Last ice sheet recession and landscape emergence above sea level in east-central Sweden, evaluated using in situ cosmogenic 14C from quartz

In situ cosmogenic C-14 (in situ C-14) in quartz provides a recently developed tool to date exposure of bedrock surfaces of up to similar to 25 000 years. From outcrops located in east-central Sweden, we tested the accuracy of in situ C-14 dating against (i) a relative sea level (RSL) curve constructed from radiocarbon dating of organic material in isolation basins and (ii) the timing of local deglaciation constructed from a clay varve chronology complemented with traditional radiocarbon dating. Five samples of granitoid bedrock were taken along an elevation transect extending southwestwards from the coast of the Baltic Sea near Forsmark. Because these samples derive from bedrock outcrops positioned below the highest postglacial shoreline, they target the timing of progressive landscape emergence above sea level. In contrast, in situ C-14 concentrations in an additional five samples taken from granitoid outcrops above the highest postglacial shoreline, located 100 km west of Forsmark, should reflect local deglaciation ages. The 10 in situ C-14 measurements provide robust age constraints that, within uncertainties, compare favourably with the RSL curve and the local deglaciation chronology. These data demonstrate the utility of in situ C-14 to accurately date ice sheet deglaciation, and durations of postglacial exposure, in regions where cosmogenic Be-10 and Al-26 routinely return complex exposure results.