The ellsworth subglacial highlands: Inception and retreat of the west Antarctic ice sheet

Antarctic subglacial highlands are where the Antarctic ice sheets first developed and the "pinning points" where retreat phases of the marine-based sectors of the ice sheet are impeded. Due to low ice velocities and limited present-day change in the ice-sheet interior, West Antarctic subglacial highlands have been overlooked for detailed study. These regions have considerable potential, however, for establishing the locations from which the West Antarctic Ice Sheet originated and grew, and its likely response to warming climates. Here, we characterize the subglacial morphology of the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands, West Antarctica, from ground-basedand aerogeophysical radio-echo sounding (RES) surveys and the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Mosaic of Antarctica. We document wellpreserved classic landforms associated with restricted, dynamic, marine-proximal alpine glaciation, with hanging tributary valleys feeding a significant overdeepened trough (the Ellsworth T...