The Ross Sea record of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; similar to 16.9-14.7 Ma) and the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (MMCT; similar to 14.7-13.8 Ma) provides critical insights into Antarctic ocean-cryosphere interactions during a time of extreme warmth and subsequent cooling. Here we report on Lower to Middle Miocene foraminiferal assemblages from the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Site U1521 on the outer shelf of the central Ross Sea to identify regional shifts in environmental and water mass conditions and trace continental shelf evolution. We identified seven benthic biofacies clusters, dominated by abundant Globocassidulina subglobosa (a proposed indicator of proto-Circumpolar Deep Water, pCDW), Uvigerina cf. U. fueguina (high productivity and enhanced bottom-water currents), Nonionella spp. (high productivity), or Melonis spp. (high productivity) using a Q-mode cluster analysis to develop preliminary regional paleoenvironmental interpretations. Four unique assemblages, including Globobulimina cf. G. auriculata (high productivity and low oxygen), are also identified.Unit IV (representing the early MCO event) is a short-lived (similar to 80 ka), progradational, clast-poor sandy diamictite, likely deposited during deglaciation; the upper part of Unit IV is transitional with overlying Unit III. Unit IV sediments contain the most persistently abundant and diverse foraminiferal assemblages recovered at U1521 because they are mud-rich and diatom-poor, despite very high sedimentation rates. The benthic assemblages shift between Globocassidulina and Uvigerina dominance, suggesting changes in the pCDW influence relative to productivity and/or current activity. We suggest the abundance of Uvigerina (a shelf-edge proxy) in Unit IV records the northward progradation of the Ross continental shelf at this location during the late Early to Middle Miocene.Unit III (MCO) was deposited in an open-marine setting, evident by the ice-rafted detritus or debris (IRD) clast-free, diatom-rich/diatom-bearing muds. The sporadic nature of foraminiferal abundances in Unit III is likely due to intervals of terrigenous mud alternating with more diatom-rich/diatom-bearing muds. As in Unit IV, the muddier lithologies (higher natural gamma ray (NGR) values) are more likely to preserve calcareous foraminifera, whereas the most diatom-rich sediments (lower NGR values) are more corrosive to carbonate. We interpret the muddier intervals as interglacials with incursions of pCDW, as indicated by increased Globocassidulina subglobosa, and sporadic occurrences of rare warmer-water planktic foraminifera. Collectively, these multiple incursions of warmer-water planktic foraminifera provide evidence for polar amplification in the Ross Sea during the MCO and MMCT. The diatom-rich muds are interpreted as glacials during the MCO with open-marine conditions and higher productivity. The dominance of Globobulimina in the upper part of Unit III corresponds with the carbon maximum of Carbon Maxima 2 (CM2) and low-oxygen conditions in the sediments at similar to 16.1 Ma. Subsequent glaciation (including Mi2, Miocene Isotope event 2), marine-based ice sheet grounding, and erosion on the shallow shelf are recorded by the widespread Ross Sea Unconformity 4 (RSU4; similar to 15.95-14.2 Ma) at Site U1521. Unit II (MMCT) likely represents sedimentation in the interval between the RSU4 and the Mi3 (Miocene Isotope event 3) glaciation at similar to 13.9-13.8 Ma. The benthic biofacies composition of Unit II shows a further increase in neritic taxa, including Elphidium magellanicum and Epistominella vitrea, suggesting continued shoaling of the continental shelf, which facilitated the growth of marine-based ice sheets during the Middle Miocene.Our initial correlation between Site U1521 and the ANtarctic geological DRILLing Project (ANDRILL) site, AND-2A, yields similar environmental interpretations, including peak warm events 3 and 4 during the MCO, supported by the foraminifera and unit lithologies. Suspected glacial intervals during the MCO, including Mi2 at the top of Unit III, correlate well with the reconstructed deep-sea estimates of ice volume changes (seawater delta 18Osw record) from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1171 on the South Tasman Rise.

Logging data are measurements of physical properties of the formation surrounding a borehole, acquired in situ after completion of coring (wireline logging) or during drilling (Logging-While-Drilling, LWD). The range of data (resistivity, gamma radiation, velocity, density, borehole images,…) in any hole depends on the scientific objectives and operational constraints.

Additional information regarding methods (Reflection seismic processing, Drill-site measurements, Core-log-seismic correlations, Spatial Velocity calculations, and Reflection Tomography model) and regional stratigraphy descriptions, as well as detailed considerations regarding the opal distribution and depth.

R.M. McKay, L. De Santis, D.K. Kulhanek, J.L. Ash, F. Beny, I.M. Browne, G. Cortese, I.M. Cordeiro de Sousa, J.P. Dodd, O.M. Esper, J.A. Gales, D.M. Harwood, S. Ishino, B.A. Keisling, S. Kim, S. Kim, J.S. Laberg, R.M. Leckie, J. Müller, M.O. Patterson, B.W. Romans, O.E. Romero, F. Sangiorgi, O. Seki, A.E. Shevenell, S.M. Singh, S.T. Sugisaki, T. van de Flierdt, T.E. van Peer, W. Xiao, and Z. Xiong2

P-wave velocity data were measured on undisturbed section halves using pairs of piezoelectric transducers mounted in bayonets that are inserted into soft sediment along the JRSO-defined y-axis and/or z-axis. Report includes P-wave velocity in y and/or z direction, bayonet separation, traveltime between transducers, and first arrival picks.

Magnetic susceptibility was measured on whole-round sections (and rarely section halves) on the Whole-Round Multisensor Logger (WRMSL) and/or Special Task Multisensor Logger (STMSL) using a Bartington MS2 meter and a 90 mm or 80 mm MS2C loop. As volume of the sample is not controlled for this experiment, susceptibility units are recorded in instrument units and are not volume-corrected.

The marine-based West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is currently locally retreating because of shifting wind-driven oceanic currents that transport warm waters toward the ice margin, resulting in ice shelf thinning and accelerated mass loss. Previous results from geologic drilling on Antarctica’s continental margins show significant variability in ice sheet extent during the late Neogene and Quaternary. Climate and ice sheet models indicate a fundamental role for oceanic heat in controlling ice sheet variability over at least the past 20 My. Although evidence for past ice sheet variability is available from ice-proximal marine settings, sedimentary sequences from the continental shelf and rise are required to evaluate the extent of past ice sheet variability and the associated forcings and feedbacks. International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 374 drilled a latitudinal and depth transect of five sites from the outer continental shelf to rise in the central Ross Sea to resolve Neogene and Quaternary relationships between climatic and oceanic change and WAIS evolution. The Ross Sea was targeted because numerical ice sheet models indicate that this sector of Antarctica responds sensitively to changes in ocean heat flux. Expedition 374 was designed for optimal data-model integration to enable an improved understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) mass balance during warmer-than-present climates (e.g., the Pleistocene “super interglacials,” the mid-Pliocene, and the Miocene Climatic Optimum). The principal goals of Expedition 374 were to • Evaluate the contribution of West Antarctica to far-field ice volume and sea level estimates; • Reconstruct ice-proximal oceanic and atmospheric temperatures to quantify past polar amplification; • Assess the role of oceanic forcing (e.g., temperature and sea level) on AIS variability; • Identify the sensitivity of the AIS to Earth’s orbital configuration under a variety of climate boundary conditions; and • Reconstruct Ross Sea paleobathymetry to examine relationships between seafloor geometry, ice sheet variability, and global climate. To achieve these objectives, postcruise studies will • Use data and models to reconcile intervals of maximum Neogene and Quaternary ice advance and retreat with far-field records of eustatic sea level; • Reconstruct past changes in oceanic and atmospheric temperatures using a multiproxy approach; • Reconstruct Neogene and Quaternary sea ice margin fluctuations and correlate these records to existing inner continental shelf records; • Examine relationships among WAIS variability, Earth’s orbital configuration, oceanic temperature and circulation, and atmospheric pCO2; and • Constrain the timing of Ross Sea continental shelf overdeepening and assess its impact on Neogene and Quaternary ice dynamics. Expedition 374 departed from Lyttelton, New Zealand, in January 2018 and returned in March 2018. We recovered 1292.70 m of R.M. McKay et al. Expedition 374 summary IODP Proceedings 2 Volume 374 high-quality core from five sites spanning the early Miocene to late Quaternary. Three sites were cored on the continental shelf (Sites U1521, U1522, and U1523). At Site U1521, we cored a 650 m thick sequence of interbedded diamictite and diatom-rich mudstone penetrating seismic Ross Sea Unconformity 4 (RSU4). The depositional reconstructions of past glacial and open-marine conditions at this site will provide unprecedented insight into environmental change on the Antarctic continental shelf during the late early and middle Miocene. At Site U1522, we cored a discontinuous late Miocene to Pleistocene sequence of glacial and glaciomarine strata from the outer shelf with the primary objective of penetrating and dating RSU3, which is interpreted to reflect the first continental shelf– wide expansion of East and West Antarctic ice streams. Site U1523, located on the outer continental shelf, targeted a sediment drift beneath the westward-flowing Antarctic Slope Current (ASC) to test the hypothesis that changes in ASC vigor regulate ocean heat flux onto the continental shelf and thus ice sheet mass balance. We also cored two sites on the continental rise and slope. At Site U1524, we recovered a Plio–Pleistocene sedimentary sequence from the levee of the Hillary Canyon, one of the largest conduits of Antarctic Bottom Water from the continental shelf to the abyssal ocean. Site U1524 was designed to penetrate into middle Miocene and older strata, but coring was initially interrupted by drifting sea ice that forced us to abandon coring in Hole U1524A at 399.5 m drilling depth below seafloor (DSF). We moved to a nearby alternate site on the continental slope (Site U1525) to core a single hole designed to complement the record at Site U1524. We returned to Site U1524 after the sea ice cleared and cored Hole U1524C with the rotary core barrel system with the intention of reaching the target depth of 1000 m DSF. However, we were forced to terminate Hole U1524C at 441.9 m DSF because of a mechanical failure with the vessel that resulted in termination of all drilling operations and forced us to return to Lyttelton 16 days earlier than scheduled. The loss of 39% of our operational days significantly impacted our ability to achieve all Expedition 374 objectives. In particular, we were not able to recover continuous middle Miocene sequences from the continental rise designed to complement the discontinuous record from continental shelf Site U1521. The mechanical failure also meant we could not recover cores from proposed Site RSCR-19A, which was targeted to obtain a high-fidelity, continuous record of upper Neogene and Quaternary pelagic/hemipelagic sedimentation. Despite our failure to recover a continental shelf-to-rise Miocene transect, records from Sites U1522, U1524, and U1525 and legacy cores from the Antarctic Geological Drilling Project (ANDRILL) can be integrated to develop a shelf-to-rise Plio–Pleistocene transect.

R.M. McKay, L. De Santis, D.K. Kulhanek, J.L. Ash, F. Beny, I.M. Browne, G. Cortese, I.M. Cordeiro de Sousa, J.P. Dodd, O.M. Esper, J.A. Gales, D.M. Harwood, S. Ishino, B.A. Keisling, S. Kim, S. Kim, J.S. Laberg, R.M. Leckie, J. Müller, M.O. Patterson, B.W. Romans, O.E. Romero, F. Sangiorgi, O. Seki, A.E. Shevenell, S.M. Singh, S.T. Sugisaki, T. van de Flierdt, T.E. van Peer, W. Xiao, and Z. Xiong2

Bulk magnetic susceptibility and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) were measured on discrete samples using an Agico KLY-4 KappaBridge susceptibility meter. Report includes individual and average principal susceptibilities, inclination and declination of principal susceptibilities, and volume-corrected bulk susceptibility.

Elemental peak intensities in section halves were measured by an Avaatech X-ray fluorescence (XRF) Core Scanner postexpedition. Each measurement position may be measured at multiple XRF conditions in order to excite and measure specific ranges of elements (e.g., 10 kV and no filter for light elements). Peak intensity changes (concentrations not provided) are then used to help recognize and define major chemostratigraphic units without the need for destructive sampling. Data are presented in comma-delimited (CSV) files by section and by energy/instrumental conditions.

A diverse assemblage of marine inicroplankton was recovered from lower Mioccne and Quaternary strata from the Cape Roberts Project drillhole.CRP-1.McMurdo Sound.This is the first diverse assemblage of marine palynomorphs of Miocene age rccovcred from the Antarctic continent.As well as foraminiferal linings and arthropod1 annelid parts.the in situ marine palynomorph assemblage can be subdivided into three groups: prasinophyte algae, acritarchs anddinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts).The prasinophyte algae are the most diverse and abundant: nine species are recognised.leiosphaerids and cyma[iosphaerids dominate.Seven species of acritarchs have been identified and arc dominated by Sigmopollis sp. and an unknown form referred to here as Acritarch 1.In situ dinocysts make up a sparse but moderately diverse group of nine species.Their greatest abundance and diversity occurs below 39.06 mbsf in the lower Miocene part of the section.It is suspected that most dinocysts recovered from above this level are a result of reworking.Almost all the in situ species are new.The prasinophytes and acritarchs are listed in open nomenclature pending more detailed investigations.whereas most new species of dinoeysts are described forn~ally.Several species of reworked dinocysts were recorded dominantly from lower Miocene strata.

Moisture and density (MAD) data were acquired on ~10 mL sediment or rock samples by measuring three out of four material parameters: wet (saturated) mass, wet volume, dry mass, and/or dry volume after 24 h drying in a convection oven at 105 degrees C. From the moisture and volume measurements, the following phase relationships are calculated: wet and dry water content, wet bulk density, dry bulk density, grain density, porosity, and void ratio. The combination of measurements is defined by the submethod chosen: A, B, C, or D. Wet (A, B, or C) and dry (A, B, C, or D) mass is determined using motion-compensated balances. Wet volume is determined either by helium pycnometry (A) or by the sample's geometric dimensions using calipers (A or D). Dry volume (C or D) is measured by helium pycnometry. Submethods A and B are not recommended by IODP. Submethod C is suitable for saturated materials such as fine-grained sediments. Submethod D is suitable for unsaturated porous material such as certain limestones and basalts.

The AGICO spinner magnetometer, Model

R.M. McKay, L. De Santis, D.K. Kulhanek, J.L. Ash, F. Beny, I.M. Browne, G. Cortese, I.M. Cordeiro de Sousa, J.P. Dodd, O.M. Esper, J.A. Gales, D.M. Harwood, S. Ishino, B.A. Keisling, S. Kim, S. Kim, J.S. Laberg, R.M. Leckie, J. Müller, M.O. Patterson, B.W. Romans, O.E. Romero, F. Sangiorgi, O. Seki, A.E. Shevenell, S.M. Singh, S.T. Sugisaki, T. van de Flierdt, T.E. van Peer, W. Xiao, and Z. Xiong2

Salinity was measured on interstitial water (IW) samples using an optical refractometer.

Report includes data for individual core sections: coring/drilling depths and recovery, database identifiers for the whole section and section halves, and number of samples taken from the section before and after splitting.

Report includes detailed information about samples taken for testing: location/depth, type/form factor, test, request number, and database identifier.