Erosional landscapes of the Transantarctic Mountains produced by East Antarctic subglacial water?

The future response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to climate change and its consequent effect on global sea level remains a pressing problem, with implications for societal well-being, the economy, and national security. Projections of future ice-sheet behavior rely in part on understanding gained from ice-sheet response to past climate change, which can be found in geologic records. This project uses geologic features produced at the base of the ice sheet to examine a large change in EAIS behavior and to place ages on when this change occurred. By comparison to climate records from the same time, the project results will allow assessment of ice-sheet response to a climate that likely was warmer than at present. Such information will improve understanding of possible ice-sheet responses to a warming climate, as well as the underlying mechanisms. A better assessment of the likely EAIS response to future warming climate will aid in setting national and international policy and improve public welfare, by promoting more accurate predictions of the amounts and rates of sea-level rise. This project will contribute to the education of young scientists, thereby increasing the STEM workforce, which is in the national interest. A general-audience book will be produced to explain the importance of Antarctica to the public.