COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Resolving Ambiguous Exposure-Age Chronologies of Antarctic Deglaciation with Measurements of In-Situ-Produced Cosmogenic Carbon-14

This project focused on geochemical measurements on rock samples from Antarctica that can be used to reconstruct changes in the size and thickness of the Antarctic ice sheets during the past several thousand years. It applied relatively newly developed technology for measurement of cosmic-ray-produced carbon-14 in quartz to gather new and better information on past ice sheet change from rock samples previously collected in past research in Antarctica. Specifically, it aimed to address a lack of information on past ice sheet change from the Weddell Sea embayment, and the primary result of the project is an improved understanding of ice volume change in this sector of Antarctica during the past ca. 15,000 years. This, in turn, is important in understanding the contribution of the Antarctic ice sheets to global sea level change during this time period.