Carbonyl sulfide measurements from a South Pole ice core and implications for atmospheric variability since the  last glacial period

Aydin, Murat; Nicewonger, Melinda R.; Britten, Gregory L.; Winski, Dominic; Whelan, Mary; Patterson, John D.; Osterberg, Erich; Lee, Christopher F.; Harder, Tara; Callahan, Kyle J.; Ferris, David; Saltzman, Eric S.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1885-2024

Articles | Volume 20, issue 8

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1885-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1885-2024

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 8

Research article

|

30 Aug 2024

Research article |

| 30 Aug 2024

Carbonyl sulfide measurements from a South Pole ice core and implications for atmospheric variability since the last glacial period

Murat Aydin, Melinda R. Nicewonger, Gregory L. Britten, Dominic Winski, Mary Whelan, John D. Patterson, Erich Osterberg, Christopher F. Lee, Tara Harder, Kyle J. Callahan, David Ferris, and Eric S. Saltzman

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1885-2024-supplement

Data sets

SPC14 carbonyl sulfide, methyl chloride, and methyl chloride measurements from South Pole, Antarctica M. Aydin https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601270

South Pole ice core sea salt and major ions D. A. Winski https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601754

Short summary

We present a new ice core carbonyl sulfide (COS) record from the South Pole, Antarctica, yielding a 52 000-year atmospheric record after correction for production in the ice sheet. The results display a large increase in atmospheric COS concurrent with the last deglaciation. The deglacial COS rise results from an overall strengthening of atmospheric COS sources, implying a large increase in ocean sulfur gas emissions. Atmospheric sulfur gases have negative climate feedbacks.