scholarly journals Assessment of Spatial Variability of Major-Ion Concentrations and DEL Oxygen-18 Values in Surface Snow, Upper Fremont Glacier, Wyoming, U.S.A.

1994 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 371-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Naftz ◽  
P. F. Schuster ◽  
M. M. Reddy

One hundred samples were collected from the surface of the Upper Fremont Glacier at equally spaced intervals defined by an 8,100 m2 snow grid to assess the significance of lateral variability in major-ion concentrations and del oxygen-18 values. For the major ions, the largest concentration range within the snow grid was sodium (0.5056 mg/l) and the smallest concentration range was sulfate (0.125 mg/l). Del oxygen-18 values showed a range of 7.45 per mil. Comparison of the observed variability of each chemical constituent to the variability expected by measurement error indicated substantial lateral variability within the surface-snow layer. Results of the nested ANOVA indicate most of the variance for every constituent is in the values grouped at the two smaller geographic scales (between 506 m2 and within 506 m2 sections). Calcium and sodium concentrations and del oxygen-18 values displayed the largest amount of variance at the largest geographic scale (between 2,025 m2 sections) within the grid and ranged from 14 to 26 per cent of the total variance. The variance data from the snow grid were used to develop equations to evaluate the significance of both positive and negative concentration/value peaks of nitrate and del oxygen-18 with depth, in a 160 m ice core. Solving the equations indicates that both the nitrate and del oxygen-18 ice-core profiles have concentration/value trends that exceed the limits expected from lateral variability. Values of del oxygen-18 in the section from 110-150 m below the surface consistently vary outside the expected limits and possibly represents cooler temperatures during the Little Ice Age from about 1810 to 1725 A.D.

2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (71) ◽  
pp. 282-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Xu ◽  
Shugui Hou ◽  
Hongxi Pang ◽  
Chaomin Wang

AbstractCorrelations between a 1000 year record of the major ions in a 108.83 m ice core from East Rongbuk Glacier (28°01’N, 86°58’E; 6518ma.s.l.) on the northeast slope of Qomolangma (Mount Everest) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) were examined to investigate possible links between the ice-core records of the southern Tibetan Plateau (TP) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The results show that years with the highest crustal ion concentrations and lowest marine ion concentrations corresponded with a low SOI, and vice versa. Cross wavelet and wavelet coherence analysis between major ion time series and the SOI indicated that there were significant sections with high common power between the major ion time series and the SOI, suggesting a correlation between the ion records of the Qomolangma ice core and ENSO. Further investigation indicated that the higher SOI years corresponded with weaker continental air masses and stronger south Asian monsoons over the southern TP, leading to increased marine ions and decreased continental ions transported to the southern TP. The in-phase surface pressure anomalies of the southern TP and Darwin, Australia, link ENSO and ion transport over the southern TP, and thus suggest a link between aerosol transport over the southern TP and ENSO.


2005 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kam-biu Liu ◽  
Carl A. Reese ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson

AbstractThis paper presents a high-resolution ice-core pollen record from the Sajama Ice Cap, Bolivia, that spans the last 400 yr. The pollen record corroborates the oxygen isotopic and ice accumulation records from the Quelccaya Ice Cap and supports the scenario that the Little Ice Age (LIA) consisted of two distinct phases�"a wet period from AD 1500 to 1700, and a dry period from AD 1700 to 1880. During the dry period xerophytic shrubs expanded to replace puna grasses on the Altiplano, as suggested by a dramatic drop in the Poaceae/Asteraceae (P/A) pollen ratio. The environment around Sajama was probably similar to the desert-like shrublands of the Southern Bolivian Highlands and western Andean slopes today. The striking similarity between the Sajama and Quelccaya proxy records suggests that climatic changes during the Little Ice Age occurred synchronously across the Altiplano.


1990 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson ◽  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Pieter M. Grootes ◽  
N. Gundestrup

The 550-year records of δ18O and dust concentrations from Siple Station, Antarctica suggest warmer and less dusty atmospheric conditions from 1600 to 1830 A.D. which encompasses much of the northern hemisphere Little Ice Age (LIA). Dust and δ18O data from South Pole Station indicate that the opposite conditions (e.g. cooler and more dusty) were prevalent there during the LIA. Meteorological data from 1945–85 show that the LIA temperature opposition between Amundsen-Scott and Siple, inferred from δ18O, is consistent with the present spatial distribution of surface temperature. There is some observational evidence suggesting that under present conditions stronger zonal westerlies produce a temperature pattern similar to that of the LIA. These regional differences demonstrate that a suite of spatially distributed, high resolution ice-core records will be necessary to characterize the LIA in Antarctica


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-211
Author(s):  
E. Dietze ◽  
A. Kleber ◽  
M. Schwikowski

Abstract. El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is an important element of earth's ocean-climate system. To further understand its past variability, proxy records from climate archives need to be studied. Ice cores from high alpine glaciers may contain high resolution ENSO proxy information, given the glacier site is climatologically sensitive to ENSO. We investigated signals of ENSO in the climate of the subtropical Andes in the proximity of Cerro Tapado glacier (30°08' S, 69°55' W, 5550 m a.s.l.), where a 36 m long ice core was drilled in 1999 (Ginot, 2001). We used annual and semi-annual precipitation and temperature time series from regional meteorological stations and interpolated grids for correlation analyses with ENSO indices and ice core-derived proxies (net accumulation, stable isotope ratio δ18O, major ion concentrations). The total time period investigated here comprises 1900 to 2000, but varies with data sets. Only in the western, i.e. Mediterranean Andes precipitation is higher (lower) during El Niño (La Niña) events, especially at higher altitudes, due to the latitudinal shift of frontal activity during austral winters. However, the temperature response to ENSO is more stable in space and time, being higher (lower) during El Niño (La Niña) events in most of the subtropical Andes all year long. From a northwest to southeast teleconnection gradient, we suggest a regional water vapour feedback triggers temperature anomalies as a function of ENSO-related changes in regional pressure systems, Pacific sea surface temperature and tropical moisture input. Tapado glacier ice proxies are found to be predominantly connected to eastern Andean summer rain climate, which contradicts previous studies and the modern mean spatial boundary between subtropical summer and winter rain climate derived from the grid data. The only ice core proxy showing a response to ENSO is the major ion concentrations, via local temperature indicating reduced sublimation and mineral dust input during El Niño years.


Author(s):  
Adam Sookdeo ◽  
Bernd Kromer ◽  
Florian Adolphi ◽  
Jürg Beer ◽  
Nicolas Brehm ◽  
...  

<p>The Younger Dryas stadial (YD) was a return to glacial-like conditions in the North Atlantic region that interrupted deglacial warming around 12900 cal BP (before 1950 AD). Terrestrial and marine records suggest this event was initiated by the interruption of deep-water formation arising from North American freshwater runoff, but the causes of the millennia-long duration remain unclear. To investigate the solar activity, a possible YD driver, we exploit the cosmic production signals of tree-ring radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C) and ice-core beryllium-10 (<sup>10</sup>Be). Here we present the highest temporally resolved dataset of <sup>14</sup>C measurements (n = 1558) derived from European tree rings that have been accurately extended back to 14226 cal BP (±8, 2-σ), allowing precise alignment of ice-core records across this period. We identify a substantial increase in <sup>14</sup>C and <sup>10</sup>Be production starting at 12780 cal BP is comparable in magnitude to the historic Little Ice Age, being a clear sign of grand solar minima. We hypothesize the timing of the grand solar minima provides a significant amplifying factor leading to the harsh sustained glacial-like conditions seen in the YD.</p>


1982 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 107-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiyuki Fujii ◽  
Tetsuo Ohata

Variation of the microparticle concentration in an ice core from Mizuho station, East Antarctica, does not show the annual cycle that has been demonstrated for ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland by other authors. Possible reasons for the lack of a annual cycle are considered and two causes are suggested. (1) Semi-annual variation of microparticle concentration as observed in drift-snow. The low particle concentration in March and in August to October is not due to minor particle transport, but to the dilution of microparticles transported mainly from arid regions in the southern hemisphere through the troposphere by falling snow. (2) Discontinuous surface-layer formation. A seasonal or an annual sequence of the variation in microparticle concentration in surface snow layers may be interrupted by the absence of surface snow-layer formation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Porter

Time series depicting mountain glacier fluctuations in the Alps display generally similar patterns over the last two centuries, as do chronologies of glacier variations for the same interval from elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Episodes of glacier advance consistently are associated with intervals of high average volcanic aerosol production, as inferred from acidity variations in a Greenland ice core. Advances occur whenever acidity levels rise sharply from background values to reach concentrations ≥1.2 μequiv H+/kg above background. A phase lag of about 10–15 yr, equivalent to reported response lags of Alpine glacier termini, separates the beginning of acidity increases from the beginning of subsequent ice advances. A similar relationship, but based on limited and less-reliable historical data and on lichenometric ages, is found for the preceding 2 centuries. Calibrated radiocarbon dates related to advances of non-calving and non-surging glaciers during the earlier part of the Little Ice Age display a comparable consistent pattern. An interval of reduced acidity values between about 1090 and 1230 A.D. correlates with a time of inferred glacier contraction during the Medieval Optimum. The observed close relation between Noothern Hemisphere glacier fluctuations and variations in Greenland ice-core acidity suggests that sulfur-rich aerosols generated by volcanic eruptions are a primary forcing mechanism of glacier fluctuations, and therefore of climate, on a decadal scale. The amount of surface cooling attributable to individual large eruptions or to episodes of eruptions is simlar to the probable average temperature reduction during culminations of Little Ice Age alacier advances (ca. 0.5°–1.2°C), as inferred from depression of equilibrium-line altitudes.


1996 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Naftz ◽  
R. W. Klusman ◽  
R. L. Michel ◽  
P. F. Schuster ◽  
M. M. Reddy ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 266-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shugui Hou ◽  
Dahe Qin ◽  
Dongqi Zhang ◽  
Jiawen Ren ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
...  

AbstractA 40.9 m ice core was recovered from Far East Rongbuk Glacier (FER), Qomolangma (Mount Everest), Himalaya, and an 80.4 m core from neighboring East Rongbuk Glacier (ER). Both are dated by seasonal variations of δ18O and major-ionic profiles, together with references of β-activity peaks. In this paper we compare the chemical records of these two cores to show post-depositional modification processes. The smoothed β18O profiles of the two cores show a similar trend. However, the mean β18O value of the FER core for the period 1954—96 is 3.12%o less than that of the corresponding part of the ER core, and the major-ionic profiles of the two cores differ considerably. We suggest that melting-away of the snow layer deposited during the pre-monsoon season may account for lower β18O values of the FER than of the ER core, and higher terrestrial ion concentrations in the FER core for the period 1957-63 may contribute to changes by chemical reactions in the presence of snowmelting. The significantly decreased NH4 and, to a lesser degree, SO42 concentrations in the FER core could be caused by the ion elution process that moved most chemicals away with runoff.


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