Ice Core Record Variations of Atmospheric Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Pb Isotopes During the Past 800 Years in Mount Everest

Author(s):  
Sungmin Hong ◽  
Khanghyun Lee ◽  
Soon Do Hur ◽  
Shugui Hou ◽  
Laurie J. Burn-Nunes ◽  
...  
1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 178-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Wu Xiaoling ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson ◽  
Xie Zichu

Results from the first glaciological investigation of the Dunde ice cap demonstrate that a long, highly temporally resolvable climatic ice-core record is preserved in this ice cap. Measurements of stratigraphy, microparticle concentrations, liquid conductivity, and oxygen-isotope ratios from three snow pits in 1984 suggest that the annual accumulation is approximately 200 mm (water equivalent). Measurement of microparticle concentrations and conductivities of pit samples collected in 1986 confirm the existence of annual dust layers and an annual accumulation rate of ∼200 mm/year over the past 5 years. Bore-hole temperatures of –5.4°C at 30 m indicate that the ice cap is polar. Mono-pulse radar depth determinations yield an average thickness of 140 m, which (coupled with the smooth bedrock topography and the current accumulation rate) suggest that the Dunde ice cap should contain at least a 3000 year climatic record. A drilling program to recover that record from this subtropical location is planned for 1987.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 5905-5931 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Jenk ◽  
S. Szidat ◽  
M. Schwikowski ◽  
H. W. Gäggeler ◽  
S. Brütsch ◽  
...  

Abstract. Long-term concentration records of carbonaceous particles (CP) are of increasing interest in climate research due to their not yet completely understood effects on climate. Nevertheless, only poor data on their concentrations and sources in the past is available. We present a first long-term record of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations - the two main fractions of CP – along with the corresponding fraction of modern carbon (fM) derived from radiocarbon (14C) analysis. The combination of concentration measurements with 14C analysis of CP allows a distinction and quantification of natural, biogenic and anthropogenic fossil sources in the past. CP were extracted from an ice archive, with resulting carbon quantities in the microgram range. Analysis of 14C by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was therefore highly demanding. We analysed 33 samples of 0.4 to 1 kg ice from a 150.5 m long ice core retrieved at Fiescherhorn glacier in December 2002 (46°33'3.2" N, 08°04'0.4'' E; 3900 m a.s.l.). Samples were taken from below the firn/ice transition down to bedrock, covering the time period 1650–1940 and thus the transition from the pre-industrial to the industrial era. Before 1800, OC was of pure biogenic origin with a mean concentration of 21±2 μg kg−1}. In 1940, OC concentration was more than a factor of 3 higher than this biogenic background, almost half of it originating from anthropogenic sources, i.e. from combustion of fossil fuels. The biogenic EC concentration was nearly constant over the examined time period with 6±1 μg kg−1. In 1940, the additional anthropogenic input of atmospheric EC was about 50 μg kg−1.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1051-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Solomina ◽  
G. Wiles ◽  
T. Shiraiwa ◽  
R. D’Arrigo

Abstract. Tree rings, ice cores and glacial geologic histories for the past several centuries offer an opportunity to characterize climate variability and to identify the key climate parameters forcing glacier expansions. A newly developed larch ring-width chronology is presented for Kamchatka that is sensitive to past summer temperature variability. This record provides the basis to compare with other proxy records of inferred temperature and precipitation change from ice core and glacier records, and to characterize climate for the region over the past 400 years. Individual low growth years in the larch record are associated with several known and proposed volcanic events that have been observed in other proxy records from the Northern Hemisphere. Comparison of the tree-rings with an ice core record of melt feature index for Kamchatka's Ushkovsky volcano confirms a 1–3 year dating accuracy for this ice core series over the late 18th to 20th centuries. Decadal variations of low summer temperatures (tree-ring record) and high annual precipitation (ice core record) are broadly consistent with intervals of positive mass balance measured and estimated at several glaciers, and with moraine building, provides a basis to interpret geologic glacier records.


Nature ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 324 (6094) ◽  
pp. 237-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Friedli ◽  
H. Lötscher ◽  
H. Oeschger ◽  
U. Siegenthaler ◽  
B. Stauffer

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 218-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawen Ren ◽  
Zhefan Jing ◽  
Jianchen Pu ◽  
Xiang Qin

AbstractGlacier variation is one of many indicators of climate change. Repeat measurements of the glacier terminus positions for selected glaciers in the central Himalaya document that they have been in a state of continuous retreat over the past few decades. Since the 1960s the average retreat rate on the north slope of Qomolangma (Mount Everest) is 5.5–9.5ma-1 and on Xixiabangma it is 4.0–5.2ma-1. Many glaciers on the south slope of the central Himalaya have been in retreat, and recently their retreat rate has accelerated. Ice-core studies show that the annual accumulation on these glaciers has fluctuated, but over the last century it has declined. It decreased rapidly in the 1960s and has remained consistently below the long-term mean thereafter. Meteorological station records indicate that the annual mean temperature in the region has slowly increased, particularly during the summer months. The strongest warming has occurred in the last 30 years. These data suggest that the current glacier retreat is due to the combined effect of reduced precipitation and warmer temperatures, and, if these conditions continue, the glaciers in the region will continue to shrink.


1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 502-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kawamura ◽  
I. Suzuki ◽  
Y. Fujii ◽  
O. Watanabe

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (22) ◽  
pp. 14133-14148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislav Kutuzov ◽  
Michel Legrand ◽  
Susanne Preunkert ◽  
Patrick Ginot ◽  
Vladimir Mikhalenko ◽  
...  

Abstract. Ice cores are one of the most valuable paleo-archives. Records from ice cores provide information not only about the amount of dust in the atmosphere, but also about dust sources and their changes in the past. In 2009, a 182 m long ice core was recovered from the western plateau of Mt Elbrus (5115 m a.s.l.). This record was further extended after a shallow ice core was drilled in 2013. Here we analyse Ca2+ concentrations, a commonly used proxy of dust, recorded in these Elbrus ice records over the time period of 1774–2013 CE. The Ca2+ record reveals quasi-decadal variability with a generally increasing trend. Using multiple regression analysis, we found a statistically significant spatial correlation of the Elbrus Ca2+ summer concentrations with precipitation and soil moisture content in the Levant region (specifically Syria and Iraq). The Ca2+ record also correlates with drought indices in North Africa (r=0.67, p<0.001) and Middle East regions (r=0.71, p<0.001). Dust concentrations prominently increase in the ice core over the past 200 years, confirming that the recent droughts in the Fertile Crescent (1998–2012 CE) present the most severe aridity experienced in at least the past two centuries. For the most recent 33 years recorded (1979–2012 CE), significant correlations exist between Ca2+ and Pacific circulation indices (Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Southern Oscillation Index and Niño 4), which suggests that the increased frequency of extreme El Niño and La Niña events due to a warming climate has extended their influence to the Middle East. Evidence demonstrates that the increase in Ca2+ concentration in the ice core cannot be attributed to human activities, such as coal combustion and cement production.


1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 502-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kawamura ◽  
I. Suzuki ◽  
Y. Fuji ◽  
O. Watanabe

Author(s):  
Susan Kaspari ◽  
Paul A. Mayewski ◽  
Michael Handley ◽  
Erich Osterberg ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
...  

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 178-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lonnie G. Thompson ◽  
Wu Xiaoling ◽  
Ellen Mosley-Thompson ◽  
Xie Zichu

Results from the first glaciological investigation of the Dunde ice cap demonstrate that a long, highly temporally resolvable climatic ice-core record is preserved in this ice cap. Measurements of stratigraphy, microparticle concentrations, liquid conductivity, and oxygen-isotope ratios from three snow pits in 1984 suggest that the annual accumulation is approximately 200 mm (water equivalent). Measurement of microparticle concentrations and conductivities of pit samples collected in 1986 confirm the existence of annual dust layers and an annual accumulation rate of ∼200 mm/year over the past 5 years. Bore-hole temperatures of –5.4°C at 30 m indicate that the ice cap is polar. Mono-pulse radar depth determinations yield an average thickness of 140 m, which (coupled with the smooth bedrock topography and the current accumulation rate) suggest that the Dunde ice cap should contain at least a 3000 year climatic record. A drilling program to recover that record from this subtropical location is planned for 1987.


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