Ages and ablation and accumulation rates from 14C measurements on Antarctic ice

Shallow ice cores from an Antarctic blue-ice area at Scharffenbergbotnen were l4 C-analyzed using a dry-extraction technique and accelerator mass spectrometry. The in situ production was determined from the 14 CO component and used to deduce the natural 14 CO 2 component. The ages were measured at 10 000 ± 3000 BP. The accumulation and ablation rates determined from the in situ production are 7–20 and 10 cm a −1 . respectively, showing agreement with field observations. The derived ages and air-yield data show a nearby origin for the surface ice.