Staff Profile

Professor Mike Bentley, Geology BSc. (Hons) 1st Class, (Edinburgh); PhD (Edinburgh)

Researcher ID profile

Professor in the Department of Geography

Telephone: +44 (0) 191 33 41859

Fax: +44 (0)191 33 41801

Room number: 216

Contact Professor Mike Bentley (email at m.j.bentley@durham.ac.uk)

Biography

Director of the new Durham University Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC).

*** Masters or PhD project on Antarctica. Collaborative with British Antarctic Survey and Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany. ***

My research interests focus on Antarctic environmental history, especially the history of the ice sheet in the Antarctic Peninsula-Weddell Sea region. I have a number of current research themes at the moment:

i) Antarctic Ice Sheet History

This work combines glacial geomorphology and cosmogenic isotope surface exposure dating to try and infer past thickness (and extent) variations of ice sheets. I have also produced the first detailed relative sea level curves for the Antarctic Peninsula, which provide independent constraints on former ice sheet thickness. Areas of ongoing study include the Amundsen Sea area (Pine Island Glacier), southern Antarctic Peninsula and Alexander Island, Ellsworth Mountains, Pensacola Mountains, and South Georgia.

In most of these projects I collaborate closely with modellers, especially Richard Hindmarsh, Anne Le Brocq and Alun Hubbard (ice sheet models) and Pippa Whitehouse and Glenn Milne (Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling). This is a two-way process that allows the field data to be used as constraints for models and for models to direct site selection in future field campaigns. For example in the Ellsworth Mountains we developed an ice sheet model reconstruction of ice at the Last Glacial Maximum, using geomorphological evidence of former ice heights. The GIA modelling allows us to use new relative sea level data and geomorphololgical evidence of ice sheet change to constrain models of ice sheet history. In turn, these models can be used to correct satellite gravimetry measurements of present-day ice sheet mass balance.

ii) Antarctic Sub Glacial Lake Exploration

I am part of the Lake Ellsworth Consortium. www.ellsworth.org.uk This is a NERC-funded consortium that will drill into subglacial Lake Ellsworth in 2012-13. We will retrieve water and sediment samples with the aim to study life in extreme environments and deciphering long-term climate change and ice sheet behaviour. I am leading the phase of the project that will analyse sediement cores from the lake bed.

iii) Antarctic Ice Shelf History

With colleagues from British Antarctic Survey and Edinburgh University I completed a project on Antarctic Peninsula ice shelf history. We worked on a series of epishelf lakes along the margin of the George VI Ice Shelf, where a multi-proxy palaeolimnological approach provided a long-term perspective on ice shelf behaviour. This work was published in Geology in 2005.

iv) Glacial & Climate History of Southernmost South America

I have worked for several years as part of a team which is determining the glacial and environmental history of southernmost South America using a variety of approaches including glacial geomorphology, palaeoecology, and linked ice sheet-climate modelling. Our work in the Magellan Strait region was published in a Special Volume of Geografiska Annaler in 2005, and I am continuing collaborative research in the region.

Research Groups

Quaternary Environmental Change (QEC)

Research Projects

Research Interests

Antarctic environmental history
Antarctic ice sheet history
Antarctic ice shelf history
Cosmogenic dating
Falkland Islands palaeoenvironmental history
Glacial geomorphology
Global sea levels
Icelandic and Scottish deglaciation
Landslides
Raised shorelines and relative sea level change
South American glaciation
Subglacial lakes

Selected Publications

Journal papers: academic

Hodgson, D.A. & Bentley, M.J. Lake highstands in the Pensacola Mountains and Shackleton Range 4300–2250 cal. yr BP: Evidence of a warm climate anomaly in the interior of Antarctica. The Holocene. 2013;23:388-397.
Whitehouse, P.L., Bentley, M.J. & Le Brocq, A.M. A deglacial model for Antarctica: geological constraints and glaciological modelling as a basis for a new model of Antarctic glacial isostatic adjustment. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2012;32:1-24.
Whitehouse, P.L., Bentley, M.J., Milne, G.A., King, M.A. & Thomas, I.D. A new glacial isostatic adjustment model for Antarctica: calibrated and tested using observations of relative sea-level change and present-day uplift rates. Geophysical Journal International. 2012;190:1464-1482.
Shepherd, A., Ivins, E. R., Geruo, A., Barletta, V.B., Bentley, M.J., Bettadpur, S., Briggs, K.H., Bromwich, D.H., Forsberg, R., Galin, N., Horwath, M., Jacobs, S., Joughin, I., King, M.A., Lenaerts, J.T.M., Li, J., Ligtenberg, S.R.M., Luckman, A., Luthcke, S.B., McMillan, M., Meister, R., Milne, G., Mouginot, J., Muir, A., Nicolas, J.P., Paden, J., Payne, A.J., Pritchard, H., Rignot, E., Rott, H., Sørensen, L.S., Scambos, T.A., Scheuchl, B., Schrama, E.J.O., Smith, B., Sundal, A.V., van Angelen, J.H., van de Berg, W.J., van den Broeke, M.R., Vaughan, D.G., Velicogna, I., Wahr, J., Whitehouse, P.L., Wingham, D.J., Yi, D., Young, D. & Zwally, H.J. A Reconciled Estimate of Ice-Sheet Mass Balance. Science. 2012;338:1183-1189.
Siegert and the Ellsworth Consortium including & Bentley, M.J. Clean access, measurement and sampling of Antarctic subglacial lake environments. Reviews of Geophysics. 2012;50.
Lovell, H., Stokes, C.R., Bentley, M.J. & Benn, D.I. Evidence for rapid ice flow and proglacial lake evolution around the central Strait of Magellan region, southernmost Patagonia. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2012;27:625-638.
Hodgson, D.A., Bentley, M.J., Schnabel, C. & Cziferszky, A. Glacial geomorphology and cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al exposure ages in the northern Dufek Massif, Weddell Sea embayment, Antarctica. Antarctic Science. 2012;24:377-394.
King, M.A., Bingham, R.J., Moore, P., Whitehouse, P.L., Bentley, M.J. & Milne, G.A. Lower satellite-gravimetry estimates of Antarctic sea-level contribution. Nature. 2012;491:586–589.
Livingstone, S.J., Clark, C.D., Piotrowski, J.A., Tranter, M., Bentley, M.J., Hodson, A., Swift, D.A. & Woodward, J. Theoretical framework and diagnostic criteria for the identification of palaeo-subglacial lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2012;53:88-110.
Lovell, H., Stokes, C.R. & Bentley, M.J. A glacial geomorphological map of the Seno Skyring-Seno Otway-Strait of Magellan region, southernmost Patagonia. Journal of Maps. 2011;318-339.
Watcham, E.P., Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A., Roberts, S.J., Fretwell, P.T., Lloyd, J.M., Larter, R.D., Whitehouse, P.L., Leng, M.J., Monien, P. & Moreton, S.G. A new relative sea level curve for the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2011;30:3152.
Fogwill, C.J., Hein, A., Bentley, M.J. & Sugden, D.E. Do blue-ice moraines in the Heritage Range show the West Antarctic Ice-sheet survived the last interglacial?. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2011.
Roberts, S.J., Hodgson, D.A., Sterken, M., Verleyen, E., Vyverman, W., Sabbe, K., Balbo, A., Bentley, M.J. & Whitehouse, P.L. Geological constraints on glacio-isostatic adjustment models of relative sea-level change during deglaciation of Prince Gustav Channel, Antarctic Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2011;30:3603.
Johnson, J.S., Bentley, M.J., Roberts, S.J., Binnie, S. & Freeman, SP.H.T. Holocene deglacial history of the northeast Antarctic Peninsula - a review and new chronological constraints. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2011;30:3791-3802.
Ross, N., Siegert, M.J., Woodward, J., Smith, A.M., Corr, H., Bentley, M.J., Hindmarsh, R.C., King, E. & Rivera, A. Holocene stability of the Amundsen-Weddell ice divide, West Antarctica. Geology. 2011;39:935.
Bentley, M.J., Johnson, J.S., Hodgson, D.A., Dunai, T., Freeman, S.P.H.T. & O'Cofaigh, C. Rapid deglaciation of Marguerite Bay, western Antarctic Peninsula in the Early Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2011;30:3338-3349.
Le Brocq, A.M., Bentley, M.J., Fogwill, C.J., Hubbard, A.L., Sugden, D.E. & Whitehouse, P.L. Reconstructing the contribution of the Weddell Sea sector, Antarctica, to sea level rise since the last glacial maximum, using numerical modelling constrained by field evidence. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2011;30:2422.
Thomas, I., King, M.A., Bentley, M.J., Whitehouse, P.L., Penna, N.T., Williams, S.D.P., Riva, R.E.M., Lavallee, D.A., Clarke P.J., King, E.C., Hindmarsh, R.C.A. & Koivula, H Widespread low rates of Antarctic glacial isostatic adjustment revealed by GPS observations. Geophysical Research Letters. 2011;38.
Bentley, M.J., Fogwill, C.J., Le Brocq, A.M., Hubbard, A.L., Sugden, D.E., Dunai, T. & Freeman, S.P.H.T. Deglacial history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the Weddell Sea embayment: Constraints on past ice volume change. Geology. 2010;38:411-414.
Fretwell, P.T., Hodgson, D.A., Watcham, E.P., Bentley, M.J. & Roberts, S.J. Holocene isostatic uplift of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, modelled from raised beaches. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2010;29:1880-1893.
Bentley, M.J. The Antarctic palaeo record and its role in improving predictions of future Antarctic Ice Sheet change. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2010;25:5-18.
Convey, P., Bindschadler, R., di Prisco, G., Fahrbach, E., Gutt, J., Hodgson, D.A., Mayewski, P.A., Summerhayes, C.P., Turner, J. & The ACCE Consortium (incl Bentley M.J.) Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment. Antarctic Science. 2009;21541–563.
Hodgson, D.A., Roberts, S.J., Bentley, M.J., Smith, J.A., Johnson, J.S., Verleyen, E., Vyverman, W., Hodson, A.J., Leng, M.J., Cziferszky, A., Fox, A.J. & Sanderson, D.C.W. Exploring former subglacial Hodgson Lake, Antarctica Paper I: site description, geomorphology and limnology. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2009;28:2295–2309.
Hodgson, D.A., Roberts, S.J., Bentley, M.J., Carmichael, E.L., Smith, J.A., Verleyen, E., Vyverman, W., Geissler, P., Leng, M.J. & Sanderson, D.C.W. Exploring former subglacial Hodgson Lake, Antarctica. Paper II: palaeolimnology. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2009;28:2310-2325.
Lloyd, J.M., Bentley, M.J., Newton, A.J. & Norðdahl, H. Lateglacial to Holocene Relative Sea-Level Changes in the Reykjanesfjall Area, Northwest Iceland. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2009;24:816-831.
Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A., Smith, J.A., O Cofaigh, C., Domack, E.W., Larter, R.D., Roberts, S.J., Brachfeld, S., Leventer, A., Hjort, C., Hillenbrand, C-D. & Evans, J. Mechanisms of Holocene palaeoenvironmental change in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The Holocene. 2009;19:51-69.
Roberts, S.J., Hodgson, D.A., Bentley, M.J., Sanderson, D.C.W., Milne, G., Smith, J.A., Verleyen E., Balbo, A. & Sugden, D.E New constraints on deglaciation and relative sea-level change on Alexander Island, Antarctic Peninsula from elevated lake deltas. Geomorphology. 2009;112:122-134.
Hansom, J.D., Evans, D.J.A., Sanderson, D.C.W., Bingham, R.G. & Bentley, M.J. Constraining the age and formation of stone runs in the Falkland Islands using Optically Stimulated Luminescene. Geomorphology. 2008;94:117-130.
Johnson, J.S., Bentley, M.J. & Gohl, K. First exposure ages from the Amundsen Sea Embayment, West Antarctica: The Late Quaternary context for recent thinning of Pine Island, Smith and Pope Glaciers. Geology. 2008;36:223-226.
Wilson, P., Bentley, M.J., Schnabel, C., Clark, R. & Xu, S. Stone run (block stream) formation in the Falkland Islands over several cold stages, deduced from cosmogenic isotope (10Be and 26Al) surface exposure dating. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2008;23:461-473.
Le Brocq, A.M., Hubbard, A., Bentley, M.J. & Bamer, J.L. Subglacial topography inferred from ice surface terrain analysis reveals a large un-surveyed basin below sea level in East Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters. 2008;35:6.
Roberts, S.J., Hodgson, D.A., Bentley, M.J., Smith, J.A., Millar, I.L., Olive, V. & Sugden, D.E. The Holocene history of George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula from clast-provenance analysis of epishelf lake sediments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2008;259:258-283.
Mackie, E.A.V., Lloyd, J.M., Leng, M.J., Bentley, M.J. & Arrowsmith, C. Assessment of δ13C and C/N ratios in bulk organic matter as palaeosalinity indicators in Holocene and Lateglacial isolation basin sediments, northwest Scotland. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2007;22:579-591.
Siegert, M.J., Behar, A., Bentley, M.J., Blake, D., Bowden, S., Christoffersen, P., Cockell, C., Corr, H., Cullen, D.C., Edwards, H., Ellery, A., Ellis-Evans, C., Griffiths, G., Hindmarsh, R., Hodgson, D.A., King, E., Lamb, H., Lane, L., Makinson, K., Mowlem, M. Parnell, J., Pearce, D. A., Priscu, J. Rivera, A. Sephton, M.A., Sims, M.R., Smith, A.M., Tranter, M., Wadham, J.L., Wilson, G. & Woodward, J. Exploration of Ellsworth Subglacial Lake: a concept paper on the development, organisation and execution of an experiment to explore, measure and sample the environment of a West Antarctic subglacial lake. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology. 2007;6:161-179.
Smith, J.A., Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A. & Cook, A.J. George VI Ice Shelf: past history, present behaviour and potential mechanisms for future collapse. Antarctic Science. 2007;19:131-142.
Bentley, M.J., Evans, D.J.A., Fogwill, C.J., Hansom, J.D., Sugden, D.E. & Kubik, P.W. Glacial geomorphology and chronology of deglaciation, South Georgia, sub-Antarctic. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2007;26:644-677.
Bentley, M.J., Evans, D.J.A., Fogwill, C.J., Hansom, J.D., Sugden, D.E. & Kubik, P.W. Glacial geomorphology and chronology of deglaciation, South Georgia, sub-Antarctic: Reply to Comment by Van der Putten and Verbruggen. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2007;26:2684-2691.
Bassett, S.A., Milne, G.A., Bentley, M.J. & Huybrechts, P. Modelling Antarctic sea-level data to explore the possiblity of a dominant Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse IA. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2007;26:2113-2127.
Smith, J.A., Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A., Roberts, S.J., Verleyen, E., Leng, M.J., Lloyd, J.M., Barrett, M.J. & Sugden, D.E. Oceanic and atmospheric forcing of early Holocene ice shelf retreat, George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2007;26:500-516.
Hodgson, D.A., Bentley, M.J., Roberts, S.J., Smith, J.A., Sugden, D.E. & Domack, E.W. Examining Holocene stability of Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves. EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union. 2006;87:305-312.
Sugden, D.E., Bentley, M.J. & Ó Cofaigh, C. Geological and geomorphological insights into Antarctic ice sheet evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 2006;1-19.
Bentley, M.J., Fogwill, C.J., Kubik, P.W. & Sugden, D.E. Geomorphological evidence and cosmogenic 10Be/26A1 exposure ages for the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 2006;118:1149-1159.
Smith, J.A., Hodgson, D.A., Bentley, M.J., Verleyen, E., Leng, M.J. & Roberts, S.J. Limnology of two Antarctic epishelf lakes and their potential to record periods of ice shelf loss. Journal of Paleolimnology. 2006;35:373-394.
Bentley, M.J. Aerial Predation by a South Polar Skua Catharacta Maccormicki on a Snow Petrel Pagodroma nivea in Antarctica. Marine Ornithology. 2005;32:115-116.
McCulloch, R.D., Fogwill, C.J., Sugden, D.E., Bentley, M.J. & Kubik, P.W. Chronology of the Last Glaciation in Central Strait of Magellan and Bahía Inútil, Southernmost South America. Geografiska Annaler. 2005;87 A:289-312.
Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A., Sugden, D.E., Roberts, S.J., Smith, J.A., Leng, M.J. & Bryant, C. Early Holocene retreat of the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Geology. 2005;33:173-176.
McCulloch, R.D., Bentley, M.J., Tipping, R.M. & Clapperton, C.M. Evidence for Late-Glacial Ice Dammed Lakes in the Central Strait of Magellan and Bahía Inútil, Southernmost South America. Geografiska Annaler. 2005;87 A:335-362.
Bentley, M.J. & McCulloch, R.D. Impact of Neotectonics on the Record of Glacier and Sea Level Fluctuations, Strait of Magellan, Southern Chile. Geografiska Annaler. 2005;87 A:393-402.
Sugden, D.E., Bentley, M.J., Fogwill, C.J., Hulton, N.R.J., McCulloch, R.D. & Purves, R.S. Late-Glacial Glacier Events in Southernmost South America: A Blend of 'Northern' and 'Southern' Hemispheric Climatic Signals? Geografiska Annaler. 2005;87 A:273-288.
Bentley, M.J., Hodgson, D.A., Smith, J.A. & Cox, N.J. Relative sea level curves for the South Shetland Islands and Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2005;24:1203-1216.
Bentley, M.J., Sugden, D.E., Hulton, N.R.J. & McCulloch, R.D. The Landforms and Pattern of Deglaciation in the Strait of Magellan and Bahía Inútil, Southernmost South America. Geografiska Annaler, Series A: Physical Geography. 2005;87:313-333.
Fogwill, C.J., Bentley, M.J., Sugden, D.E., Kerr, A.R. & Kubik, P.W. Cosmogenic nuclides Be and Al imply limited Antarctic Ice Sheet thickening and low erosion in the Shackleton Range for > 1 m.y. Geology. 2004;32:265-268.
Moreton, S.G., Rosqvist, G.C., Davies, S.J. & Bentley, M.J. Radiocarbon reservoir ages from freshwater lakes, South Georgia, sub-Antarctic: Modern analogues from particulate organic matter and surface sediments. Radiocarbon. 2004;46:621-626.
Hulton, N.R.J., Purves, R.S., McCulloch, R.D., Sugden, D. & Bentley, M.J. The Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in southern South America. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2002;21:233-241.
Hjort, C., Bentley, M.J. & Ingolfsson, O. Holocene and pre-Holocene temporary disappearance of the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctic Science. 2001;13:296-301.
McCulloch, R.D., Bentley, M.J., Purves, R.S., Sugden, D.E. & Clapperton, C.M. Climatic interferences form glacial and palaeocological evidence at the last glacial termination, Southern South America. Journal of Quaternary Science. 2000;15:409-417.
Bentley, M.J. & Anderson, J.B. Glacial and marine geological evidence for the ice sheet configuration in the Weddell Sea-Antarctic Peninsula Region during the Last Glacial Maximum. Antarctic Science. 1999;10:307-323.
Bentley, M.J. Volume of Antarctic ice at the Last Glacial Maximum, and its impact on global sea level change. Quaternary Science Reviews. 1999;18:1569-1595.
McCulloch, R.D. & Bentley, M.J. Late glacial ice advance in the Strait of Magellan, southern Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews. 1998;17:775-787.
Bentley, M.J. Relative and radiocarbon chronology of adjacent former outlet glaciers in the Chilean Lake District. Journal of Quaternary Science. 1997;12:25-33.
Bentley, M.J. The role of lakes in moraine formation, Chilean Lake District. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 1996;21:493-507.

Books: sections

Ross, N. and the Lake Ellsworth Consortium (incl. & Bentley, M.J.) Subglacial Lake Ellsworth, West Antarctica: its history, recent field campaigns and plans for its exploration. In: Siegert, M.J., Kennicutt, M.C. & Bindschadler, R.A. Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments. American Geophysical Union; 2011:221.
Bentley, M.J., Christofferson, P., Hodgson, D.A., Smith, A.M., Tulaczyk, S. & Le Brocq, A.M. Subglacial lake sediments and sedimentary processes: potential archives of ice sheet evolution, past environmental change and the presence of life. In: Siegert, M.J., Kennicutt, M.C. & Bindschadler, R.A. Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments. American Geophysical Union; 2011:83.
Hodgson, D.A., and 32 others & (incl. Bentley, M.J.) Antarctic climate and environmental history in the pre-instrumental period. In: Turner, J. Bindschadler, R.A., Convey, P., Di Prisco, G., Fahrbach, E., Gutt, J., Hodgson, D.A., Mayewski, P.A. & Summerhayes, C.P. Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment. Cambridge: Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research; 2009.
Bentley, M.J. Will the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse?. In: Amin, A. & O’Neill, M. Thinking about almost everything: new ideas to light up the mind. London: Profile Books; 2009:92-93.
Ó Cofaigh, C. & Bentley, M.J. Late Quaternary Relative Sea Level Changes in High-Latitudes. In: Elias S. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier; 2007:3052-3064.
Hjort, C., Ingolfsson, O., Bentley, M.J. & Bjorck, S. Late Pleistocene and Holocene Glacial and Climate History of the Antarctic Peninsula Region: A brief overview of the land and lake record. In: Domack, E. Antarctic Peninsula Climate Variability: Antarctic Research Series 79. American Geophysical Union; 2003:95-101.
Bentley, M.J. & Dugmore, A.J. Landslides and the rate of glacial trough formation. In: Owen, L.A. Mountain Glaciation: Journal of Quaternary Science - Quaternary Proceedings. 1998:11-16.

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