ICEland-1: a geochronological database for reconstructing Late Quaternary glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate patterns in Iceland

Abstract. We present a detailed and quality-controlled chronological database for past glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate changes in Iceland during the Late Quaternary (∼60 ka): ICEland-1. The curated database includes 1744 data points and metadata from 442 sites located in the marine and terrestrial realm, with dates derived from radiocarbon (14C), tephrochronology, and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). Each date's reliability has been assessed using a three-tier ranking system, following explicitly defined criteria modified from other recent ice sheet chronology databases. This filtering approach reveals significant spatiotemporal gaps in our understanding of Late Quaternary ice sheet, relative sea level, and paleoclimate chronology in and around Iceland. We highlight several key avenues for future research that can help minimize existing spatiotemporal uncertainties and biases in the empirical data. The implementation of ICEland-1 for local ice sheet model calibrations and data-model comparisons will improve our understanding of past and future changes of ice sheets in the North Atlantic and Antarctica. The curated database is openly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19376039 (Harning et al., 2026).

Publication Details

Journal
Earth system science data
Published
2026-05-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-3367-2026
Primary Topic
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

ICEland-1: a geochronological database for reconstructing Late Quaternary glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate patterns in Iceland

Earth system science data
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
article

ICEland-1: a geochronological database for reconstructing Late Quaternary glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate patterns in Iceland

article en

Abstract

Abstract. We present a detailed and quality-controlled chronological database for past glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate changes in Iceland during the Late Quaternary (∼60 ka): ICEland-1. The curated database includes 1744 data points and metadata from 442 sites located in the marine and terrestrial realm, with dates derived from radiocarbon (14C), tephrochronology, and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). Each date's reliability has been assessed using a three-tier ranking system, following explicitly defined criteria modified from other recent ice sheet chronology databases. This filtering approach reveals significant spatiotemporal gaps in our understanding of Late Quaternary ice sheet, relative sea level, and paleoclimate chronology in and around Iceland. We highlight several key avenues for future research that can help minimize existing spatiotemporal uncertainties and biases in the empirical data. The implementation of ICEland-1 for local ice sheet model calibrations and data-model comparisons will improve our understanding of past and future changes of ice sheets in the North Atlantic and Antarctica. The curated database is openly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19376039 (Harning et al., 2026).

Earth system science dataVol. 18(5)
National Science Foundation
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
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ICEland-1: a geochronological database for reconstructing Late Quaternary glacier, relative sea level, and paleoclimate patterns in Iceland · Earth system science data (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS