Age stratigraphy in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet inferred from radio-echo sounding horizons

Abstract

Abstract. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet contains a wealth of information that can be extracted from its internal architecture such as distribution of age, past flow features, and surface and basal properties. Airborne radar surveys can sample this stratigraphic\narchive across broad areas. Here, we identify and trace key horizons across several radar surveys to obtain the stratigraphic information.\nWe transfer the age–depth scales from ice cores to intersecting radar data. We then propagate these age scales across the ice sheet using the high fidelity continuity of the radar horizons.\nIn Dronning Maud Land, including Dome Fuji, we mapped isochrones with ages of 38 and 74\u2009ka. In the central region of East Antarctica around Dome Concordia, Vostok\nand Dome Argus, we use isochrone ages of 38, 48, 90 and 161\u2009ka.\nTaking together both regions, we provide isochrone depths traced along a combined profile length of more than 40\u2009000\u2009km and discuss uncertainties of the obtained stratigraphy, as well as factors important to consider for further expansion.\nThis data set is the most extensive distribution of internal horizons in East Antarctica to date. The isochrone depths presented in this study are available on PANGAEA ( https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.895528 ; Winter et\xa0al. ,\xa0 2018 ).