Radiometric dating, geochemical proxies, and predator biological remains obtained from aquatic sediment cores on South Georgia Island.

This data set contains radiometric dating measurements from two aquatic sediment cores excavated from two separate sites (Salisbury Plain and Gold Harbor) on South Georgia Island in February 2019. It also contains biological and geochemical sediment proxy values from both sediment cores, including t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kristan, Allyson, Maiti, Kanchan, Mcmahon, Kelton, Polito, Michael
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Data Center 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.15784/601509
https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601509
Description
Summary:This data set contains radiometric dating measurements from two aquatic sediment cores excavated from two separate sites (Salisbury Plain and Gold Harbor) on South Georgia Island in February 2019. It also contains biological and geochemical sediment proxy values from both sediment cores, including total carbon (%), total nitrogen (%), number of penguin feathers and eggshell fragments, number of seal hairs, and δ13C and δ15N stable isotope values. Cores were sectioned at 1cm intervals, and radiometric dating analyses were conducted on sediment fractions <850 µm by measuring for 210Pb and 226Ra (via 214Pb) by direct gamma counting using the high purity germanium planar detector in the Marine Geochemistry Laboratory at Louisiana State University (LSU). The 210Pbex profiles were used to calculate sedimentation rates using a steady state model that assumes constant rate of supply and constant sedimentation rate (Maiti et al., 2010). Geochemical analyses were performed on sediment fractions <125 µm using an Elemental Analyzer-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA-IRMS) in the Stable Isotope Ecology Lab at LSU. Biological counts of feathers and hairs were determined by enumeration using a dissecting microscope of sediment fractions >1000 µm. The data set also includes sediment core excavation site names and coordinates, date of excavation, sediment depth and age, and carbon to nitrogen isotopic ratios. Details of the data set and all relevant methods are provided in Kristan et al., 2021.