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Shallow firn cores, in addition to a near-basal ice core, were recovered in 2018 from the Quelccaya ice cap (5470 m a.s.l) in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru, and in 2017 from the Nevado Illimani glacier (6350 m a.s.l) in the Cordillera Real, Bolivia. The two sites are ~450 km apart. Despite meltwater percolation resulting from warming, particle-based trace element records (e.g. Fe, Mg, K) in the Quelccaya and Illimani shallow cores retain well-preserved signals. The firn core chronologies, established independently by annual layer counting, show a convincing overlap indicating the two records contain comparable signals and therefore capture similar regional scale climatology. Trace element records at a ~1–4 cm resolution provide past records of anthropogenic emissions, dust sources, volcanic emissions, evaporite salts and marine-sourced air masses. Using novel ultra-high-resolution (120 μm) laser technology, we identify annual layer thicknesses ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 cm in a section of 2000-year-old radiocarbon-dated near-basal ice which compared to the previous annual layer estimates suggests that Quelccaya ice cores drilled to bedrock may be older than previously suggested by depth-age models. With the information collected from this study in combination with past studies, we emphasize the importance of collecting new surface-to-bedrock ice cores from at least the Quelccaya ice cap, in particular, due to its projected disappearance as soon as the 2050s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable water isotopes and accumulation data extracted from polar ice/firn cores provide valuable climate information. Here, we present novel isotopic and accumulation time series from an upstream area of the Möller Ice Stream (MIS) basin, Weddell Sea Sector (WSS), Antarctica - a Brazilian research area (84°00'00"S; 79°29'39"W; 1276 m a.s.l.). Our purpose was to understand the depositional history and investigate how much the recent climate signal (21st century) is stored in the shallowest ice sheet layers in this area. Therefore, we crossed the isotopic (-18O, -D, and d-excess) and snow accumulation data of two shallow firn cores (both -9.0 m deep) with glaciological information, local and regional meteorological data (both ERA5 and AWS), indices of large-scale atmospheric modes (as SAM and ENSO) and the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL). The isotopic records cover 16 years (from 1999 to 2015-austral summer) and the accumulation records cover 20 years (from 1999 to 2018). We find that interannual's variability is strongly explained by changes in the phase of the SAM (r = 0.74; p < 0.05; α = 0.05) and, consequently, also by changes in pressure of both the WSS (r = -0.57; p < 0.05; α = 0.05) and the ASL (r = -0.56; p < 0.05; α = 0.05). The regional temperature in WSS (r = 0.50; p < 0.05; β = 0.05) and Antarctica Peninsula (r = 0.70; p < 0.05; α = 0.05), as well as the sea ice concentration in the Weddell Sea (r = -0.49; p = 0.05; α = 0.05) are other factors that measurably influence the -s in the study area. In the period covered by our study, the rarest and strongest wind events (SWE; > ~15 m/s) and extreme precipitation events (EPE) oscillate almost completely out of phase, and this relationship is largely explained by the sub-decadal changes in the SWE-ENSO relationship and by the SAM variability. This oscillatory pattern between SWE and EPE justifies the non-temporally stable correlation between's and local temperature in the study area. For the period of 2013-2018, we show that the trigger to start accumulating snow on the studied site is the occurrence of a range of EPE in a short time or of the one EPE with higher snowfall rates and that, the low snowfall events are hardly ever preserved. Our snow accumulation composite record shows that the SWE-EPE seesaw governs the snow accumulation in the upstream area of the MIS basin in the 1999-2018 period. When the frequency of SWE increases and EPE decreases, the local snow accumulation increase. In contrast, in the opposite scenario, the accumulation approaches the forecast precipitation data indicating that the influence of blowing snow and wind drift decreases. Because of this relation, incredibly there was a significant decrease in snow accumulation in the study area in the 1999-2018 period due to an increase in EPE in recent years. Probably, in a scenario of future warming, the persistence of SAM positive trend, and the EPE increase due to intensification of wetter and warmer air masses incursions by the WSS such a relationship will change. Our results indicate that both isotopic compositions and snow accumulation are strongly influenced by large-scale modes of climate variability in the MIS basin inland. Furthermore, they also provide valuable information to understand mass balance at the basin scale in the WSS. We recommend more shallow drills and snow pits in this site to construct the best composite record to reconstruct these atmospheric circulation patterns and solve challenges regarding the topographic effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mount Johns (MJ) ice core (79°55′ S; 94°23′ W) was drilled near the Pine Island Glacier ice divide on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the 2008-2009 austral summer, to a depth of 92.26 m. The upper 45m of the record covers approximately 125 years (1883-2008), showing marked seasonal variability. Trace element concentrations in 2137 samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In this study, we reconstruct mineral dust and sea salt aerosol transport and investigate the influence of climate variables on the elemental concentrations at the MJ site. The ice core record reflects changes in emissions as well as atmospheric circulation and transport processes. Our trajectory analysis shows distinct seasonality, with strong westerly transport in the winter months and secondary northeasterly transport in the summer. During summer months, the trajectories present slow-moving (short) transport and are more locally influenced than in other seasons. Finally, our reanalysis correlations with trace element suggest that marine-derived trace element concentrations are strongly influenced by sea ice concentration and sea surface temperature anomalies. The results show that seasonal elemental concentration maxima in sea salt elements correlate well with the sea ice concentration winter maxima in the west Amundsen and Ross seas. Lastly, we observed an increased concentration of marine aerosols when sea surface temperature decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the chemical content of a shallow snow core (4.95 m) named TT 6, collected during a Brazilian traverse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 2014/2015 Austral summer. Stable isotope ratios (δD and δ18O) and ionic content, determined at the Centro Polar e Climático of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (CPC/UFRGS), were used to date the core and reconstruct the climatic conditions at the site. The core represents approximately 11 years ± 6 months of precipitation, i.e., a mean net snow accumulation rate of 0.19 ± 0.02 m a-1 in water equivalent. Using the non-sea-salt sulfate values, we identified the 2011 Puyhue-Cordón (Chile) volcanic eruption signal, providing a reference horizon for dating. Anions represent 53.73% of the ionic content. We identified that 96.86% of calcium and 84.50% of sulfate are non-sea origin, while the acidic contribution is 25.62% H+. We observed high peaks in marine aerosols containing Na+, Cl-, and Mg2+ during winter, and results from the ERA5 global model (NOAA) indicated that El Niño events could influence Antarctic temperatures, facilitating the transport of marine aerosols to the continent.

A 22.48 m long ice core (BR-IC-4) was collected in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (at 83°58'59.4" S, 80°07'01.4" W, 1,295 m above the sea level) during the Austral summer of 2004-2005, as a contribution to the International Trans-Antarctic Expedition program. The isotopic composition (δD and δ18O) of 599 samples, corresponding to the upper 12.98 m of the ice core, was determined by gas source mass spectrometry and cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Relative dating was based on the isotopic ratios and major ions (MS-, Na+, nssSO4 2-) and trace elements (Na, S, Sr) concentrations. The record covers approximately 13 years - from 1990 to 2003. The mean accumulation rate of 0.48 ± 0.09 m water equivalent per year (m eq H2O a1) is relatively high for the geographical area and possibly results from snowdrifting from near areas, as attested by ice glaze surfaces in other sites in the region. The stable isotope δD content varies between -367.90‰ and 256.30‰ (mean -314.42 ± 19.01‰); and δ18O ranges from -44.96‰ to 35.08‰ (mean -39.95 ± 2.05‰). Deuterium excess values (mean 3.70 ± 1.54‰) indicate episodic intense oceanic evaporation and high relative humidity in the moisture sources.

This article compares isotopic, ionic and climatic data from two firn cores from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). The IC-02 (88°01'21.3"S , 82°04'21.7"W) and the IC-05 (82°30'30.8"S , 79°28'02.7"W) closer to the coast. The IC-02 had 488 samples analyzed covering 14.58 meters depth while the IC-05 had 602 samples analyzed covering 19.73 meters depth. The time interval for both ice cores is 25 years ranging from 1978 to 2003. Sodium, sulfate and chloride were analyzed via ion chromatography using three DionexTM ionic chromatographers at the laboratories of Centro Polar e Climático (CPC) and at the Climate Change Institute. Stable isotope data was determined using cavity ring-down spectroscopy in a Picarro® spectrometer at the CPC. Annual accumulation was greater at IC-05 with an average of 0.35 m.eq.w.a-1 compared to 0.25 m.eq.w.a-1 at the IC-02. Stable isotope data was approximately 1.3 times more negative at the IC-02 which also presented higher d values. Na+ and Cl- were in higher concentrations at the IC-05 however Cl/Na was greater in the IC-02. The Cl excess was found to be derived from fractionation of sea salt aerosols and not related to volcanism. This work presents new insights regarding the chemical differences between ice cores.

This study investigated the water isotopic content (δ18O, δD, d-excess) of the surface snow along a 995 km traverse over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the Möller Ice Stream - Institute Ice Stream to the upper reaches of the Pine Island Glacier drainage basin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the climatic record preserved in the snow. We analyzed 92 surface samples (~0.15-0.20 m deep), retrieved during 2014/2015 austral summer from every ~10 km along the traverse route, using the laser spectroscopy technique. We computed the isotopic-geographical characteristics and spatial co-isotopic empirical relationships and compared the isotopic results with the tropospheric mean annual temperature and air mass trajectories. Our isotopic results were sensitive to capturing the well-known climatic asymmetry between the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea (ABS; which receives more influence from warmer (oceanic) air masses) and Weddell Sea (WS; more influenced by colder (continental) air masses) sectors. Further, the spatial distribution of δs and d-excess and the co-isotopic relationships reflect two preferential fractionation paths: one from the coast of the ABS sector to the WS sector, and another from the coast of the WS sector to the inland. The Pacific Ocean is confirmed as the primary source of moisture.