Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
25 Aug 2020
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 25 Aug 2020
Climatic information archived in ice cores: impact of intermittency and diffusion on the recorded isotopic signal in Antarctica
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Thomas Münch
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Thomas Laepple
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Research Unit Potsdam, Telegrafenberg A45, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Geosciences, University of Bremen, 28334 Bremen, Germany
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Christophe Leroy-Dos Santos, Elise Fourré, Cécile Agosta, Mathieu Casado, Alexandre Cauquoin, Martin Werner, Benedicte Minster, Frederic Prié, Olivier Jossoud, Leila Petit, and Amaëlle Landais
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-447, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-447, 2023
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In a context of global warming, it is key to estimate the evolution of the atmospheric hydrological cycle and temperature in the polar regions, which directly influence the surface mass balance of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets. Measurements of the composition in water stable isotopes of the water vapor are used as proxies of climate variability. Here we present a 2-year long time series of vapor and precipitation isotopic composition measurement at Dumont d’Urville station, in Adélie Land.
Antoine Grisart, Mathieu Casado, Vasileios Gkinis, Bo Vinther, Philippe Naveau, Mathieu Vrac, Thomas Laepple, Bénédicte Minster, Frederic Prié, Barbara Stenni, Elise Fourré, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Jean Jouzel, Martin Werner, Katy Pol, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Maria Hoerhold, Trevor Popp, and Amaelle Landais
Clim. Past, 18, 2289–2301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a compilation of high-resolution (11 cm) water isotopic records, including published and new measurements, for the last 800 000 years from the EPICA Dome C ice core, Antarctica. Using this new combined water isotopes (δ18O and δD) dataset, we study the variability and possible influence of diffusion at the multi-decadal to multi-centennial scale. We observe a stronger variability at the onset of the interglacial interval corresponding to a warm period.
Christophe Leroy-Dos Santos, Mathieu Casado, Frédéric Prié, Olivier Jossoud, Erik Kerstel, Morgane Farradèche, Samir Kassi, Elise Fourré, and Amaëlle Landais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2907–2918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2907-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2907-2021, 2021
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We developed an instrument that can generate water vapor at low humidity at a very stable level. This instrument was conceived to calibrate water vapor isotopic records obtained in very dry places such as central Antarctica. Here, we provide details on the instrument as well as results obtained for correcting water isotopic records for diurnal variability during a long field season at the Concordia station in East Antarctica.
Mathieu Casado, Gwenaëlle Gremion, Paul Rosenbaum, Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Kelsey Aho, Nicolas Champollion, Sarah L. Connors, Adrian Dahood, Alfonso Fernandez, Martine Lizotte, Katja Mintenbeck, Elvira Poloczanska, and Gerlis Fugmann
Geosci. Commun., 3, 89–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-3-89-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-3-89-2020, 2020
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Early-career scientists (ECSs) are rarely invited to act as peer reviewers. Participating in a group peer review of the IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, PhD students spent more time reviewing than more established scientists and provided a similar proportion of substantive comments. By soliciting and including ECSs in peer review, the scientific community would reduce the burden on more established scientists and may improve the quality of that process.
Pascal Bohleber, Mathieu Casado, Kirsti Ashworth, Chelsey A. Baker, Anna Belcher, Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Holly E. Jenkins, Erin Satterthwaite, Andrea Spolaor, and V. Holly L. Winton
Adv. Geosci., 53, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-1-2020, 2020
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International Early Career Networks (ECN) are global voluntary communities of Early Career Scientists (ECS) aiming to advance the careers of ECS and to improve their inclusion into the international scientific community. We use member surveys alongside with case studies from well-established and long-term networks to elucidate the attributes that make a successful, sustainable ECN, and propose best practices for developing ECN successfully.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Ghislain Picard, Thomas Münch, Thomas Laepple, Barbara Stenni, Giuliano Dreossi, Alexey Ekaykin, Laurent Arnaud, Christophe Genthon, Alexandra Touzeau, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, and Jean Jouzel
The Cryosphere, 12, 1745–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018, 2018
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Ice core isotopic records rely on the knowledge of the processes involved in the archival processes of the snow. In the East Antarctic Plateau, post-deposition processes strongly affect the signal found in the surface and buried snow compared to the initial climatic signal. We evaluate the different contributions to the surface snow isotopic composition between the precipitation and the exchanges with the atmosphere and the variability of the isotopic signal found in profiles from snow pits.
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
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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.
Christophe Genthon, Luc Piard, Etienne Vignon, Jean-Baptiste Madeleine, Mathieu Casado, and Hubert Gallée
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 691–704, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-691-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-691-2017, 2017
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Natural atmospheric supersaturation is a norm rather than an exception at the surface of Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau. This is reported by hygrometers adapted to perform in extreme cold environments and avoid release of excess moisture before it is measured. One year of observation shows that atmospheric models with cold microphysics parameterizations designed for high altitude cirrus reproduce frequently but fail with the detailed statistics of supersaturation at the surface of Dome C.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Ghislain Picard, Thomas Münch, Thomas Laepple, Barbara Stenni, Giuliano Dreossi, Alexey Ekaykin, Laurent Arnaud, Christophe Genthon, Alexandra Touzeau, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Jean Jouzel
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-263, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-263, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Ice core isotopic records rely on the knowledge of the processes involved in the archival of the snow. In the East Antarctic Plateau, post-deposition processes strongly affect the signal found in the surface and buried snow compared to the initial climatic signal. We evaluate the different contributions to the surface snow isotopic composition between the precipitation and the exchanges with the atmosphere and the variability of the isotopic signal found in profiles from snow pits.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Christophe Genthon, Erik Kerstel, Samir Kassi, Laurent Arnaud, Ghislain Picard, Frederic Prie, Olivier Cattani, Hans-Christian Steen-Larsen, Etienne Vignon, and Peter Cermak
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8521–8538, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8521-2016, 2016
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Climatic conditions in Concordia are very cold (−55 °C in average) and very dry, imposing difficult conditions to measure the water vapour isotopic composition. New developments in infrared spectroscopy enable now the measurement of isotopic composition in water vapour traces (down to 20 ppmv). Here we present the results results of a first campaign of measurement of isotopic composition of water vapour in Concordia, the site where the 800 000 years long ice core was drilled.
M. Casado, P. Ortega, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Risi, D. Swingedouw, V. Daux, D. Genty, F. Maignan, O. Solomina, B. Vinther, N. Viovy, and P. Yiou
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-447, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-447, 2023
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In a context of global warming, it is key to estimate the evolution of the atmospheric hydrological cycle and temperature in the polar regions, which directly influence the surface mass balance of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets. Measurements of the composition in water stable isotopes of the water vapor are used as proxies of climate variability. Here we present a 2-year long time series of vapor and precipitation isotopic composition measurement at Dumont d’Urville station, in Adélie Land.
Nora Hirsch, Alexandra Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Maria Hörhold, Johannes Freitag, Remi Dallmayr, and Thomas Laepple
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Stable water isotopes from firn cores provide valuable information on past climates, yet their utility is hampered by stratigraphic noise, i.e. the irregular deposition and wind driven redistribution of snow. We found stratigraphic noise on the Antarctic Plateau to be related to the local accumulation rate, snow surface roughness and slope inclination, which can guide future decisions on sampling locations and expand the usage of high resolution isotope records from low accumulation regions.
Antoine Grisart, Mathieu Casado, Vasileios Gkinis, Bo Vinther, Philippe Naveau, Mathieu Vrac, Thomas Laepple, Bénédicte Minster, Frederic Prié, Barbara Stenni, Elise Fourré, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Jean Jouzel, Martin Werner, Katy Pol, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Maria Hoerhold, Trevor Popp, and Amaelle Landais
Clim. Past, 18, 2289–2301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2289-2022, 2022
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This paper presents a compilation of high-resolution (11 cm) water isotopic records, including published and new measurements, for the last 800 000 years from the EPICA Dome C ice core, Antarctica. Using this new combined water isotopes (δ18O and δD) dataset, we study the variability and possible influence of diffusion at the multi-decadal to multi-centennial scale. We observe a stronger variability at the onset of the interglacial interval corresponding to a warm period.
Alexandra M. Zuhr, Thomas Münch, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Maria Hörhold, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 15, 4873–4900, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4873-2021, 2021
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Firn and ice cores are used to infer past temperatures. However, the imprint of the climatic signal in stable water isotopes is influenced by depositional modifications. We present and use a photogrammetry structure-from-motion approach and find variability in the amount, the timing, and the location of snowfall. Depositional modifications of the surface are observed, leading to mixing of snow from different snowfall events and spatial locations and thus creating noise in the proxy record.
Thomas Münch, Martin Werner, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 17, 1587–1605, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1587-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1587-2021, 2021
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We analyse Holocene climate model simulation data to find the locations of Antarctic ice cores which are best suited to reconstruct local- to regional-scale temperatures. We find that the spatial decorrelation scales of the temperature variations and of the noise from precipitation intermittency set an effective sampling length scale. Following this, a single core should be located at the
target site for the temperature reconstruction, and a second one optimally lies more than 500 km away.
Raphaël Hébert, Kira Rehfeld, and Thomas Laepple
Nonlin. Processes Geophys., 28, 311–328, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-28-311-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-28-311-2021, 2021
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Paleoclimate proxy data are essential for broadening our understanding of climate variability. There remain, however, challenges for traditional methods of variability analysis to be applied to such data, which are usually irregular. We perform a comparative analysis of different methods of scaling analysis, which provide variability estimates as a function of timescales, applied to irregular paleoclimate proxy data.
Christophe Leroy-Dos Santos, Mathieu Casado, Frédéric Prié, Olivier Jossoud, Erik Kerstel, Morgane Farradèche, Samir Kassi, Elise Fourré, and Amaëlle Landais
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2907–2918, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2907-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2907-2021, 2021
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We developed an instrument that can generate water vapor at low humidity at a very stable level. This instrument was conceived to calibrate water vapor isotopic records obtained in very dry places such as central Antarctica. Here, we provide details on the instrument as well as results obtained for correcting water isotopic records for diurnal variability during a long field season at the Concordia station in East Antarctica.
Andrew M. Dolman, Torben Kunz, Jeroen Groeneveld, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 17, 825–841, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-825-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-825-2021, 2021
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Uncertainties in climate proxy records are temporally autocorrelated. By deriving expressions for the power spectra of errors in proxy records, we can estimate appropriate uncertainties for any timescale, for example, for temporally smoothed records or for time slices. Here we outline and demonstrate this approach for climate proxies recovered from marine sediment cores.
Torben Kunz, Andrew M. Dolman, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 16, 1469–1492, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1469-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1469-2020, 2020
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This paper introduces a method to estimate the uncertainty of climate reconstructions from single sediment proxy records. The method can compute uncertainties as a function of averaging timescale, thereby accounting for the fact that some components of the uncertainty are autocorrelated in time. This is achieved by treating the problem in the spectral domain. Fully analytic expressions are derived. A companion paper (Part 2) complements this with application-oriented examples of the method.
Mathieu Casado, Gwenaëlle Gremion, Paul Rosenbaum, Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Kelsey Aho, Nicolas Champollion, Sarah L. Connors, Adrian Dahood, Alfonso Fernandez, Martine Lizotte, Katja Mintenbeck, Elvira Poloczanska, and Gerlis Fugmann
Geosci. Commun., 3, 89–97, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-3-89-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-3-89-2020, 2020
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Early-career scientists (ECSs) are rarely invited to act as peer reviewers. Participating in a group peer review of the IPCC Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, PhD students spent more time reviewing than more established scientists and provided a similar proportion of substantive comments. By soliciting and including ECSs in peer review, the scientific community would reduce the burden on more established scientists and may improve the quality of that process.
Pascal Bohleber, Mathieu Casado, Kirsti Ashworth, Chelsey A. Baker, Anna Belcher, Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Holly E. Jenkins, Erin Satterthwaite, Andrea Spolaor, and V. Holly L. Winton
Adv. Geosci., 53, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-1-2020, 2020
Short summary
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International Early Career Networks (ECN) are global voluntary communities of Early Career Scientists (ECS) aiming to advance the careers of ECS and to improve their inclusion into the international scientific community. We use member surveys alongside with case studies from well-established and long-term networks to elucidate the attributes that make a successful, sustainable ECN, and propose best practices for developing ECN successfully.
Maria Reschke, Kira Rehfeld, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 15, 521–537, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-521-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-521-2019, 2019
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We empirically estimate signal-to-noise ratios of temperature proxy records used in global compilations of the middle to late Holocene by comparing the spatial correlation structure of proxy records and climate model simulations accounting for noise and time uncertainty. We find that low signal contents of the proxy records or, alternatively, more localised climate variations recorded by proxies than suggested by current model simulations suggest caution when interpreting multi-proxy datasets.
Thomas Münch and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 14, 2053–2070, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, 2018
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Proxy data on climate variations contain noise from many sources and, for reliable estimates, we need to determine those temporal scales at which the climate signal in the proxy record dominates the noise. We developed a method to derive timescale-dependent estimates of temperature proxy signal-to-noise ratios, which we apply and discuss in the context of Antarctic ice-core records but which in general are applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.
Andrew M. Dolman and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 14, 1851–1868, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1851-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1851-2018, 2018
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Climate proxies from marine sediments provide an important record of past temperatures, but contain noise from many sources. These include mixing by burrowing organisms, seasonal and habitat biases, measurement error, and small sample size effects. We have created a forward model that simulates the creation of proxy records and provides it as a user-friendly R package. It allows multiple sources of uncertainty to be considered together when interpreting proxy climate records.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Ghislain Picard, Thomas Münch, Thomas Laepple, Barbara Stenni, Giuliano Dreossi, Alexey Ekaykin, Laurent Arnaud, Christophe Genthon, Alexandra Touzeau, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, and Jean Jouzel
The Cryosphere, 12, 1745–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Ice core isotopic records rely on the knowledge of the processes involved in the archival processes of the snow. In the East Antarctic Plateau, post-deposition processes strongly affect the signal found in the surface and buried snow compared to the initial climatic signal. We evaluate the different contributions to the surface snow isotopic composition between the precipitation and the exchanges with the atmosphere and the variability of the isotopic signal found in profiles from snow pits.
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.
Thomas Münch, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Johannes Freitag, Hanno Meyer, and Thomas Laepple
The Cryosphere, 11, 2175–2188, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2175-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2175-2017, 2017
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The importance of post-depositional changes for the temperature interpretation of water isotopes is poorly constrained by observations. Here, for the first time, temporal isotope changes in the open-porous firn are directly analysed using a large array of shallow isotope profiles. By this, we can reject the possibility of post-depositional change beyond diffusion and densification as the cause of the discrepancy between isotope and local temperature variations at Kohnen Station, East Antarctica.
Christophe Genthon, Luc Piard, Etienne Vignon, Jean-Baptiste Madeleine, Mathieu Casado, and Hubert Gallée
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 691–704, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-691-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-691-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Natural atmospheric supersaturation is a norm rather than an exception at the surface of Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau. This is reported by hygrometers adapted to perform in extreme cold environments and avoid release of excess moisture before it is measured. One year of observation shows that atmospheric models with cold microphysics parameterizations designed for high altitude cirrus reproduce frequently but fail with the detailed statistics of supersaturation at the surface of Dome C.
Kira Rehfeld, Mathias Trachsel, Richard J. Telford, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 12, 2255–2270, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2255-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2255-2016, 2016
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Indirect evidence on past climate comes from the former composition of ecological communities such as plants, preserved as pollen grains in sediments of lakes. Transfer functions convert relative counts of species to a climatologically meaningful scale (e.g. annual mean temperature in degrees C). We show that the fundamental assumptions in the algorithms impact the reconstruction results in he idealized model world, in particular if the reconstructed variables were not ecologically relevant.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Ghislain Picard, Thomas Münch, Thomas Laepple, Barbara Stenni, Giuliano Dreossi, Alexey Ekaykin, Laurent Arnaud, Christophe Genthon, Alexandra Touzeau, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Jean Jouzel
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-263, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-263, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Ice core isotopic records rely on the knowledge of the processes involved in the archival of the snow. In the East Antarctic Plateau, post-deposition processes strongly affect the signal found in the surface and buried snow compared to the initial climatic signal. We evaluate the different contributions to the surface snow isotopic composition between the precipitation and the exchanges with the atmosphere and the variability of the isotopic signal found in profiles from snow pits.
Thomas Münch, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Johannes Freitag, Hanno Meyer, and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 12, 1565–1581, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1565-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1565-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Ice-core oxygen isotope ratios are a key climate archive to infer past temperatures, an interpretation however complicated by non-climatic noise. Based on 50 m firn trenches, we present for the first time a two-dimensional view (vertical × horizontal) of how oxygen isotopes are stored in Antarctic firn. A statistical noise model allows inferences for the validity of ice coring efforts to reconstruct past temperatures, highlighting the need of replicate cores for Holocene climate reconstructions.
Mathieu Casado, Amaelle Landais, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Christophe Genthon, Erik Kerstel, Samir Kassi, Laurent Arnaud, Ghislain Picard, Frederic Prie, Olivier Cattani, Hans-Christian Steen-Larsen, Etienne Vignon, and Peter Cermak
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8521–8538, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8521-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8521-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Climatic conditions in Concordia are very cold (−55 °C in average) and very dry, imposing difficult conditions to measure the water vapour isotopic composition. New developments in infrared spectroscopy enable now the measurement of isotopic composition in water vapour traces (down to 20 ppmv). Here we present the results results of a first campaign of measurement of isotopic composition of water vapour in Concordia, the site where the 800 000 years long ice core was drilled.
M. Casado, P. Ortega, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Risi, D. Swingedouw, V. Daux, D. Genty, F. Maignan, O. Solomina, B. Vinther, N. Viovy, and P. Yiou
Clim. Past, 9, 871–886, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-871-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-871-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Ice Cores | Timescale: Centennial-Decadal
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Yaowen Zheng, Lenneke M. Jong, Steven J. Phipps, Jason L. Roberts, Andrew D. Moy, Mark A. J. Curran, and Tas D. van Ommen
Clim. Past, 17, 1973–1987, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1973-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1973-2021, 2021
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South West Western Australia has experienced a prolonged drought in recent decades. The causes of this drought are unclear. We use an ice core from East Antarctica to reconstruct changes in rainfall over the past 2000 years. We find that the current drought is unusual, with only two other droughts of similar severity having occurred during this period. Climate modelling shows that greenhouse gas emissions during the industrial era are likely to have contributed to the recent drying trend.
Carmen-Andreea Bădăluţă, Aurel Perșoiu, Monica Ionita, and Natalia Piotrowska
Clim. Past, 16, 2445–2458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2445-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2445-2020, 2020
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We present a reconstruction of summer temperature for the last millennium in east-central Europe that shows little summer temperature differences between the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age on centennial scales as well as the fact that well-expressed minima and maxima occurred synchronously with periods of low and high solar activity, respectively. Furthermore, summer temperatures fluctuated with a periodicity similar to that of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.
Thomas Münch and Thomas Laepple
Clim. Past, 14, 2053–2070, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-2053-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Proxy data on climate variations contain noise from many sources and, for reliable estimates, we need to determine those temporal scales at which the climate signal in the proxy record dominates the noise. We developed a method to derive timescale-dependent estimates of temperature proxy signal-to-noise ratios, which we apply and discuss in the context of Antarctic ice-core records but which in general are applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Joseph R. McConnell, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 14, 1625–1637, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1625-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1625-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Vanillic acid is reported in the Tunu ice core from northeastern Greenland. It is an aerosol-borne acid produced by biomass burning. North American boreal forests are likely the source regions of the vanillic acid deposited at the ice core site. Vanillic acid levels were elevated during warm climate periods and lower during cooler climate periods. There is a positive correlation between the vanillic acid ice core record and ammonium and black carbon in the NEEM ice core from northern Greenland.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Elisabeth Isaksson, Margit Schwikowski, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 14, 637–651, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-637-2018, 2018
Short summary
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This study presents organic acid levels in an ice core from Svalbard over the past 800 years. These acids are produced from wildfire emissions and transported as aerosol. Organic acid levels are high early in the record and decline until the 20th century. Siberia and Europe are likely the primary source regions of the fire emissions. The data are similar to those from a Siberian ice core prior to 1400 CE. The timing of the divergence after 1400 CE is similar to a shift in North Atlantic climate.
Barbara Stenni, Mark A. J. Curran, Nerilie J. Abram, Anais Orsi, Sentia Goursaud, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Raphael Neukom, Hugues Goosse, Dmitry Divine, Tas van Ommen, Eric J. Steig, Daniel A. Dixon, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Nancy A. N. Bertler, Elisabeth Isaksson, Alexey Ekaykin, Martin Werner, and Massimo Frezzotti
Clim. Past, 13, 1609–1634, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1609-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1609-2017, 2017
Short summary
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Within PAGES Antarctica2k, we build an enlarged database of ice core water stable isotope records. We produce isotopic composites and temperature reconstructions since 0 CE for seven distinct Antarctic regions. We find a significant cooling trend from 0 to 1900 CE across all regions. Since 1900 CE, significant warming trends are identified for three regions. Only for the Antarctic Peninsula is this most recent century-scale trend unusual in the context of last-2000-year natural variability.
Anna Kozachek, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Alexey Ekaykin, Patrick Ginot, Stanislav Kutuzov, Michel Legrand, Vladimir Lipenkov, and Susanne Preunkert
Clim. Past, 13, 473–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-473-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-473-2017, 2017
Mana Inoue, Mark A. J. Curran, Andrew D. Moy, Tas D. van Ommen, Alexander D. Fraser, Helen E. Phillips, and Ian D. Goodwin
Clim. Past, 13, 437–453, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-437-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-437-2017, 2017
Short summary
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A 120 m ice core from Mill Island, East Antarctica, was studied its chemical components. The Mill Island ice core contains 97 years of climate record (1913–2009) and has a mean snow accumulation of 1.35 m yr−1 (ice equivalent). Trace ion concentrations were generally higher than other Antarctic ice core sites. Nearby sea ice concentration was found to influence the annual mean sea salt record. The Mill Island ice core records are unexpectedly complex, with strong modulation of the trace chemistry.
Mackenzie M. Grieman, Murat Aydin, Diedrich Fritzsche, Joseph R. McConnell, Thomas Opel, Michael Sigl, and Eric S. Saltzman
Clim. Past, 13, 395–410, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-395-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-395-2017, 2017
Short summary
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Wildfires impact ecosystems, climate, and atmospheric chemistry. Records that predate instrumental records and industrialization are needed to study the climatic controls on biomass burning. In this study, we analyzed organic chemicals produced from burning of plant matter that were preserved in an ice core from the Eurasian Arctic. These chemicals are elevated during three periods that have similar timing to climate variability. This is the first millennial-scale record of these chemicals.
Olivia J. Maselli, Nathan J. Chellman, Mackenzie Grieman, Lawrence Layman, Joseph R. McConnell, Daniel Pasteris, Rachael H. Rhodes, Eric Saltzman, and Michael Sigl
Clim. Past, 13, 39–59, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-39-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-39-2017, 2017
Short summary
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We analysed two Greenland ice cores for methanesulfonate (MSA) and bromine (Br) and concluded that both species are suitable proxies for local sea ice conditions. Interpretation of the records reveals that there have been sharp declines in sea ice in these areas in the past 250 years. However, at both sites the Br record deviates from MSA during the industrial period, raising questions about the value of Br as a sea ice proxy during recent periods of high, industrial, atmospheric acid pollution.
Alexey A. Ekaykin, Diana O. Vladimirova, Vladimir Y. Lipenkov, and Valérie Masson-Delmotte
Clim. Past, 13, 61–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-61-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-61-2017, 2017
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Understanding the Antarctic climate system is crucial in the context of the present-day global environmental changes, but key gaps arise from limited observations. We present a new reconstructed stacked climate record for Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica. Records show 1 °C warming over the last 350 years, with a particularly cold period from the mid-18th to mid-19th century. Temperature variability with a period > 27 years is mainly related to the anomalies of the Indian Ocean Dipole mode.
Michel Legrand, Joseph McConnell, Hubertus Fischer, Eric W. Wolff, Susanne Preunkert, Monica Arienzo, Nathan Chellman, Daiana Leuenberger, Olivia Maselli, Philip Place, Michael Sigl, Simon Schüpbach, and Mike Flannigan
Clim. Past, 12, 2033–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2033-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-2033-2016, 2016
Short summary
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Here, we review previous attempts made to reconstruct past forest fire using chemical signals recorded in Greenland ice. We showed that the Greenland ice records of ammonium, found to be a good fire proxy, consistently indicate changing fire activity in Canada in response to past climatic conditions that occurred since the last 15 000 years, including the Little Ice Age and the last large climatic transition.
W. An, S. Hou, W. Zhang, Y. Wang, Y. Liu, S. Wu, and H. Pang
Clim. Past, 12, 201–211, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-201-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-201-2016, 2016
Short summary
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This paper presents the δ18O result of an ice core recovered from Mt. Zangser Kangri (ZK), a remote area on the northern Tibetan Plateau (TP). We combined the δ18O series of ZK and three other nearby Tibetan ice cores to reconstruct a regional temperature history of 1951–2008, which captured the continuous rapid warming since 1970, even during the global warming hiatus period. It implied that temperature change could have behaved differently at high elevations.
A. Tsushima, S. Matoba, T. Shiraiwa, S. Okamoto, H. Sasaki, D. J. Solie, and K. Yoshikawa
Clim. Past, 11, 217–226, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-217-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-217-2015, 2015
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A 180.17-m ice core was drilled at Aurora Peak in the central part of the Alaska Range, Alaska, in 2008. The ice core age was determined by annual counts of δD and seasonal cycles of Na+. Here, we show that the chronology of the Aurora Peak ice core from 95.61 m to the top corresponds to the period from 1900 to the summer season of 2008, with a dating error of ±3 years. Our results suggest that temporal variations in δD and annual accumulation rates are strongly related to shifts in PDO Index.
P. Zennaro, N. Kehrwald, J. R. McConnell, S. Schüpbach, O. J. Maselli, J. Marlon, P. Vallelonga, D. Leuenberger, R. Zangrando, A. Spolaor, M. Borrotti, E. Barbaro, A. Gambaro, and C. Barbante
Clim. Past, 10, 1905–1924, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1905-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1905-2014, 2014
B. G. Koffman, K. J. Kreutz, D. J. Breton, E. J. Kane, D. A. Winski, S. D. Birkel, A. V. Kurbatov, and M. J. Handley
Clim. Past, 10, 1125–1144, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1125-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1125-2014, 2014
T. Sato, T. Shiraiwa, R. Greve, H. Seddik, E. Edelmann, and T. Zwinger
Clim. Past, 10, 393–404, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-393-2014, 2014
S. Brönnimann, I. Mariani, M. Schwikowski, R. Auchmann, and A. Eichler
Clim. Past, 9, 2013–2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2013-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2013-2013, 2013
S. Preunkert and M. Legrand
Clim. Past, 9, 1403–1416, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1403-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1403-2013, 2013
R. H. Rhodes, N. A. N. Bertler, J. A. Baker, H. C. Steen-Larsen, S. B. Sneed, U. Morgenstern, and S. J. Johnsen
Clim. Past, 8, 1223–1238, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012, 2012
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Short summary
The isotopic composition in ice cores from Antarctica is usually interpreted as a temperature proxy. Using a forward model, we show how different the signal in ice cores and the actual climatic signal are. Precipitation intermittency and diffusion do indeed affect the archived signal, leading to the reshuffling of the signal which limits the ability to reconstruct high-resolution climatic variations with ice cores.
The isotopic composition in ice cores from Antarctica is usually interpreted as a temperature...
