scholarly journals A portable lightweight in situ analysis (LISA) box for ice and snow analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 3719-3730
Author(s):  
Helle Astrid Kjær ◽  
Lisa Lolk Hauge ◽  
Marius Simonsen ◽  
Zurine Yoldi ◽  
Iben Koldtoft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
In Situ Analysis ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Drilling Site ◽  
Core Project

Abstract. There are enormous costs involved in transporting snow and ice samples to home laboratories for “simple” analyses in order to constrain annual layer thicknesses and identify accumulation rates of specific sites. It is well known that depositional noise, incurred from factors such as wind drifts, seasonally biased deposition and melt layers can influence individual snow and firn records and that multiple cores are required to produce statistically robust time series. Thus, at many sites, core samples are measured in the field for densification, but the annual accumulation and the content of chemical impurities are often represented by just one core to reduce transport costs. We have developed a portable “lightweight in situ analysis” (LISA) box for ice, firn and snow analysis that is capable of constraining annual layers through the continuous flow analysis of meltwater conductivity and hydrogen peroxide under field conditions. The box can run using a small gasoline generator and weighs less than 50 kg. The LISA box was tested under field conditions at the East Greenland Ice-core Project (EastGRIP) deep ice core drilling site in northern Greenland. Analysis of the top 2 m of snow from seven sites in northern Greenland allowed the reconstruction of regional snow accumulation patterns for the 2015–2018 period (summer to summer).

scholarly journals A portable Lightweight In Situ Analysis (LISA) box for ice and snow analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helle Astrid Kjær ◽  
Lisa Lolk Hauge ◽  
Marius Simonsen ◽  
Zurine Yoldi ◽  
Iben Koldtoft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
In Situ Analysis ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Water Conductivity ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Drilling Site

Abstract. Polar researchers spend enormous costs transporting snow and ice samples to home laboratories for simple analyses in order to constrain annual layer thicknesses and identifying accumulation rates of specific sites. It is well known that depositional noise, incurred from wind drifts, seasonally-biased deposition, melt layers and more, can influence individual snow and firn records and that multiple cores are required to produce statistically robust time series. Thus at many sites core samples are measured in the field for densification, but the annual accumulation and the content of chemical impurities are often represented by just one core to reduce transport costs. We have developed a portable Light weight in Situ Analysis (LISA) box for ice, firn and snow analysis capable of constraining annual layers through the continuous flow analysis of melt water conductivity and peroxide under field conditions. The box can run using a small gasoline-generator and weighs less than 50 kg. The LISA box was tested under field conditions at the deep ice core drilling site EastGRIP in Northern Greenland. Analysis of the top 2 metres of snow from 7 sites in Northern Greenland (Figure 1) allowed the reconstruction of regional snow accumulation patterns for the period 2015–2019.

scholarly journals On the occurrence of annual layers in Dome Fuji ice core early Holocene ice

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1127-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Svensson ◽  
S. Fujita ◽  
M. Bigler ◽  
M. Braun ◽  
R. Dallmayr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
High Temporal Resolution ◽  
High Accumulation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Antarctic Plateau ◽  
Annual Layer

Abstract. Whereas ice cores from high-accumulation sites in coastal Antarctica clearly demonstrate annual layering, it is debated whether a seasonal signal is also preserved in ice cores from lower-accumulation sites further inland and particularly on the East Antarctic Plateau. In this study, we examine 5 m of early Holocene ice from the Dome Fuji (DF) ice core at a high temporal resolution by continuous flow analysis. The ice was continuously analysed for concentrations of dust, sodium, ammonium, liquid conductivity, and water isotopic composition. Furthermore, a dielectric profiling was performed on the solid ice. In most of the analysed ice, the multi-parameter impurity data set appears to resolve the seasonal variability although the identification of annual layers is not always unambiguous. The study thus provides information on the snow accumulation process in central East Antarctica. A layer counting based on the same principles as those previously applied to the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice core Project) and the Antarctic EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dronning Maud Land (EDML) ice cores leads to a mean annual layer thickness for the DF ice of 3.0 ± 0.3 cm that compares well to existing estimates. The measured DF section is linked to the EDML ice core through a characteristic pattern of three significant acidity peaks that are present in both cores. The corresponding section of the EDML ice core has recently been dated by annual layer counting and the number of years identified independently in the two cores agree within error estimates. We therefore conclude that, to first order, the annual signal is preserved in this section of the DF core. This case study demonstrates the feasibility of determining annually deposited strata on the central East Antarctic Plateau. It also opens the possibility of resolving annual layers in the Eemian section of Antarctic ice cores where the accumulation is estimated to have been greater than in the Holocene.

scholarly journals Microstructure, Micro-inclusions and Mineralogy along the EGRIP ice core – Part 2: Implications for paleo-mineralogy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Stoll ◽  
Maria Hörhold ◽  
Tobias Erhardt ◽  
Jan Eichler ◽  
Camilla Jensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
Continuous Flow Analysis ◽  
Core Project ◽  
Core Part

Abstract. Impurities in polar ice do not only allow the reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol concentration, but also in- fluence the physical properties of the ice. However, the mineralogy and location of impurities in ice and the involved processes are poorly understood. We use Continuous Flow Analysis to derive the dust particle concentration and optical microscopy and Cryo-Raman spectroscopy to systematically locate and analyse the mineralogy of micro-inclusions in situ inside eleven solid ice samples from the upper 1340 m of the East Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. Micro-inclusions are more variable in min- eralogy than previously observed and are mainly composed of mineral dust (quartz, mica and feldspar) and sulphates (mainly gypsum). Inclusions of the same composition tend to cluster, but clustering frequency and mineralogy changes considerably with depth. A variety of sulphates dominate the upper 900 m while gypsum is the only sulphate in deeper samples, which however contain more mineral dust, nitrates and dolomite. The analysed part of the core can thus be divided into two depth regimes of different mineralogy, and to a lesser degree of spatial distribution, which could originate from different chemical reactions in the ice or large-scale changes of ice cover in NE-Greenland during the Mid-Holocene. The complexity of impurity mineralogy on the metre- and centimetre-scale in polar ice is still underestimated and new methodological approaches are necessary to establish a comprehensive understanding of the role of impurities.

scholarly journals Sulphate record from a northeast Greenland ice core over the last 1200 years based on continuous flow analysis

2002 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 250-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Bigler ◽  
Dietmar Wagenbach ◽  
Hubertus Fischer ◽  
Josef Kipfstuhl ◽  
Heinrich Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Flow ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Depth Resolution ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Small Shift ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Continuous Flow Analysis ◽  
Clear Identification ◽  
Relative Errors

AbstractA 150 m deep ice core from the low-accumulation area of northeast Greenland was analyzed for sulphate, calcium, sodium and electrolytical meltwater conductivity at a depth resolution of approximately 1 cm by continuous flow analysis (CFA). the calcium and sodium profiles are used to establish a relatively precise ice-core chronology by annual-layer counting back to AD 830. Inspection of the novel CFA method for sulphate revealed relative errors typically around 15%, but at least ±20 ng g–1, for concentrations 5130 ng g–1, and a current detection limit for routine ice-core analyses of 40 ng g–1. Annual sulphate peaks are shown to occur over almost the entire core, with only a small shift in seasonality between the modern and pre-industrial sections. Inspection of volcanic horizons allowed more accurate timing of these peaks and clear identification of calcium-rich events. Disregarding clear volcanic peaks, significant long-term changes of sulphate are only seen over the industrial period. However, a higher frequency of important volcanic inputs was identified around AD 1200.

scholarly journals A first chronology for the East GReenland Ice-core Project (EGRIP) over the Holocene and last glacial termination

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyedhamidreza Mojtabavi ◽  
Frank Wilhelms ◽  
Eliza Cook ◽  
Siwan Davies ◽  
Giulia Sinnl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Core Project

Abstract. This paper provides the first chronology for the deep ice core from the East GReenland Ice-core Project (EGRIP) over the Holocene and late last glacial period. We rely mainly on volcanic events and common patterns of peaks in dielectric profiling (DEP), electrical conductivity measurements (ECM) and tephra records for the synchronization between the EGRIP, NEEM and NGRIP ice cores in Greenland. We transfer the annual-layer-counted Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) timescale from the NGRIP core to the EGRIP ice core by means of 373 match points. The NEEM ice core is only used for supporting match-point identification. We name our EGRIP time scale GICC05-EGRIP-1. Over the uppermost 1383.84 m, we establish a depth–age relationship dating back to 14,965 a b2k (years before the year 2000 CE). Tephra horizons provide an independent validation of our match points. In addition, we compare the ratio of annual layer thicknesses between ice cores in-between the match points to assess our results in view of the different ice-flow patterns and accumulation regimes of the different periods and geographical regions. This initial timescale is the basis of interpretation and refinement of the presently derived EGRIP high-resolution data sets of chemical impurities.

scholarly journals New LA-ICP-MS cryocell and calibration technique for sub-millimeter analysis of ice cores

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (226) ◽  
pp. 233-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon B. Sneed ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
W.G. Sayre ◽  
Michael J. Handley ◽  
Andrei V. Kurbatov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Calibration Technique ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Icp Ms ◽  
Plasma Mass Spectrometry

AbstractIce cores provide a robust reconstruction of past climate. However, development of timescales by annual-layer counting, essential to detailed climate reconstruction and interpretation, on ice cores collected at low-accumulation sites or in regions of compressed ice, is problematic due to closely spaced layers. Ice-core analysis by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) provides sub-millimeter-scale sampling resolution (on the order of 100 μm in this study) and the low detection limits (ng L−1) necessary to measure the chemical constituents preserved in ice cores. We present a newly developed cryocell that can hold a 1 m long section of ice core, and an alternative strategy for calibration. Using ice-core samples from central Greenland, we demonstrate the repeatability of multiple ablation passes, highlight the improved sampling resolution, verify the calibration technique and identify annual layers in the chemical profile in a deep section of an ice core where annual layers have not previously been identified using chemistry. In addition, using sections of cores from the Swiss/Italian Alps we illustrate the relationship between Ca, Na and Fe and particle concentration and conductivity, and validate the LA-ICP-MS Ca profile through a direct comparison with continuous flow analysis results.

scholarly journals Snow accumulation rate on Qomolangma (Mount Everest), Himalaya: synchroneity with sites across the Tibetan Plateau on 50–100 year timescales

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (185) ◽  
pp. 343-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Kaspari ◽  
Roger LeB. Hooke ◽  
Paul Andrew Mayewski ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Shugui Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mount Everest ◽  
Mountain Meteorology ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
The Mean

AbstractAnnual-layer thickness data, spanning AD 1534–2001, from an ice core from East Rongbuk Col on Qomolangma (Mount Everest, Himalaya) yield an age–depth profile that deviates systematically from a constant accumulation-rate analytical model. The profile clearly shows that the mean accumulation rate has changed every 50–100 years. A numerical model was developed to determine the magnitude of these multi-decadal-scale rates. The model was used to obtain a time series of annual accumulation. The mean annual accumulation rate decreased from ∼0.8 m ice equivalent in the 1500s to ∼0.3 m in the mid-1800s. From ∼1880 to ∼1970 the rate increased. However, it has decreased since ∼1970. Comparison with six other records from the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau shows that the changes in accumulation in East Rongbuk Col are broadly consistent with a regional pattern over much of the Plateau. This suggests that there may be an overarching mechanism controlling precipitation and mass balance over this area. However, a record from Dasuopu, only 125 km northwest of Qomolangma and 700 m higher than East Rongbuk Col, shows a maximum in accumulation during the 1800s, a time during which the East Rongbuk Col and Tibetan Plateau ice-core and tree-ring records show a minimum. This asynchroneity may be due to altitudinal or seasonal differences in monsoon versus westerly moisture sources or complex mountain meteorology.

scholarly journals Dating of a Dome Fuji (Antarctica) shallow ice core by volcanic signal synchronization with B32 and EDML1 chronologies

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 769-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Motizuki ◽  
Y. Nakai ◽  
K. Takahashi ◽  
M. Igarashi ◽  
H. Motoyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
Signature Matching ◽  
Dronning Maud Land ◽  
Signal Synchronization ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Drilling Site

Abstract. We found extremely good synchronization of volcanic eruption signals between a shallow ice core drilled at Dome Fuji in 2001 (DF01 core) and the B32 shallow ice core from Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. We then applied volcanic signature matching to transfer the B32 chronology constructed by annual layer counting to a portion of the DF01 core for which annual layer counting was difficult because of the low precipitation rate. Matching was done by careful comparison of non-sea-salt sulfate (nssSO42−) data, which have a temporal resolution of about 1 yr, between the DF01 and B32 cores. The newly obtained chronology is called DFS1 (Dome Fuji Shallow ice core 1). In total, 31 volcanic eruptions were synchronized from AD 1900 back to AD 187, the earliest volcanic eruption date in the B32 core. The mean accumulation rate between synchronized volcanic horizons of the Dome Fuji core relative to rates at the B32 core drilling site did not differ significantly between these dates, increasing our confidence in this matching approach. We also used the B32-correlated EDML1/EDC3 chronology obtained from the top part of the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (DML) deep ice core to date a portion of the DF01 core. This new chronology, called DFS2 (Dome Fuji Shallow ice core 2), uses the correlations between B32 and EDML1/EDC3 ages to date the DF01 core from AD 1900 back to AD 199; moreover, four volcanic eruption dates from the EDML1/EDC3 chronology were used to date the interval from AD 199 back to AD 1. Because the EDML1/EDC3 ages were determined by adopting the B32 chronology back to AD 1170, DFS1 and DFS2 dates are identical between AD 1170 and 1900. These two methods enabled us to obtain a detailed chronology of the DF01 core, in particular the part before the last millennium, which has been difficult before this. We also present the absolute mean accumulation rates at Dome Fuji between AD 1 and 1900, based on the DFS1 and DFS2 chronologies.

scholarly journals Snow Accumulation and Oxygen-Isotope Records at the Law Dome Summit, Antarctica (Abstract)

1988 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 220-220
Author(s):  
V. I. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Isotope Ratio ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Surface Profile ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Annual Layer ◽  
The Law

At the summit of Law Dome (66°44′S, 112°50′E) the annual snow accumulation is equivalent to 0.7 m of water, and seasonal cycles of oxygen-isotope ratio are preserved clearly in the firn. Isotope-ratio measurements on three 28 m deep ice cores taken 15 m apart near the summit show that although annual layer thicknesses are well correlated between the cores, the actual isotope values (even when averaged over several years’ accumulation) are poorly correlated.Since the three sites must obviously receive the same precipitation, the differences in isotope ratio imply that the amounts of the precipitation retained as accumulation from individual snow-falls throughout the year must vary. The large seasonal variation in isotope ratio then easily accounts for the offsets.In the Law Dome region, precipitation occurs mainly as a result of cyclonic activity in spring, winter and autumn. The stronger winds experienced at these times cause the snow to be formed into large dunes, which are the stable (although moving) surface configuration under these conditions. The movement of dunes by erosion on one face and deposition on the other causes the snow in them to be well mixed. Isotope measurements on a 0.7 m high dune on the inland ice cap showed that it was composed of “winter” snow, with an average isotope value of −28.2% and a range of only 1%. The harder underlying snow had values which varied between −24.2 and −27.4%.During periods of relatively calm or warm conditions the dunes become consolidated and their movement is greatly reduced. Further snow-falls then do not add accumulation to the top and up-wind side of the dunes but tend to fill them in on the down-wind side. In particular it is observed that for Law Dome the surface profile is quite rough in winter and spring, but the more gentle winds and light snow-falls experienced in summer produce a very smooth surface at the beginning of autumn, with all the surface hollows filled in.The ice-core isotope profiles confirm the evenness of the summer accumulation, compared to that of winter. Correlation coefficients are typically 0.26 for the winter minima and 0.65 for the summer peak in isotope ratio. This means that somewhat shorter averaging times can be used when compiling “climatic” records from isotope profiles if only the “summer” isotope values are used. This is useful in comparison of isotopic and meteorological data when only a limited time span is available.Apart from the short-term effects, which can be reduced as desired by longer averaging periods, these core studies also demonstrate how any process which can modulate the precipitation or accumulation will also affect the isotopic composition of the accumulated snow.

scholarly journals Ice-nucleating particle concentrations of the past: insights from a 600-year-old Greenland ice core

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 12459-12482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jann Schrod ◽  
Dominik Kleinhenz ◽  
Maria Hörhold ◽  
Tobias Erhardt ◽  
Sarah Richter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Accumulation Rate ◽  
Deposition Velocity ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Radiative Properties ◽  
The Past ◽  
Special Events

Abstract. Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) affect the microphysics in cloud and precipitation processes. Hence, they modulate the radiative properties of clouds. However, atmospheric INP concentrations of the past are basically unknown. Here, we present INP measurements from an ice core in Greenland, which dates back to the year 1370. In total 135 samples were analyzed with the FRIDGE droplet freezing assay in the temperature range from −14 to −35 ∘C. The sampling frequency was set to 1 in 10 years from 1370 to 1960. From 1960 to 1990 the frequency was increased to one sample per year. Additionally, a few special events were probed, including volcanic episodes. The typical time coverage of a sample was on the order of a few months. Historical atmospheric INP concentrations were estimated with a conversion factor, which depends on the snow accumulation rate of the ice core, particle dry deposition velocity, and wet scavenging ratio. Typical atmospheric INP concentrations were on the order of 0.1 L−1 at −25 ∘C. The INP variability was found to be about 1–2 orders of magnitude. Yet, the short-term variability from samples over a seasonal cycle was considerably lower. INP concentrations were significantly correlated to some chemical tracers derived from continuous-flow analysis (CFA) and ion chromatography (IC) over a broad range of nucleation temperatures. The highest correlation coefficients were found for the particle concentration (spherical diameter dp > 1.2 µm). The correlation is higher for a time period of seasonal samples, where INP concentrations follow a clear annual pattern, highlighting the importance of the annual dust input in Greenland from East Asian deserts during spring. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of selected samples found mineral dust to be the dominant particle fraction, verifying their significance as INPs. Overall, the concentrations compare reasonably well to present-day INP concentrations, albeit they are on the lower side. However, we found that the INP concentration at medium supercooled temperatures differed before and after 1960. Average INP concentrations at −23, −24, −25, −26, and −28 ∘C were significantly higher (and more variable) in the modern-day period, which could indicate a potential anthropogenic impact, e.g., from land-use change.

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