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Impact of glacial isostatic adjustment on cosmogenic surface-exposure dating

Jones, R.S.; Whitehouse, P.L.; Bentley, M.J.; Small, D.; Dalton, A.S.

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Authors

R.S. Jones

M.J. Bentley

A.S. Dalton



Abstract

Calculating cosmogenic-nuclide surface-exposure ages is critically dependent on a knowledge of the altitude of the sample site. Changes in altitude have occurred through time as a result of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), potentially altering local nuclide production rates and, therefore, surface-exposure ages. Here we assess the impact of GIA on surface-exposure dating by calculating global time-dependent production rates since the Last Glacial Maximum using surface elevations that were corrected and uncorrected for GIA. We find that the magnitude of the GIA effect is spatially and temporally variable. Nuclide production could be reduced by up to 50% in the interior of large ice masses (in North America, Scandinavia and West Antarctica) at times of maximum glacial isostatic depression. Although smaller, the effect is still significant at ice sheet margins, where nuclide production is reduced by >5% and potentially >10%, making exposure ages older in those areas. Away from the ice sheet margins, land surfaces can be isostatically elevated, which can increase nuclide production by >5% and, therefore, make exposure ages younger. Areas that were more recently exposed or that are distal to large ice masses will generally be less affected. Importantly, we find that the effect at the primary 10Be production calibration sites is <1%. Applying a GIA correction to surface-exposure data may help resolve mismatches between some chronologies, but not necessarily in all regions, implying that additional factors may need to be considered. Past atmospheric changes can amplify or reduce the impact of GIA on nuclide production, and the combined effects should be fully accounted for in the future. These time-dependent influences on surface-exposure dating have potentially important implications for interpreting chronologies and for using the data to constrain ice sheet models.

Citation

Jones, R., Whitehouse, P., Bentley, M., Small, D., & Dalton, A. (2019). Impact of glacial isostatic adjustment on cosmogenic surface-exposure dating. Quaternary Science Reviews, 212, 206-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.012

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 8, 2019
Online Publication Date Mar 20, 2019
Publication Date May 15, 2019
Deposit Date Mar 14, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Quaternary Science Reviews
Print ISSN 0277-3791
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 212
Pages 206-212
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.012

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