Articles | Volume 22, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-173-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-173-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 21 Jan 2026
| 21 Jan 2026
A continuous 6000 a age depth relationship for the remainder of the Weißseespitze summit glacier based on 39Ar and 14C dating
David Wachs
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Azzurra Spagnesi
Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria
Pascal Bohleber
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Andrea Fischer
Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria
Martin Stocker-Waldhuber
Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria
Alexander Junkermann
Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Carl Kindermann
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Linus Langenbacher
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Niclas Mandaric
Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Joshua Marks
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Department of Lake Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Magdeburg, Germany
Florian Meienburg
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Theo M. Jenk
PSI Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences, Villigen PSI, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Markus K. Oberthaler
Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Werner Aeschbach
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Heidelberg Center for the Environment, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
Data sets
dataset Wachs et al., 2025 "A continuous 6000 year age depth relationship for the remainder of the Weißseespitze summit glacier based on 39Ar and 14C dating" David Wachs et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16528315
Short summary
This study presents an age profile of the summit glacier of Weißseespitze in the Austrian Alps. The ages were obtained by combining 14C dating with the novel atom trap trace analysis for 39Ar. The data was used to constrain glacier age models. The results show that the surface ice is ~400 a old due to recent ice loss. The remaining ice continuously covers ages up to 6000 a. This work underscores the utility of 39Ar dating in glaciology, enabling precise reconstruction of age-depth relationships.
This study presents an age profile of the summit glacier of Weißseespitze in the Austrian Alps....
