Modeling Paleobathymetry in the Southern Ocean

Abstract

About 200 million years ago, the landmass that would eventually become Antarctica was temperate and was a part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Shifting plates gradually brought the proto‐Antarctic continent to a near‐polar latitude roughly 100 million years ago. However, the present‐day ice sheet that blankets the continent did not begin to form until about 35 million years ago. Although a polar position was presumed necessary to support continental glaciation, it clearly was not a sufficient one.