Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times

Paul R. Bierman; Halley M. Mastro; Dorothy M. Peteet; Lee B. Corbett; Eric J. Steig; Chris T. Halsted; Marc M. Caffee; Alan J. Hidy; Greg Balco; Ole Bennike; Barry Rock

doi:10.1073/pnas.2407465121

Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times

Paul R. Bierman, Halley M. Mastro, Dorothy M. Peteet, Lee B. Corbett, Eric J. Steig, Chris T. Halsted, Marc M. Caffee, Alan J. Hidy, Greg Balco, Ole Bennike, Barry Rock

Near Surface Land and Marine Geology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

The persistence and size of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) through the Pleistocene is uncertain. This is important because reconstructing changes in the GrIS determines its contribution to sea level rise during prior warm climate periods and informs future projections. To understand better the history of Greenland's ice, we analyzed glacial till collected in 1993 from below 3 km of ice at Summit, Greenland. The till contains plant fragments, wood, insect parts, fungi, and cosmogenic nuclides showing that the bed of the GrIS at Summit is a long-lived, stable land surface preserving a record of deposition, exposure, and interglacial ecosystems. Knowing that central Greenland was tundra-covered during the Pleistocene informs the understanding of Arctic biosphere response to deglaciation.

Original language	English
Article number	e2407465121
Number of pages	3
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	121
Issue number	33
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2407465121
Publication status	Published - 13 Aug 2024

Keywords

cosmogenic
interglacial
paleobotany
paleoclimate

Programme Area

Programme Area 5: Nature and Climate

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1073/pnas.2407465121Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Bierman, P. R., Mastro, H. M., Peteet, D. M., Corbett, L. B., Steig, E. J., Halsted, C. T., Caffee, M. M., Hidy, A. J., Balco, G., Bennike, O., & Rock, B. (2024). Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(33), Article e2407465121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2407465121

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title = "Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times",

abstract = "The persistence and size of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) through the Pleistocene is uncertain. This is important because reconstructing changes in the GrIS determines its contribution to sea level rise during prior warm climate periods and informs future projections. To understand better the history of Greenland's ice, we analyzed glacial till collected in 1993 from below 3 km of ice at Summit, Greenland. The till contains plant fragments, wood, insect parts, fungi, and cosmogenic nuclides showing that the bed of the GrIS at Summit is a long-lived, stable land surface preserving a record of deposition, exposure, and interglacial ecosystems. Knowing that central Greenland was tundra-covered during the Pleistocene informs the understanding of Arctic biosphere response to deglaciation.",

keywords = "cosmogenic, interglacial, paleobotany, paleoclimate",

author = "Bierman, {Paul R.} and Mastro, {Halley M.} and Peteet, {Dorothy M.} and Corbett, {Lee B.} and Steig, {Eric J.} and Halsted, {Chris T.} and Caffee, {Marc M.} and Hidy, {Alan J.} and Greg Balco and Ole Bennike and Barry Rock",

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year = "2024",

month = aug,

day = "13",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.2407465121",

language = "English",

volume = "121",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

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publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

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Bierman, PR, Mastro, HM, Peteet, DM, Corbett, LB, Steig, EJ, Halsted, CT, Caffee, MM, Hidy, AJ, Balco, G, Bennike, O & Rock, B 2024, 'Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 121, no. 33, e2407465121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2407465121

Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times. / Bierman, Paul R.; Mastro, Halley M.; Peteet, Dorothy M. et al.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 121, No. 33, e2407465121, 13.08.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times

AU - Bierman, Paul R.

AU - Mastro, Halley M.

AU - Peteet, Dorothy M.

AU - Corbett, Lee B.

AU - Steig, Eric J.

AU - Halsted, Chris T.

AU - Caffee, Marc M.

AU - Hidy, Alan J.

AU - Balco, Greg

AU - Bennike, Ole

AU - Rock, Barry

PY - 2024/8/13

Y1 - 2024/8/13

N2 - The persistence and size of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) through the Pleistocene is uncertain. This is important because reconstructing changes in the GrIS determines its contribution to sea level rise during prior warm climate periods and informs future projections. To understand better the history of Greenland's ice, we analyzed glacial till collected in 1993 from below 3 km of ice at Summit, Greenland. The till contains plant fragments, wood, insect parts, fungi, and cosmogenic nuclides showing that the bed of the GrIS at Summit is a long-lived, stable land surface preserving a record of deposition, exposure, and interglacial ecosystems. Knowing that central Greenland was tundra-covered during the Pleistocene informs the understanding of Arctic biosphere response to deglaciation.

AB - The persistence and size of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) through the Pleistocene is uncertain. This is important because reconstructing changes in the GrIS determines its contribution to sea level rise during prior warm climate periods and informs future projections. To understand better the history of Greenland's ice, we analyzed glacial till collected in 1993 from below 3 km of ice at Summit, Greenland. The till contains plant fragments, wood, insect parts, fungi, and cosmogenic nuclides showing that the bed of the GrIS at Summit is a long-lived, stable land surface preserving a record of deposition, exposure, and interglacial ecosystems. Knowing that central Greenland was tundra-covered during the Pleistocene informs the understanding of Arctic biosphere response to deglaciation.

KW - cosmogenic

KW - interglacial

KW - paleobotany

KW - paleoclimate

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DO - 10.1073/pnas.2407465121

M3 - Article

C2 - 39102554

AN - SCOPUS:85200710415

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 121

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 33

M1 - e2407465121

ER -

Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland's ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times

Abstract

Keywords

Programme Area

UN SDGs

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