Consistent dating for Antarctic and Greenland ice cores

• Published in: Quaternary science reviews 2010, Vol.29 (1), p.8-20
• Main Authors: Lemieux-Dudon, Bénédicte, Blayo, Eric, Petit, Jean-Robert, Waelbroeck, Claire, Svensson, Anders, Ritz, Catherine, Barnola, Jean-Marc, Narcisi, Bianca Maria, Parrenin, Frédéric
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Glaciology; Sciences of the Universe
• ISSN: 0277-3791; 1873-457X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.010

We are hereby presenting a new dating method based on inverse techniques, which aims at calculating consistent gas and ice chronologies for several ice cores. The proposed method yields new dating scenarios simultaneously for several cores by making a compromise between the chronological information brought by glaciological modeling (i.e., ice flow model, firn densification model, accumulation rate model), and by gas and ice stratigraphic constraints. This method enables us to gather widespread chronological information and to use regional or global markers (i.e., methane, volcanic sulfate, Beryllium-10, tephra layers, etc.) to link the core chronologies stratigraphically. Confidence intervals of the new dating scenarios can be calculated thanks to the probabilistic formulation of the new method, which takes into account both modeling and data uncertainties. We apply this method simultaneously to one Greenland (NGRIP) and three Antarctic (EPICA Dome C, EPICA Dronning Maud Land, and Vostok) ices cores, and refine existent chronologies. Our results show that consistent ice and gas chronologies can be derived for depth intervals that are well-constrained by relevant glaciological data. In particular, we propose new and consistent dating of the last deglaciation for Greenland and Antarctic ice and gas records.