Articles | Volume 20, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-297-2024
© Author(s) 2024. 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-20-297-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Feb 2024
Research article |
| 08 Feb 2024
| 08 Feb 2024
Effective diffusivity of sulfuric acid in Antarctic ice cores
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Raphael Sauvage
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Linh Vu
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Benjamin H. Hills
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Department of Geophysics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, USA
Mirko Severi
Department of Chemistry “Ugo Schiff”, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Edwin D. Waddington
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Related authors
Shuai Yan, Michelle R. Koutnik, Tyler J. Fudge, Shivangini Singh, Duyi Li, Donald D. Blankenship, and Duncan A. Young
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4672, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4672, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Surface snow accumulation is a key control on how the Antarctic Ice Sheet changes. We combined airborne radar observations with numerical models to reconstruct snow accumulation in a interior sector of Antarctica over the past 162,000 years. The results show that this region often followed a different history from a major East Antarctic ice-core site, demonstrating that records from one location may not represent a wider area and that broader observations are needed.
Shuai Yan, Duncan A. Young, Donald D. Blankenship, Tyler J. Fudge, Duyi Li, Laura Lindzey, Hunter Reeves, Alejandra Vega-Gonzalez, Shivangini Singh, Megan Kerr, Emily Wilbur, and Michelle Koutnik
The Cryosphere, 20, 453–465, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-453-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-453-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the radar characteristics of the basal unit along Dome A’s southern flank. Through manual mapping and delay-Doppler analysis, we identifies two basal unit types and maps the spatial variation of incoherent scattering. The results suggest that basal unit radar appearance is influenced by englacial temperature variability and potentially by subglacial geological controls.
Marc J. Sailer, Tyler J. Fudge, John D. Patterson, Shuai Yan, Duncan A. Young, Shivangini Singh, Don Blankenship, and Megan Kerr
Clim. Past, 21, 2389–2406, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2389-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2389-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we model vertical atmospheric gas diffusion in ice older than 1 million years in the Antarctic ice sheet. We estimate climate signal preservation and help identify a potential region for a future deep ice core in East Antarctica. We find that regions with low accumulation rates and moderate ice thickness result in lower diffusion rates. In particular, the foothills of Dome A is a promising location for a deep ice core that extends the present ice core record.
Felix S. L. Ng, Rachael H. Rhodes, Tyler J. Fudge, and Eric W. Wolff
The Cryosphere, 19, 5693–5717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5693-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5693-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Impurity diffusion in ice destroys climate history. We give a new way to find the diffusion rate from ice-core records. Its use on sulphate of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C core reveals rapid diffusion in snow (suggesting H2SO4 vapour diffusion in air pores) and slow diffusion in the ice below (involving signal relocation between crystal interfaces). We estimate a maximum sulphate diffusion length of 2 cm for the old ice sought by the coring projects on Little Dome C.
Robert G. Bingham, Julien A. Bodart, Marie G. P. Cavitte, Ailsa Chung, Rebecca J. Sanderson, Johannes C. R. Sutter, Olaf Eisen, Nanna B. Karlsson, Joseph A. MacGregor, Neil Ross, Duncan A. Young, David W. Ashmore, Andreas Born, Winnie Chu, Xiangbin Cui, Reinhard Drews, Steven Franke, Vikram Goel, John W. Goodge, A. Clara J. Henry, Antoine Hermant, Benjamin H. Hills, Nicholas Holschuh, Michelle R. Koutnik, Gwendolyn J.-M. C. Leysinger Vieli, Emma J. MacKie, Elisa Mantelli, Carlos Martín, Felix S. L. Ng, Falk M. Oraschewski, Felipe Napoleoni, Frédéric Parrenin, Sergey V. Popov, Therese Rieckh, Rebecca Schlegel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Xueyuan Tang, Thomas O. Teisberg, Kate Winter, Shuai Yan, Harry Davis, Christine F. Dow, Tyler J. Fudge, Tom A. Jordan, Bernd Kulessa, Kenichi Matsuoka, Clara J. Nyqvist, Maryam Rahnemoonfar, Matthew R. Siegfried, Shivangini Singh, Vjeran Višnjević, Rodrigo Zamora, and Alexandra Zuhr
The Cryosphere, 19, 4611–4655, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4611-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4611-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The ice sheets covering Antarctica have built up over millenia through successive snowfall events which become buried and preserved as internal surfaces of equal age detectable with ice-penetrating radar. This paper describes an international initiative working together on these archival data to build a comprehensive 3-D picture of how old the ice is everywhere across Antarctica and how this is being used to reconstruct past and to predict future ice and climate behaviour.
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.
Shuai Yan, Michelle R. Koutnik, Tyler J. Fudge, Shivangini Singh, Duyi Li, Donald D. Blankenship, and Duncan A. Young
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4672, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4672, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
Short summary
Short summary
Surface snow accumulation is a key control on how the Antarctic Ice Sheet changes. We combined airborne radar observations with numerical models to reconstruct snow accumulation in a interior sector of Antarctica over the past 162,000 years. The results show that this region often followed a different history from a major East Antarctic ice-core site, demonstrating that records from one location may not represent a wider area and that broader observations are needed.
Alexander Mattin, Simon J. Barker, V. Holly L. Winton, Andrea Burke, William Hutchison, Patrick J. Sugden, Kirstin Krüger, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Larry G. Mastin, Michael Sigl, Eric W. Wolff, Shuji Fujita, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Ikumi Oyabu, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Anders Svensson, Magali Verkerk, Colin J. N. Wilson, Stephen B. Piva, Nels A. Iverson, Nelia W. Dunbar, Helle A. Kjær, Nancy A. N. Bertler, Mirko Severi, Andrei V. Kurbatov, and Dominic A. Winski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3434, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3434, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents evidence of the ~25.3 Ōruanui supereruption preserved in Antarctic ice cores. Glaciochemical signals and volcanic ash were identified across multiple sites, revealing regional differences in volcanic transport, deposition, and preservation. Combining ice core records with climate model simulations, we show the eruption likely caused substantial short-term global cooling and atmospheric change but was unlikely to trigger long-term climate shifts.
Neil Ross, Rebecca J. Sanderson, Bernd Kulessa, Martin Siegert, Guy J. G. Paxman, Keir A. Nichols, Matthew R. Siegfried, Stewart S. R. Jamieson, Michael J. Bentley, Tom A. Jordan, Christine L. Batchelor, David Small, Olaf Eisen, Kate Winter, Robert G. Bingham, S. Louise Callard, Rachel Carr, Christine F. Dow, Helen A. Fricker, Emily Hill, Benjamin H. Hills, Coen Hofstede, Hafeez Jeofry, Felipe Napoleoni, and Wilson Sauthoff
The Cryosphere, 20, 3705–3737, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3705-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3705-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We review research about a group of fast-flowing Antarctic ice streams, the Foundation-Patuxent-Academy System. Previously, we knew little about how these ice streams flow, how they interact with each other and the ocean, what their geological history was, and how they might evolve in a warming world. By reviewing existing research, we have identified the future research needed to determine how these ice streams function, and how they might contribute to future global sea level rise.
Alexis Lamothe, Edouard Bard, Nicolas Thouveny, Ellyn Auriol, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, Martine De Angelis, Frank Wilhelms, Robert Mulvaney, Fawzi Zaidi, Georges Aumaitre, Karim Keddadouche, and Mélanie Baroni
Geochronology, 8, 351–371, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-351-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-8-351-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
We studied changes in Earth's magnetic field between 170 000 and 270 000 years ago using beryllium data from Antarctic ice. Our results reveal three periods when the magnetic field weakened, including one major event with a rapid fall and gradual recovery. These findings help explain how Earth's magnetic field behaves during short-term disturbances and improve the timing of past climate and geological records.
Elena Barbaro, Francisco Ardini, Silvia Becagli, Stefano Bertinetti, Federica Bruschi, Giulia Calzolai, Alice Cavaliere, David Cappelletti, Stefano Crocchianti, Matteo Feltracco, Andrea Gambaro, Fabio Giardi, Stefania Gilardoni, Marco Grotti, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Radovan Krejci, Mery Malandrino, Matilde Mataloni, Simonetta Montaguti, Silvia Nava, Marco Paglione, Matteo Rinaldi, Chiara Ripa, Mirko Severi, Andrea Spolaor, Rita Traversi, Hilde Uggerud, Giulio Verazzo, Tessa Viglezio, Karl Espen Yttri, Wenche Aas, and Mauro Mazzola
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1467, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1467, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study analyzes how Arctic atmospheric layering affects aerosol distribution by comparing data from the Gruvebadet (61 m) and Zeppelin (472 m) observatories in Svalbard. Results show consistent levels of human-made pollutants like sulfate at both heights, confirming long-range transport from Eurasia. Conversely, natural biogenic tracers were more concentrated at lower altitudes. By integrating chemical and meteorological data, the research highlights the need for multi-level monitoring.
Shuai Yan, Duncan A. Young, Donald D. Blankenship, Tyler J. Fudge, Duyi Li, Laura Lindzey, Hunter Reeves, Alejandra Vega-Gonzalez, Shivangini Singh, Megan Kerr, Emily Wilbur, and Michelle Koutnik
The Cryosphere, 20, 453–465, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-453-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-453-2026, 2026
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the radar characteristics of the basal unit along Dome A’s southern flank. Through manual mapping and delay-Doppler analysis, we identifies two basal unit types and maps the spatial variation of incoherent scattering. The results suggest that basal unit radar appearance is influenced by englacial temperature variability and potentially by subglacial geological controls.
Marc J. Sailer, Tyler J. Fudge, John D. Patterson, Shuai Yan, Duncan A. Young, Shivangini Singh, Don Blankenship, and Megan Kerr
Clim. Past, 21, 2389–2406, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2389-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2389-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we model vertical atmospheric gas diffusion in ice older than 1 million years in the Antarctic ice sheet. We estimate climate signal preservation and help identify a potential region for a future deep ice core in East Antarctica. We find that regions with low accumulation rates and moderate ice thickness result in lower diffusion rates. In particular, the foothills of Dome A is a promising location for a deep ice core that extends the present ice core record.
Felix S. L. Ng, Rachael H. Rhodes, Tyler J. Fudge, and Eric W. Wolff
The Cryosphere, 19, 5693–5717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5693-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-5693-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Impurity diffusion in ice destroys climate history. We give a new way to find the diffusion rate from ice-core records. Its use on sulphate of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C core reveals rapid diffusion in snow (suggesting H2SO4 vapour diffusion in air pores) and slow diffusion in the ice below (involving signal relocation between crystal interfaces). We estimate a maximum sulphate diffusion length of 2 cm for the old ice sought by the coring projects on Little Dome C.
Robert G. Bingham, Julien A. Bodart, Marie G. P. Cavitte, Ailsa Chung, Rebecca J. Sanderson, Johannes C. R. Sutter, Olaf Eisen, Nanna B. Karlsson, Joseph A. MacGregor, Neil Ross, Duncan A. Young, David W. Ashmore, Andreas Born, Winnie Chu, Xiangbin Cui, Reinhard Drews, Steven Franke, Vikram Goel, John W. Goodge, A. Clara J. Henry, Antoine Hermant, Benjamin H. Hills, Nicholas Holschuh, Michelle R. Koutnik, Gwendolyn J.-M. C. Leysinger Vieli, Emma J. MacKie, Elisa Mantelli, Carlos Martín, Felix S. L. Ng, Falk M. Oraschewski, Felipe Napoleoni, Frédéric Parrenin, Sergey V. Popov, Therese Rieckh, Rebecca Schlegel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Xueyuan Tang, Thomas O. Teisberg, Kate Winter, Shuai Yan, Harry Davis, Christine F. Dow, Tyler J. Fudge, Tom A. Jordan, Bernd Kulessa, Kenichi Matsuoka, Clara J. Nyqvist, Maryam Rahnemoonfar, Matthew R. Siegfried, Shivangini Singh, Vjeran Višnjević, Rodrigo Zamora, and Alexandra Zuhr
The Cryosphere, 19, 4611–4655, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4611-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-4611-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The ice sheets covering Antarctica have built up over millenia through successive snowfall events which become buried and preserved as internal surfaces of equal age detectable with ice-penetrating radar. This paper describes an international initiative working together on these archival data to build a comprehensive 3-D picture of how old the ice is everywhere across Antarctica and how this is being used to reconstruct past and to predict future ice and climate behaviour.
Rachael H. Rhodes, Yvan Bollet-Quivogne, Piers Barnes, Mirko Severi, and Eric W. Wolff
Clim. Past, 20, 2031–2043, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2031-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2031-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Some ionic components slowly move through glacier ice by diffusion, but the rate of this diffusion, its exact mechanism(s), and the factors that might influence it are poorly understood. In this study, we model how peaks in sulfate, deposited at Dome C on the Antarctic ice sheet after volcanic eruptions, change with depth and time. We find that the sulfate diffusion rate in ice is relatively fast in young ice near the surface, but the rate is markedly reduced over time.
Elizabeth R. Thomas, Diana O. Vladimirova, Dieter R. Tetzner, B. Daniel Emanuelsson, Nathan Chellman, Daniel A. Dixon, Hugues Goosse, Mackenzie M. Grieman, Amy C. F. King, Michael Sigl, Danielle G. Udy, Tessa R. Vance, Dominic A. Winski, V. Holly L. Winton, Nancy A. N. Bertler, Akira Hori, Chavarukonam M. Laluraj, Joseph R. McConnell, Yuko Motizuki, Kazuya Takahashi, Hideaki Motoyama, Yoichi Nakai, Franciéle Schwanck, Jefferson Cardia Simões, Filipe Gaudie Ley Lindau, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, Sarah Wauthy, Cunde Xiao, Jiao Yang, Ellen Mosely-Thompson, Tamara V. Khodzher, Ludmila P. Golobokova, and Alexey A. Ekaykin
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2517–2532, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2517-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2517-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The concentration of sodium and sulfate measured in Antarctic ice cores is related to changes in both sea ice and winds. Here we have compiled a database of sodium and sulfate records from 105 ice core sites in Antarctica. The records span all, or part, of the past 2000 years. The records will improve our understanding of how winds and sea ice have changed in the past and how they have influenced the climate of Antarctica over the past 2000 years.
Simone Ventisette, Samuele Baldini, Claudio Artoni, Silvia Becagli, Laura Caiazzo, Barbara Delmonte, Massimo Frezzotti, Raffaello Nardin, Joel Savarino, Mirko Severi, Andrea Spolaor, Barbara Stenni, and Rita Traversi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-393, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-393, 2023
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
The paper reports the spatial variability of concentration and fluxes of chemical impurities in superficial snow over unexplored area of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Pinatubo and Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic eruptions in non-sea salt sulfate and dust snow pits record were used to achieve the accumulation rates. Deposition (wet, dry and uptake from snow surface) and post deposition processes are constrained. These knowledges are fundamental in Antarctic ice cores stratigraphies interpretation.
Eric W. Wolff, Andrea Burke, Laura Crick, Emily A. Doyle, Helen M. Innes, Sue H. Mahony, James W. B. Rae, Mirko Severi, and R. Stephen J. Sparks
Clim. Past, 19, 23–33, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-23-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-23-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Large volcanic eruptions leave an imprint of a spike of sulfate deposition that can be measured in ice cores. Here we use a method that logs the number and size of large eruptions recorded in an Antarctic core in a consistent way through the last 200 000 years. The rate of recorded eruptions is variable but shows no trends. In particular, there is no increase in recorded eruptions during deglaciation periods. This is consistent with most recorded eruptions being from lower latitudes.
Carlton Xavier, Metin Baykara, Robin Wollesen de Jonge, Barbara Altstädter, Petri Clusius, Ville Vakkari, Roseline Thakur, Lisa Beck, Silvia Becagli, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, Radovan Krejci, Peter Tunved, Mauro Mazzola, Birgit Wehner, Mikko Sipilä, Markku Kulmala, Michael Boy, and Pontus Roldin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10023–10043, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10023-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10023-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The focus of this work is to study and improve our understanding of processes involved in the formation and growth of new particles in a remote Arctic marine environment. We run the 1D model ADCHEM along air mass trajectories arriving at Ny-Ålesund in May 2018. The model finds that ion-mediated H2SO4–NH3 nucleation can explain the observed new particle formation at Ny-Ålesund. The growth of particles is driven via H2SO4 condensation and formation of methane sulfonic acid in the aqueous phase.
Fabio Giardi, Silvia Nava, Giulia Calzolai, Giulia Pazzi, Massimo Chiari, Andrea Faggi, Bianca Patrizia Andreini, Chiara Collaveri, Elena Franchi, Guido Nincheri, Alessandra Amore, Silvia Becagli, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, and Franco Lucarelli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9987–10005, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9987-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9987-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The restriction measures adopted to contain the COVID-19 virus offered a unique opportunity to study urban particulate emissions in the near absence of traffic, which is one of the main emission sources in the urban environment. However, the drastic decrease in this source of particulate matter during the months of national lockdown did not lead to an equal decrease in the total particulate load. This is due to the inverse behavior shown by different sources, especially secondary sources.
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.
Silvia Becagli, Elena Barbaro, Simone Bonamano, Laura Caiazzo, Alcide di Sarra, Matteo Feltracco, Paolo Grigioni, Jost Heintzenberg, Luigi Lazzara, Michel Legrand, Alice Madonia, Marco Marcelli, Chiara Melillo, Daniela Meloni, Caterina Nuccio, Giandomenico Pace, Ki-Tae Park, Suzanne Preunkert, Mirko Severi, Marco Vecchiato, Roberta Zangrando, and Rita Traversi
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9245–9263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9245-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9245-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Measurements of phytoplanktonic dimethylsulfide and its oxidation products in the Antarctic atmosphere allow us to understand the role of the oceanic (sea ice melting, Chl α and dimethylsulfoniopropionate) and atmospheric (wind direction and speed, humidity, solar radiation and transport processes) factors in the biogenic aerosol formation, concentration and characteristic ratio between components in an Antarctic coastal site facing the polynya of the Ross Sea.
Michael Sigl, Matthew Toohey, Joseph R. McConnell, Jihong Cole-Dai, and Mirko Severi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3167–3196, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3167-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3167-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Volcanism is a key driver of climate. Based on ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, we reconstruct its climate impact potential over the Holocene. By aligning records on a well-dated chronology from Antarctica, we resolve long-standing inconsistencies in the dating of past volcanic eruptions. We reconstruct 850 eruptions (which, in total, injected 7410 Tg of sulfur in the stratosphere) and estimate how they changed the opacity of the atmosphere, a prerequisite for climate model simulations.
Aki Virkkula, Henrik Grythe, John Backman, Tuukka Petäjä, Maurizio Busetto, Christian Lanconelli, Angelo Lupi, Silvia Becagli, Rita Traversi, Mirko Severi, Vito Vitale, Patrick Sheridan, and Elisabeth Andrews
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5033–5069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5033-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5033-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Optical properties of surface aerosols at Dome C, Antarctica, in 2007–2013 and their potential source areas are presented. The equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations were compared with eBC measured at three other Antarctic sites: the South Pole (SPO) and two coastal sites, Neumayer and Syowa. Transport analysis suggests that South American BC emissions are the largest contributor to eBC at Dome C.
Jiamei Lin, Anders Svensson, Christine S. Hvidberg, Johannes Lohmann, Steffen Kristiansen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Sune Olander Rasmussen, Eliza Cook, Helle Astrid Kjær, Bo M. Vinther, Hubertus Fischer, Thomas Stocker, Michael Sigl, Matthias Bigler, Mirko Severi, Rita Traversi, and Robert Mulvaney
Clim. Past, 18, 485–506, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-485-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-485-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We employ acidity records from Greenland and Antarctic ice cores to estimate the emission strength, frequency and climatic forcing for large volcanic eruptions from the last half of the last glacial period. A total of 25 volcanic eruptions are found to be larger than any eruption in the last 2500 years, and we identify more eruptions than obtained from geological evidence. Towards the end of the glacial period, there is a notable increase in volcanic activity observed for Greenland.
Michael J. MacFerrin, C. Max Stevens, Baptiste Vandecrux, Edwin D. Waddington, and Waleed Abdalati
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 955–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-955-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The vast majority of the Greenland ice sheet's surface is covered by pluriannual snow, also called firn, that accumulates year after year and is compressed into glacial ice. The thickness of the firn layer changes through time and responds to the surface climate. We present continuous measurement of the firn compaction at various depths for eight sites. The dataset will help to evaluate firn models, interpret ice cores, and convert remotely sensed ice sheet surface height change to mass loss.
Raffaello Nardin, Mirko Severi, Alessandra Amore, Silvia Becagli, Francois Burgay, Laura Caiazzo, Virginia Ciardini, Giuliano Dreossi, Massimo Frezzotti, Sang-Bum Hong, Ishaq Khan, Bianca Maria Narcisi, Marco Proposito, Claudio Scarchilli, Enricomaria Selmo, Andrea Spolaor, Barbara Stenni, and Rita Traversi
Clim. Past, 17, 2073–2089, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2073-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2073-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The first step to exploit all the potential information buried in ice cores is to produce a reliable age scale. Based on chemical and isotopic records from the 197 m Antarctic GV7(B) ice core, accurate dating was achieved and showed that the archive spans roughly the last 830 years. The relatively high accumulation rate allowed us to use the non-sea-salt sulfate seasonal pattern to count annual layers. The accumulation rate reconstruction exhibited a slight increase since the 18th century.
Cited articles
Aydin, M., Fudge, T. J., Verhulst, K. R., Nicewonger, M. R., Waddington, E. D., and Saltzman, E. S.: Carbonyl sulfide hydrolysis in Antarctic ice cores and an atmospheric history for the last 8000 years, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 8500–8514, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021618, 2014.
Barnes, P. R. F. and Wolff, E. W.: Distribution of soluble impurities in cold glacial ice, J. Glaciol., 50, 311–324, 2004.
Barnes, P. R. F., Wolff, E. W., Mader, H. M., Udisti, R., Castellano, E., and Rothlisberger, R.: Evolution of chemical peak shapes in the Dome C, Antarctica, ice core, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 108, 4126, 2003.
Bazin, L., Landais, A., Lemieux-Dudon, B., Toyé Mahamadou Kele, H., Veres, D., Parrenin, F., Martinerie, P., Ritz, C., Capron, E., Lipenkov, V., Loutre, M.-F., Raynaud, D., Vinther, B., Svensson, A., Rasmussen, S. O., Severi, M., Blunier, T., Leuenberger, M., Fischer, H., Masson-Delmotte, V., Chappellaz, J., and Wolff, E.: An optimized multi-proxy, multi-site Antarctic ice and gas orbital chronology (AICC2012): 120–800 ka, Clim. Past, 9, 1715–1731, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1715-2013, 2013.
Bereiter, B., Fischer, H., Schwander, J., and Stocker, T. F.: Diffusive equilibration of N2, O2 and CO2 mixing ratios in a 1.5-million-years-old ice core, The Cryosphere, 8, 245–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-245-2014, 2014.
Buizert, C., Sigl, M., Severi, M., Markle, B. R., Wettstein, J. J., McConnell, J. R., Pedro, J. B., Sodemann, H., Goto-Azuma, K., Kawamura, K., Fujita, S., Motoyama, H., Hirabayashi, M., Uemura, R., Stenni, B., Parrenin, F., He, F., Fudge, T. J., and Steig, E. J.: Abrupt ice-age shifts in southern westerly winds and Antarctic climate forced from the north, Nature, 563, 681–685, 2018.
Buizert, C., Fudge, T. J., Roberts, W. H. G., Steig, E. J., Sherriff-Tadano, S., Ritz, C., Lefebvre, E., Edwards, J., Kawamura, K., Oyabu, I., Motoyama, H., Kahle, E. C., Jones, T. R., Abe-Ouchi, A., Obase, T., Martin, C., Corr, H., Severinghaus, J. P., Beaudette, R., Epifanio, J. A., Brook, E. J., Martin, K., Chappellaz, J., Aoki, S., Nakazawa, T., Sowers, T. A., Alley, R. B., Ahn, J., Sigl, M., Severi, M., Dunbar, N. W., Svensson, A., Fegyveresi, J. M., He, C. F., Liu, Z. Y., Zhu, J., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Lipenkov, V. Y., Kageyama, M., and Schwander, J.: Antarctic surface temperature and elevation during the Last Glacial Maximum, Science, 372, 1097–1101, 2021.
Cole-Dai, J., Ferris, D. G., Kennedy, J. A., Sigl, M., McConnell, J. R., Fudge, T. J., Geng, L., Maselli, O. J., Taylor, K. C., and Souney, J. M.: Comprehensive Record of Volcanic Eruptions in the Holocene (11,000 years) From the WAIS Divide, Antarctica Ice Core, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2020JD032855, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032855, 2021.
Cuffey, K. M. and Steig, E. J.: Isotopic diffusion in polar firn: implications for interpretation of seasonal climate parameters in ice-core records, with emphasis on central Greenland, J. Glaciol., 44, 273–284, 1998.
Cuffey, K. M., Clow, G. D., Steig, E. J., Buizert, C., Fudge, T. J., Koutnik, M., Waddington, E. D., Alley, R. B., and Severinghaus, J. P.: Deglacial temperature history of West Antarctica, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 14249–14254, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1609132113, 2016.
Dash, J. G., Rempel, A. W., and Wettlaufer, J. S.: The physics of premelted ice and its geophysical consequences, Rev. Modern Phys., 78, 695–741, 2006.
Dibb, J. E., Talbot, R. W., Munger, J. W., Jacob, D. J., and Fan, S. M.: Air-snow exchange of HNO3 and NOy at Summit, Greenland, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 103, 3475–3486, 1998.
Durand, G., Weiss, J., Lipenkov, V., Barnola, J. M., Krinner, G., Parrenin, F., Delmonte, B., Ritz, C., Duval, P., Rothlisberger, R., and Bigler, M.: Effect of impurities on grain growth in cold ice sheets, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth Surf., 111, F01015, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JF000320, 2006.
EPICA: Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core, Nature, 429, 623–628, 2004.
Fischer, H., Severinghaus, J., Brook, E., Wolff, E., Albert, M., Alemany, O., Arthern, R., Bentley, C., Blankenship, D., Chappellaz, J., Creyts, T., Dahl-Jensen, D., Dinn, M., Frezzotti, M., Fujita, S., Gallee, H., Hindmarsh, R., Hudspeth, D., Jugie, G., Kawamura, K., Lipenkov, V., Miller, H., Mulvaney, R., Parrenin, F., Pattyn, F., Ritz, C., Schwander, J., Steinhage, D., van Ommen, T., and Wilhelms, F.: Where to find 1.5 million yr old ice for the IPICS “Oldest-Ice” ice core, Clim. Past, 9, 2489–2505, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2489-2013, 2013.
Fitzpatrick, J. J., Voigt, D. E., Fegyveresi, J. M., Stevens, N. T., Spencer, M. K., Cole-Dai, J., Alley, R. B., Jardine, G. E., Cravens, E. D., Wilen, L. A., Fudge, T. J., and Mcconnell, J. R.: Physical properties of the WAIS Divide ice core, J. Glaciol., 60, 1181–1198, https://doi.org/10.3189/2014JoG14J100, 2014.
Fudge, T. J. and Severi, M.: EPICA Dome C Sulfate Data 7–3190 m, U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Data Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.15784/601759, 2023.
Fudge, T. J., Taylor, K. C., Waddington, E. D., Fitzpatrick, J. J., and Conway, H.: Electrical stratigraphy of the WAIS Divide ice core: Identification of centimeter-scale irregular layering, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth Surf., 121, 1218–1229, 2016.
Fujita, S., Azuma, N., Motoyama, H., Kameda, T., Narita, H., Fujii, Y., and Watanabe, O.: Electrical measurements on the 2503 m Dome F Antarctic ice core, Ann. Glaciol., 35, 313–320, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756402781816951, 2002.
Fujita, S., Parrenin, F., Severi, M., Motoyama, H., and Wolff, E. W.: Volcanic synchronization of Dome Fuji and Dome C Antarctic deep ice cores over the past 216 kyr, Clim. Past, 11, 1395–1416, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1395-2015, 2015.
Fukazawa, H., Sugiyama, K., Mae, S. J., Narita, H., and Hondoh, T.: Acid ions at triple junction of Antarctic ice observed by Raman scattering, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 2845–2848, 1998.
Gkinis, V., Simonsen, S. B., Buchardt, S. L., White, J. W. C., and Vinther, B. M.: Water isotope diffusion rates from the NorthGRIP ice core for the last 16,000 years – Glaciological and paleoclimatic implications, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 405, 132–141, 2014.
Hammonds, K. and Baker, I.: The effects of H2SO4 on the mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of polycrystalline ice, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth Surf., 123, 535–556, 2018.
Higgins, J. A., Kurbatov, A. V., Spaulding, N. E., Brook, E., Introne, D. S., Chimiak, L. M., Yan, Y. Z., Mayewski, P. A., and Bender, M. L.: Atmospheric composition 1 million years ago from blue ice in the Allan Hills, Antarctica, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 6887–6891, 2015.
Johnsen, S. J., Clausen, H. B., Cuffey, K. M., Hoffmann, G., Schwander, J., and Creyts, T.: Diffusion of stable isotopes in polar firn and ice: The isotope effect in firn diffusion, in: Physics of ice core records, edited by: Hondoh, T., 121–140, Hokkaido University Press, Sapporo, 2000.
Kahle, E. C., Steig, E. J., Jones, T. R., Fudge, T. J., Koutnik, M. R., Morris, V. A., Vaughn, B. H., Schauer, A. J., Stevens, C. M., Conway, H., Waddington, E. D., Buizert, C., Epifanio, J., and White, J. W. C.: Reconstruction of Temperature, Accumulation Rate, and Layer Thinning From an Ice Core at South Pole, Using a Statistical Inverse Method, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2020JD033300, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033300, 2021.
Karlsson, N. B., Binder, T., Eagles, G., Helm, V., Pattyn, F., Van Liefferinge, B., and Eisen, O.: Glaciological characteristics in the Dome Fuji region and new assessment for “Oldest Ice”, The Cryosphere, 12, 2413–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2413-2018, 2018.
Kehrl, L., Conway, H., Holschuh, N., Campbell, S., Kurbatov, A. V., and Spaulding, N. E.: Evaluating the Duration and Continuity of Potential Climate Records From the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, East Antarctica, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 4096–4104, 2018.
Legrand, M.: Sulphur-Derived Species in Polar Ice: A Review, in: Ice Core Studies of Global Biogeochemical Cycles, edited by: Delmas, R. J., NATO ASI Series, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 30, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51172-1_5, 1995.
Lilien, D. A., Steinhage, D., Taylor, D., Parrenin, F., Ritz, C., Mulvaney, R., Martín, C., Yan, J.-B., O'Neill, C., Frezzotti, M., Miller, H., Gogineni, P., Dahl-Jensen, D., and Eisen, O.: Brief communication: New radar constraints support presence of ice older than 1.5 Myr at Little Dome C, The Cryosphere, 15, 1881–1888, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1881-2021, 2021.
Lin, J., Svensson, A., Hvidberg, C. S., Lohmann, J., Kristiansen, S., Dahl-Jensen, D., Steffensen, J. P., Rasmussen, S. O., Cook, E., Kjær, H. A., Vinther, B. M., Fischer, H., Stocker, T., Sigl, M., Bigler, M., Severi, M., Traversi, R., and Mulvaney, R.: Magnitude, frequency and climate forcing of global volcanism during the last glacial period as seen in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores (60–9 ka), Clim. Past, 18, 485–506, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-485-2022, 2022.
McConnell, J.: WAIS Divide Ice-Core Aerosol Records from 1300 to 3404 m, U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Data Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.15784/601008, 2017.
Mulvaney, R., Wolff, E. W., and Oates, K.: Sulfuric-acid at grain-boundaries in Antarctic ice, Nature, 331, 247–249, 1988.
Nardin, R., Amore, A., Becagli, S., Caiazzo, L., Frezzotti, M., Severi, M., Stenni, B., and Traversi, R.: Volcanic Fluxes Over the Last Millennium as Recorded in the Gv7 Ice Core (Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica), Geosciences, 10, 38, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10010038, 2020.
NEEM: Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core, Nature, 493, 489–494, 2013.
Ng, F. S. L.: Pervasive diffusion of climate signals recorded in ice-vein ionic impurities, The Cryosphere, 15, 1787–1810, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1787-2021, 2021.
Ohno, H., Igarashi, M., and Hondoh, T.: Salt inclusions in polar ice core: Location and chemical form of water-soluble impurities, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 232, 171–178, 2005.
Osman, M., Das, S. B., Marchal, O., and Evans, M. J.: Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) migration in polar ice: data synthesis and theory, The Cryosphere, 11, 2439–2462, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2439-2017, 2017.
Pasteur, E. C. and Mulvaney, R.: Migration of methane sulphonate in Antarctic firn and ice, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 105, 11525–11534, 2000.
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, 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.-Sol. Ea., 107, 2330, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JB001857, 2002.
Ruth, U., Barnola, J.-M., Beer, J., Bigler, M., Blunier, T., Castellano, E., Fischer, H., Fundel, F., Huybrechts, P., Kaufmann, P., Kipfstuhl, S., Lambrecht, A., Morganti, A., Oerter, H., Parrenin, F., Rybak, O., Severi, M., Udisti, R., Wilhelms, F., and Wolff, E.: “EDML1”: a chronology for the EPICA deep ice core from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, over the last 150 000 years, Clim. Past, 3, 475–484, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-3-475-2007, 2007.
Severi, M., Becagli, S., Castellano, E., Morganti, A., Traversi, R., Udisti, R., Ruth, U., Fischer, H., Huybrechts, P., Wolff, E., Parrenin, F., Kaufmann, P., Lambert, F., and Steffensen, J. P.: Synchronisation of the EDML and EDC ice cores for the last 52 kyr by volcanic signature matching, Clim. Past, 3, 367–374, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-3-367-2007, 2007.
Severi, M., Udisti, R., Becagli, S., Stenni, B., and Traversi, R.: Volcanic synchronisation of the EPICA-DC and TALDICE ice cores for the last 42 kyr BP, Clim. Past, 8, 509–517, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-509-2012, 2012.
Severi, M., Becagli, S., Traversi, R., and Udisti, R.: Recovering Paleo-Records from Antarctic Ice-Cores by Coupling a Continuous Melting Device and Fast Ion Chromatography, Anal. Chem., 87, 11441–11447, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5b02961, 2015.
Severi, M., Udisti, R., Castellano, E., and Wolff, E. W.: NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology – EPICA Dome C 203 000 Year High-Resolution FIC Sulfate Data, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information [data set], https://doi.org/10.25921/kgv8-cn35, 2020.
Sigl, M., McConnell, J. R., Layman, L., Maselli, O., McGwire, K., Pasteris, D., Dahl-Jensen, D., Steffensen, J. P., Vinther, B., Edwards, R., Mulvaney, R., and Kipfstuhl, S.: A new bipolar ice core record of volcanism from WAIS Divide and NEEM and implications for climate forcing of the last 2000 years, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 1151–1169, 2013.
Sigl, M., Winstrup, M., McConnell, J. R., Welten, K. C., Plunkett, G., Ludlow, F., Buntgen, U., Caffee, M., Chellman, N., Dahl-Jensen, D., Fischer, H., Kipfstuhl, S., Kostick, C., Maselli, O. J., Mekhaldi, F., Mulvaney, R., Muscheler, R., Pasteris, D. R., Pilcher, J. R., Salzer, M., Schupbach, S., Steffensen, J. P., Vinther, B. M., and Woodruff, T. E.: Timing and climate forcing of volcanic eruptions for the past 2,500 years, Nature, 523, 543–546, 2015.
Sigl, M., Toohey, M., McConnell, J. R., Cole-Dai, J., and Severi, M.: Volcanic stratospheric sulfur injections and aerosol optical depth during the Holocene (past 11 500 years) from a bipolar ice-core array, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3167–3196, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3167-2022, 2022.
Svensson, A., Bigler, M., Blunier, T., Clausen, H. B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Fischer, H., Fujita, S., Goto-Azuma, K., Johnsen, S. J., Kawamura, K., Kipfstuhl, S., Kohno, M., Parrenin, F., Popp, T., Rasmussen, S. O., Schwander, J., Seierstad, I., Severi, M., Steffensen, J. P., Udisti, R., Uemura, R., Vallelonga, P., Vinther, B. M., Wegner, A., Wilhelms, F., and Winstrup, M.: Direct linking of Greenland and Antarctic ice cores at the Toba eruption (74 ka BP), Clim. Past, 9, 749–766, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-749-2013, 2013.
Svensson, A., Dahl-Jensen, D., Steffensen, J. P., Blunier, T., Rasmussen, S. O., Vinther, B. M., Vallelonga, P., Capron, E., Gkinis, V., Cook, E., Kjær, H. A., Muscheler, R., Kipfstuhl, S., Wilhelms, F., Stocker, T. F., Fischer, H., Adolphi, F., Erhardt, T., Sigl, M., Landais, A., Parrenin, F., Buizert, C., McConnell, J. R., Severi, M., Mulvaney, R., and Bigler, M.: Bipolar volcanic synchronization of abrupt climate change in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores during the last glacial period, Clim. Past, 16, 1565–1580, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1565-2020, 2020.
Tison, J.-L., de Angelis, M., Littot, G., Wolff, E., Fischer, H., Hansson, M., Bigler, M., Udisti, R., Wegner, A., Jouzel, J., Stenni, B., Johnsen, S., Masson-Delmotte, V., Landais, A., Lipenkov, V., Loulergue, L., Barnola, J.-M., Petit, J.-R., Delmonte, B., Dreyfus, G., Dahl-Jensen, D., Durand, G., Bereiter, B., Schilt, A., Spahni, R., Pol, K., Lorrain, R., Souchez, R., and Samyn, D.: Retrieving the paleoclimatic signal from the deeper part of the EPICA Dome C ice core, The Cryosphere, 9, 1633–1648, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1633-2015, 2015.
Traufetter, F., Oerter, H., Fischer, H., Weller, R., and Miller, H.: Spatio-temporal variability in volcanic sulphate deposition over the past 2 kyr in snow pits and firn cores from Amundsenisen, Antarctica, J. Glaciol., 50, 137–146, 2004.
Traversi, R., Becagli, S., Castellano, E., Marino, F., Rugi, F., Severi, M., de Angelis, M., Fischer, H., Hansson, M., Stauffer, B., Steffensen, J. P., Bigler, M., and Udisti, R.: Sulfate Spikes in the Deep Layers of EPICA-Dome C Ice Core: Evidence of Glaciological Artifacts, Environ. Sci. Technol., 43, 8737–8743, 2009.
Veres, D., Bazin, L., Landais, A., Toyé Mahamadou Kele, H., Lemieux-Dudon, B., Parrenin, F., Martinerie, P., Blayo, E., Blunier, T., Capron, E., Chappellaz, J., Rasmussen, S. O., Severi, M., Svensson, A., Vinther, B., and Wolff, E. W.: The Antarctic ice core chronology (AICC2012): an optimized multi-parameter and multi-site dating approach for the last 120 thousand years, Clim. Past, 9, 1733–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1733-2013, 2013.
WDPM (WAIS Divide Project Members): Onset of deglacial warming in West Antarctica driven by local orbital forcing, Nature, 500, 440–444, 2013.
Winski, D. A., Fudge, T. J., Ferris, D. G., Osterberg, E. C., Fegyveresi, J. M., Cole-Dai, J., Thundercloud, Z., Cox, T. S., Kreutz, K. J., Ortman, N., Buizert, C., Epifanio, J., Brook, E. J., Beaudette, R., Severinghaus, J., Sowers, T., Steig, E. J., Kahle, E. C., Jones, T. R., Morris, V., Aydin, M., Nicewonger, M. R., Casey, K. A., Alley, R. B., Waddington, E. D., Iverson, N. A., Dunbar, N. W., Bay, R. C., Souney, J. M., Sigl, M., and McConnell, J. R.: The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core – Part 1: volcanic matching and annual layer counting, Clim. Past, 15, 1793–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1793-2019, 2019.
Wolff, E. W., Burke, A., Crick, L., Doyle, E. A., Innes, H. M., Mahony, S. H., Rae, J. W. B., Severi, M., and Sparks, R. S. J.: Frequency of large volcanic eruptions over the past 200 000 years, Clim. Past, 19, 23–33, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-23-2023, 2023.
Yan, Y. Z., Bender, M. L., Brook, E. J., Clifford, H. M., Kemeny, P. C., Kurbatov, A. V., Mackay, S., Mayewski, P. A., Ng, J., Severinghaus, J. P., and Higgins, J. A.: Two-million-year-old snapshots of atmospheric gases from Antarctic ice, Nature, 574, 663–666, 2019.
Zielinski, G. A., Mayewski, P. A., Meeker, L. D., Gronvold, K., Germani, M. S., Whitlow, S., Twickler, M. S., and Taylor, K.: Volcanic aerosol records and tephrochronology of the Summit, Greenland, ice cores, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans,, 102, 26625–26640, 1997.
Short summary
We use the oldest Antarctic ice core to estimate the rate of diffusion of sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is a marker of past volcanic activity and is critical in developing ice core timescales. The rate of diffusion is uncertain and is important to know, both for selecting future ice core locations and interpreting ice core records. We find the effective diffusivity of sulfate is 10 times smaller than previously estimated, indicating that the sulfuric acid signals will persist for longer.
We use the oldest Antarctic ice core to estimate the rate of diffusion of sulfuric acid....
