Sediment Cores from Beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica

Two sediment cores (AM01b and AM02) collected from beneath the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica by the Australian Ocean Data Network. The dataset describes physical sedimentation patterns, lithology, and includes 14C ages and diatom abundance data to infer sub-ice shelf sediment transport pathways. The data was last updated on 2026-04-16.

Use Cases

• Modeling sub-ice shelf circulation patterns based on sediment transport pathway indicators.
• Contrasting sedimentation at sites of basal freezing versus basal melting based on core lithology.
• Dating Holocene sedimentation events using corrected 14C ages and diatom assemblages.
• Investigating the influence of localized topography on sediment distribution beneath ice shelves.

Strengths

• Provides a direct physical record from two specific sites beneath a major Antarctic ice shelf.
• Includes multiple data types: lithology, 14C surface ages, absolute diatom abundance, and diatom assemblage.
• Contrasts sedimentological signatures from sites of basal freezing (AM01b) and basal melting (AM02).

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The description notes potential contamination by recycled organic matter affecting the basal age of core AM01b.
• Data format is listed as HTML, which may not be a standard structured data format for analysis.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network via data_gov_au.

Collection Method

Physical collection of two sediment cores from beneath the Amery Ice Shelf.

Time Range

Includes Holocene sediments and a basal age of approximately 28,250 14C years BP for core AM01b.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-16 08:54:42.139396; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Beneath the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica; Prydz Bay region.