The Palmer ice core as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series
The Palmer ice core as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series
The remote Antarctic continent, distant from human industrial activity, should be one of the last places on Earth to capture Anthropogenic change. Hence, stratigraphic evidence of pollution and nuclear activity in the Antarctic provides proof of the global nature of the Anthropocene epoch. We propose an Antarctic Peninsula ice core candidate for the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) to the onset of the Anthropocene. The Palmer ice core captures the first evidence of spheroidal carbonaceous fly ash particles (SCPs), resulting from high temperature combustion deposited in Antarctic ice. SCPs first appear in 1936 CE, preceding the rise in plutonium ( 239+240Pu) concentrations from 1945 CE onwards. GSSP 1952 CE occurs at a depth of 34.9 m, coincident with the peak in 239+240Pu the primary marker for this site.
Antarctic Peninsula, ice core, methane, plutonium, spheroidal carbonaceous particles
251-268
Thomas, Elizabeth R.
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Vladimirova, Diana O.
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Tetzner, Dieter R.
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Emanuelsson, Daniel B.
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Humby, Jack
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Turner, Simon D.
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Rose, Neil L.
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Roberts, Sarah L.
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Gaca, Pawel
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Cundy, Andrew B.
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16 March 2023
Thomas, Elizabeth R.
7ccfd95c-c16c-4249-99b3-5a944d8f2854
Vladimirova, Diana O.
b0e58e12-a9d0-4c94-bef5-cee92a9f9b68
Tetzner, Dieter R.
9bb8089f-db9c-483f-ac39-62e9150e9101
Emanuelsson, Daniel B.
28e7280b-911b-4370-8ccc-504da0b7f8fe
Humby, Jack
30bb97b0-b897-4fba-afaa-bdde853167b5
Turner, Simon D.
d689f03b-bc34-4533-8971-45fcbe3442c4
Rose, Neil L.
6930a646-0595-4dd4-bc17-c6c2f5d06c0a
Roberts, Sarah L.
43b9ab97-af6c-4a73-b909-b4108ed3af2b
Gaca, Pawel
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Cundy, Andrew B.
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Thomas, Elizabeth R., Vladimirova, Diana O., Tetzner, Dieter R., Emanuelsson, Daniel B., Humby, Jack, Turner, Simon D., Rose, Neil L., Roberts, Sarah L., Gaca, Pawel and Cundy, Andrew B.
(2023)
The Palmer ice core as a candidate Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series.
The Anthropocene Review, 10 (1), .
(doi:10.1177/20530196231155191).
Abstract
The remote Antarctic continent, distant from human industrial activity, should be one of the last places on Earth to capture Anthropogenic change. Hence, stratigraphic evidence of pollution and nuclear activity in the Antarctic provides proof of the global nature of the Anthropocene epoch. We propose an Antarctic Peninsula ice core candidate for the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) to the onset of the Anthropocene. The Palmer ice core captures the first evidence of spheroidal carbonaceous fly ash particles (SCPs), resulting from high temperature combustion deposited in Antarctic ice. SCPs first appear in 1936 CE, preceding the rise in plutonium ( 239+240Pu) concentrations from 1945 CE onwards. GSSP 1952 CE occurs at a depth of 34.9 m, coincident with the peak in 239+240Pu the primary marker for this site.
Text
Manuscript_Thomas_accepted
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 March 2023
Published date: 16 March 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Analysis of the Palmer ice core was facilitated by the collaborative research project between the British Antarctic Survey and the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) to ratify the stratigraphic Anthropocene. We would like to acknowledge the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW, Berlin) for collaborating with the Anthropocene Working Group in the assessment of the candidate GSSP-sites. The collaboration was realised in the framework of HKW’s long-term initiative Anthropocene Curriculum, an international project for experimental forms of Anthropocene research and education developed by HKW and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG, Berlin) since 2013. We acknowledge the support of Julius Rix, Catrin Thomas, Elsa Benton and the BAS logistics team at Rothera for support in the field. We are grateful of laboratory support provided by Emily Ludlow, Shaun Miller, and James Veale.We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, through British Antarctic Survey core funding, supported by funding from Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, through British Antarctic Survey core funding, supported by funding from Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
Keywords:
Antarctic Peninsula, ice core, methane, plutonium, spheroidal carbonaceous particles
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 477652
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477652
ISSN: 2053-0196
PURE UUID: 9dc1a171-3ec5-4a47-87e3-cd2e399137e3
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Date deposited: 12 Jun 2023 16:42
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:38
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Contributors
Author:
Elizabeth R. Thomas
Author:
Diana O. Vladimirova
Author:
Dieter R. Tetzner
Author:
Daniel B. Emanuelsson
Author:
Jack Humby
Author:
Simon D. Turner
Author:
Neil L. Rose
Author:
Sarah L. Roberts
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