Antarctic paleoclimatic and paleoglacial history: building on programs, operations and results from IPY (Invited)

Following the spectacular results from geoscientific activities in Antarctica during the IPY, future payoffs look inevitably strong when developed with planning and further innovations. A number of programs were established in Antarctica as part of the IPY having the aim of developing a better understanding of past responses of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to paleoclimatic warming events and associated polar paleoenvironmental changes. Geological drilling records dominate these outcomes but these data were then used to constrain GCM and ice sheet modeling in innovative ways never before attempted. The outcomes significantly changed our view of Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior, its history, and potential forcers. These outcomes now can be used as a base-line understanding on which new scientific questions can be formulated and used to develop new strategies and field campaigns for data collection. SCAR’s ACE program, working with groups from projects like ANDRILL, IODP, SHALDRIL, PAGES’ BIPOMAC, FASTDRILL, WISSARD and other SCAR initiatives plan an impressive array of questions to address and potential targets for future science activities. They plan on providing new insights into not only Antarctic geological history, but also ice sheet dynamics, its drivers and responses, that can contribute to strengthening predictions of the future relevant for IPCC analysis.