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A high resolution relative paleointensity record from the Gerlache-Boyd paleo-ice stream region, northern Antarctic Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Verónica Willmott ,
Eugene W. Domack ,
Miquel Canals  and
Stefanie Brachfeld
Verónica Willmott
Affiliation:
Department of Stratigraphy, Paleontology and Marine Geosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Department of Geosciences, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323, USA
Eugene W. Domack
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323, USA
Miquel Canals*
Affiliation:
Department of Stratigraphy, Paleontology and Marine Geosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Stefanie Brachfeld
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, NJ 07043, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:miquelcanals@ub.edu (M. Canals).
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Abstract

Herein we document and interpret an absolute chronological dating attempt using geomagnetic paleointensity data from a post-glacial sediment drape on the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf. Our results demonstrate that absolute dating can be established in Holocene Antarctic shelf sediments that lack suitable material for radiocarbon dating. Two jumbo piston cores of 10-m length were collected in the Western Bransfield Basin. The cores preserve a strong, stable remanent magnetization and meet the magnetic mineral assemblage criteria recommended for reliable paleointensity analyses. The relative paleomagnetic intensity records were tuned to published absolute and relative paleomagnetic stacks, which yielded a record of the last ∼8500 years for the post-glacial drape. Four tephra layers associated with documented eruptions of nearby Deception Island have been dated at 3.31, 3.73, 4.44, and 6.86 ± 0.07 ka using the geomagnetic paleointensity method. This study establishes the dual role of geomagnetic paleointensity and tephrochronology in marine sediments across both sides of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.

Keywords

Relative paleomagnetic intensityTephrochronologyHoloceneAntarctic Peninsula
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 66 , Issue 1 , July 2006 , pp. 1 - 11
Copyright
University of Washington

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