene glaciers are known from both polar regions. Pliocene forests in northern Greenland and in areas close to the South Pole suggest that the climate was non-glacial during phases of the Pliocene. Fluctuations of the large, partially marine based upper Pleistocene ice-sheets were to a considerable extent governed by sea-level fluctuations, while fluctuations of local land based glaciers seem to reflect mainly changes in precipitation, at least in Antarctica. Isotope stage 6 glaciers were large both in the Arctic and in Antarctica, and isotope stage 2 ice-sheets were smaller, but still rather large compared to today. -from Author