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A comparison of annual layer thickness model estimates with observational measurements using the Berkner Island ice core, Antarctica

Part of: Antarctic Science International Bursary collection: Geosciences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2017

A. Massam ,
S.B. Sneed ,
G.P. Lee ,
R.R. Tuckwell ,
R. Mulvaney ,
P.A. Mayewski  and
P.L. Whitehouse
A. Massam*
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK Department of Geography, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
S.B. Sneed
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 133 Sawyer Research Building, Orono, ME 04469-5741, USA
G.P. Lee
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
R.R. Tuckwell
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
R. Mulvaney
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
P.A. Mayewski
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 133 Sawyer Research Building, Orono, ME 04469-5741, USA
P.L. Whitehouse
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
*
ashsam73@bas.ac.uk
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Abstract

A model to estimate the annual layer thickness of deposited snowfall at a deep ice core site, compacted by vertical strain with respect to depth, is assessed using ultra-high-resolution laboratory analytical techniques. A recently established technique of high-resolution direct chemical analysis of ice using ultra-violet laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA ICP-MS) has been applied to ice from the Berkner Island ice core, and compared with results from lower resolution techniques conducted on parallel sections of ice. The results from both techniques have been analysed in order to assess the capability of each technique to recover seasonal cycles from deep Antarctic ice. Results do not agree with the annual layer thickness estimates from the age–depth model for individual samples <1 m long as the model cannot reconstruct the natural variability present in annual accumulation. However, when compared with sections >4 m long, the deviation between the modelled and observational layer thicknesses is minimized to within two standard deviations. This confirms that the model is capable of successfully estimating mean annual layer thicknesses around analysed sections. Furthermore, our results confirm that the LA ICP-MS technique can reliably recover seasonal chemical profiles beyond standard analytical resolution.

Keywords

age–depth modelchemistryglaciologymass spectrometryultra-high-resolution
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , August 2017 , pp. 382 - 393
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Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2017 

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