Widespread platinum anomaly documented at the Younger Dryas onset in North American sedimentary sequences

Christopher R Moore; Allen West; Malcolm A LeCompte; Mark J Brooks; I Randolph Daniel Jr; Albert C Goodyear; Terry A Ferguson; Andrew H Ivester; James K Feathers; James P Kennett; Kenneth B Tankersley; A Victor Adedeji; Ted E Bunch

doi:10.1038/srep44031

Widespread platinum anomaly documented at the Younger Dryas onset in North American sedimentary sequences

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 9:7:44031. doi: 10.1038/srep44031.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, P.O. Box 400, New Ellenton, SC 29809, USA.
² GeoScience Consulting, Dewey, AZ, 86327, USA.
³ Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC 27921, USA.
⁴ Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.
⁵ South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Studies, Wofford College, 429 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303-3663, USA.
⁷ Department of Geosciences, University of West Georgia, 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118, USA.
⁸ University of Washington, Luminescence Dating Laboratory, 125 Raitt Hall, Seattle, WA 98195-3412, USA.
⁹ Department of Earth Sciences and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
¹⁰ Departments of Anthropology and Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
¹¹ Department of Natural Sciences, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC 27909, USA.
¹² Geology Program, School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.

Abstract

Previously, a large platinum (Pt) anomaly was reported in the Greenland ice sheet at the Younger Dryas boundary (YDB) (12,800 Cal B.P.). In order to evaluate its geographic extent, fire-assay and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (FA and ICP-MS) elemental analyses were performed on 11 widely separated archaeological bulk sedimentary sequences. We document discovery of a distinct Pt anomaly spread widely across North America and dating to the Younger Dryas (YD) onset. The apparent synchroneity of this widespread YDB Pt anomaly is consistent with Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) data that indicated atmospheric input of platinum-rich dust. We expect the Pt anomaly to serve as a widely-distributed time marker horizon (datum) for identification and correlation of the onset of the YD climatic episode at 12,800 Cal B.P. This Pt datum will facilitate the dating and correlating of archaeological, paleontological, and paleoenvironmental data between sequences, especially those with limited age control.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't