Sterols in Antarctic sediments from the Schollaert Drift can be used to date sediment horizons, but 26 of 38 analyzed samples contained less than 0.05 ppm sterols, a major problem for dating older targets. This dataset from NASA EarthData contains radiocarbon ages of sterols and total organic carbon from Weddell Sea and Gerlache Strait sediments. It was produced by the organization SCIOPS for integration with oceanographic and sedimentological studies.
Use Cases
- Assess the viability of sterol biomarkers for sediment dating in Antarctic environments based on the described concentration thresholds.
- Compare sterol concentrations in polar versus temperate/tropical sediments based on the described latitudinal differences.
- Integrate radiocarbon dates with oceanographic conditions in the Weddell Sea as mentioned in the description.
- Identify sediment horizons suitable for dating based on sterol concentrations exceeding 0.3 ppm.
Strengths
- Includes data from a specific, successfully dated core location (Schollaert Drift).
- Provides a practical analysis threshold (0.3 ppm sterols) for dating viability.
- Compares Antarctic sterol concentrations (often <0.05 ppm) with those from temperate/tropical latitudes (often >1 ppm).
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA EarthData
- Collection Method
- Analysis of sterols and total organic carbon from sediment cores.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Weddell Sea and Gerlache Strait, Antarctica