scholarly journals Ammonium and potassium in snow around an emperor penguin colony

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Rankin ◽  
Eric W. Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Food Source ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Seasonal Effect ◽  
Emperor Penguin ◽  
Snow Chemistry ◽  
Salt Ions ◽  
Penguin Colony ◽  
Inland Ice ◽  
Snow Samples

Snow samples taken at various distances from the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony near Halley station were analysed by ion chromatography. Extremely high ammonium concentrations were encountered at the colony itself, but fell off sharply with distance from the colony, reaching background levels within a few kilometres of the colony. A seasonal effect was also seen, with the highest concentrations found in spring when the colony was at its most active. Levels of potassium and other sea-salt ions were also elevated near the colony. The ratio of sodium to potassium was lower than that found in bulk seawater, and closer to that found in the penguin's food source, indicating that the increased concentrations are due to emissions from the penguins and not merely to the proximity of open seawater to the site. The colony thus has a significant effect on the composition of the nearby snow, but this effect is strongly localised and is not likely to significantly influence snow chemistry at inland ice core drilling sites.

scholarly journals Relation between surface topography and sea-salt snow chemistry from Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 2967-2989 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mahalinganathan ◽  
M. Thamban ◽  
C. M. Laluraj ◽  
B. L. Redkar
Keyword(s):  
Strong Association ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Snow Chemistry ◽  
Significant Control ◽  
Salt Ions ◽  
Antarctic Snow

Abstract. Previous studies on variability of sea-salt records in Antarctic snow have established an unambiguous relationship with the proximity to the sea and have been directly correlated with the site specific features like elevation and distance from the coast. On the other hand, variations in Cl−/Na+ ratio in have been attributed with the reaction mechanisms involving atmospheric acids. In the present study, annual records of Na+, Cl− and SO42− records were investigated using snow cores along a 180 km coast to inland transect in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica. Exceptionally high Na+ concentrations varying between 1000 and 2000 μg l−1 were observed within 50 km of the transect. Large variations in Cl−/Na+ ratio were observed within 50 km from the coast. A rapid increase in the elevation (0–1115 m) was noticed up to 50 km from the coast, whereas a steady elevation change (1115–2200 m) occurred between 50 and 180 km. The largest slope of the entire transect was observed (33.7 m km−1) between 20 and 30 km and records from this area correspondingly revealed extensive modifications in snow sea-salt chemistry, with Cl−/Na+ ratios as low as 0.2. Statistical analysis showed a strong association between the slope of the ice sheet and variation of the sea-salt ions along the transect. While distance from coast accounted for some variability, the altitude by itself seem to have no significant control on the distribution of sea-salt ions. We suggest that the degree of slope of the ice sheet on the coastal regions of Antarctica could have a major influence the sea-salt chemistry.

scholarly journals A 485 year record of atmospheric chloride, nitrate and sulfate: results of chemical analysis of ice cores from Dyer Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Cole Dai ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Snow Chemistry

Detailed ionic analyses of Dyer Plateau snow show that major soluble impurities in snow consist of sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl−), nitrate (NO3−), sulfate (SO42−), and acidity (H+). The ratios of Na+ to Cl− concentrations are close to that of sea water, indicating little or no fractionation of sea-salt aerosols. The analyses of core sections from three sites along a 10 km transect show that local spatial variation of snow chemistry in this area is minimal and that temporal (decadal, inter-annual and sub-annual) variations in snow chemistry are very well preserved.Anion analyses of the upper 181 m section of two 235 m ice cores yield a data set of 485 years (1505-1989) of annual snow accumulation and fluxes of Cl−, NO3−, and non-sea-salt (nss) SO42−. No significant long-term trends are observed in any of the anion fluxes. This is consistent with other Antarctic ice-core records showing no significant anthropogenic atmospheric pollution in the high southern latitudes. Linear regression analysis shows that Cl− flux is independent of snow-accumulation rate. Significant positive correlations are found between accumulation rate and both NO3− flux and background nss-SO42− flux. These results suggest that dry deposition is primarily responsible for air-to-ground Cl− flux while wet deposition dominates the NO3− and nss-SO42− flux (≥90% and ≥75%, respectively). The nss-S042− fluxes provide a chronology of explosive volcanic emissions reaching the Antarctic region for the past 485 years.

scholarly journals A 485 year record of atmospheric chloride, nitrate and sulfate: results of chemical analysis of ice cores from Dyer Plateau, Antarctic Peninsula

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Cole Dai ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Volcanic Emissions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Snow Chemistry

Detailed ionic analyses of Dyer Plateau snow show that major soluble impurities in snow consist of sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl−), nitrate (NO3 −), sulfate (SO4 2−), and acidity (H+). The ratios of Na+ to Cl− concentrations are close to that of sea water, indicating little or no fractionation of sea-salt aerosols. The analyses of core sections from three sites along a 10 km transect show that local spatial variation of snow chemistry in this area is minimal and that temporal (decadal, inter-annual and sub-annual) variations in snow chemistry are very well preserved. Anion analyses of the upper 181 m section of two 235 m ice cores yield a data set of 485 years (1505-1989) of annual snow accumulation and fluxes of Cl−, NO3 −, and non-sea-salt (nss) SO4 2−. No significant long-term trends are observed in any of the anion fluxes. This is consistent with other Antarctic ice-core records showing no significant anthropogenic atmospheric pollution in the high southern latitudes. Linear regression analysis shows that Cl− flux is independent of snow-accumulation rate. Significant positive correlations are found between accumulation rate and both NO3 − flux and background nss-SO4 2− flux. These results suggest that dry deposition is primarily responsible for air-to-ground Cl− flux while wet deposition dominates the NO3 − and nss-SO4 2− flux (≥90% and ≥75%, respectively). The nss-S04 2− fluxes provide a chronology of explosive volcanic emissions reaching the Antarctic region for the past 485 years.

scholarly journals Site information and initial results from deep ice drilling on Law Dome, Antarctica

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (143) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.I. Morgan ◽  
C.W. Wookey ◽  
J. Li ◽  
T.D. van Ommen ◽  
W. Skinner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
High Accumulation ◽  
Ice Flow ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
Basal Ice ◽  
Inland Ice ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Initial Results ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe aim of deep ice drilling on Law Dome, Antarctica, has been to exploit the special characteristics of Law Dome summit, i.e. low temperature and high accumulation near an ice divide, to obtain a high-resolution ice core for climatic/environmental studies of the Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Drilling was completed in February 1993, when basal ice containing small fragments of rock was reached at a depth of 1196 m. Accurate ice dating, obtained by counting annual layers revealed by fine-detail δ18О, peroxide and electrical-conductivity measurements, is continuous down to 399 m, corresponding to a date of AD 1304. Sulphate concentration measurements, made around depths where conductivity tracing indicates volcanic fallout, allow confirmation of the dating (for Agung in 1963 and Tambora in 1815) or estimates of the eruption date from the ice dating (for the Kuwae, Vanuatu, eruption ~1457). The lower part of the core is dated by extrapolating the layer-counting using a simple model of the ice flow. At the LGM, ice-fabric measurements show a large decrease (250 to 14 mm2) in crystal size and a narrow maximum in c-axis vertically. The main zone of strong single-pole fabrics however, is located higher up in a broad zone around 900 m. Oxygen-isotope (δ18O) measurements show Holocene ice down to 1113 m, the LGM at 1133 m and warm (δ18O) about the same as Holocene) ice near the base of the ice sheet. The LGM/Holocene δ18O shift of 7.0‰, only ~1‰ larger than for Vostok, indicates that Law Dome remained an independent ice cap and was not overridden by the inland ice sheet in the Glacial.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal variability in isotope composition of recent snow in the vicinity of Vostok station, Antarctica: implications for ice-core record interpretation

2002 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 181-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey A. Ekaykin ◽  
Vladimir Ya. Lipenkov ◽  
Narcisse I. Barkov ◽  
Jean Robert Petit ◽  
Valerie Masson-Delmotte
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Weak Correlation ◽  
Ice Core Record ◽  
Vostok Station ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Annual Air Temperature ◽  
Snow Samples

AbstractContinuous, detailed isotope (δD and δ18O) profiles were obtained from eight snow pits dug in the vicinity of Vostok station, Antarctica, during the period 1984– 2000. In addition, snow samples taken along the 1km long accumulation-stake profile were measured to determine spatial variability in isotope composition of recent snow. the stacked δD time series spanning the last 55 years shows only weak correlation with the mean annual air temperature recorded at Vostok station. Significant oscillations of both snow accumulation and snow isotope composition with the periods 2.5, 5, 20 and, possibly, ~102 years observed at single points are interpreted in terms of drift of snow-accumulation waves of various scales on the surface of the ice sheet.

scholarly journals A reinterpretation of sea-salt records in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores?

2004 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 276-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Rankin ◽  
Eric W. Wolff ◽  
Robert Mulvaney
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Sea Salt Aerosol ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Frost Flowers ◽  
Ice Production ◽  
Ice Core Records

AbstractIt has recently been shown that much sea-salt aerosol around the coast of Antarctica is generated not from open water, but from the surface of newly formed sea ice. Previous interpretations of ice-core records have disregarded the sea-ice surface as a source of sea salt. The majority of sea-salt aerosol at Halley research station originates from frost flowers rather than open water, and the seasonal cycle of sea salt in aerosol at Halley appears to be controlled by ice production in the Weddell Sea, as well as variations in wind speed. Frost flowers are also an important source of aerosol at Siple Dome, suggesting that variations in sea-salt concentrations in the core, and other cores drilled in similar locations, may be reflecting changes in sea-ice production rather than changes in transportation patterns. For Greenland cores, and those from low-accumulation inland sites in Antarctica, it is not simple to calculate the proportion of sea salt originating from frost flowers rather than open water. However, modelling studies suggest that a sea-ice surface source contributed much of the flux of sea salt to these sites in glacial periods, suggesting that interpretations of ice-core records from these locations should also be revisited.

scholarly journals The Weddell Sea region: an important precipitation channel to the interior of the Antarctic ice sheet as revealed by glaciochemical investigation of surface snow along the longest trans-Antarctic route

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Dahe ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
Ren Jiawen ◽  
Xiao Cunde ◽  
Sun Junying
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Antarctic Plateau ◽  
Salt Ions ◽  
Surface Snow ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractGlaciochemical analysis of surface snow samples, collected along a profile crossing the Antarctic ice sheet from the Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, via the Antarctic Plateau through South Pole, Vostok and Komsomolskaya to Mirny station (at the east margin of East Antarctica), shows that the Weddell Sea region is an important channel for air masses to the high plateau of the Antarctic ice sheet (>2000 m a.s.l.). This opinion is supported by the following. (1) The fluxes of sea-salt ions such as Na+, Mg2 + and CF display a decreasing trend from the west to the east of interior Antarctica. In |eneral, as sea-salt aerosols are injected into the atmosphere over the Antarctic ice sheet from the Weddell Sea, large aerosols tend to decrease. For the inland plateau, few large particles of sea-salt aerosol reach the area, and the sea-salt concentration levels are low (2) The high altitude of the East Antarctic plateau, as well as the polar cold high-pressure system, obstruct the intrusive air masses mainly from the South Indian Ocean sector. (3) For the coastal regions of the East Antarctic ice sheet, the elevation rises to 2000 m over a distance from several to several tens of km. High concentrations of sea salt exist in snow in East Antarctica but are limited to a narrow coastal zone. (4) Fluxes of calcium and non-sea-salt sulfate in snow from the interior plateau do not display an eastward-decreasing trend. Since calcium is mainly derived from crustal sources, and nssSO42- is a secondary aerosol, this again confirms that the eastward-declining tendency of sea-salt ions indicates the transfer direction of precipitation vapor.

scholarly journals Decadal-scale progression of the onset of Dansgaard–Oeschger warming events

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 811-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Erhardt ◽  
Emilie Capron ◽  
Sune Olander Rasmussen ◽  
Simon Schüpbach ◽  
Matthias Bigler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
The North ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
North Greenland

Abstract. During the last glacial period, proxy records throughout the Northern Hemisphere document a succession of rapid millennial-scale warming events, called Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) events. A range of different mechanisms has been proposed that can produce similar warming in model experiments; however, the progression and ultimate trigger of the events are still unknown. Because of their fast nature, the progression is challenging to reconstruct from paleoclimate data due to the limited temporal resolution achievable in many archives and cross-dating uncertainties between records. Here, we use new high-resolution multi-proxy records of sea-salt (derived from sea spray and sea ice over the North Atlantic) and terrestrial (derived from the central Asian deserts) aerosol concentrations over the period 10–60 ka from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) and North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) ice cores in conjunction with local precipitation and temperature proxies from the NGRIP ice core to investigate the progression of environmental changes at the onset of the warming events at annual to multi-annual resolution. Our results show on average a small lead of the changes in both local precipitation and terrestrial dust aerosol concentrations over the change in sea-salt aerosol concentrations and local temperature of approximately one decade. This suggests that, connected to the reinvigoration of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the warming in the North Atlantic, both synoptic and hemispheric atmospheric circulation changes at the onset of the DO warming, affecting both the moisture transport to Greenland and the Asian monsoon systems. Taken at face value, this suggests that a collapse of the sea-ice cover may not have been the initial trigger for the DO warming.

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