The chemical composition of ancient atmospheres: A model study constrained by ice core data

The chemical composition of ice containing tephra (volcanic ash) layers in 22 sections of the Byrd Station ice core was examined to determine if the volcanic eruptions affected the chemical composition of the atmosphere and precipitation in the vicinity of Byrd Station. The liquid conductivity, acidity, sulfate, nitrate, aluminum, and sodium concentrations of ice samples deposited before, during, and after the deposition of the tephra layers were analyzed. Ice samples that contain tephra layers have, on average, about two times more sulfate and three to four times more aluminum than nonvolcanic ice samples. The acidity of ice samples associated with tephra layers is lowered by hydrolysis of silicate glass and minerals. Average nitrate, sodium, and conductivity are the same in all samples. Because much of the sulfur and chlorine originally associated with these eruptions may have been scavenged by ash particles, the atmospheric residence time of these volatiles would have been minimized. Therefore the eruptions probably had only a small effect on the composition of the Antarctic atmosphere and a negligible effect on local or global climate.

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Chlorophyll-a in Antarctic Landfast Sea Ice: A First Synthesis of Historical Ice Core Data

Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans ◽

10.1029/2018jc014245 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 123 (11) ◽

pp. 8444-8459 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

K. M. Meiners ◽

M. Vancoppenolle ◽

G. Carnat ◽

G. Castellani ◽

B. Delille ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Chlorophyll A ◽

Ice Core ◽

Core Data ◽

Landfast Sea Ice

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Paleoclimatic variability inferred from the spectral analysis of Greenland and Antarctic ice-core data

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/97jc00158 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 102 (C12) ◽

pp. 26441-26454 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

R. Yiou ◽

K. Fuhrer ◽

L. D. Meeker ◽

J. Jouzel ◽

S. Johnsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spectral Analysis ◽

Ice Core ◽

Core Data

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Centennial mineral dust variability in high-resolution ice core data from Dome C, Antarctica

Climate of the Past ◽

10.5194/cp-8-609-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 609-623 ◽

Cited By ~ 97

Author(s):

F. Lambert ◽

M. Bigler ◽

J. P. Steffensen ◽

M. Hutterli ◽

H. Fischer

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Southern Ocean ◽

Mineral Dust ◽

Ice Core ◽

Principal Component ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Core Data ◽

The Past ◽

Dust Flux ◽

Soluble Calcium

Abstract. Ice core data from Antarctica provide detailed insights into the characteristics of past climate, atmospheric circulation, as well as changes in the aerosol load of the atmosphere. We present high-resolution records of soluble calcium (Ca2+), non-sea-salt soluble calcium (nssCa2+), and particulate mineral dust aerosol from the East Antarctic Plateau at a depth resolution of 1 cm, spanning the past 800 000 years. Despite the fact that all three parameters are largely dust-derived, the ratio of nssCa2+ to particulate dust is dependent on the particulate dust concentration itself. We used principal component analysis to extract the joint climatic signal and produce a common high-resolution record of dust flux. This new record is used to identify Antarctic warming events during the past eight glacial periods. The phasing of dust flux and CO2 changes during glacial-interglacial transitions reveals that iron fertilization of the Southern Ocean during the past nine glacial terminations was not the dominant factor in the deglacial rise of CO2 concentrations. Rapid changes in dust flux during glacial terminations and Antarctic warming events point to a rapid response of the southern westerly wind belt in the region of southern South American dust sources on changing climate conditions. The clear lead of these dust changes on temperature rise suggests that an atmospheric reorganization occurred in the Southern Hemisphere before the Southern Ocean warmed significantly.

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Updating a Student-Generated Ice-Core Data Plot Exercise for Courses Investigating Climate Change Topics

Journal of Chemical Education ◽

10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00947 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 93 (4) ◽

pp. 785-786 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Edward Maslowsky

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ice Core ◽

Core Data

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The Atmospheric δ13C Record as Derived from 56 Pinyon Trees at 14 Sites in the Southwestern United States

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200012054 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 31 (03) ◽

pp. 469-474 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

S W Leavitt ◽

Austin Long

Keyword(s):

High Frequency ◽

Ice Core ◽

Ring Width ◽

Ice Cores ◽

The Other ◽

Core Data ◽

Single Tree ◽

Pinyon Pine ◽

The Individual ◽

First Time

We have developed a master δ13C chronology from 14 pinyon pine sites in 6 states of the southwestern U S. Two of the individual isotopic chronologies, reported here for the first time, and 10 of those previously reported (Leavitt & Long, 1986; 1988) are from sites where cores from 4 trees were pooled prior to analysis, and the other 2 are merged from groups of 4 single-tree chronologies (sites) developed in an earlier phase of research (Leavitt & Long, 1985). Regressions of first differences of ring-width indices and δ13C values from each site were used to “correct” individual δ13C chronologies for climate effects which appear primarily related to high-frequency δ13C fluctuations, many of which are common among sites. These climate-corrected chronologies were normalized as deviations from their respective 1800–1849 δ13C means, and these normalized chronologies were averaged into the master. The overall δ13C drop from 1600 to the present is ca 1.2–1.4, consistent with recent ice-core data showing a drop of 1.14 ± 0.15% from 1740 to present (Friedli et al, 1986). However, the δ13C decline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is greater in the pinyon chronology than that of the ice cores, thus supporting a greater biospheric CO2 input to the atmosphere than that indicated in the ice-core data.

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