Lake sediment stratigraphy, radiocarbon chronology, geochemically characterized tephra and mineralogy reveal ice-free conditions on coastal Spitsbergen during Last Glacial, supplement to: van der Bilt, Willem G M; Lane, Christine S (2019): Lake sediments with Azorean tephra reveal ice-free conditions on coastal northwest Spitsbergen during the Last Glacial Maximum. Science Advances, 5(10), eaaw5980

• Main Authors: van der Bilt, Willem G M, Lane, Christine S
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 2019
• Subjects: Arctic; Svalbard; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.907862; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.907862

This dataset characterizes the first pre-Holocene lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard. Three bryophyte-derived 14C ages reveal that the targeted sequences was deposited between 30 and 20 ka BP - indicating ice-free and vegetated conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum. We also fingerprint a new volcanic ash (tephra) marker, whose distinct shard maximum and homogeneous geochemistry suggest direct deposition by air fall, as well as an Azorean provenance. We also present X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) mineralogical data from the presented sediments to allay concerns about the impact of old carbon on the presented radiocarbon ages.