Compound-Specific 14 C Dating of IODP Expedition 318 Core U1357A Obtained Off the Wilkes Land Coast, Antarctica

• Published in: Radiocarbon
• Main Authors: Yamane, Masako, Yokoyama, Yusuke, Miyairi, Yosuke, Suga, Hisami, Matsuzaki, Hiroyuki, Dunbar, Robert B, Ohkouchi, Naohiko
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2014
• Subjects: East Antarctica; Southern Ocean; Wilkes Land; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/56.17773; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822200050062

This study applied compound-specific radiocarbon analysis (CSRA) to a 186-m-long sediment core (U1357A) taken from Adélie Basin located on the continental shelf off Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. The CSRA targeted C 16 fatty acid as well as C 16 ., fatty acid and cyclopheophorbide- a -enol isolated from the sediment. Due to their high degradation rate, these compounds are expected to occur in low abundances in relict organic matter deposited at this site. Twelve compound-specific (CS) 14 C ages were obtained that are mostly consistent with their stratigraphic order. The CS 14 C results of all samples are Holocene in age (9800 to 440 cal BP). These results suggest that significant sedimentation started ∼10,000 cal BP. Moreover, the data suggest that 14 C measurements of C 16:1 fatty acid and cyclopheophorbide- a -enol are useful for dating sediments from the Southern Ocean.