Holocene deglaciation of the Bunger Hills revealed by 14 C measurements on stomach oil deposits in snow petrel colonies

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Verkulich, Sergey R., Hiller, Achim
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1994
• Subjects: Antarctic; Bunger Hills; Dronning Maud Land; The Antarctic; Untersee; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Snow Petrel
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102094000593; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102094000593

Solidified stomach oil deposits in snow petrel colonies in the Antarctic proved to be suitable for 14 C dating and provide important palaeobiogeographical and palaeoenvironmental information. Following earlier studies in the Untersee oasis (Central Dronning Maud Land) we present here 14 C measurements on comparable deposits from the Bunger Hills (66°10′S, 101°E). The conventional 14 C age of the basal layer reflects the occupation age of any particular nesting site and therefore a minimum age for the time when this area became ice-free. According to the 14 C results the occupation of the southern part of the Bunger Hills by petrels started about 10000yr ago. The breeding colonies expanded continuously following local ice retreat. The most intensive phases of colonization seem to have been from 8–6 kyr BP and during the past 2 kyr.