Radiometric 81Kr dating identifies 120,000-year-old ice at Taylor Glacier, Antarctica

Past variations in Earth’s climate and atmospheric composition are recorded in accumulating polar meteoric ice and the air trapped within it. Ice outcrops provide accessible archives of old ice but are difficult to date reliably. Here we demonstrate 81Kr radiometric dating of ice, allowing accurate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Buizert, Christo, Baggenstos, Daniel, Jiang, Wei, Purtschert, Roland, Petrenko, Vasilii V., Lu, Zheng-Tian, Müller, Peter, Kuhl, Tanner, Lee, James, Severinghaus, Jeffrey P., Brook, Edward J.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2014
Subjects:
Physical Sciences
Taylor Glacier
Antarc*
Antarctica
ice core
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4024921
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24753606
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320329111
Description
Summary:Past variations in Earth’s climate and atmospheric composition are recorded in accumulating polar meteoric ice and the air trapped within it. Ice outcrops provide accessible archives of old ice but are difficult to date reliably. Here we demonstrate 81Kr radiometric dating of ice, allowing accurate dating of up to 1.5 million-year-old ice. The technique successfully identifies valuable ice from the previous interglacial period at Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. Our method will enhance the scientific value of outcropping sites as archives of old ice needed for paleoclimatic reconstructions and can aid efforts to extend the ice core record further back in time.

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