Antarctic Ice Sheet Thickness Changes from Cosmogenic Carbon-14 Measurements

Geochemical measurements of in-situ-produced cosmogenic carbon-14 in quartz from Antarctic rock samples, used to reconstruct ice sheet size and thickness over the past approximately 15,000 years. The project was conducted by AMD_USAPDC, applying a relatively new technology to samples from the Weddell Sea embayment, with data last updated in April 2021.

Use Cases

• Reconstruct past ice sheet thickness in the Weddell Sea sector using cosmogenic carbon-14 concentrations from rock samples.
• Calibrate exposure-age chronologies of Antarctic deglaciation by analyzing in-situ-produced isotope data.
• Model the contribution of Antarctic ice sheets to global sea level change over the past 15,000 years based on geochemical measurements.
• Compare ice volume change timelines from different Antarctic regions using sample location and isotope measurement data.

Strengths

• Focuses on a critical data gap for the Weddell Sea embayment sector of Antarctica.
• Applies a relatively new cosmogenic carbon-14 measurement technology for improved chronological resolution.
• Provides temporal coverage for ice sheet change spanning approximately 15,000 years.

Limitations

• Specific sample count, row count, and measurement precision metrics are unknown.
• Geographic coverage is limited primarily to the Weddell Sea embayment region of Antarctica.
• Data recency is unclear as the last platform update was in 2021.

Provenance

Source

AMD_USAPDC

Collection Method

Geochemical measurements of in-situ-produced cosmogenic carbon-14 in quartz from previously collected Antarctic rock samples.

Time Range

Past approximately 15,000 years

Freshness

Last updated on the platform in 2021-04-30.

Geography

Antarctica, with a focus on the Weddell Sea embayment