Equivalent dose, dose rate and age determination of cobble surfaces in the Antarctic

• Main Authors: Simms, Alexander R, DeWitt, Regina, Kouremenos, Peter, Drewry, Ann Marie
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2011
• Subjects: Age; dated; error; Ardley Island; Maxwell Bay; King George Island; Antarctic Peninsula; Area/locality; Calculated; Dose rate; sediment; ELEVATION; Equivalent dose; relative; Event label; HAND; LATITUDE; LONGITUDE; NBP07-03_AI; NBP07-03_Land; NBP07-03_PT; NBP07-03_SH; OUTCROP; Outcrop sample; Potter Cove; Sample ID; Sampling by hand; South Shetland Islands; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Raised Beach; Ardley; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.818413; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.818413

Most current methods of reconstructing past sea levels within Antarctica rely on radiocarbon dating. However, radiocarbon dating is limited by the availability of material for dating and problems inherent with radiocarbon reservoirs in Antarctic marine systems. Here we report on the success of a new approach to dating raised beach deposits in Antarctica for the purpose of reconstructing past sea levels. This new approach is the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) on quartz-grains obtained from the underside of cobbles within raised beaches and boulder pavements. We obtained eight OSL dates from three sites along the shores of Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula. These dates are internally consistent and fit well with previously published radiocarbon ages obtained from the same deposits. In addition, when the technique was applied to a modern beach, it resulted in an age of zero. Our results suggest that this method will provide a valuable tool in the reconstruction of past sea levels in Antarctica and other coarse-grained beach deposits across the globe.