Nine Centuries of Microparticle Deposition at the South Pole

1982 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Mosley-Thompson ◽  
L. G. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Time Scale ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Particulate Material ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThe analysis of microparticles in a 101-m core from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica has revealed a substantial increase in total particle concentration between approximately 1450 and 1850 A.D., a period encompassing the latest neoglacial interval or Little Ice Age. It is likely that this reflects a simultaneous increase in the concentration of particulate material in the Antarctic atmosphere. This is important climatologically, for the Antarctic atmosphere may represent the closest approximation to the natural background aerosol. Thus cores from East Antarctica may contain long and detailed records of the natural global background aerosol. Such records are unavailable from any other medium. Additionally, a cyclical variation which appears to be annual has been detected in the South Pole particle record. These features allow construction of a relative time scale for ice cores older than 100 yr from regions of low accumulation (<10 g a−1) where many traditional techniques are not applicable. This is especially significant, as the comparison of climatic data extracted from ice cores with other records of proxy data depends upon the ability to assign an accurate time scale to the ice core. An estimated nine-century record of net annual accumulation at the South Pole has been compiled and the calculated error in the time scale is ±90 yr.

scholarly journals A 200 year sulfate record from 16 Antarctic ice cores and associations with Southern Ocean sea-ice extent

2005 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Dixon ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
Susan Kaspari ◽  
Karl Kreutz ◽  
Gordon Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
South Pole ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
The South ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Low Latitudes

AbstractChemistry data from 16, 50–115m deep, sub-annually dated ice cores are used to investigate spatial and temporal concentration variability of sea-salt (ss) SO42– and excess (xs) SO42– over West Antarctica and the South Pole for the last 200 years. Low-elevation ice-core sites in western West Antarctica contain higher concentrations of SO42– as a result of cyclogenesis over the Ross Ice Shelf and proximity to the Ross Sea Polynya. Linear correlation analysis of 15 West Antarctic ice-core SO42– time series demonstrates that at several sites concentrations of ssSO42– are higher when sea-ice extent (SIE) is greater, and the inverse for xsSO42–. Concentrations of xsSO42– from the South Pole site (East Antarctica) are associated with SIE from the Weddell region, and West Antarctic xsSO42– concentrations are associated with SIE from the Bellingshausen–Amundsen–Ross region. The only notable rise of the last 200 years in xsSO42–, around 1940, is not related to SIE fluctuations and is most likely a result of increased xsSO42– production in the mid–low latitudes and/or an increase in transport efficiency from the mid–low latitudes to central West Antarctica. These high-resolution records show that the source types and source areas of ssSO42– and xsSO42– delivered to eastern and western West Antarctica and the South Pole differ from site to site but can best be resolved using records from spatial ice-core arrays such as the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE).

scholarly journals Carbonyl sulfide in air extracted from a South Pole ice core: a 2000 year record

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (24) ◽  
pp. 7533-7542 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Aydin ◽  
M. B. Williams ◽  
C. Tatum ◽  
E. S. Saltzman
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Carbonyl Sulfide ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
South Pole ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Past 2000 Years ◽  
Secular Variability

Abstract. In this study, we present carbonyl sulfide (COS) measurements from an ice core drilled near South Pole, East Antarctica (SPRESSO). The samples are from 135–291 m, with estimated mean COS ages ranging from 278 to 2155 years before present (defined as 2000 C.E.). When combined with the previous records of COS from Antarctic ice cores and firn air, the current data provide a continuous record of COS extending beyond the last two millennia. The general agreement between ice cores, firn air, and modern air measurements supports the idea that polar ice is a valid archive for paleoatmospheric COS. The average COS mixing ratio of the SPRESSO data set is (331±18) ppt (parts per trillion in mol/mol, ±1σ, n=100), excluding 6 outliers. These data confirm earlier firn air and ice core measurements indicating that the late 20th century COS levels of 500 ppt are greatly increased over preindustrial levels and represent the highest atmospheric levels over the past 2000 years. The data also provide evidence of climate-related variability on centennial time-scales, with relative maxima at the peaks of Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age. There is evidence for a long-term increasing trend in COS of 1.8 ppt per 100 years. Further ice core studies will be needed to determine whether this trend reflects secular variability in atmospheric COS, or a slow post-depositional chemical loss of COS in the ice core.

scholarly journals The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core – Part 2: gas chronology, Δage, and smoothing of atmospheric records

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 2431-2444
Author(s):  
Jenna A. Epifanio ◽  
Edward J. Brook ◽  
Christo Buizert ◽  
Jon S. Edwards ◽  
Todd A. Sowers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Spectral Width ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Smoothing Function ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Analogous Data

Abstract. A new ice core drilled at the South Pole provides a 54 000-year paleoenvironmental record including the composition of the past atmosphere. This paper describes the SP19 chronology for the South Pole atmospheric gas record and complements a previous paper (Winski et al., 2019) describing the SP19 ice chronology. The gas chronology is based on a discrete methane (CH4) record with 20- to 190-year resolution. To construct the gas timescale, abrupt changes in atmospheric CH4 during the glacial period and centennial CH4 variability during the Holocene were used to synchronize the South Pole gas record with analogous data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core. Stratigraphic matching based on visual optimization was verified using an automated matching algorithm. The South Pole ice core recovers all expected changes in CH4 based on previous records. Gas transport in the firn results in smoothing of the atmospheric gas record with a smoothing function spectral width that ranges from 30 to 78 years, equal to 3 % of the gas-age–ice-age difference, or Δage. The new gas chronology, in combination with the existing ice age scale from Winski et al. (2019), allows a model-independent reconstruction of the gas-age–ice-age difference through the whole record, which will be useful for testing firn densification models.

scholarly journals Late Glacial Input of Eolian Continental Dust in the Dome C Ice Core: Additional Evidence from Individual Microparticle Analysis

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Briat ◽  
A. Royer ◽  
J. R. Petit ◽  
C. Lorius
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Trace Element Analysis ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Quartz Content ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Volcanic Origin ◽  
Glacial Stage ◽  
The Antarctic

399 individual microparticles in nine samples from the Dome C ice core were studied under scanning electron microscope and analysed by an energy dispersive X-ray system. The studied particles were either continental quartz or various silico-aluminates of continental or volcanic origin. Observations lead to the conclusion that the increase in micro particle concentration by a factor of 10 to 20 during the last glacial stage is explained by a large input of continental dust, as already indicated by trace element analysis (Petit and others 1981) and previously suggested by chemical analysis of other polar ice cores (Cragin and others 1977).This increase is considered to be a consequence of the ice-age climate and earth surface conditions which were characterized by the increase of arid regions and more vigorous atmospheric circulation. Both these conclusions are further supported by the existence of a higher quartz content in the Antarctic ice core as was already found in tropical deep-sea core studies.

Be-10 measurements and modeling results from the South Pole ice core – here comes the sun!

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg M. Schaefer ◽  
Eric J. Steig ◽  
Qinghua Ding
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Sunspot Number ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Climate Modeling ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South

&lt;p&gt;The production of 10Be in the atmosphere in the high latitudes is modulated by solar variability. Time-series records of 10Be from ice cores therefore provide important information on variations in solar activity through time, which is fundamental to understanding climate variability. However, deposition of 10Be to the ice surface is also influenced by variability in atmospheric circulation and deposition processes, and thus, many 10Be ice core records remain difficult to interpret.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;South Pole is arguably the best available location for minimizing the influence of variable atmospheric circulation on 10Be deposition. The single existing 10Be record from South Pole covers the last millennium and ends in CE 1982.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We present a new South Pole 10Be record from the late Holocene, together with examplary measurements from the last glacial period, complemented by climate modeling experiments of atmospheric 10Be production, transport and deposition physics. Our continuous one-meter resolution record covers so far the last three millennia. The data from the last millennium agree well with the existing 10Be record by Raisbeck et al. (1990). The 10Be data from the South Pole ice core matches the historic sunspot records strikingly, providing a robust calibration between sunspot number and 10Be deposition. The coincident timing of major shifts in sunspot number and 10Be provides an independent confirmation of the South Pole ice core timescale.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Independently, our model simulations of both internannual variablity and glacial vs. interglacial 10Be production, transport and deposition indicate that 10Be in South Pole snow is robust even to significant climate changes, suggesting that the measured 10Be primarily reflect changes of solar activity over that period. In turn, our model-data comparison allows to evaluate potential shifts in solar activity through the late Holocene, and during the glacial-interglacial transition.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Late Glacial Input of Eolian Continental Dust in the Dome C Ice Core: Additional Evidence from Individual Microparticle Analysis

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Briat ◽  
A. Royer ◽  
J. R. Petit ◽  
C. Lorius
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Trace Element Analysis ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Quartz Content ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Volcanic Origin ◽  
Glacial Stage ◽  
The Antarctic

399 individual microparticles in nine samples from the Dome C ice core were studied under scanning electron microscope and analysed by an energy dispersive X-ray system. The studied particles were either continental quartz or various silico-aluminates of continental or volcanic origin. Observations lead to the conclusion that the increase in micro particle concentration by a factor of 10 to 20 during the last glacial stage is explained by a large input of continental dust, as already indicated by trace element analysis (Petit and others 1981) and previously suggested by chemical analysis of other polar ice cores (Cragin and others 1977).This increase is considered to be a consequence of the ice-age climate and earth surface conditions which were characterized by the increase of arid regions and more vigorous atmospheric circulation. Both these conclusions are further supported by the existence of a higher quartz content in the Antarctic ice core as was already found in tropical deep-sea core studies.

scholarly journals Carbonyl sulfide in air extracted from a South Pole ice core: a 2000 year record

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 16763-16788
Author(s):  
M. Aydin ◽  
M. B. Williams ◽  
C. Tatum ◽  
E. S. Saltzman
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Carbonyl Sulfide ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
South Pole ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Past 2000 Years ◽  
Secular Variability

Abstract. In this study, we present carbonyl sulfide (COS) measurements from an ice core drilled near South Pole, East Antarctica (SPRESSO). The samples are from 135–291 m, with estimated mean COS ages ranging from 278 to 2155 years before present (defined as 2000 C.E.). When combined with the previous records of COS from Antarctic ice cores and firn air, the current data provide a continuous record of COS extending beyond the last two millennia. The general agreement between ice cores, firn air, and modern air measurements supports the idea that polar ice is a valid archive for paleoatmospheric COS. The average COS mixing ratio of the SPRESSO data set is (331±18) ppt (parts per trillion as mol/mol, ±1σ, n=100), excluding 6 outliers. These data confirm earlier firn air and ice core measurements indicating that the late 20th century COS levels of 500 ppt are greatly increased over preindustrial levels and represent the highest atmospheric levels over the past 2000 years. The data also provide evidence of climate-related variability on centennial time-scales, with relative maxima at the peaks of Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age. There is evidence for a long-term increasing trend in COS of 1.8 ppt per 100 years. Further ice core studies will be needed to determine whether this trend reflects secular variability in atmospheric COS, or a slow post-depositional chemical loss of COS in the ice core.

scholarly journals The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core - Part 2: gas chronology, Δage, and smoothing of atmospheric records

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna A. Epifanio ◽  
Edward J. Brook ◽  
Christo Buizert ◽  
Jon S. Edwards ◽  
Todd A. Sowers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
West Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
West Antarctic ◽  
Abrupt Changes ◽  
Analogous Data ◽  
Lock In

Abstract. A new ice core drilled at the South Pole provides a 54 000-year paleoenvironmental record including the composition of the past atmosphere. This paper describes the SP19 chronology for the South Pole atmospheric gas record and complements a previous paper (Winski et al., 2019) describing the SP19 ice chronology. The gas chronology is based on a discrete methane (CH4) record with 20- to 190-year resolution. To construct the gas time scale abrupt changes in atmospheric CH4 during the glacial period and centennial CH4 variability during the Holocene were used to synchronize the South Pole gas record with analogous data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core. Stratigraphic matching based on visual optimization was verified using an automated matching algorithm. The South Pole ice core recovers all expected changes in CH4 based on previous records. Smoothing of the atmospheric record due to gas transport in the firn is evident but relatively minor, despite the deep lock-in depth in the modern South Pole firn column. The new gas chronology, in combination with the existing ice age scale from Winski et al. (2019), allows a model-independent reconstruction of the gas age-ice age difference through the whole record, which will be useful for testing firn densification models.

Reconstructing an Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation Index from a Pacific Basin–Wide Collection of Ice Core Records

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 3839-3852
Author(s):  
Stacy E. Porter ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Aaron B. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Pacific Basin ◽  
Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Instrumental Period ◽  
The Tropical Pacific ◽  
Ice Core Records

AbstractUsing an assemblage of four ice cores collected around the Pacific basin, one of the first basinwide histories of Pacific climate variability has been created. This ice core–derived index of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO) incorporates ice core records from South America, the Himalayas, the Antarctic Peninsula, and northwestern North America. The reconstructed IPO is annually resolved and dates to 1450 CE. The IPO index compares well with observations during the instrumental period and with paleo-proxy assimilated datasets throughout the entire record, which indicates a robust and temporally stationary IPO signal for the last ~550 years. Paleoclimate reconstructions from the tropical Pacific region vary greatly during the Little Ice Age (LIA), although the reconstructed IPO index in this study suggests that the LIA was primarily defined by a weak, negative IPO phase and hence more La Niña–like conditions. Although the mean state of the tropical Pacific Ocean during the LIA remains uncertain, the reconstructed IPO reveals some interesting dynamical relationships with the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). In the current warm period, a positive (negative) IPO coincides with an expansion (contraction) of the seasonal latitudinal range of the ITCZ. This relationship is not stationary, however, and is virtually absent throughout the LIA, suggesting that external forcing, such as that from volcanoes and/or reduced solar irradiance, could be driving either the ITCZ shifts or the climate dominating the ice core sites used in the IPO reconstruction.

Sfida all’ultimo parallelo: la conquista del Polo Sud cento anni dopo

2012 ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Paolo Bernat
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
South Pole ◽  
The South ◽  
The Antarctic

100 years ago, Antarctica was still mostly unknown and unexplored. The first landings on the Antarctic coast took place in the early decades of the nineteenth century and were made by whalers and sealers. In the following years the first scientific expeditions began and European and US expeditions started the geographical discovery and the mapping of the Antarctic coasts. But it was only in the years 1911-1912 that two expeditions, very different but equally well prepared, arrived almost simultaneously at the South Pole. The events that happened in the Antarctic together with the different nature of the two leaders Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott determined the outcome of these expeditions and the fate of their teams. The centenary of the conquest of the South Pole (December 14, 1911) is an opportunity to remember the passion for science, the spirit of adventure and the fierce perseverance that characterized those extraordinary men and that even now form the basis of scientific research and of human progress, not only in Antarctica but in all areas of knowledge and life.

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