Towards radiocarbon dating of ice cores

M. Sigl (1, 2, 3) , T. M. Jenk (4) , T. Kellerhals (1, 2) , S. Szidat (2) , H. W. Gäggeler (1, 2) , L. Wacker (5) , H.-A. Synal (5) , Claude F. Boutron (6) , C. Barbante (7, 8) , J. Gabrieli (8) , M. Schwikowski (1, 3)

1 PSI - Paul Scherrer Institute
2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
3 OCCR - Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research
4 Centre for Ice and Climate [Copenhagen]
5 Ion Beam Physics
6 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
7 Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR
8 Environmental Sciences Department

A recently developed dating method for glacier ice, based on the analysis of radiocarbon in carbonaceous aerosol particles, is thoroughly investigated. We discuss the potential of this method to achieve a reliable dating using examples from a mid- and a low-latitude ice core. Two series of samples from Colle Gnifetti (4450 m a.s.l., Swiss Alps) and Nevado Illimani (6300 m a.s.l., Bolivian Andes) demonstrate that the 14C ages deduced from the water-insoluble organic carbon fraction represent the age of the ice. Sample sizes ranged between 7 and 100 μg carbon. For validation we compare our results with those from independent dating. This new method is thought to have major implications for dating non-polar ice cores in the future, as it provides complementary age information for time periods not accessible with common dating techniques.

Domains: Glaciology

M. Sigl, T. M. Jenk, T. Kellerhals, S. Szidat, H. W. Gäggeler, et al.. Towards radiocarbon dating of ice cores. Journal of Glaciology, 2009, 55 (194), pp.985-996. ⟨10.3189/002214309790794922⟩. ⟨insu-00498241⟩