| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Moore, John C., et al.
(author)
-
Statistical extraction of volcanic sulphate from nonpolar ice cores
- 2012
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117, s. D03306-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ice cores from outside the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are difficult to date because of seasonal melting and multiple sources (terrestrial, marine, biogenic and anthropogenic) of sulfates deposited onto the ice. Here we present a method of volcanic sulfate extraction that relies on fitting sulfate profiles to other ion species measured along the cores in moving windows in log space. We verify the method with a well dated section of the Belukha ice core from central Eurasia. There are excellent matches to volcanoes in the preindustrial, and clear extraction of volcanic peaks in the post-1940 period when a simple method based on calcium as a proxy for terrestrial sulfate fails due to anthropogenic sulfate deposition. We then attempt to use the same statistical scheme to locate volcanic sulfate horizons within three ice cores from Svalbard and a core from Mount Everest. Volcanic sulfate is < 5% of the sulfate budget in every core, and differences in eruption signals extracted reflect the large differences in environment between western, northern and central regions of Svalbard. The Lomonosovfonna and Vestfonna cores span about the last 1000 years, with good extraction of volcanic signals, while Holtedahlfonna which extends to about AD1700 appears to lack a clear record. The Mount Everest core allows clean volcanic signal extraction and the core extends back to about AD700, slightly older than a previous flow model has suggested. The method may thus be used to extract historical volcanic records from a more diverse geographical range than hitherto.
|
|
| 3. |
- Ruppel, M. M., et al.
(author)
-
Organic Compounds, Radiocarbon, Trace Elements and Atmospheric Transport Illuminating Sources of Elemental Carbon in a 300-Year Svalbard Ice Core
- 2023
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. - 2169-897X .- 2169-8996. ; 128:16
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Black carbon (BC) particles produced by incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels warm the atmosphere and decrease the reflectivity of snow and ice, hastening their melt. Although the significance of BC in Arctic climate change is widely acknowledged, observations on its deposition and sources are few. We present BC source types in a 300-year (1700-2005) Svalbard ice core by analysis of particle-bound organic compounds, radiocarbon, and trace elements. According to the radiocarbon results, 58% of the deposited elemental carbon (EC, thermal-optical proxy of BC) is of non-fossil origin throughout the record, while the organic compounds suggest a higher percentage (68%). The contribution of fossil fuels to EC is suggested to have been elevated between 1860 and 1920, particularly based on the organics and trace element data. A second increase in fossil fuel sources seems to have occurred near the end of the record: according to radiocarbon measurements between 1960 and 1990, while the organics and trace element data suggest that the contribution of fossil fuels has increased since the 1970s to the end of the record, along with observed increasing EC deposition. Modeled atmospheric transport between 1948 and 2004 shows that increasing EC deposition observed at the glacier during that period can be associated with increased atmospheric transport from Far East Asia. Further observational BC source data are essential to help target climate change mitigation efforts. The combination of robust radiocarbon with organic compound analyses requiring low sample amounts seems a promising approach for comprehensive Arctic BC source apportionment.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ruppel, M. M., et al.
(author)
-
Increase in elemental carbon values between 1970 and 2004 observed in a 300-year ice core from Holtedahlfonna (Svalbard)
- 2014
-
In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 14:20, s. 11447-11460
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Black carbon (BC) is a light-absorbing particle that warms the atmosphere-Earth system. The climate effects of BC are amplified in the Arctic, where its deposition on light surfaces decreases the albedo and causes earlier melt of snow and ice. Despite its suggested significant role in Arctic climate warming, there is little information on BC concentrations and deposition in the past. Here we present results on BC (here operationally defined as elemental carbon (EC)) concentrations and deposition on a Svalbard glacier between 1700 and 2004. The inner part of a 125m deep ice core from Holtedahlfonna glacier (79 degrees 8'N, 13 degrees 16'E, 1150 m a.s.l.) was melted, filtered through a quartz fibre filter and analysed for EC using a thermal-optical method. The EC values started to increase after 1850 and peaked around 1910, similar to ice core records from Greenland. Strikingly, the EC values again increase rapidly between 1970 and 2004 after a temporary low point around 1970, reaching unprecedented values in the 1990s. This rise is not seen in Greenland ice cores, and it seems to contradict atmospheric BC measurements indicating generally decreasing atmospheric BC concentrations since 1989 in the Arctic. For example, changes in scavenging efficiencies, post-depositional processes and differences in the vertical distribution of BC in the atmosphere are discussed for the differences between the Svalbard and Greenland ice core records, as well as the ice core and atmospheric measurements in Svalbard. In addition, the divergent BC trends between Greenland and Svalbard ice cores may be caused by differences in the analytical methods used, including the operational definitions of quantified particles, and detection efficiencies of different-sized BC particles. Regardless of the cause of the increasing EC values between 1970 and 2004, the results have significant implications for the past radiative energy balance at the coring site.
|
|
| 5. |
- Vega, Carmen P., et al.
(author)
-
A synthetic ice core approach to estimate ion relocation in anice field site experiencing periodical melt : a case study onLomonosovfonna, Svalbard
- 2016
-
In: The Cryosphere. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1994-0416 .- 1994-0424. ; 10, s. 961-976
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Physical and chemical properties of four different ice cores (LF-97, LF-08, LF-09 and LF-11) drilled at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, were compared to investigate the effects of meltwater percolation on the chemical and physical stratigraphy of these records. A synthetic ice core approach was employed as reference record to estimate the ionic relocation and meltwater percolation length at this site during the period 2007-2010. Using this method, a partial ion elution sequence obtained for Lomonosovfonna was NO(3)(-)aEuro-> aEuro-SO42-, Mg2+, Cl-, K+, Na+ with nitrate being the most mobile within the snowpack. The relocation length of most of the ions was on the order of 1aEuro-m during this period. In addition, by using both a positive degree day (PDD) and a snow-energy model approaches to estimate the percentage of melt at Lomonosovfonna, we have calculated a melt percentage (MP) of the total annual accumulation within the range between 48 and 70aEuro-%, for the period between 2007 and 2010, which is above the MP range suggested by the ion relocation evidenced in the LF-syn core (i.e., MPaEuro-aEuro parts per thousand= aEuro-30aEuro-%). Using a firn-densification model to constrain the melt range, a MP of 30aEuro-% was found over the same period, which is consistent with the results of the synthetic ice core approach, and a 45aEuro-% of melt for the last 60 years. Considering the ionic relocation lengths and annual melt percentages, we estimate that the atmospheric ionic signal remains preserved in recently drilled Lomonosovfonna ice cores at an annual or bi-annual resolution when weather conditions were similar to those during the 2007-2010 period.
|
|
