Synchronization of ice core records via atmospheric gases

Abstract. To interpret new high resolution climate records it becomes more and more important to know about the succession of climate events. Such knowledge is hard to get especially when dealing with different types of climate archives. Even for ice cores a direct synchronization between ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica has not been possible so far due to the lack of time markers occurring in both hemispheres. Fortunately, variations in the time series of global gas records can be used as indirect time markers. Here we discuss in detail the steps that are necessary to synchronize ice cores via global gas records exemplified on the synchronization of the EPICA ice core from Dronning Maud Land to a Greenland record from North GRIP.