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Centrée au Pôle Sud, l’Antarctique constitue la plus grande étendue de glace continentale sur Terre,représentant le plus important réservoir d’eau douce. Cette masse de glace est constamment en mouvement.La glace se déforme sous l’action de la gravité, et glisse sur le substract rocheux sur lequel ellerepose. Depuis des années, l’Antarctique perd de la masse de glace en raison du réchauffement climatique.Les prédictions concernant l’évolution de sa masse de glace et sa contribution potentielle au niveau marinsont très incertaines. Une des principales sources d’incertitude réside dans comment exactement la glaceglisse-t-elle à la base? Le glissement basal inclut le glissement stricto sensu de la glace sur le lit rocheuxdans le cas d’un lit rigide, ainsi que la déformation du lit composé de sédiments dans le cas d’un lit déformable.Dans certaines zones, comme les ice streams, le glissement basal est le processus majoritaire dudéplacement de la glace. Les ice streams drainant la grande majorité de la calotte, il semble essentiel demieux comprendre le processus responsable de leur mouvement. Mathématiquement, le glissement basalest représenté par une loi de glissement reliant la vitesse du glacier à la contrainte exercée par celui-ci surle lit. Cette loi peut prendre plusieurs formes en fonction des phénomènes qu’elle englobe. L’eau sousglaciairejoue un rôle clef dans le glissement basal en lubrifiant le lit rocheux et en réduisant la résistance dusol à la déformation. Cette eau provient de la fonte de la glace à la base et s’organise en différents types desystèmes de drainage classés comme inefficaces ou efficaces. Les systèmes inefficaces se caractérisent parun faible flux en écoulement diffus, tandis que les systèmes efficaces présentent un fort flux en écoulementconcentré dans des conduits. Le premier objectif de cette thèse est de lier l’hydrologie sous-glaciaire auglissement basal à l’aide du modèle numérique Kori-ULB. Pour ce faire, nous évaluons quatre méthodesd, Centered at the South Pole, Antarctica constitutes the largest expanse of continental ice on Earth, representingthe most significant freshwater stock. This mass of ice is in constant motion, deforming underthe influence of gravity and sliding over the bedrock on which it is lying. Antarctica has been losing icemass for years due to global warming. Predictions regarding the evolution of its ice mass and its potentialcontribution to sea level rise are highly uncertain. One of the main sources of uncertainty lies in understandingexactly how the ice slides at the base. Basal sliding includes the sliding of the ice over the bedrockin the case of a hard bed, as well as the deformation of the bed composed of sediments in the case of adeformable and soft bed. In certain areas, such as ice streams, basal sliding is the predominant processin ice movement. As ice streams drain the majority of the ice sheet, it is essential to better understandthe process responsible for their motion. Mathematically, basal sliding is represented by a sliding law relatingthe glacier’s velocity to the stress it exerts on the bed. This law can take various forms dependingon the phenomena it encompasses. Subglacial water plays a key role in basal sliding by lubricating thebedrock and reducing the till’s resistance to deformation. This water comes from the melting of ice at thebase and organizes into different types of drainage systems classified as inefficient or efficient. Inefficientsystems are characterized by low-flow diffuse drainage, while efficient systems exhibit high-flow concentrateddrainage in conduits. The first objective of this thesis is to link subglacial hydrology to basal slidingusing the Kori-ULB numerical ice sheet model. To achieve this, we evaluate four methods developed inthe literature across the entire Antarctic ice sheet and compare them to simulations that do not considersubglacial hydrology. These methods differ in the representation of subglacial water: seawater pressure, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

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Provenance records from sediments deposited offshore of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) can help identify past major ice retreat, thus constraining ice‐sheet models projecting future sea‐level rise. Interpretations from such records are, however, hampered by the ice obscuring Antarctica's geology. Here, we explore central West Antarctica's subglacial geology using basal debris from within the Byrd ice core, drilled to the bed in 1968. Sand grain microtextures and a high kaolinite content (∼38–42%) reveal the debris consists predominantly of eroded sedimentary detritus, likely deposited initially in a warm, pre‐Oligocene, subaerial environment. Detrital hornblende 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages suggest proximal late Cenozoic subglacial volcanism. The debris has a distinct provenance signature, with: common Permian‐Early Jurassic mineral grains; absent early Ross Orogeny grains; a high kaolinite content; and high 143 Nd/ 144 Nd and low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. Detecting this “fingerprint” in Antarctic sedimentary records could imply major WAIS retreat, revealing the WAIS's sensitivity to future warming., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

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Antarctic ice cores have revealed the interplay between dust and climate in the Southern Hemisphere. Yet, so far, no continuous record of dust provenance has been established through the last deglaciation. Here, using a new database of 207 Rare Earth Element (REE) patterns measured in dust and sediments/soils from well-known potential source areas (PSA) of the Southern Hemisphere, we developed a statistical model combining those inputs to provide the best fit to the REE patterns measured in EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) ice core (E. Antarctica). Out of 398 samples measured in the EDML core, 386 samples have been un-mixed with statistical significance. Combined with the total atmospheric deposition, we quantified the dust flux from each PSA to EDML between 7 and 27 kyr BP. Our results reveal that the dust composition was relatively uniform up until 14.5 kyr BP despite a large drop in atmospheric deposition at ∼18 kyr with a large contribution from Patagonia yielding ∼68 % of total dust deposition. The remaining dust was supplied from Australia (14–15 %), Southern Africa (∼9 %), New Zealand (∼3–4 %) and Puna-Altiplano (∼2–3 %). The most striking change occurred ∼14.5 kyr BP when Patagonia dropped below 50 % on average while low-latitude PSA increased their contributions to 21–23 % for Southern Africa, 13–21 % for Australia and ∼ 4–10 % for Puna-Altiplano. We argue that this shift is linked to long-lasting changes in the hydrology of Patagonian rivers and to sudden acceleration of the submersion of Patagonian shelf at 14.5 kyr BP, highlighting a relationship between dust composition and eustatic sea level. Early Holocene dust composition is highly variable, with Patagonian contribution being still prevalent, at ∼50 % on average. Provided a good coverage of local and distal PSA, our statistical model based on REE pattern offers a straightforward and cost-effective method to trace dust source in ice cores., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Melting sea ice is a seasonal source of iron (Fe) to the Southern Ocean (SO), where Fe levels in surface waters are otherwise generally too low to support phytoplankton growth. However, the effectiveness of sea-ice Fe fertilization in stimulating SO primary production is unknown since no data exist on Fe uptake by microorganisms in the sea-ice environment. This study reports a unique dataset on Fe uptake rates, Fe-to-carbon (C) uptake ratio (Fe uptake normalized to C uptake) and Fe:C uptake rate (Fe uptake normalized to biomass) by in situ microbial communities inhabiting sea ice and the underlying seawater. Radioisotopes 55Fe and 14C were used in short-term uptake experiments during the 32-day Ice Station POLarstern (ISPOL) time series to evaluate the contributions of small (0.8–10 µm) and large (> 10 µm) microbes to Fe uptake. Overall, results show that over 90% of Fe was bound to the outside of the cells. Intracellular Fe (Feintra) uptake rates reached up to 68, 194, and 203 pmol Fe L−1d− 1 in under-ice seawater, bottom ice, and top ice, respectively. Inorganic carbon uptake ranged between 0.03 and 3.2 µmol C L−1 d−1, with the lowest rate observed in under-ice seawater. Importantly, between the start and end of ISPOL, we observed a 30-fold increase in Feintra normalized to carbon biomass in bottom sea ice. This trend was likely due to changes in the microbial community from a dominance of large diatoms at the start of the survey to small diatoms later in the season. As the Antarctic icescape and associated ecosystems are changing, this dataset will help inform the parameterisation of sea-ice biogeochemical and ecological models in ice-covered regions., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Sea ice is an active component of the Earth's climate system, interacting with both the atmosphere and the ocean. Arctic sea ice is commonly covered by melt ponds during late spring and summer, strongly affecting sea ice physical and optical properties. How melt pond formation affects sea ice gas dynamics and exchanges between sea ice and the atmosphere, with potential feedbacks on climate, is not well known. Here we measured concentrations of N2, O2, and Ar, total alkalinity, and dissolved inorganic carbon within sea ice of Young Sound, NE Greenland, to examine how melt pond formation and meltwater drainage through the ice affect its physical properties and gas composition, including impacts on CO2 exchange with the atmosphere. Sea ice gas composition was controlled mainly by physical processes, with most of the gas initially in gaseous form in the upper ice layer. A minor contribution from biological processes was associated with positive estimates of net community production (up to 2.6 mmol Lice-1 d-1), indicating that the ice was net autotrophic. As the sea ice warmed, the upper ice gas concentrations decreased, suggesting a release of gas bubbles to the atmosphere. However, as melt ponds formed, the ice surface became strongly depleted in gases. Due to melt pond development, meltwater permeated through the ice, resulting in the formation of an underwater ice layer also depleted in gases. Sea ice, including brine, slush, and melt ponds, was undersaturated in CO2 compared to the atmosphere, supporting an uptake of up to -4.26 mmol m-2 d-1 of atmospheric CO2. As melt pond formation progressed, however, this uptake weakened in the strongly altered remaining ice surface (the “white ice”), averaging -0.04 mmol m-2 d-1. This study reveals the importance of melt pond formation and dynamics for sea ice gas composition., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

It has been established that various anthropogenic contaminants have already reached all the world's pristine locations, including the polar regions. While some of those contaminants, such as lead and soot, are decreasing in the environment, thanks to international regulations, other novel contaminants emerge. Plastic pollution has been shown as a durable novel pollutant, and, since recently, smaller and smaller plastics particles have been identified in various environments (air, water and soil). Considerable research already exists measuring the plastics in the 5 mm to micrometre size range (microplastics). However, far less is known about the plastics debris that fragmented to the sub-micrometre size (nanoplastics). As these small particles are light, it is expected that they have already reached the most remote places on Earth, e.g. transported across the globe by air movement. In this work, we used a novel method based on Thermal Desorption – Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) to detect and measure nanoplastics of different types in the water sampled from a Greenland firn core (T2015-A5) and a sea ice core from Antarctica. We identify polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Tire wear nanoparticles in the 14 m deep Greenland firn core and PE, PP and PET in sea ice from Antarctica. Nanoplastics mass concentrations were on average 13.2 ng/mL for Greenland firn samples and 52.3 ng/mL for Antarctic sea ice. We further discuss the possible sources of nanoplastics that we found at these remote locations, which likely involve complex processes of plastic circulation (emission from both land and sea surface, atmospheric and marine circulation).

The future contributions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to sea level rise will depend on the evolution of its surface mass balance (SMB), which could amplify/dampen mass losses increasingly observed at the ice sheet's edge. In situ constraints of SMB over annual-to-decadal timescales consist mostly of firn/ice cores that have a surface footprint cm. SMB constraints also come from climate models, which have a higher temporal resolution but a larger surface footprint of several km. We use ice-penetrating radar data to obtain an intermediate spatial and temporal resolution SMB record over three ice rises along the Princess Ragnhild Coast. The co-located ice cores allow us to obtain absolute radar-derived SMB rates at a multi-annual-to-decadal temporal resolution. By comparing the ice core SMB measurements and the radar-derived SMB records, we determine that pointwise measurements of SMB are representative of a small surface area, m radius extending from the ice core drill site for the ice rises studied here, and that the pointwise measurements are systematically 7–15 cm w.e. a lower than the mean SMB value calculated for the whole ice rises. However, ice core records are representative of an entire ice rise's temporal variability at the temporal resolution examined.

The future contributions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to sea level rise will depend on the evolution of its surface mass balance (SMB), which could amplify/dampen mass losses increasingly observed at the ice sheet's edge. In situ constraints of SMB over annual-to-decadal timescales consist mostly of firn/ice cores that have a surface footprint $sim$ cm $^{2}$ .SMB constraints also come from climate models, which have a higher temporal resolution but a larger surface footprint of several km $^{2}$ .We use ice-penetrating radar data to obtain an intermediate spatial and temporal resolution SMB record over three ice rises along the Princess Ragnhild Coast. The co-located ice cores allow us to obtain absolute radar-derived SMB rates at a multi-annual-to-decadal temporal resolution. By comparing the ice core SMB measurements and the radar-derived SMB records, we determine that pointwise measurements of SMB are representative of a small surface area, $sim 200-500$ m radius extending from the ice core drill site for the ice rises studied here, and that the pointwise measurements are systematically 7–15 cm w.e. a $^{-1}$ lower than the mean SMB value calculated for the whole ice rises. However, ice core records are representative of an entire ice rise's temporal variability at the temporal resolution examined., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Convective dynamics developing below growing sea ice are studied experimentally by freezing salt water from above in a quasi-two-dimensional Hele-Shaw cell. Observations of the convective processes are made with Schlieren and direct imaging systems, allowing visualization both under and within the growing ice. Buoyancy-driven flows are seen to develop under the ice layer via two different mechanisms: On one hand, brine diffuses out from the ice layer creating a denser boundary layer of enhanced salinity, which triggers boundary layer convection resulting in small-scale interfacial fingers. On the other hand, internal flow within brine drainage channels inside the ice is observed flushing out longer-scale convective streamers at given locations at the ice-water interface. Streamers descend in the bulk aqueous layer faster and for longer distances than fingers. Simulations confirm that, despite nonlinear interactions between fingers and streamers, the different speeds observed can be correlated to different density differences between the interfacial or internal rejection and the underlying bulk salt water. Estimates of relative mass fluxes through the interface by the two mechanisms suggest that, when streamers are active, the mass of salt rejected through the streamer pathway can be larger than the one expelled through the finger pathway. However, as fingers are maintained throughout the ice growth while the rejection from brine channels features an intermittent "on-off" behavior, there are certain periods of time when the mass flux of the two mechanisms is similar, but also some time intervals during which the flux due to interfacial short fingers becomes dominant., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

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It has been established that various anthropogenic contaminants have already reached all the world's pristine locations, including the polar regions. While some of those contaminants, such as lead and soot, are decreasing in the environment, thanks to international regulations, other novel contaminants emerge. Plastic pollution has been shown as a durable novel pollutant, and, since recently, smaller and smaller plastics particles have been identified in various environments (air, water and soil). Considerable research already exists measuring the plastics in the 5 mm to micrometre size range (microplastics). However, far less is known about the plastics debris that fragmented to the sub-micrometre size (nanoplastics). As these small particles are light, it is expected that they have already reached the most remote places on Earth, e.g. transported across the globe by air movement. In this work, we used a novel method based on Thermal Desorption - Proton Transfer Reaction - Mass Spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) to detect and measure nanoplastics of different types in the water sampled from a Greenland firn core (T2015-A5) and a sea ice core from Antarctica. We identify polyethylene (PE), poly-propylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Tire wear nanoparticles in the 14 m deep Greenland firn core and PE, PP and PET in sea ice from Antarctica. Nanoplastics mass concentrations were on average 13.2 ng/mL for Greenland firn samples and 52.3 ng/mL for Antarctic sea ice. We further discuss the possible sources of nanoplastics that we found at these remote locations, which likely involve complex processes of plastic circulation (emission from both land and sea surface, atmospheric and marine circulation).

The future contributions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to sea level rise will depend on the evolution of its surface mass balance (SMB), which could amplify/dampen mass losses increasingly observed at the ice sheet's edge. In situ constraints of SMB over annual-to-decadal timescales consist mostly of firn/ice cores that have a surface footprint cm. SMB constraints also come from climate models, which have a higher temporal resolution but a larger surface footprint of several km. We use ice-penetrating radar data to obtain an intermediate spatial and temporal resolution SMB record over three ice rises along the Princess Ragnhild Coast. The co-located ice cores allow us to obtain absolute radar-derived SMB rates at a multi-annual-to-decadal temporal resolution. By comparing the ice core SMB measurements and the radar-derived SMB records, we determine that pointwise measurements of SMB are representative of a small surface area, m radius extending from the ice core drill site for the ice rises studied here, and that the pointwise measurements are systematically 7–15 cm w.e. a lower than the mean SMB value calculated for the whole ice rises. However, ice core records are representative of an entire ice rise's temporal variability at the temporal resolution examined., Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning

The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) is the largest and yet the most uncertain potential contributor to future sea-level rise. While recent satellite observations have highlighted that the AIS is currently losing mass at an accelerating rate, projections of the future evolution of the ice sheet in a warming climate remain highly uncertain. As future sea-level rise is probably one of the biggest threats imposed on us by climate change, predicting it with the lowest possible uncertainty is of capital societal importance. Uncertainties in the future evolution of the AIS can be explained, notably, by the fact that the ice sheet is capable of abrupt and self-sustained changes associated with several positive feedback mechanisms, especially in its marine areas, i.e. where the ice lies on bedrock below sea level. This is the case for most of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) as well as for some basins of the East Antarctic ice sheet (EAIS). The interactions between the ice sheet and its surrounding environment (namely the ocean, the atmosphere, and the solid Earth) have been shown to strongly influence its stability, more particularly by triggering or dampening the instabilities threatening the ice sheet. Despite the uncertainties, recent studies suggest that the WAIS will lose mass in the future and eventually (partially) collapse. The uncertainties pertain to when, and to whether the weak Earth structure beneath that area of the ice sheet may be a stabilising factor, as a rapid bedrock uplift in response to ice mass loss has been shown to delay or even limit mass loss. The fate of the EAIS is less clear. A pending question is: will the EAIS lose or gain mass in the future? More specifically, will the grounding line retreat in its marine basins, and if so, can the associated mass loss be compensated by sufficient mass gain due to increased snow accumulation in the interior of the ice sheet?In this thesis, we contribute to clarifying and providing new insights to these question, La calotte glaciaire Antarctique est le plus gros contributeur potentiel à l'élévation future du niveau marin global, mais aussi le plus incertain. De plus en plus d’observations satellitaires mettent en évidence une actuelle perte de masse de l'Antarctique, et ce à un rythme accéléré. Malgré cela, les projections de l'évolution future de la calotte Antarcique en réponse aux changements climatiques actuels et à venir restent très incertaines. Pourtant, être en mesure de prédire avec la plus faible incertitude possible l'élévation future du niveau de la mer est d'une importance sociétale capitale. Les incertitudes sur l'évolution future de l'Antarctique s'expliquent notamment par le fait que la calotte glaciaire est capable de changements brusques associés à plusieurs mécanismes de rétroactions positives, et ce particulièrement dans les régions où la glace repose sur un socle rocheux situé sous le niveau de la mer. C'est le cas pour la majorité de l'Antarctique de l’Ouest ainsi que dans certains bassins de l’Antarctique de l’Est. Il a été démontré que les interactions entre la calotte glaciaire et son environnement (à savoir l'océan, l'atmosphère et le lit rocheux sous-jacent) influencent fortement sa stabilité, notamment en déclenchant ou en atténuant les instabilités qui la menacent. Malgré les incertitudes, des études récentes suggèrent que, à l'avenir, l’Antarctique de l’Ouest perdra de la masse et finira par (au moins partiellement) s'effondrer. Les incertitudes concernent dès lors le moment de cet effondrement, mais également une potentielle stabilisation de la calotte par le lit rocheux (qui repose sur une région du manteau terrestre particulièrement peu visqueuse) situé sous cette région occidentale. En effet, il a été démontré qu'un rebond rapide du lit rocheux pouvait ralentir voire limiter la perte de masse de la calotte. Le sort de l'Antarctique de l’Est est moins clair. Une des questions en suspens est la suivante :l'Antarctique de l’Est perdra-t-elle ou, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

It has been established that various anthropogenic contaminants have already reached all the world's pristine locations, including the polar regions. While some of those contaminants, such as lead and soot, are decreasing in the environment, thanks to international regulations, other novel contaminants emerge. Plastic pollution has been shown as a durable novel pollutant, and, since recently, smaller and smaller plastics particles have been identified in various environments (air, water and soil). Considerable research already exists measuring the plastics in the 5 mm to micrometre size range (microplastics). However, far less is known about the plastics debris that fragmented to the sub-micrometre size (nanoplastics). As these small particles are light, it is expected that they have already reached the most remote places on Earth, e.g. transported across the globe by air movement. In this work, we used a novel method based on Thermal Desorption - Proton Transfer Reaction - Mass Spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) to detect and measure nanoplastics of different types in the water sampled from a Greenland firn core (T2015-A5) and a sea ice core from Antarctica. We identify polyethylene (PE), poly-propylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Tire wear nanoparticles in the 14 m deep Greenland firn core and PE, PP and PET in sea ice from Antarctica. Nanoplastics mass concentrations were on average 13.2 ng/mL for Greenland firn samples and 52.3 ng/mL for Antarctic sea ice. We further discuss the possible sources of nanoplastics that we found at these remote locations, which likely involve complex processes of plastic circulation (emission from both land and sea surface, atmospheric and marine circulation).

It has been established that various anthropogenic contaminants have already reached all the world's pristine locations, including the polar regions. While some of those contaminants, such as lead and soot, are decreasing in the environment, thanks to international regulations, other novel contaminants emerge. Plastic pollution has been shown as a durable novel pollutant, and, since recently, smaller and smaller plastics particles have been identified in various environments (air, water and soil). Considerable research already exists measuring the plastics in the 5 mm to micrometre size range (microplastics). However, far less is known about the plastics debris that fragmented to the sub-micrometre size (nanoplastics). As these small particles are light, it is expected that they have already reached the most remote places on Earth, e.g. transported across the globe by air movement. In this work, we used a novel method based on Thermal Desorption – Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) to detect and measure nanoplastics of different types in the water sampled from a Greenland firn core (T2015-A5) and a sea ice core from Antarctica. We identify polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and Tire wear nanoparticles in the 14 m deep Greenland firn core and PE, PP and PET in sea ice from Antarctica. Nanoplastics mass concentrations were on average 13.2 ng/mL for Greenland firn samples and 52.3 ng/mL for Antarctic sea ice. We further discuss the possible sources of nanoplastics that we found at these remote locations, which likely involve complex processes of plastic circulation (emission from both land and sea surface, atmospheric and marine circulation)., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We report on methane (CH4) stable isotope (d13C and d2H) measurements from landfast sea ice collected near Barrow (Utqiagvik, Alaska) and Cape Evans (Antarctica) over the winter-to-spring transition. These measurements provide novel insights into pathways of CH4 production and consumption in sea ice. We found substantial differences between the two sites. Sea ice overlying the shallow shelf of Barrow was supersaturated in CH4 with a clear microbial origin, most likely from methanogenesis in the sediments. We estimated that in situ CH4 oxidation consumed a substantial fraction of the CH4 being supplied to the sea ice, partly explaining the large range of isotopic values observed (d13C between -68.5 and -48.5 ‰ and d2H between -246 and -104 ‰). Sea ice at Cape Evans was also supersaturated in CH4 but with surprisingly high d13C values (between -46.9 and -13.0 ‰), whereas d2H values (between -313 and -113 ‰) were in the range of those observed at Barrow.These are the first measurements of CH4 isotopic composition in Antarctic sea ice. Our data set suggests a potential combination of a hydrothermal source, in the vicinity of the Mount Erebus, with aerobic CH4 formation in sea ice, although the metabolic pathway for the latter still needs to be elucidated. Our observations show that sea ice needs to be considered as an active biogeochemical interface, contributing to CH4 production and consumption, which disputes the standing paradigm that sea ice is an inert barrier passively accumulating CH4 at the ocean-atmosphere boundary.

We report on methane (CH4) stable isotope (δ13C and δ2H) measurements from landfast sea ice collected near Barrow (Utqiagvik, Alaska) and Cape Evans (Antarctica) over the winter-to-spring transition. These measurements provide novel insights into pathways of CH4 production and consumption in sea ice. We found substantial differences between the two sites. Sea ice overlying the shallow shelf of Barrow was supersaturated in CH4 with a clear microbial origin, most likely from methanogenesis in the sediments. We estimated that in situ CH4 oxidation consumed a substantial fraction of the CH4 being supplied to the sea ice, partly explaining the large range of isotopic values observed (δ13C between –68.5 and –48.5 ‰ and δ2H between –246 and –104 ‰). Sea ice at Cape Evans was also supersaturated in CH4 but with surprisingly high δ13C values (between –46.9 and –13.0 ‰), whereas δ2H values (between –313 and –113 ‰) were in the range of those observed at Barrow. These are the first measurements of CH4 isotopic composition in Antarctic sea ice. Our data set suggests a potential combination of a hydrothermal source, in the vicinity of the Mount Erebus, with aerobic CH4 formation in sea ice, although the metabolic pathway for the latter still needs to be elucidated. Our observations show that sea ice needs to be considered as an active biogeochemical interface, contributing to CH4 production and consumption, which disputes the standing paradigm that sea ice is an inert barrier passively accumulating CH4 at the ocean-atmosphere boundary., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Tison, J.-L., Maksym, T., Fraser, A. D., Corkill, M., Kimura, N., Nosaka, Y., Nomura, D., Vancoppenolle, M., Ackley, S., Stammerjohn, S., Wauthy, S., Van der Linden, F., Carnat, G., Sapart, C., de Jong, J., Fripiat, F., & Delille, B. Physical and biological properties of early winter Antarctic sea ice in the Ross Sea. Annals of Glaciology, 61(83), (2020): 241–259, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.43., This work presents the results of physical and biological investigations at 27 biogeochemical stations of early winter sea ice in the Ross Sea during the 2017 PIPERS cruise. Only two similar cruises occurred in the past, in 1995 and 1998. The year 2017 was a specific year, in that ice growth in the Central Ross Sea was considerably delayed, compared to previous years. These conditions resulted in lower ice thicknesses and Chl-a burdens, as compared to those observed during the previous cruises. It also resulted in a different structure of the sympagic algal community, unusually dominated by Phaeocystis rather than diatoms. Compared to autumn-winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (AWECS cruise), the 2017 Ross Sea pack ice displayed similar thickness distribution, but much lower snow cover and therefore nearly no flooding conditions. It is shown that contrasted dynamics of autumnal-winter sea-ice growth between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea impacted the development of the sympagic community. Mean/median ice Chl-a concentrations were 3–5 times lower at PIPERS, and the community status there appeared to be more mature (decaying?), based on Phaeopigments/Chl-a ratios. These contrasts are discussed in the light of temporal and spatial differences between the two cruises., S. Stammerjohn was supported by the PIPERS and LTER Programs of the U.S. National Science Foundation, ANT-1341606 (S. Stammerjohn and J. Cassano, U Colorado) and ANT-0823101 (H. Ducklow, LDEO/Columbia University), respectively. Steve Ackley (UTSA) was supported by the PIPERS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation ANT-1341717 and by NASA Grant 80NSSC19M0194 to the Center for Adv. Meas. in Extreme Environments at UTSA.Ted Maksym (WHOI) was supported by the PIPERS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation ANT-1341513. This research was supported by the Belgian F.R.S-FNRS (project ISOGGAP and IODIne, contract T.0268.16 and J.0262.17, respectively). Fanny Van der Linden, Sarah Wauthy, Gauthier Carnat, Célia Sapart and Bruno Delille are PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and research associate, respectively, of the Belgian F.R.S.-FNRS. This work was also supported by the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre program through the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, and by the Australian Research Council's Special Research Initiative for Antarctic Gateway Partnership (Project ID SR140300001). Daiki Nomura was supported by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (#17H04715) and the National Institute for Polar Research through Project Research KP-303 (ROBOTICA) and #28-14.

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Tison, J.-L., Maksym, T., Fraser, A. D., Corkill, M., Kimura, N., Nosaka, Y., Nomura, D., Vancoppenolle, M., Ackley, S., Stammerjohn, S., Wauthy, S., Van der Linden, F., Carnat, G., Sapart, C., de Jong, J., Fripiat, F., & Delille, B. Physical and biological properties of early winter Antarctic sea ice in the Ross Sea. Annals of Glaciology, 61(83), (2020): 241–259, https://doi.org/10.1017/aog.2020.43., This work presents the results of physical and biological investigations at 27 biogeochemical stations of early winter sea ice in the Ross Sea during the 2017 PIPERS cruise. Only two similar cruises occurred in the past, in 1995 and 1998. The year 2017 was a specific year, in that ice growth in the Central Ross Sea was considerably delayed, compared to previous years. These conditions resulted in lower ice thicknesses and Chl-a burdens, as compared to those observed during the previous cruises. It also resulted in a different structure of the sympagic algal community, unusually dominated by Phaeocystis rather than diatoms. Compared to autumn-winter sea ice in the Weddell Sea (AWECS cruise), the 2017 Ross Sea pack ice displayed similar thickness distribution, but much lower snow cover and therefore nearly no flooding conditions. It is shown that contrasted dynamics of autumnal-winter sea-ice growth between the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea impacted the development of the sympagic community. Mean/median ice Chl-a concentrations were 3–5 times lower at PIPERS, and the community status there appeared to be more mature (decaying?), based on Phaeopigments/Chl-a ratios. These contrasts are discussed in the light of temporal and spatial differences between the two cruises., S. Stammerjohn was supported by the PIPERS and LTER Programs of the U.S. National Science Foundation, ANT-1341606 (S. Stammerjohn and J. Cassano, U Colorado) and ANT-0823101 (H. Ducklow, LDEO/Columbia University), respectively. Steve Ackley (UTSA) was supported by the PIPERS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation ANT-1341717 and by NASA Grant 80NSSC19M0194 to the Center for Adv. Meas. in Extreme Environments at UTSA.Ted Maksym (WHOI) was supported by the PIPERS program of the U.S. National Science Foundation ANT-1341513. This research was supported by the Belgian F.R.S-FNRS (project ISOGGAP and IODIne, contract T.0268.16 and J.0262.17, respectively). Fanny Van der Linden, Sarah Wauthy, Gauthier Carnat, Célia Sapart and Bruno Delille are PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and research associate, respectively, of the Belgian F.R.S.-FNRS. This work was also supported by the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre program through the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, and by the Australian Research Council's Special Research Initiative for Antarctic Gateway Partnership (Project ID SR140300001). Daiki Nomura was supported by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (#17H04715) and the National Institute for Polar Research through Project Research KP-303 (ROBOTICA) and #28-14.

Understanding the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is critical for determining its sensitivity to warming and contribution to sea level; however, that history is poorly known before the last interglacial. Most knowledge comes from interpretation of marine sediment, an indirect record of past ice-sheet extent and behavior. Subglacial sediment and rock, retrieved at the base of ice cores, provide terrestrial evidence for GrIS behavior during the Pleistocene. Here, we use multiple methods to determine GrIS history from subglacial sediment at the base of the Camp Century ice core collected in 1966. This material contains a stratigraphic record of glaciation and vegetation in northwestern Greenland spanning the Pleistocene. Enriched stable isotopes of pore-ice suggest precipitation at lower elevations implying ice-sheet absence. Plant macrofossils and biomarkers in the sediment indicate that paleo-ecosystems from previous interglacial periods are preserved beneath the GrIS. Cosmogenic Al-26/Be-10 and luminescence data bracket the burial of the lower-most sediment between <3.2 +/- 0.4 Ma and >0.7 to 1.4 Ma. In the upper-most sediment, cosmogenic Al-26/Be-10 data require exposure within the last 1.0 +/- 0.1 My. The unique subglacial sedimentary record from Camp Century documents at least two episodes of ice-free, vegetated conditions, each followed by glaciation. The lower sediment derives from an Early Pleistocene GrIS advance. Al-26/Be-10 ratios in the upper-most sediment match those in subglacial bedrock from central Greenland, suggesting similar ice-cover histories across the GrIS. We conclude that the GrIS persisted through much of the Pleistocene but melted and reformed at least once since 1.1 Ma.

Understanding the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is critical for determining its sensitivity to warming and contribution to sea level; however, that history is poorly known before the last interglacial. Most knowledge comes from interpretation of marine sediment, an indirect record of past ice-sheet extent and behavior. Subglacial sediment and rock, retrieved at the base of ice cores, provide terrestrial evidence for GrIS behavior during the Pleistocene. Here, we use multiple methods to determine GrIS history from subglacial sediment at the base of the Camp Century ice core collected in 1966. This material contains a stratigraphic record of glaciation and vegetation in northwestern Greenland spanning the Pleistocene. Enriched stable isotopes of pore-ice suggest precipitation at lower elevations implying ice-sheet absence. Plant macrofossils and biomarkers in the sediment indicate that paleo-ecosystems from previous interglacial periods are preserved beneath the GrIS. Cosmogenic 26 Al/ 10 Be and luminescence data bracket the burial of the lower-most sediment between <3.2 ± 0.4 Ma and >0.7 to 1.4 Ma. In the upper-most sediment, cosmogenic 26 Al/ 10 Be data require exposure within the last 1.0 ± 0.1 My. The unique subglacial sedimentary record from Camp Century documents at least two episodes of ice-free, vegetated conditions, each followed by glaciation. The lower sediment derives from an Early Pleistocene GrIS advance. 26 Al/ 10 Be ratios in the upper-most sediment match those in subglacial bedrock from central Greenland, suggesting similar ice-cover histories across the GrIS. We conclude that the GrIS persisted through much of the Pleistocene but melted and reformed at least once since 1.1 Ma., SCOPUS: re.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Given its crucial role in atmospheric chemistry and its global warming potential, methane(CH4) deserves to be accurately budgeted. However, the recent renewed rise in atmosphericCH4 growth rates from 2007 on, after a few years of slow-down, attests that sources are notcompensated anymore by sinks, and calls for a better assessment of the processes contributingto the global CH4 budget. Among natural sources, oceanic emissions are still subject tomany uncertainties, due to the lack of sampling. This is particularly relevant in polar regions,where the role of sea ice on CH4 sea-air fluxes is largely unknown.In an effort to contribute to a better characterisation of CH4 dynamics in oceanic environments,we investigated very contrasted settings during a journey from temperate to polarregions and applied the concentration and stable isotope approach.We start by evaluating the performance of a commercially available in situ CH4 sensor(CONTROS HydroC® CH4 from Kongsberg Contros) in controlled and natural environments,with the hope of using it in the framework of our various field campaigns. Although thissensor has the potential to significantly increase the spatial and temporal resolution comparedto discrete sampling, the long response time prevents from using its measurements as absolutevalues in dynamic natural environments and calls for progress in the field of technologies forcontinuous in situ dissolved CH4 measurements. However, the sensor turns out to be veryuseful during cruises to observe relative changes in dissolved CH4 concentrations and guidethe discrete sampling episodes.Our journey starts in the Scheldt estuary, at the transition between land and sea. Stableisotope analyses reveal that the unusual enrichment of dissolved CH4 in 13C and D in theupper estuary could result from intense microbial oxidation or an unknown source upstream.In the lower part of the estuary, this enriched CH4 mixes with depleted CH4 produced bymethanogenesis in the sediments, before ent, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The Ross Sea, the southernmost sea on Earth, presents several iconic features of polar seas: sites of deep water formation, high summer primary production, floating ice shelves, the annual cycle of advance and retreat of sea ice, polynyas and katabatic winds. Furthermore, sea ice in McMurdo sound (western Ross Sea) is one of the most productive marine environments. However, sea ice inorganic carbon dynamics and related air-ice CO2 fluxes have never been documented in the Ross Sea.Two surveys were carried out in the western Ross Sea to bridge over a critical gap in the current understanding of sea ice: autumn and winter processes. The land-based YROSIAE project was a temporal survey from late winter to summer within landfast sea ice. The ship-based PIPERS project was an unique opportunity to study the early stages of sea ice formation (in polynyas) and more common consolidated pack ice in autumn. Based on these two consistent surveys, this work aims to (i) examine the bulk ice pCO2 dynamics in landfast sea ice from late winter to summer (ii) investigate the seasonal pattern (net source vs net sink) and diurnal pattern of air-ice CO2 fluxes (iii) analyse the depth-dependent physical and biogeochemical processes involved in inorganic carbon dynamics (iv) assess the precipitation of calcium carbonate in autumn and during a full bloom season.CO2 fluxes were measured using the chamber technique in autumn, late winter and spring, over open surface water, frazil ice patch, grey unconsolidated ice and consolidated first-year ice. These new autumn and winter data provide a first step to set up the budget of air-ice CO2 fluxes over the year and evaluate the large-scale influence of these fluxes on the annual uptake of CO2 by ice-covered oceans. Our results confirm that sea ice acts as a CO2 source for the atmosphere during ice growth, with enhanced fluxes reported at the early stages of sea ice formation, and shifts to a sink in spring. In late spring, diel pattern superimpose, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

A paradox is commonly observed in productive sea ice in which an accumulation in the macro-nutrients nitrate and phosphate coincides with an accumulation of autotrophic biomass. This paradox requires a new conceptual understanding of the biogeochemical processes operating in sea ice. In this study, we investigate this paradox using three time series in Antarctic landfast sea ice, in which massive algal blooms are reported (with particulate organic carbon concentrations up to 2,600 µmol L–1) and bulk nutrient concentrations exceed seawater values up to 3 times for nitrate and up to 19 times for phosphate. High-resolution sampling of the bottom 10 cm of the cores shows that high biomass concentrations coexist with high concentrations of nutrients at the subcentimeter scale. Applying a nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton-detritus model approach to this sea-ice system, we propose the presence of a microbial biofilm as a working hypothesis to resolve this paradox. By creating microenvironments with distinct biogeochemical dynamics, as well as favoring nutrient adsorption onto embedded decaying organic matter, a biofilm allows the accumulation of remineralization products (nutrients) in proximity to the sympagic (ice-associated) community. In addition to modifying the intrinsic physicochemical properties of the sea ice and providing a substrate for sympagic community attachment, the biofilm is suggested to play a key role in the flux of matter and energy in this environment., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Understanding the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is critical for determining its sensitivity to warming and contribution to sea level; however, that history is poorly known before the last interglacial. Most knowledge comes from interpretation of marine sediment, an indirect record of past ice-sheet extent and behavior. Subglacial sediment and rock, retrieved at the base of ice cores, provide terrestrial evidence for GrIS behavior during the Pleistocene. Here, we use multiple methods to determine GrIS history from subglacial sediment at the base of the Camp Century ice core collected in 1966. This material contains a stratigraphic record of glaciation and vegetation in northwestern Greenland spanning the Pleistocene. Enriched stable isotopes of pore-ice suggest precipitation at lower elevations implying ice-sheet absence. Plant macrofossils and biomarkers in the sediment indicate that paleo-ecosystems from previous interglacial periods are preserved beneath the GrIS. Cosmogenic Al-26/Be-10 and luminescence data bracket the burial of the lower-most sediment between <3.2 +/- 0.4 Ma and >0.7 to 1.4 Ma. In the upper-most sediment, cosmogenic Al-26/Be-10 data require exposure within the last 1.0 +/- 0.1 My. The unique subglacial sedimentary record from Camp Century documents at least two episodes of ice-free, vegetated conditions, each followed by glaciation. The lower sediment derives from an Early Pleistocene GrIS advance. Al-26/Be-10 ratios in the upper-most sediment match those in subglacial bedrock from central Greenland, suggesting similar ice-cover histories across the GrIS. We conclude that the GrIS persisted through much of the Pleistocene but melted and reformed at least once since 1.1 Ma.

About 20 % of all snow accumulation in Antarctica occurs on the ice shelves. There, ice rises control the spatial surface mass balance (SMB) distribution by inducing snowfall variability and wind erosion due to their topography. Moreover these ice rises buttress the ice flow and represent ideal drilling locations for ice cores. In this study we assess the connection between snowfall variability and wind erosion to provide a better understanding of how ice rises impact SMB variability, how well this is captured in the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2 and the implications of this SMB variability for ice rises as an ice core drilling site. By combining ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles from two ice rises in Dronning Maud Land with ice core dating, we reconstruct spatial and temporal SMB variations from 1983 to 2018 and compare the observed SMB with output from RACMO2 and SnowModel. Our results show snowfall-driven differences of up to 1.5 times higher SMB on the windward side of both ice rises than on the leeward side as well as a local erosion-driven minimum at the ice divide of the ice rises. RACMO2 captures the snowfall-driven differences but overestimates their magnitude, whereas the erosion on the peak can be reproduced by SnowModel with RACMO2 forcing. Observed temporal variability of the average SMBs, retrieved from the GPR data for four time intervals in the 1983–2018 range, are low at the peak of the easternmost ice rise (∼0.06 mw.e.yr−1), while they are higher (∼0.09 mw.e.yr−1) on the windward side of the ice rise. This implies that at the peak of the ice rise, higher snowfall, driven by orographic uplift, is balanced out by local erosion. As a consequence of this, the SMB recovered from the ice core matches the SMB from the GPR at the peak of the ice rise but not at the windward side of the ice rise, suggesting that the SMB signal is damped in the ice core.

The Arctic sea-ice-scape is rapidly transforming. Increasing light penetration will initiate earlier seasonal primary production. This earlier growing season may be accompanied by an increase in ice algae and phytoplankton biomass, augmenting the emission of dimethylsulfide and capture of carbon dioxide. Secondary production may also increase on the shelves, although the loss of sea ice exacerbates the demise of sea-ice fauna, endemic fish and megafauna. Sea-ice loss may also deliver more methane to the atmosphere, but warmer ice may release fewer halogens, resulting in fewer ozone depletion events. The net changes in carbon drawdown are still highly uncertain. Despite large uncertainties in these assessments, we expect disruptive changes that warrant intensified long-term observations and modelling efforts.

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ackley, S. F., Stammerjohn, S., Maksym, T., Smith, M., Cassano, J., Guest, P., Tison, J., Delille, B., Loose, B., Sedwick, P., DePace, L., Roach, L., & Parno, J. Sea-ice production and air/ice/ocean/biogeochemistry interactions in the Ross Sea during the PIPERS 2017 autumn field campaign. Annals of Glaciology, 61(82), (2020): 181-195, doi:10.1017/aog.2020.31., The Ross Sea is known for showing the greatest sea-ice increase, as observed globally, particularly from 1979 to 2015. However, corresponding changes in sea-ice thickness and production in the Ross Sea are not known, nor how these changes have impacted water masses, carbon fluxes, biogeochemical processes and availability of micronutrients. The PIPERS project sought to address these questions during an autumn ship campaign in 2017 and two spring airborne campaigns in 2016 and 2017. PIPERS used a multidisciplinary approach of manned and autonomous platforms to study the coupled air/ice/ocean/biogeochemical interactions during autumn and related those to spring conditions. Unexpectedly, the Ross Sea experienced record low sea ice in spring 2016 and autumn 2017. The delayed ice advance in 2017 contributed to (1) increased ice production and export in coastal polynyas, (2) thinner snow and ice cover in the central pack, (3) lower sea-ice Chl-a burdens and differences in sympagic communities, (4) sustained ocean heat flux delaying ice thickening and (5) a melting, anomalously southward ice edge persisting into winter. Despite these impacts, airborne observations in spring 2017 suggest that winter ice production over the continental shelf was likely not anomalous., NSF supported PIPERS award numbers: ANT-1341717 (S.F. Ackley, UTSA); ANT-1341513 (E. Maksym, WHOI); ANT-1341606 (S. Stammerjohn and J. Cassano, U Colorado); ANT-1341725 (P. Guest, NPS). P. Sedwick was supported by NSF ANT-1543483. S.F. Ackley was also supported by NASA Grant 80NSSC19M0194 to the Center for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments at UTSA. S. Stammerjohn was also supported by the LTER Program under NFS award number ANT-0823101 (H. Ducklow, LDEO/Columbia University). Additional support was by the Belgian F.R.S-FNRS (project ISOGGAP and IODIne, contract T.0268.16 and J.0262.17, respectively). Bruno Delille is a research associate of the F.R.S.-FNRS. Terra-Sar-X quicklook imagery was coordinated by Kathrin Hoeppner at DLR, and Andy Archer (with the Antarctic Support Contractor) provided selected (cloud-free) MODIS scenes and daily maps of AMSR2 sea-ice concentration.

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ackley, S. F., Stammerjohn, S., Maksym, T., Smith, M., Cassano, J., Guest, P., Tison, J., Delille, B., Loose, B., Sedwick, P., DePace, L., Roach, L., & Parno, J. Sea-ice production and air/ice/ocean/biogeochemistry interactions in the Ross Sea during the PIPERS 2017 autumn field campaign. Annals of Glaciology, 61(82), (2020): 181-195, doi:10.1017/aog.2020.31., The Ross Sea is known for showing the greatest sea-ice increase, as observed globally, particularly from 1979 to 2015. However, corresponding changes in sea-ice thickness and production in the Ross Sea are not known, nor how these changes have impacted water masses, carbon fluxes, biogeochemical processes and availability of micronutrients. The PIPERS project sought to address these questions during an autumn ship campaign in 2017 and two spring airborne campaigns in 2016 and 2017. PIPERS used a multidisciplinary approach of manned and autonomous platforms to study the coupled air/ice/ocean/biogeochemical interactions during autumn and related those to spring conditions. Unexpectedly, the Ross Sea experienced record low sea ice in spring 2016 and autumn 2017. The delayed ice advance in 2017 contributed to (1) increased ice production and export in coastal polynyas, (2) thinner snow and ice cover in the central pack, (3) lower sea-ice Chl-a burdens and differences in sympagic communities, (4) sustained ocean heat flux delaying ice thickening and (5) a melting, anomalously southward ice edge persisting into winter. Despite these impacts, airborne observations in spring 2017 suggest that winter ice production over the continental shelf was likely not anomalous., NSF supported PIPERS award numbers: ANT-1341717 (S.F. Ackley, UTSA); ANT-1341513 (E. Maksym, WHOI); ANT-1341606 (S. Stammerjohn and J. Cassano, U Colorado); ANT-1341725 (P. Guest, NPS). P. Sedwick was supported by NSF ANT-1543483. S.F. Ackley was also supported by NASA Grant 80NSSC19M0194 to the Center for Advanced Measurements in Extreme Environments at UTSA. S. Stammerjohn was also supported by the LTER Program under NFS award number ANT-0823101 (H. Ducklow, LDEO/Columbia University). Additional support was by the Belgian F.R.S-FNRS (project ISOGGAP and IODIne, contract T.0268.16 and J.0262.17, respectively). Bruno Delille is a research associate of the F.R.S.-FNRS. Terra-Sar-X quicklook imagery was coordinated by Kathrin Hoeppner at DLR, and Andy Archer (with the Antarctic Support Contractor) provided selected (cloud-free) MODIS scenes and daily maps of AMSR2 sea-ice concentration.

About 20 % of all snow accumulation in Antarctica occurs on the ice shelves. There, ice rises control the spatial surface mass balance (SMB) distribution by inducing snowfall variability and wind erosion due to their topography. Moreover these ice rises buttress the ice flow and represent ideal drilling locations for ice cores. In this study we assess the connection between snowfall variability and wind erosion to provide a better understanding of how ice rises impact SMB variability, how well this is captured in the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2 and the implications of this SMB variability for ice rises as an ice core drilling site. By combining ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles from two ice rises in Dronning Maud Land with ice core dating, we reconstruct spatial and temporal SMB variations from 1983 to 2018 and compare the observed SMB with output from RACMO2 and SnowModel. Our results show snowfall-driven differences of up to 1.5 times higher SMB on the windward side of both ice rises than on the leeward side as well as a local erosion-driven minimum at the ice divide of the ice rises. RACMO2 captures the snowfall-driven differences but overestimates their magnitude, whereas the erosion on the peak can be reproduced by SnowModel with RACMO2 forcing. Observed temporal variability of the average SMBs, retrieved from the GPR data for four time intervals in the 1983-2018 range, are low at the peak of the easternmost ice rise (∼ 0.06 m w.e. yr−1), while they are higher (∼ 0.09 m w.e. yr−1) on the windward side of the ice rise. This implies that at the peak of the ice rise, higher snowfall, driven by orographic uplift, is balanced out by local erosion. As a consequence of this, the SMB recovered from the ice core matches the SMB from the GPR at the peak of the ice rise but not at the windward side of the ice rise, suggesting that the SMB signal is damped in the ice core., Mathematical Geodesy and Positioning