The stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is critical for global climate regulation, influencing planetary albedo, sea ice extent, and ocean circulation. However, the non-linear relationship between climatic warming and ice-sheet mass loss remains poorly constrained. Improving our understanding of EAIS sensitivity to warming requires investigation of past glacier dynamics under analogous climatic conditions.

Here, we present new records from three marine sediment cores collected on the Denman Marine Voyage on the RSV Nuyina off the coast of the Denman Glacier. These sediment records target Pleistocene intervals with climatic conditions comparable to and warmer than the Holocene. Grain size and Ice Rafted Debris (IRD) flux records show a significant IRD increase during MIS5e on the northern and western Bruce Rise, whereas on the southern Bruce Rise, closer to the Denman Glacier, we see a large influx of IRD at the end of MIS5, suggesting the Denman Glacier may respond to climatic conditions differently to other East Antarctic glacier systems.

Combined with analysis of depositional environmental characteristics, variation in paleocurrent strength, and provenance of silt-sized detritus, these findings provide insight into the behaviour of the Denman region, which holds a potential of 1.5m of sea level rise. This will inform how this region may respond to future ocean and atmospheric warming.