Articles | Volume 11, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2439-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2439-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
03 Nov 2017
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 03 Nov 2017
Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) migration in polar ice: data synthesis and theory
Matthew Osman
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography/
Applied Ocean Sciences and Engineering, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Sarah B. Das
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
Olivier Marchal
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
Matthew J. Evans
Dept. of Chemistry, Wheaton College, Wheaton, MA, USA
Related authors
Matthew Osman, Maria A. Zawadowicz, Sarah B. Das, and Daniel J. Cziczo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4459–4477, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4459-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4459-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the first-time attempt at using time-of-flight single particle mass spectrometry (SPMS) as an emerging online technique for measuring insoluble particles in glacial snow and ice. Using samples from two Greenlandic ice cores, we show that SPMS can constrain the aerodynamic size, composition, and relative abundance of most particulate types on a per-particle basis, reducing the preparation time and resources required of conventional, filter-based particle retrieval methods.
Grace P. Gjerde, Mark D. Behn, Laura A. Stevens, Sarah B. Das, and Ian R. Joughin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3700, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3700, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We characterize the magnitude and variability of transient speed-ups across a GPS array in western Greenland in 2011 and 2012. While we find no relationship between speed-up and runoff, late-season events have larger speed-up amplitudes and more spatially uniform patterns of speed-up across the GPS array compared to early season events. These results reflect an evolution toward a less efficient drainage system late in the melt season, with a pervasive system of open surface-to-bed conduits.
Brandon Stephens, Montserrat Roca-Martí, Amy Maas, Vinícius Amaral, Samantha Clevenger, Shawnee Traylor, Claudia Benitez-Nelson, Philip Boyd, Ken Buesseler, Craig Carlson, Nicolas Cassar, Margaret Estapa, Andrea Fassbender, Yibin Huang, Phoebe Lam, Olivier Marchal, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Nicola Paul, Alyson Santoro, David Siegel, and David Nicholson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2251, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2251, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The ocean’s mesopelagic zone (MZ) plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. This study combines new and previously published measurements of organic carbon supply and demand collected in August 2018 for the MZ in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. Supply was insufficient to meet demand in August, but supply entering into the MZ in the spring of 2018 could have met the August demand. Results suggest observations over seasonal time scales may help to close MZ carbon budgets.
Eva De Andrés, Donald A. Slater, Fiamma Straneo, Jaime Otero, Sarah Das, and Francisco Navarro
The Cryosphere, 14, 1951–1969, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1951-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1951-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Buoyant plumes at tidewater glaciers result from localized subglacial discharges of surface melt. They promote glacier submarine melting and influence the delivery of nutrients to the fjord's surface waters. Combining plume theory with observations, we have found that increased fjord stratification, which is due to larger meltwater content, prevents the vertical growth of the plume and buffers submarine melting. We discuss the implications for nutrient fluxes, CO2 trapping and water export.
Till J. W. Wagner, Fiamma Straneo, Clark G. Richards, Donald A. Slater, Laura A. Stevens, Sarah B. Das, and Hanumant Singh
The Cryosphere, 13, 911–925, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-911-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-911-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This study shows how complex and varied the processes are that determine the frontal position of tidewater glaciers. Rather than uniform melt or calving rates, a single (medium-sized) glacier can feature regions that retreat almost exclusively due to melting and other regions that retreat only due to calving. This has far-reaching consequences for our understanding of how glaciers retreat or advance.
Matthew Osman, Maria A. Zawadowicz, Sarah B. Das, and Daniel J. Cziczo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4459–4477, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4459-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4459-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the first-time attempt at using time-of-flight single particle mass spectrometry (SPMS) as an emerging online technique for measuring insoluble particles in glacial snow and ice. Using samples from two Greenlandic ice cores, we show that SPMS can constrain the aerodynamic size, composition, and relative abundance of most particulate types on a per-particle basis, reducing the preparation time and resources required of conventional, filter-based particle retrieval methods.
Related subject area
Ice Cores
What does the impurity variability at the microscale represent in ice cores? Insights from a conceptual approach
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurements for high-resolution chemical ice core analyses with a first application to an ice core from Skytrain Ice Rise (Antarctica)
The grain-scale signature of isotopic diffusion in ice
Combining traditional and novel techniques to increase our understanding of the lock-in depth of atmospheric gases in polar ice cores – results from the EastGRIP region
Scientific history, sampling approach, and physical characterization of the Camp Century subglacial material, a rare archive from beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet
Novel approach to estimate the water isotope diffusion length in deep ice cores with an application to Marine Isotope Stage 19 in the Dome C ice core
The potential of in situ cosmogenic 14CO in ice cores as a proxy for galactic cosmic ray flux variations
Characterization of in situ cosmogenic 14CO production, retention and loss in firn and shallow ice at Summit, Greenland
Research into mechanical modeling based on characteristics of the fracture mechanics of ice cutting for scientific drilling in polar regions
Temporal markers in a temperate ice core: insights from 3H and 137Cs profiles from the Adamello Glacier
Review article: Melt-affected ice cores for polar research in a warming world
Impact of subsurface crevassing on the depth–age relationship of high-Alpine ice cores extracted at Col du Dôme between 1994 and 2012
Fifty years of firn evolution on Grigoriev ice cap, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan
Climate change is rapidly deteriorating the climatic signal in Svalbard glaciers
Development of deformational regimes and microstructures in the deep sections and overall layered structures of the Dome Fuji ice core, Antarctica
Identifying atmospheric processes favouring the formation of bubble-free layers in the Law Dome ice core, East Antarctica
Millennial and orbital-scale variability in a 54 000-year record of total air content from the South Pole ice core
Investigating the spatial representativeness of East Antarctic ice cores: a comparison of ice core and radar-derived surface mass balance over coastal ice rises and Dome Fuji
Early Holocene ice on the Begguya plateau (Mt. Hunter, Alaska) revealed by ice core 14C age constraints
Greenland and Canadian Arctic ice temperature profiles database
Isotopic diffusion in ice enhanced by vein-water flow
A one-dimensional temperature and age modeling study for selecting the drill site of the oldest ice core near Dome Fuji, Antarctica
Chemical and visual characterisation of EGRIP glacial ice and cloudy bands within
Using ice core measurements from Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, to calibrate in situ cosmogenic 14C production rates by muons
Detection of ice core particles via deep neural networks
Development of crystal orientation fabric in the Dome Fuji ice core in East Antarctica: implications for the deformation regime in ice sheets
Gas isotope thermometry in the South Pole and Dome Fuji ice cores provides evidence for seasonal rectification of ice core gas records
Chronostratigraphy of the Larsen blue-ice area in northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica, and its implications for paleoclimate
A quantitative method of resolving annual precipitation for the past millennia from Tibetan ice cores
Regional variability of diatoms in ice cores from the Antarctic Peninsula and Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP ice core – Part 1: Localisation of inclusions and deformation patterns
Fractionation of O2∕N2 and Ar∕N2 in the Antarctic ice sheet during bubble formation and bubble–clathrate hydrate transition from precise gas measurements of the Dome Fuji ice core
Deep ice as a geochemical reactor: insights from iron speciation and mineralogy of dust in the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica)
Two-dimensional impurity imaging in deep Antarctic ice cores: snapshots of three climatic periods and implications for high-resolution signal interpretation
Acoustic velocity measurements for detecting the crystal orientation fabrics of a temperate ice core
Brief communication: New evidence further constraining Tibetan ice core chronologies to the Holocene
Brief communication: New radar constraints support presence of ice older than 1.5 Myr at Little Dome C
Pervasive diffusion of climate signals recorded in ice-vein ionic impurities
Radiocarbon dating of alpine ice cores with the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fraction
Giant dust particles at Nevado Illimani: a proxy of summertime deep convection over the Bolivian Altiplano
Physical properties of shallow ice cores from Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
Stable water isotopes and accumulation rates in the Union Glacier region, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica, over the last 35 years
Multi-tracer study of gas trapping in an East Antarctic ice core
Very old firn air linked to strong density layering at Styx Glacier, coastal Victoria Land, East Antarctica
Apparent discrepancy of Tibetan ice core δ18O records may be attributed to misinterpretation of chronology
Challenges associated with the climatic interpretation of water stable isotope records from a highly resolved firn core from Adélie Land, coastal Antarctica
Glaciological characteristics in the Dome Fuji region and new assessment for “Oldest Ice”
Age ranges of the Tibetan ice cores with emphasis on the Chongce ice cores, western Kunlun Mountains
On the similarity and apparent cycles of isotopic variations in East Antarctic snow pits
Piers Larkman, Rachael H. Rhodes, Nicolas Stoll, Carlo Barbante, and Pascal Bohleber
The Cryosphere, 19, 1373–1390, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1373-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-1373-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Impurities in ice cores can be preferentially located at the boundaries between crystals of ice, impacting the interpretation of high-resolution data collected from ice core samples. Through use of a modelling framework, we demonstrate that one-dimensional signals can be significantly affected by this association, meaning high-resolution measurements must be carefully designed. Accounting for this effect is important for interpreting ice core data, especially for deep ice samples.
Helene Hoffmann, Jason Day, Rachael H. Rhodes, Mackenzie Grieman, Jack Humby, Isobel Rowell, Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, Robert Mulvaney, Sally Gibson, and Eric Wolff
The Cryosphere, 18, 4993–5013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4993-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4993-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice cores are archives of past atmospheric conditions. In deep and old ice, the layers containing this information get thinned to the millimetre scale or below. We installed a setup for high-resolution (182 μm) chemical impurity measurements in ice cores using the laser ablation technique at the University of Cambridge. In a first application to the Skytrain ice core from Antarctica, we discuss the potential to detect fine-layered structures in ice up to an age of 26 000 years.
Felix S. L. Ng
The Cryosphere, 18, 4645–4669, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4645-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4645-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Liquid veins and grain boundaries in ice can accelerate the decay of climate signals in δ18O and δD by short-circuiting the slow isotopic diffusion in crystal grains. This theory for "excess diffusion" has not been confirmed experimentally. We show that, if the mechanism occurs, then distinct isotopic patterns must form near grain junctions, offering a testable prediction of the theory. We calculate the patterns and describe an experimental scheme for testing ice-core samples for the mechanism.
Julien Westhoff, Johannes Freitag, Anaïs Orsi, Patricia Martinerie, Ilka Weikusat, Michael Dyonisius, Xavier Faïn, Kevin Fourteau, and Thomas Blunier
The Cryosphere, 18, 4379–4397, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4379-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4379-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We study the EastGRIP area, Greenland, in detail with traditional and novel techniques. Due to the compaction of the ice, at a certain depth, atmospheric gases can no longer exchange, and the atmosphere is trapped in air bubbles in the ice. We find this depth by pumping air from a borehole, modeling, and using a new technique based on the optical appearance of the ice. Our results suggest that the close-off depth lies at around 58–61 m depth and more precisely at 58.3 m depth.
Paul R. Bierman, Andrew J. Christ, Catherine M. Collins, Halley M. Mastro, Juliana Souza, Pierre-Henri Blard, Stefanie Brachfeld, Zoe R. Courville, Tammy M. Rittenour, Elizabeth K. Thomas, Jean-Louis Tison, and François Fripiat
The Cryosphere, 18, 4029–4052, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4029-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4029-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In 1966, the U.S. Army drilled through the Greenland Ice Sheet at Camp Century, Greenland; they recovered 3.44 m of frozen material. Here, we decipher the material’s history. Water, flowing during a warm interglacial when the ice sheet melted from northwest Greenland, deposited the upper material which contains fossil plant and insect parts. The lower material, separated by more than a meter of ice with some sediment, is till, deposited by the ice sheet during a prior cold period.
Fyntan Shaw, Andrew M. Dolman, Torben Kunz, Vasileios Gkinis, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 18, 3685–3698, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3685-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3685-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Fast variability of water isotopes in ice cores is attenuated by diffusion but can be restored if the diffusion length is accurately estimated. Current estimation methods are inadequate for deep ice, mischaracterising millennial-scale climate variability. We address this using variability estimates from shallower ice. The estimated diffusion length of 31 cm for the bottom of the Dome C ice core is 20 cm less than the old method, enabling signal recovery on timescales previously considered lost.
Vasilii V. Petrenko, Segev BenZvi, Michael Dyonisius, Benjamin Hmiel, Andrew M. Smith, and Christo Buizert
The Cryosphere, 18, 3439–3451, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3439-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3439-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This manuscript presents the concept for a new proxy for past variations in the galactic cosmic ray flux (GCR). Past variations in GCR flux are important to understand for interpretation of records of isotopes produced by cosmic rays; these records are used for reconstructing solar variations and past land ice extent. The proxy involves using measurements of 14CO in ice cores, which should provide an uncomplicated and precise estimate of past GCR flux variations for the past few thousand years.
Benjamin Hmiel, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Christo Buizert, Andrew M. Smith, Michael N. Dyonisius, Philip Place, Bin Yang, Quan Hua, Ross Beaudette, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Christina Harth, Ray F. Weiss, Lindsey Davidge, Melisa Diaz, Matthew Pacicco, James A. Menking, Michael Kalk, Xavier Faïn, Alden Adolph, Isaac Vimont, and Lee T. Murray
The Cryosphere, 18, 3363–3382, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3363-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The main aim of this research is to improve understanding of carbon-14 that is produced by cosmic rays in ice sheets. Measurements of carbon-14 in ice cores can provide a range of useful information (age of ice, past atmospheric chemistry, past cosmic ray intensity). Our results show that almost all (>99 %) of carbon-14 that is produced in the upper layer of ice sheets is rapidly lost to the atmosphere. Our results also provide better estimates of carbon-14 production rates in deeper ice.
Xinyu Lv, Zhihao Cui, Ting Wang, Yumin Wen, An Liu, and Rusheng Wang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3351–3362, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3351-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3351-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, the formation process of ice chips was observed and the fracture mechanics characteristics of the ice during the cutting process were analyzed. Additionally, a mechanical model for the cutting force was established based on the observation and analysis results. Finally, influencing factors and laws of the cutting force were verified by cutting force test results generated under various experimental conditions.
Elena Di Stefano, Giovanni Baccolo, Massimiliano Clemenza, Barbara Delmonte, Deborah Fiorini, Roberto Garzonio, Margit Schwikowski, and Valter Maggi
The Cryosphere, 18, 2865–2874, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2865-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2865-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Rising temperatures are impacting the reliability of glaciers as environmental archives. This study reports how meltwater percolation affects the distribution of tritium and cesium, which are commonly used as temporal markers in dating ice cores, in a temperate glacier. Our findings challenge the established application of radionuclides for dating mountain ice cores and indicate tritium as the best choice.
Dorothea Elisabeth Moser, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, Anja Eichler, and Eric Wolff
The Cryosphere, 18, 2691–2718, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2691-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2691-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Increasing temperatures worldwide lead to more melting of glaciers and ice caps, even in the polar regions. This is why ice-core scientists need to prepare to analyse records affected by melting and refreezing. In this paper, we present a summary of how near-surface melt forms, what structural imprints it leaves in snow, how various signatures used for ice-core climate reconstruction are altered, and how we can still extract valuable insights from melt-affected ice cores.
Susanne Preunkert, Pascal Bohleber, Michel Legrand, Adrien Gilbert, Tobias Erhardt, Roland Purtschert, Lars Zipf, Astrid Waldner, Joseph R. McConnell, and Hubertus Fischer
The Cryosphere, 18, 2177–2194, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2177-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Ice cores from high-elevation Alpine glaciers are an important tool to reconstruct the past atmosphere. However, since crevasses are common at these glacier sites, rigorous investigations of glaciological conditions upstream of drill sites are needed before interpreting such ice cores. On the basis of three ice cores extracted at Col du Dôme (4250 m a.s.l; French Alps), an overall picture of a dynamic crevasse formation is drawn, which disturbs the depth–age relation of two of the three cores.
Horst Machguth, Anja Eichler, Margit Schwikowski, Sabina Brütsch, Enrico Mattea, Stanislav Kutuzov, Martin Heule, Ryskul Usubaliev, Sultan Belekov, Vladimir N. Mikhalenko, Martin Hoelzle, and Marlene Kronenberg
The Cryosphere, 18, 1633–1646, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1633-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1633-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In 2018 we drilled an 18 m ice core on the summit of Grigoriev ice cap, located in the Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan. The core analysis reveals strong melting since the early 2000s. Regardless of this, we find that the structure and temperature of the ice have changed little since the 1980s. The probable cause of this apparent stability is (i) an increase in snowfall and (ii) the fact that meltwater nowadays leaves the glacier and thereby removes so-called latent heat.
Andrea Spolaor, Federico Scoto, Catherine Larose, Elena Barbaro, Francois Burgay, Mats P. Bjorkman, David Cappelletti, Federico Dallo, Fabrizio de Blasi, Dmitry Divine, Giuliano Dreossi, Jacopo Gabrieli, Elisabeth Isaksson, Jack Kohler, Tonu Martma, Louise S. Schmidt, Thomas V. Schuler, Barbara Stenni, Clara Turetta, Bartłomiej Luks, Mathieu Casado, and Jean-Charles Gallet
The Cryosphere, 18, 307–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-307-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-307-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluate the impact of the increased snowmelt on the preservation of the oxygen isotope (δ18O) signal in firn records recovered from the top of the Holtedahlfonna ice field located in the Svalbard archipelago. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach we demonstrate a progressive deterioration of the isotope signal in the firn core. We link the degradation of the δ18O signal to the increased occurrence and intensity of melt events associated with the rapid warming occurring in the archipelago.
Tomotaka Saruya, Atsushi Miyamoto, Shuji Fujita, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Akira Hori, Makoto Igarashi, Yoshinori Iizuka, Takao Kameda, Hiroshi Ohno, Wataru Shigeyama, and Shun Tsutaki
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3146, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3146, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Crystal orientation fabrics (COF) and microstructures in the deep sections of the Dome Fuji ice core were investigated using innovative methods with unprecedentedly high statistical significance and dense depth coverage. Together with our previous studies, we have obtained a whole layer profile of the COF and physical properties of the Dome Fuji ice core. COF profile and its fluctuation were found to be highly dependent on impurities concentrations and recrystallization processes.
Lingwei Zhang, Tessa R. Vance, Alexander D. Fraser, Lenneke M. Jong, Sarah S. Thompson, Alison S. Criscitiello, and Nerilie J. Abram
The Cryosphere, 17, 5155–5173, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5155-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5155-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Physical features in ice cores provide unique records of past variability. We identified 1–2 mm ice layers without bubbles in surface ice cores from Law Dome, East Antarctica, occurring on average five times per year. The origin of these bubble-free layers is unknown. In this study, we investigate whether they have the potential to record past atmospheric processes and circulation. We find that the bubble-free layers are linked to accumulation hiatus events and meridional moisture transport.
Jenna A. Epifanio, Edward J. Brook, Christo Buizert, Erin C. Pettit, Jon S. Edwards, John M. Fegyveresi, Todd A. Sowers, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, and Emma C. Kahle
The Cryosphere, 17, 4837–4851, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4837-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4837-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The total air content (TAC) of polar ice cores has long been considered a potential proxy for past ice sheet elevation. This study presents a high-resolution record of TAC from the South Pole ice core. The record reveals orbital- and millennial-scale variability that cannot be explained by elevation changes. The orbital- and millennial-scale changes are likely a product of firn grain metamorphism near the surface of the ice sheet, due to summer insolation changes or local accumulation changes.
Marie G. P. Cavitte, Hugues Goosse, Kenichi Matsuoka, Sarah Wauthy, Vikram Goel, Rahul Dey, Bhanu Pratap, Brice Van Liefferinge, Thamban Meloth, and Jean-Louis Tison
The Cryosphere, 17, 4779–4795, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4779-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4779-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The net accumulation of snow over Antarctica is key for assessing current and future sea-level rise. Ice cores record a noisy snowfall signal to verify model simulations. We find that ice core net snowfall is biased to lower values for ice rises and the Dome Fuji site (Antarctica), while the relative uncertainty in measuring snowfall increases rapidly with distance away from the ice core sites at the ice rises but not at Dome Fuji. Spatial variation in snowfall must therefore be considered.
Ling Fang, Theo M. Jenk, Dominic Winski, Karl Kreutz, Hanna L. Brooks, Emma Erwin, Erich Osterberg, Seth Campbell, Cameron Wake, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 17, 4007–4020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4007-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4007-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the behavior of ocean–atmosphere teleconnections in the North Pacific during warm intervals can aid in predicting future warming scenarios. However, majority ice core records from Alaska–Yukon region only provide data for the last few centuries. This study introduces a continuous chronology for Denali ice core from Begguya, Alaska, using multiple dating methods. The early-Holocene-origin Denali ice core will facilitate future investigations of hydroclimate in the North Pacific.
Anja Løkkegaard, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Christian Zdanowicz, Gary D. Clow, Martin P. Lüthi, Samuel H. Doyle, Henrik H. Thomsen, David Fisher, Joel Harper, Andy Aschwanden, Bo M. Vinther, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Harry Zekollari, Toby Meierbachtol, Ian McDowell, Neil Humphrey, Anne Solgaard, Nanna B. Karlsson, Shfaqat A. Khan, Benjamin Hills, Robert Law, Bryn Hubbard, Poul Christoffersen, Mylène Jacquemart, Julien Seguinot, Robert S. Fausto, and William T. Colgan
The Cryosphere, 17, 3829–3845, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a database compiling 95 ice temperature profiles from the Greenland ice sheet and peripheral ice caps. Ice viscosity and hence ice flow are highly sensitive to ice temperature. To highlight the value of the database in evaluating ice flow simulations, profiles from the Greenland ice sheet are compared to a modeled temperature field. Reoccurring discrepancies between modeled and observed temperatures provide insight on the difficulties faced when simulating ice temperatures.
Felix S. L. Ng
The Cryosphere, 17, 3063–3082, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3063-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in ice cores are routinely analysed for the climate signals which they carry. It has long been known that the system of water veins in ice facilitates isotopic diffusion. Here, mathematical modelling shows that water flow in the veins strongly accelerates the diffusion and the decay of climate signals. The process hampers methods using the variations in signal decay with depth to reconstruct past climatic temperature.
Takashi Obase, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Fuyuki Saito, Shun Tsutaki, Shuji Fujita, Kenji Kawamura, and Hideaki Motoyama
The Cryosphere, 17, 2543–2562, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2543-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2543-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We use a one-dimensional ice-flow model to examine the most suitable core location near Dome Fuji (DF), Antarctica. This model computes the temporal evolution of age and temperature from past to present. We investigate the influence of different parameters of climate and ice sheet on the ice's basal age and compare the results with ground radar surveys. We find that the local ice thickness primarily controls the age because it is critical to the basal melting, which can eliminate the old ice.
Nicolas Stoll, Julien Westhoff, Pascal Bohleber, Anders Svensson, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Carlo Barbante, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 17, 2021–2043, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2021-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2021-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Impurities in polar ice play a role regarding its climate signal and internal deformation. We bridge different scales using different methods to investigate ice from the Last Glacial Period derived from the EGRIP ice core in Greenland. We characterise different types of cloudy bands, i.e. frequently occurring milky layers in the ice, and analyse their chemistry with Raman spectroscopy and 2D imaging. We derive new insights into impurity localisation and deposition conditions.
Michael N. Dyonisius, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Andrew M. Smith, Benjamin Hmiel, Peter D. Neff, Bin Yang, Quan Hua, Jochen Schmitt, Sarah A. Shackleton, Christo Buizert, Philip F. Place, James A. Menking, Ross Beaudette, Christina Harth, Michael Kalk, Heidi A. Roop, Bernhard Bereiter, Casey Armanetti, Isaac Vimont, Sylvia Englund Michel, Edward J. Brook, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Ray F. Weiss, and Joseph R. McConnell
The Cryosphere, 17, 843–863, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-843-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-843-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cosmic rays that enter the atmosphere produce secondary particles which react with surface minerals to produce radioactive nuclides. These nuclides are often used to constrain Earth's surface processes. However, the production rates from muons are not well constrained. We measured 14C in ice with a well-known exposure history to constrain the production rates from muons. 14C production in ice is analogous to quartz, but we obtain different production rates compared to commonly used estimates.
Niccolò Maffezzoli, Eliza Cook, Willem G. M. van der Bilt, Eivind N. Støren, Daniela Festi, Florian Muthreich, Alistair W. R. Seddon, François Burgay, Giovanni Baccolo, Amalie R. F. Mygind, Troels Petersen, Andrea Spolaor, Sebastiano Vascon, Marcello Pelillo, Patrizia Ferretti, Rafael S. dos Reis, Jefferson C. Simões, Yuval Ronen, Barbara Delmonte, Marco Viccaro, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Kerim H. Nisancioglu, and Carlo Barbante
The Cryosphere, 17, 539–565, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-539-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-539-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Multiple lines of research in ice core science are limited by manually intensive and time-consuming optical microscopy investigations for the detection of insoluble particles, from pollen grains to volcanic shards. To help overcome these limitations and support researchers, we present a novel methodology for the identification and autonomous classification of ice core insoluble particles based on flow image microscopy and neural networks.
Tomotaka Saruya, Shuji Fujita, Yoshinori Iizuka, Atsushi Miyamoto, Hiroshi Ohno, Akira Hori, Wataru Shigeyama, Motohiro Hirabayashi, and Kumiko Goto-Azuma
The Cryosphere, 16, 2985–3003, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2985-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2985-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Crystal orientation fabrics (COF) of the Dome Fuji ice core were investigated with an innovative method with unprecedentedly high statistical significance and dense depth coverage. The COF profile and its fluctuation were found to be highly dependent on concentrations of chloride ion and dust. The data suggest deformation of ice at the deepest zone is highly influenced by COF fluctuations that progressively develop from the near-surface firn toward the deepest zone within ice sheets.
Jacob D. Morgan, Christo Buizert, Tyler J. Fudge, Kenji Kawamura, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, and Cathy M. Trudinger
The Cryosphere, 16, 2947–2966, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2947-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2947-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The composition of air bubbles in Antarctic ice cores records information about past changes in properties of the snowpack. We find that, near the South Pole, thinner snowpack in the past is often due to steeper surface topography, in which faster winds erode the snow and deposit it in flatter areas. The slope and wind seem to also cause a seasonal bias in the composition of air bubbles in the ice core. These findings will improve interpretation of other ice cores from places with steep slopes.
Giyoon Lee, Jinho Ahn, Hyeontae Ju, Florian Ritterbusch, Ikumi Oyabu, Christo Buizert, Songyi Kim, Jangil Moon, Sambit Ghosh, Kenji Kawamura, Zheng-Tian Lu, Sangbum Hong, Chang Hee Han, Soon Do Hur, Wei Jiang, and Guo-Min Yang
The Cryosphere, 16, 2301–2324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2301-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2301-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Blue-ice areas (BIAs) have several advantages for reconstructing past climate. However, the complicated ice flow in the area hinders constraining the age. We applied state-of-the-art techniques and found that the ages cover the last deglaciation period. Our study demonstrates that the BIA in northern Victoria Land may help reconstruct the past climate during the termination of the last glacial period.
Wangbin Zhang, Shugui Hou, Shuang-Ye Wu, Hongxi Pang, Sharon B. Sneed, Elena V. Korotkikh, Paul A. Mayewski, Theo M. Jenk, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 16, 1997–2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1997-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1997-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study proposes a quantitative method to reconstruct annual precipitation records at the millennial timescale from the Tibetan ice cores through combining annual layer identification based on LA-ICP-MS measurement with an ice flow model. The reliability of this method is assessed by comparing our results with other reconstructed and modeled precipitation series for the Tibetan Plateau. The assessment shows that the method has a promising performance.
Dieter R. Tetzner, Claire S. Allen, and Elizabeth R. Thomas
The Cryosphere, 16, 779–798, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-779-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-779-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The presence of diatoms in Antarctic ice cores has been scarcely documented and poorly understood. Here we present a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of the diatom record preserved in a set of Antarctic ice cores. Our results reveal that the timing and amount of diatoms deposited present a strong geographical division. This study highlights the potential of the diatom record preserved in Antarctic ice cores to provide useful information about past environmental changes.
Nicolas Stoll, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Jan Eichler, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 16, 667–688, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We mapped and analysed solid inclusion in the upper 1340 m of the EGRIP ice core with Raman spectroscopy and microstructure mapping, based on bulk dust content derived via continuous flow analysis. We observe a large variety in mineralogy throughout the core and samples. The main minerals are sulfates, especially gypsum, and terrestrial dust minerals, such as quartz, mica, and feldspar. A change in mineralogy occurs around 900 m depth indicating a climate-related imprint.
Nicolas Stoll, Jan Eichler, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 15, 5717–5737, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We did a systematic analysis of the location of inclusions in the EGRIP ice core, the first ice core from an ice stream. We combine this with crystal orientation and grain size data, enabling the first overview about the microstructure of this unique ice core. Micro-inclusions show a strong spatial variability and patterns (clusters or horizontal layers); roughly one-third is located at grain boundaries. More holistic approaches are needed to understand deformation processes in the ice better.
Ikumi Oyabu, Kenji Kawamura, Tsutomu Uchida, Shuji Fujita, Kyotaro Kitamura, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Shuji Aoki, Shinji Morimoto, Takakiyo Nakazawa, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, and Jacob D. Morgan
The Cryosphere, 15, 5529–5555, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5529-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5529-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present O2/N2 and Ar/N2 records from the Dome Fuji ice core through the bubbly ice, bubble–clathrate transition, and clathrate ice zones without gas-loss fractionation. The insolation signal is preserved through the clathrate formation. The relationship between Ar/Ν2 and Ο2/Ν2 suggests that the fractionation for the bubble–clathrate transition is mass independent, while the bubble close-off process involves a combination of mass-independent and mass-dependent fractionation for O2 and Ar.
Giovanni Baccolo, Barbara Delmonte, Elena Di Stefano, Giannantonio Cibin, Ilaria Crotti, Massimo Frezzotti, Dariush Hampai, Yoshinori Iizuka, Augusto Marcelli, and Valter Maggi
The Cryosphere, 15, 4807–4822, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4807-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4807-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
As scientists are pushing efforts to recover deep ice cores to extend paleoclimatic reconstructions, it is now essential to explore deep ice. The latter was considered a relatively stable environment, but this view is changing. This study shows that the conditions of deep ice promote the interaction between soluble and insoluble impurities, favoring complex geochemical reactions that lead to the englacial dissolution and precipitation of specific minerals present in atmospheric mineral dust.
Pascal Bohleber, Marco Roman, Martin Šala, Barbara Delmonte, Barbara Stenni, and Carlo Barbante
The Cryosphere, 15, 3523–3538, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3523-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3523-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) offers micro-destructive, micrometer-scale impurity analysis of ice cores. For improved understanding of the LA-ICP-MS signals, novel 2D impurity imaging is applied to selected glacial and interglacial samples of Antarctic deep ice cores. This allows evaluating the 2D impurity distribution in relation to ice crystal features and assessing implications for investigating highly thinned climate proxy signals in deep polar ice.
Sebastian Hellmann, Melchior Grab, Johanna Kerch, Henning Löwe, Andreas Bauder, Ilka Weikusat, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 3507–3521, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3507-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we analyse whether ultrasonic measurements on ice core samples could be employed to derive information about the particular ice crystal orientation in these samples. We discuss if such ultrasonic scans of ice core samples could provide similarly detailed results as the established methods, which usually destroy the ice samples. Our geophysical approach is minimally invasive and could support the existing methods with additional and (semi-)continuous data points along the ice core.
Shugui Hou, Wangbin Zhang, Ling Fang, Theo M. Jenk, Shuangye Wu, Hongxi Pang, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 15, 2109–2114, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2109-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2109-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present ages for two new ice cores reaching bedrock, from the Zangser Kangri (ZK) glacier in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau and the Shulenanshan (SLNS) glacier in the western Qilian Mountains. We estimated bottom ages of 8.90±0.57/0.56 ka and 7.46±1.46/1.79 ka for the ZK and SLNS ice core respectively, constraining the time range accessible by Tibetan ice cores to the Holocene.
David A. Lilien, Daniel Steinhage, Drew Taylor, Frédéric Parrenin, Catherine Ritz, Robert Mulvaney, Carlos Martín, Jie-Bang Yan, Charles O'Neill, Massimo Frezzotti, Heinrich Miller, Prasad Gogineni, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 15, 1881–1888, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1881-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1881-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We collected radar data between EDC, an ice core spanning ~800 000 years, and BELDC, the site chosen for a new
oldest icecore at nearby Little Dome C. These data allow us to identify 50 % older internal horizons than previously traced in the area. We fit a model to the ages of those horizons at BELDC to determine the age of deep ice there. We find that there is likely to be 1.5 Myr old ice ~265 m above the bed, with sufficient resolution to preserve desired climatic information.
Felix S. L. Ng
The Cryosphere, 15, 1787–1810, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1787-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1787-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Current theory predicts climate signals in the vein chemistry of ice cores to migrate, hampering their dating. I show that the Gibbs–Thomson effect, which has been overlooked, causes fast diffusion that prevents signals from surviving into deep ice. Hence the deep climatic peaks in Antarctic and Greenlandic ice must be due to impurities in the ice matrix (outside veins) and safe from migration. These findings reset our understanding of postdepositional changes of ice-core climate signals.
Ling Fang, Theo M. Jenk, Thomas Singer, Shugui Hou, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 15, 1537–1550, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1537-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1537-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The interpretation of the ice-core-preserved signal requires a precise chronology. Radiocarbon (14C) dating of the water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) fraction has become an important dating tool. However, this method is restricted by the low concentration in the ice. In this work, we report first 14C dating results using the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fraction. The resulting ages are comparable in both fractions, but by using the DOC fraction the required ice mass can be reduced.
Filipe G. L. Lindau, Jefferson C. Simões, Barbara Delmonte, Patrick Ginot, Giovanni Baccolo, Chiara I. Paleari, Elena Di Stefano, Elena Korotkikh, Douglas S. Introne, Valter Maggi, Eduardo Garzanti, and Sergio Andò
The Cryosphere, 15, 1383–1397, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1383-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1383-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Information about the past climate variability in tropical South America is stored in the snow layers of the tropical Andean glaciers. Here we show evidence that the presence of very large aeolian mineral dust particles at Nevado Illimani (Bolivia) is strictly controlled by the occurrence of summer storms in the Bolivian Altiplano. Therefore, based on the snow dust content and its composition of stable water isotopes, we propose a new proxy for information on previous summer storms.
Elizabeth Ruth Thomas, Guisella Gacitúa, Joel B. Pedro, Amy Constance Faith King, Bradley Markle, Mariusz Potocki, and Dorothea Elisabeth Moser
The Cryosphere, 15, 1173–1186, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1173-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1173-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present the first-ever radar and ice core data from the sub-Antarctic islands of Bouvet Island, Peter I Island, and Young Island. These islands have the potential to record past climate in one of the most data-sparse regions on earth. Despite their northerly location, surface melting is generally low, and the upper layer of the ice at most sites is undisturbed. We estimate that a 100 m ice core drilled on these islands could capture climate over the past 100–200 years.
Kirstin Hoffmann, Francisco Fernandoy, Hanno Meyer, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Marcelo Aliaga, Dieter Tetzner, Johannes Freitag, Thomas Opel, Jorge Arigony-Neto, Christian Florian Göbel, Ricardo Jaña, Delia Rodríguez Oroz, Rebecca Tuckwell, Emily Ludlow, Joseph R. McConnell, and Christoph Schneider
The Cryosphere, 14, 881–904, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-881-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-881-2020, 2020
Kévin Fourteau, Patricia Martinerie, Xavier Faïn, Christoph F. Schaller, Rebecca J. Tuckwell, Henning Löwe, Laurent Arnaud, Olivier Magand, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Johannes Freitag, Robert Mulvaney, Martin Schneebeli, and Vladimir Ya. Lipenkov
The Cryosphere, 13, 3383–3403, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3383-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3383-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding gas trapping in polar ice is essential to study the relationship between greenhouse gases and past climates. New data of bubble closure, used in a simple gas-trapping model, show inconsistency with the final air content in ice. This suggests gas trapping is not fully understood. We also use a combination of high-resolution measurements to investigate the effect of polar snow stratification on gas trapping and find that all strata have similar pores, but that some close in advance.
Youngjoon Jang, Sang Bum Hong, Christo Buizert, Hun-Gyu Lee, Sang-Young Han, Ji-Woong Yang, Yoshinori Iizuka, Akira Hori, Yeongcheol Han, Seong Joon Jun, Pieter Tans, Taejin Choi, Seong-Joong Kim, Soon Do Hur, and Jinho Ahn
The Cryosphere, 13, 2407–2419, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2407-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2407-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We can learn how human activity altered atmospheric air from the interstitial air in the porous snow layer (firn) on top of glaciers. However, old firn air (> 55 years) was observed only at sites where surface temperatures and snow accumulation rates are very low, such as the South Pole. In this study, we report an unusually old firn air with CO2 age of 93 years from Styx Glacier, near the Ross Sea coast in Antarctica. We hypothesize that the large snow density variations increase firn air ages.
Shugui Hou, Wangbin Zhang, Hongxi Pang, Shuang-Ye Wu, Theo M. Jenk, Margit Schwikowski, and Yetang Wang
The Cryosphere, 13, 1743–1752, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1743-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1743-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The apparent discrepancy between the Holocene δ18O records of the Guliya and the Chongce ice cores may be attributed to a possible misinterpretation of the Guliya ice core chronology.
Sentia Goursaud, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Vincent Favier, Suzanne Preunkert, Michel Legrand, Bénédicte Minster, and Martin Werner
The Cryosphere, 13, 1297–1324, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1297-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1297-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We report new water stable isotope records from the first highly resolved firn core drilled in Adélie Land and covering 1998–2014. Using an updated database, we show that mean values are in line with the range of coastal values. Statistical analyses show no relationship between our record and local surface air temperature. Atmospheric back trajectories and isotopic simulations suggest that water stable isotopes in Adélie provide a fingerprint of the variability of atmospheric dynamics.
Nanna B. Karlsson, Tobias Binder, Graeme Eagles, Veit Helm, Frank Pattyn, Brice Van Liefferinge, and Olaf Eisen
The Cryosphere, 12, 2413–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2413-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2413-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we investigate the probability that the Dome Fuji region in East Antarctica contains ice more than 1.5 Ma old. The retrieval of a continuous ice-core record extending beyond 1 Ma is imperative to understand why the frequency of ice ages changed from 40 to 100 ka approximately 1 Ma ago.
We use a new radar dataset to improve the ice thickness maps, and apply a thermokinematic model to predict basal temperature and age of the ice. Our results indicate several areas of interest.
Shugui Hou, Theo M. Jenk, Wangbin Zhang, Chaomin Wang, Shuangye Wu, Yetang Wang, Hongxi Pang, and Margit Schwikowski
The Cryosphere, 12, 2341–2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2341-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2341-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present multiple lines of evidence indicating that the Chongce ice cores drilled from the northwestern Tibetan Plateau reaches back only to the early Holocene. This result is at least, 1 order of magnitude younger than the nearby Guliya ice core (~30 km away from the Chongce ice core drilling site) but similar to other Tibetan ice cores. Thus it is necessary to explore multiple dating techniques to confirm the age ranges of the Tibetan ice cores.
Thomas Laepple, Thomas Münch, Mathieu Casado, Maria Hoerhold, Amaelle Landais, and Sepp Kipfstuhl
The Cryosphere, 12, 169–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We explain why snow pits across different sites in East Antarctica show visually similar isotopic variations. We argue that the similarity and the apparent cycles of around 20 cm in the δD and δ18O variations are the result of a seasonal cycle in isotopes, noise, for example from precipitation intermittency, and diffusion. The near constancy of the diffusion length across many ice-coring sites explains why the structure and cycle length is largely independent of the accumulation conditions.
Cited articles
Abram, N. J., Wolff, E. W., and Curran, M. A. J.: A review of sea ice proxy information from polar ice cores, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 79, 168–183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.01.011, 2013.
Barnes, P. R. F., Wolff, E. W., Mader, H. M., Udisti, R., Castellano, E., and Röthlisberger, R.: Evolution of chemical peak shapes in the Dome C, Antarctica, ice core, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 4126, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002538, 2003a.
Barnes, P. R. F., Wolff, E. W., Mallard, D. C., and Mader, H. M.: SEM Studies of the Morphology and Chemistry of Polar Ice, Microsc. Res. Techniq., 62, 62–69, 2003b.
Barret, M., Houdier, S., and Domine, F.: Thermodynamics of the formaldehyde – water and formaldehyde – ice systems for atmospheric applications, J. Phys. Chem. A, 115, 307–317, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp108907u, 2011.
Bartels-Rausch, T., Jacobi, H.-W., Kahan, T. F., Thomas, J. L., Thomson, E. S., Abbatt, J. P. D., Ammann, M., Blackford, J. R., Bluhm, H., Boxe, C., Domine, F., Frey, M. M., Gladich, I., Guzmán, M. I., Heger, D., Huthwelker, Th., Klán, P., Kuhs, W. F., Kuo, M. H., Maus, S., Moussa, S. G., McNeill, V. F., Newberg, J. T., Pettersson, J. B. C., Roeselová, M., and Sodeau, J. R.: A review of air–ice chemical and physical interactions (AICI): liquids, quasi-liquids, and solids in snow, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1587–1633, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1587-2014, 2014.
Becagli, S., Castellano, E., Cerri, O., Curran, M., Frezzotti, M., Marino, F., Morganti, A., Proposito, M., Severi, M., Traversi, R., and Udisti, R.: Methanesulphonic acid (MSA) stratigraphy from a Talos Dome ice core as a tool in depicting sea ice changes and southern atmospheric circulation over the previous 140 years, Atmos. Environ., 43, 1051–1058, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.11.015, 2009.
Benson, C. S.: Stratigraphic studies in the snow and firn of the Greenland ice sheet, SIPRE Res. Rep., 70, 76–83, 1962.
Chatfield, C.: The analysis of time series: an introduction, Texts in statistical science, Chapman and Hall/CRC, Boca Raton, USA, 1996.
Chesselet, R., Morelli, J., and Buat-Menard, P.: Variations in ionic ratios between reference sea water and marine aerosols, J. Geophys. Res., 77, 5116–5131, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC077i027p05116, 1972.
Criscitiello, A. S.: Amundsen Sea sea-ice variability, atmospheric circulation, and spatial variations in snow isotopic composition from new West Antarctic firn cores, PhD Thesis, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Science and Engineering, Cambridge, MA, USA, 242 pp., 2014.
Criscitiello, A. S., Das, S. B., Evans, M. J., Frey, K. E., Conway, H., Joughin, I., Medley, B., and Steig, E. J.: Ice sheet record of recent sea-ice behavior and polynya variability in the Amundsen Sea, West Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 118, 118–130, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JC008077, 2013.
Criscitiello, A. S., Das, S. B., Karnauskas, K. B., Evans, M. J., Frey, K. E., Joughin, I., Steig, E. J., Mcconnell, J. R., and Medley, B.: Tropical pacific influence on the source and transport of marine aerosols to West antarctica, J. Climate, 27, 1343–1363, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00148.1, 2014.
Cuffey, K. M. and Paterson, W. S. B.: The Physics of Glaciers, Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier, Burlington, MA, USA, 2010.
Curran, M. A. J. and Jones, G. B.: Dimethylsulfide in the Southern Ocean: Seasonality and flux, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 20451–20459, 2000.
Curran, M. A. J. and Palmer, A. S.: Suppressed ion chromatography methods for the routine determination of ultra low level anions and cations in ice cores, J. Chromatogr. A, 919, 107–1132, 2001.
Curran, M. A. J., Jones, G. B., and Burton, H.: Spatial distribution of dimethylsulfide and dimthylsulfoniopropionate in the Australasian sector of the Southern Ocean, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 16677–16689, https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD03453, 1998.
Curran, M. A. J., Palmer, A. S., van Ommen, T. D., Morgan, V., Phillips, K. L., McMorrow, A. J., and Mayewski, P.: Post-depositional methanesulphonic acid movement on Law Dome and the effect of accumulation rate, Ann. Glaciol., 35. 333–339, 2002.
Curran, M. A. J., van Ommen, T. D., Morgan, V. I., Phillips, K. L., and Palmer, A. S.: Ice core evidence for Antarctic sea ice decline since the 1950s, Science, 302, 1203–1206, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1087888, 2003.
Delmas, R. J., Wagnon, P., Goto-Azuma, K., Kamiyama, K., and Watanabe, O.: Evidence for the loss of snow-deposited MSA to the interstitial gaseous phase in central Antarctic firn, Tellus B, 55, 71–79, https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.2003.00032.x, 2003.
Dickson, D. M. and Kirst, G. O.: β-dimethylsulphoniopropionate, glycine betaine and homarine in the osmoacclimation of Platymonas subcordiformis, Planta, 167, 536–543, 1986.
Domine, F., Albert, M., Huthwelker, T., Jacobi, H.-W., Kokhanovsky, A. A., Lehning, M., Picard, G., and Simpson, W. R.: Snow physics as relevant to snow photochemistry, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 171–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-171-2008, 2008.
Goodwin, B. P.: Recent Environmental Changes on the Antarctic Peninsula as Recorded in an Ice Core from the Bruce Plateau, PhD Thesis, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA, 247 pp., 2013.
Herron, M. M. and Langway Jr., C. C.: Firn densication: An empirical model, J. Glaciol., 25, 373–385, 1980.
Hezel, P., Alexander, J. B., Bitz, C. M., Steig, E. J., Holmes, C. D., Yang, X., and Sciare, J.: Modeled methanesulfonic acid (MSA) deposition in Antarctica and its relationship to sea ice, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016383, 2011.
Hornung, E. W., Brackett, T. E., and Giauque, W. F.: The Low Temperature Heat Capacity and Entropy of Sulfuric Acid Hemihexahydrate. Some Observations on Sulfuric Acid “Octahydrate”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 78, 5747–5751, https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01603a009, 1956.
Hougen, O. A., Watson, K. W., and Ragtz, R. A.: Chemical Process Principles, Part 1, Wiley, New York, NY, USA, 1954.
Iizuka, Y., Horikawa, S., Sakurai, T., Johnson, S., Dahl-Jensen, D., Steffensen, J. P., and Hondoh, T. A.: relationship between ion balance and the chemical compounds of salt inclusions found in the Greenland Ice Core Project and Dome Fuji ice cores, J. Geophys. Res., 113, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009018, 2008.
Iizuka, Y., Ohno, H., Uemura, R., Suzuki, T., Oyabu, I., Hoshina, Y., Fukui, K., and Hirabayashi, M.: Spatial distributions of soluble salts in surface snow of East Antarctica, Tellus B, 68, 29285, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v68.29285, 2016.
Jourdain, B. and Legrand, M.: Seasonal variations of dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfoxide, sulfur dioxide, methanesulfonate, and non-sea-salt sulfate aerosols at Dumont d'Urville (December 1998–July 1999), J. Geophys. Res., 106, 14391–14408, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900841, 2001.
Kim, J. S. and Yethiraj, A.: A Diffusive Anomaly of Water in Aqueous Sodium Chloride Solution at Low Temperatures, J. Phys. Chem. B, 112, 1729–1735, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp076710+, 2008.
Kreutz, K. J., Mayewski, P. A., Whitlow, S. I., and Twickler, M. S.: Limited migration of soluble ionic species in a Siple Dome, Antarctica, ice core, Ann. Glaciol., 27, 371–377, 1998.
Kuo, M. H., Moussa, S. G., and McNeill, V. F.: Modeling interfacial liquid layers on environmental ices, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 9971–9982, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-9971-2011, 2011.
Langway Jr., C.C., Osada, K., Clausen, H. B., Hammer, C. U, Shoji, H., and Mitani, A.: New chemical stratigraphy over the last millennium for Byrd Station, Antarctica, Tellus, 46B, 40–51, 1994.
Leck, C. and Persson, C.: Seasonal and short-term variability in dimethyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide and biogenic sulfur and sea salt aerosol particles in the Arctic marine boundary layer during summer and autumn, Tellus, 48B, 272–299, 1996.
Legrand, M. and Mayewski, P.: Glaciochemistry of polar ice cores: A review, Rev. Geophys., 35, 219–243, https://doi.org/10.1029/96RG03527, 1997.
Lemlich, R.: A theory for the limiting conductivity of polyhedral foam at low density, J. Colloid Interf. Sci., 64, 107–110, 1978.
Lu, H., McCartney, S. A., and Sadtchenko, V.: H/D exchange kinetics in pure and HCl doped polycrystalline ice at temperatures near its melting point: Structure, chemical transport, and phase transitions at grain boundaries, J. Chem. Phys., 130, 054501–054511, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3039077, 2009.
Marion, G. M. and Farren, R. E.: Mineral solubilities in the Na-K-Mg-Ca-Cl-SO4-H2O system: a re-evaluation of the sulfate chemistry in the Spencer-Møller-Weare model, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 63, 1305–1318, 1999.
Maselli, O. J., Chellman, N. J., Grieman, M., Layman, L., McConnell, J. R., Pasteris, D., Rhodes, R. H., Saltzman, E., and Sigl, M.: Sea ice and pollution-modulated changes in Greenland ice core methanesulfonate and bromine, Clim. Past, 13, 39–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-39-2017, 2017.
McNeill, V. F., Grannas, A. M., Abbatt, J. P. D., Ammann, M., Ariya, P., Bartels-Rausch, T., Domine, F., Donaldson, D. J., Guzman, M. I., Heger, D., Kahan, T. F., Klán, P., Masclin, S., Toubin, C., and Voisin, D.: Organics in environmental ices: sources, chemistry, and impacts, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 9653–9678, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-9653-2012, 2012.
Medley, B., Joughin, I., Das, S. B., Steig, E. J., Conway, H., Gogineni, S., Criscitiello, A. S., McConnell, J. R., Smith, B. E., van den Broeke, M. R., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Bromwich, D. H., and Nicolas, J. P.: Airborne-radar and ice-core observations of annual snow accumulation over Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica confirm the spatiotemporal variability of global and regional atmospheric models, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 3649–3654, 2013.
Medley, B., Joughin, I., Smith, B. E., Das, S. B., Steig, E. J., Conway, H., Gogineni, S., Lewis, C., Criscitiello, A. S., McConnell, J. R., van den Broeke, M. R., Lenaerts, J. T. M., Bromwich, D. H., Nicolas, J. P., and Leuschen, C.: Constraining the recent mass balance of Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, West Antarctica, with airborne observations of snow accumulation, The Cryosphere, 8, 1375–1392, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-1375-2014, 2014.
Meyerson, E. A., Mayewski, P. A., Kreutz, K. J., Meeker, L. D., Whitlow, S. I., and Twickler, M. S.: The polar expression of ENSO and sea-ice variability as recorded in a South Pole ice core, Ann. Glaciol., 35, 430–436, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756402781817149, 2002.
Minikin, A., Wagenbach, D., Graf, W., and Kipfstuhl, J.: Spatial and seasonal variations of the snow chemistry at the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 20, 283–290, 1994.
Moore, J. C., Grinsted, A., Kekonen, T., and Pohjola, V.: Separation of melting and environmental signals in an ice core with seasonal melt, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L10501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023039, 2005.
Mulvaney, R. and Peel, D. A.: Anions and cations in ice cores from Dolleman Island and the Palmer Island plateau, Antarctic Peninsula, Ann. Glaciol., 10, 121–125, 1988.
Mulvaney, R., Wolff, E. W., and Oates, K.: Sulphuric acid at grain boundaries in Antarctic ice, Nature, 331, 247–249, 1988.
Mulvaney, R., Pasteur, E. C., Peel, D. A., Saltzman, E. S., and Whung, P. Y.: The ratio of MSA to non-sea-salt sulphate in Antarctic Peninsula ice cores, Tellus B, 44, 295–303, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v44i4.15457, 1992.
Nye, J. F.: Correction factor for accumulation measured by the thickness of the annual layers in an ice sheet, J. Glaciol., 4, 785–788, 1963.
Nye, J. F.: Thermal behaviour of glacier and laboratory ice, J. Glaciol., 37, 401–413, 1991.
Nye, J. F. and Frank, F. C.: Hydrology of the intergranular veins in a temperate glacier, in: International Association of Scientific Hydrology, Pub. 95 (Symposium at Cambridge 1969: Hydrology of Glaciers), Cambridge, UK, 157–161, 1973.
Osterberg, E. C., Hawley, R. L., Wong, G., Kopec, B., Ferris, D., and Howley, J.: Coastal ice-core record of recent northwest Greenland temperature and sea-ice concentration, J. Glaciol., 61, 1137–1146, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG15J054, 2015.
Pasteris, D. R., Mcconnell, J. R., Das, S. B., Criscitiello, A. S., Evans, M. J., Maselli, O. J., Sigl, M., and Layman, L.: Seasonally resolved ice core records from West Antarctic indicate a sea ice source of sea-salt aerosol and a biomass burning source of ammonium, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 9168–9182, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020720, 2014.
Pasteur, E. C. and Mulvaney, R.: Laboratory study of the migration of methane sulphonate in firn, J. Glaciol., 45, 214–218, https://doi.org/10.3189/S0022143000001714, 1999.
Pasteur, E. C. and Mulvaney, R.: Migration of methane sulphonate in Antarctic firn and ice, J. Geophys. Res.,105, 11525–11534, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JD900006, 2000.
Porter, S. E., Parkinson, C. L., and Mosley-Thompson, E.: Bellinghausen Sea ice extent recorded in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 13886–13900, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025626, 2016.
Rankin, A. M., Wolff, E. W., and Martin, S.: Frost flowers – implications for tropospheric chemistry and ice core interpretation, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4683, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JD002492, 2002.
Rempel, A. W., Waddington, E. D., Wettlaufer, J. S., and Worster, M. G.: Possible displacement of the climate signal in ancient ice by premelting and anomalous diffusion, Nature, 411, 568–571, https://doi.org/10.1038/35079043, 2001.
Rempel, A. W., Wettlaufer, J. S., and Waddington, E. D.: Anomalous diffusion of multiple impurity species: Predicted implications for the ice core climate records, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JB001857, 2002.
Rhodes, R. H., Yang, X., Wolff, E. W., McConnell, J. R., and Frey, M. M.: Sea ice as a source of sea salt aerosol to Greenland ice cores: a model-based study, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 9417–9433, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-9417-2017, 2017.
Riche, F., Bartels-Rausch, T., Schreiber, S., Ammann, M., and Schneebeli, M.: Temporal evolution of surface and grain boundary area in artificial ice beads and implications for snow chemistry, J. Glaciol., 58, 815–817, https://doi.org/10.3189/2012JoG12J058, 2012.
Roberts, J. L., van Ommen, T. D., Curran, M. A. J., and Vance, T. R.: Methanesulphonic acid loss during ice-core storage: Recommendations based on a new diffusion coefficient, J. Glaciol., 55, 784–788, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309790152474, 2009.
Rolnick, L. S.: The stability of gypsum and anhydrite in the geologic environment, PhD Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA, 147 pp., 1954.
Sakurai, T., Ohno, H., Genceli, F. E., Horikawa, S., Iizuka, Y., Uchida, T., and Hondoh, T.: Magnesium methanesulfonate salt found in the Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice core, J. Glaciol., 56, 837–842, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214310794457335, 2010.
Saltzman, E. S., Savoie, D. L., Zika, R. G., and Prospero, J. M.: Methane sulfonic acid in the marine atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 10897–10902, 1983.
Sinclair, K. E., Bertler, N. A. N., and van Ommen, T. D.: Twentieth-century surface temperature trends in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica: Evidence from a high-resolution ice core, J. Climate, 25, 3629–3636, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00496.1, 2012.
Sinclair, K. E., Bertler, N. A. N., Bowen, M. M., and Arrigo, K. R.: Twentieth century sea-ice trends in the Ross Sea from a high-resolution, coastal ice-core record, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 3510–3516, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059821, 2014.
Smith, B. T., van Ommen, T. D., and Curran, M. A. J.: Methanesulphonic acid movement in solid ice cores, Ann. Glaciol., 39, 540–544, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756404781814645, 2004.
Spaulding, N. E., Meese, D. A., and Baker, I.: Advanced microstructural characterization of four East Antarctic firn/ice cores, J. Glaciol., 57, 796–810, 2011.
Stephen, H. and Stephen, T.: Solubilities of Inorganic and Organic Compounds, Vol. 1, Pergamun Press, Oxford, UK, 1963.
Thibert, E. and Dominé, F.: Thermodynamics and Kinetics of the Solid Solution of HCl in Ice, J. Phys. Chem. B, 101, 3554–3565, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp962115o, 1997.
Thibert, E. and Dominé, F.: Thermodynamics and Kinetics of the Solid Solution of HNO3 in Ice, J. Phys. Chem. B, 102, 4432–4439, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp980569a, 1998.
Thomas, E. R. and Abram, N.: Ice core reconstruction of sea ice change in the Amundsen-Ross Seas since 1702 AD, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 5309–5317, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068130, 2016.
Tokumasu, K., Harada, M., and Okada, T.: X-ray Fluorescence Imaging of Frozen Aqueous NaCl Solutions, Langmuir, 32, 527–533, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b04411, 2016.
Turner, S. M., Nightingale, P. D., Broadgate, W., and Liss, P. S.: The distribution of dimethylsulfide and dimethylsulphoniopropionate in Antarctic waters and ice, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 42, 1059–1080, 1995.
Wagenbach, D., Graf, W., Minikin, A., Trefzer, U., Kipestuhl, J., Oerter, H., and Blindow, N.: Reconnaissance of chemical and isotopic firn properties on top of Berkner Island, Antarctica, Ann. Glaciol., 20, 307–312, 1994.
Wagnon, P., Delmas, R. J., and Legrand M.: Loss of volatile acid species from upper firn layers at Vostok, Antarctica, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 3423, https://doi.org/10.1029/98JD02855, 1999.
Weißbach, S., Wegner, A., Opel, T., Oerter, H., Vinther, B. M., and Kipfstuhl, S.: Spatial and temporal oxygen isotope variability in northern Greenland – implications for a new climate record over the past millennium, Clim. Past, 12, 171–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-171-2016, 2016.
Welch, K. A., Mayewski, P. A., and Whitlow, S. I.: Methanesulfonic acid in coastal Antarctic snow related to sea-ice extent, Geophys. Res. Lett., 20, 443–446, https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL00499, 1993.
Weller, R., Traufetter, F., Fischer, H., Oerter, H., Piel, C., and Miller H.: Postdepositional losses of methane sulfonate, nitrate, and chloride at the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica deep-drilling site in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, J. Geophys. Re., 109, D07301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004189, 2004.
Wettlaufer, J. S. and Worster M. G.: Premelting Dynamics, Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 38, 427–452, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fluid.37.061903.175758, 2006.
Wolff, E. W.: Location movement and reactions of impurities in solid ice, in: Chemical Exchange Between the Atmosphere and Polar Snow, NATO ASI Ser., Ser. 1, Global Environmental Change, edited by: Wolff, E. W. and Bales, R. C., vol. 43, 541–560, Springer-Verlag, New York, USA, 1996.
Yoch, D. C.: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate?: Its Sources, Role in the Marine Food Web, and Biological Degradation to Dimethylsulfide, Society, 68, 5804–5815, https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.68.12.5804-5815.2002, 2002.
Short summary
We combine a synthesis of 22 ice core records and a model of soluble impurity transport to investigate the enigmatic, post-depositional migration of methanesulfonic acid in polar ice. Our findings suggest that migration may be universal across coastal regions of Greenland and Antarctica, though it is mitigated at sites with higher accumulation and (or) lower impurity content. Records exhibiting severe migration may still be useful for inferring decadal and lower-frequency climate variability.
We combine a synthesis of 22 ice core records and a model of soluble impurity transport to...
