scholarly journals Formaldehyde and peroxide concentrations in Law Dome (Antarctica) firn and ice cores

2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (152) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Gillett ◽  
T. D. van Ommen ◽  
A.V. Jackson ◽  
G. P. Ayers

AbstractPeroxide speciation and formaldehyde measurements have been made on ice cores retrieved from Law Dome, Antarctica. Measurements were made for ice deposited during four different periods: modern, pre-industrial Holocene, early Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The data show modern peroxide levels >50% above pre-industrial levels (at ∼1.6 μmol L−1) and an absence of methyl hydroperoxide (down to a detection threshold of 0.003 μmol L−1). Formaldehyde levels show a 40% increase from pre-industrial to modern times (rising from ∼0.07 μmol L−1 to ∼0.10 μmol L−1), with a further increase and possible seasonality near the surface which we associate with post-depositional processes. Peroxide levels in LGM ice are low, but formaldehyde concentrations are high (at ∼0.13 μmol L−1) relative to modern levels. Similar high levels of formaldehyde are seen in early Holocene ice (∼6900 years BP).

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (191) ◽  
pp. 552-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Iizuka ◽  
Takayuki Miyake ◽  
Motohiro Hirabayashi ◽  
Toshitaka Suzuki ◽  
Sumito Matoba ◽  
...  

AbstractIn order to find environmental signals based on the dust and calcium-ion concentrations in ice cores, we determine the constituent elements of residue particles obtained after melting ice samples. We have designed a sublimating system that operates at −45°C, below the eutectic temperatures of major salts. This system permits us to obtain a great many non-volatile particles. After studying the non-volatile particles, we immersed them in water to remove soluble particles and compounds. We thereby analyzed a total of 1272 residue particles (from the melted sample), 2418 non-volatile particles (after sublimation) and 1463 insoluble particles taken from five sections of Last Glacial Maximum ice from the Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice core. Their constituent elements were determined by scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and compared to the dust, calcium-ion and sodium-ion concentrations measured by ion chromatography. Our results indicate that >99.9% of the insoluble particles contain silicon but no sulfur, nitrogen or chlorine. A significant number of the non-volatile particles, however, contain sulfur and chlorine. We conclude that insoluble dust consists mostly of silicate, that almost all calcium ions originate from calcium sulfate and that almost all sodium ions originate from sodium sulfate and sodium chloride.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1435-1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Shulmeister ◽  
Justine Kemp ◽  
Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons ◽  
Allen Gontz

Abstract. Here we present the results of a multi-proxy investigation – integrating geomorphology, ground-penetrating radar, and luminescence dating – of a high-elevation lunette and beach berm in northern New South Wales, eastern Australia. The lunette occurs on the eastern shore of Little Llangothlin Lagoon and provides evidence for a lake high stand combined with persistent westerly winds at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM – centring on 21.5 ka) and during the early Holocene (ca. 9 and 6 ka). The reconstructed atmospheric circulation is similar to the present-day conditions, and we infer no significant changes in circulation at those times, as compared to the present day. Our results suggest that the Southern Hemisphere westerlies were minimally displaced in this sector of Australasia during the latter part of the last ice age. Our observations also support evidence for a more positive water balance at the LGM and early Holocene in this part of the Australian sub-tropics.


1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 222-222
Author(s):  
D. Zardini ◽  
D. Raynaud ◽  
D. Scharffe ◽  
W. Seiler

A method has been developed for measuring N2O concentrations in the air extracted from the bubbles contained in ice cores. The air extraction is performed by cutting the ice into very small pieces with a rotating knife, in a controlled atmosphere. The N2O concentrations are measured by gas chromatography. The complete original procedure will be discussed, and the results of the different experimental tests given, with a discussion of the uncertainties.This method has been used to perform about 40 measurements on Antarctic ice samples. Ten air samples from the D57 core date approximately from the beginning of the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. The others were taken from the Dome C core and date from the Holocene and the period around the Last Glacial Maximum. The D57 results are in agreement with those of Pearman and others (1986), leading to a similar pre-industrial N2O level (270-290 ppb volume). Furthermore, our Dome C results suggest that during the Last Glacial Maximum atmospheric N2O content was not drastically different from the recent period.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Paul ◽  
Alexandre Cauquoin ◽  
Stefan Mulitza ◽  
Thejna Tharammal ◽  
Martin Werner

<p>In simulations of the climate during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), we employ two different isotope-enabled atmospheric general circulation models (NCAR iCAM3 and MPI ECHAM6-wiso) and use simulated (by coupled climate models) as well as reconstructed (from a new global climatology of the ocean surface duing the LGM, GLOMAP) surface conditions.</p><p>The resulting atmospheric fields reflect the more pronounced structure and gradients in the reconstructions, for example, the precipitation is more depleted in oxygen-18 in the high latitudes and more enriched in low latitudes, especially in the tropical convective regions over the maritime continent in the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans and over the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, at the sites of ice cores and speleothems, the model-data fit improves in terms of the coefficients of determination and root-mean square errors.</p><p>In additional sensitivity experiments, we also use the climatologies by Annan and Hargreaves (2013) and Tierney et al. (2020) and consider the impact of changes in reconstructed sea-ice extent and the global-mean sea-surface temperature.</p><p>Our findings imply that the correct simulation or reconstruction of patterns and gradients in sea-surface conditions are crucial for a successful comparison to oxygen-isotope data from ice cores and speleothems.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaelle Bouttes ◽  
Ruza Ivanovic ◽  
Ayako Abe-Ouchi ◽  
Hidetaka Kobayashi ◽  
Laurie Menviel ◽  
...  

<p>More and more climate models now include the carbon cycle, but multi-models studies of climate-carbon simulations within the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) are limited to present and future time periods. In addition, the carbon cycle is not considered in the simulations of past periods analysed within the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP). Yet, climate-carbon interactions are crucial to anticipate future atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations and their impact on climate. Such interactions can change depending on the background climate, it is thus necessary to compare model results among themselves and to data for past periods with different climates such as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).</p><p>The Last Glacial Maximum, around 21,000 years ago, was about 4°C colder than the pre-industrial, and associated with large ice sheets on the American and Eurasian continents. It is one of the best documented periods thanks to numerous paleoclimate archives such as marine sediment cores and ice cores. Despite this period having been studied for years, no consensus on the causes of the lower atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration at the time (around 180 ppm) has been reached and models still struggle to simulate these low CO<sub>2</sub> values. The ocean, which contains around 40 times more carbon than the atmosphere, likely plays a key role, but models tend to simulate ocean circulation changes in disagreement with proxy data, such as carbon isotopes.</p><p>This new project aims at comparing, for the first time, the carbon cycle representation at the Last Glacial Maximum from general circulation models and intermediate complexity models. We will explain the protocol and present first results in terms of carbon storage in the main reservoirs (atmosphere, land and ocean) and their link to key climate variables such as temperature, sea ice and ocean circulation. The use of coupled climate-carbon models will not only allow to compare changes in the carbon cycle in models and analyse their causes, but it will also enable us to better compare to indirect data related to the carbon cycle such as carbon isotopes.</p>


Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 372 (6546) ◽  
pp. 1097-1101
Author(s):  
Christo Buizert ◽  
T. J. Fudge ◽  
William H. G. Roberts ◽  
Eric J. Steig ◽  
Sam Sherriff-Tadano ◽  
...  

Water-stable isotopes in polar ice cores are a widely used temperature proxy in paleoclimate reconstruction, yet calibration remains challenging in East Antarctica. Here, we reconstruct the magnitude and spatial pattern of Last Glacial Maximum surface cooling in Antarctica using borehole thermometry and firn properties in seven ice cores. West Antarctic sites cooled ~10°C relative to the preindustrial period. East Antarctic sites show a range from ~4° to ~7°C cooling, which is consistent with the results of global climate models when the effects of topographic changes indicated with ice core air-content data are included, but less than those indicated with the use of water-stable isotopes calibrated against modern spatial gradients. An altered Antarctic temperature inversion during the glacial reconciles our estimates with water-isotope observations.


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