Antarctic ice sheet evolution from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present day constrained by relative sea-level variations

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Antarctic ice sheet extent is relatively well constrained with an ice sheet reaching to the continental shelf edge in most places. The ice mass stored in the ice sheet and especially the ice sheet mass loss evolution since the Last Glacial Maximum is more debated. Reconstructed relative sea-level (RSL) variations along the Antarctic coast capture the interplay between ice mass changes, variations in the isostatic response and gravitational forces between the ocean water and the ice mass and therefore, can aid to reconstruct the Antarctic ice sheet evolution from the LGM to the present day.

Here we use the Antarctic ice sheet model AISMPALEO that includes a spatially variable Elastic Lithosphere Relaxing Asthenosphere isostasy model with an approximation of the gravitational consistent sea level equation. A large suite of Antarctic ice sheet model simulations is performed and analyzed from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present-day. The simulations are forced by different global sea-level reconstructions, PMIP4 climate model output for the ocean and the atmosphere and different Earth rheological parameters in the isostasy model. The model runs are compared with published datasets of relative sea-level along the coast of Antarctica to derive the best agreement between the RSL data and the Antarctic ice sheet evolution.