Antarctic radiocarbon reservoir. The case of the mummified crabeater seals Lobodon carcinophaga (Mammalia: Pinnipedia) in Bodman Cape, Seymour Island (Antarctica)

NEGRETE, J.; SOIBELZON, E.; TONNI, E. P.; CARLINI, A.; SOIBELZON, L.H.; POLJAK, S.; HUARTE, R.A.; CARBONARI, J.E.

RADIOCARBON

UNIV ARIZONA DEPT GEOSCIENCES

Lugar: Arizona; Año: 2011 vol. 53 p. 161 - 166

0033-8222

At least 50% of the world´s seal population is distributed in the pack-ice region surrounding Antarctica. Among the Antarctic seals, Lobodon carcinophaga (commonly known as ?crabeater seals?) are the most abundant. This is a krill-feeding species, specialist on Euphausia superba. The occurrence of mummified seals has been documented since 1900 in several Antarctic regions, and different hypotheses about age and what happened to them have been proposed. Taking into account the depletion of the 14C concentration in marine waters, we used radiocarbon dating to date a recently deceased and a mummified L. carcinophaga from different locations of Antarctica and discussed the relationship with the radiocarbon reservoir. The age obtained for the recently deceased crabeater seals suggests approximately 1300 yr correction reservoir age. If we apply this reservoir correction value to the conventional age of 1180 radiocarbon years BP obtained for the mummified seal, the death event probably occurred within the last 100 years and present dating techniques do not allow us to obtain a more accurate date of death for this specimens.