Dome C Ice Core Chemistry and Age Scale Data from Antarctica

Antarctica's Dome C ice core provides isotope, depth-age scale, CO2, and CH4 data. The 906-meter core spans approximately 32,000 years. It was retrieved during the 1977-78 Antarctic field season by the International Antarctic Glaciological project.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing past atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations from the ice core gas measurements.
• Calibrating the depth-age scale using the provided isotope and age data for chronological analysis.
• Analyzing climate proxies by correlating isotope data with the established 32,000-year time series.
• Studying glacial-interglacial cycles through the combined chemical and temporal records from the core.

Strengths

• Core depth of 906 meters provides a long physical record.
• Temporal coverage spans approximately 32,000 years.
• Includes multiple data types: isotopes, age scale, CO2, and CH4.

Limitations

• Data is from a single core location (Dome C), limiting spatial representativeness.
• Core was drilled in 1977-78, so newer analytical techniques have not been applied to the original material.
• Specific row counts, column details, and sample resolution are unknown.

Provenance

Source

International Antarctic Glaciological project, retrieved via NASA Earthdata from AMD_USAPDC.

Collection Method

Data from a thermally drilled ice core.

Time Range

Approximately 32,000 years before present.

Geography

Dome C, Antarctica.