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15 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables.-- This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License., The characteristics of the CISE-LOCEAN seawater isotope dataset (δ18O, δ2H, referred to as δD) are presented (https://doi.org/10.17882/71186; Waterisotopes-CISE-LOCEAN, 2021). This dataset covers the time period from 1998 to 2021 and currently includes close to 8000 data entries, all with δ18O, three-quarters of them also with δD, associated with a date stamp, space stamp, and usually a salinity measurement. Until 2010, samples were analyzed by isotopic ratio mass spectrometry and since then mostly by cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS). Instrumental uncertainty in this dataset is usually as low as 0.03 ‰ for δ18O and 0.15 ‰ for δD. An additional uncertainty is related to the isotopic composition of the in-house standards that are used to convert data to the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW) scale. Different comparisons suggest that since 2010 the latter have remained within at most 0.03 ‰ for δ18O and 0.20 ‰ for δD. Therefore, combining the two uncertainties suggests a standard deviation of at most 0.05 ‰ for δ18O and 0.25 ‰ for δD. For some samples, we find that there has been evaporation during collection and storage, requiring adjustment of the isotopic data produced by CRDS, based on d-excess (δD − 8×δ18O). This adjustment adds an uncertainty in the respective data of roughly 0.05 ‰ for δ18O and 0.10 ‰ for δD. This issue of conservation of samples is certainly a strong source of quality loss for parts of the database, and “small” effects may have remained undetected. The internal consistency of the database can be tested for subsets of the dataset when time series can be obtained (such as in the southern Indian Ocean or North Atlantic subpolar gyre). These comparisons suggest that the overall uncertainty of the spatially (for a cruise) or temporally (over a year) averaged data is less than 0.03 ‰ for δ18O and 0.15 ‰ for δD. However, 18 comparisons with duplicate seawater data analyzed in other laboratories or with other datasets in the intermediate and deep ocean suggest a larger scatter. When averaging the 18 comparisons done for δ18O, we find a difference of 0.082 ‰ with a standard error of 0.016 ‰. Such an average difference is expected due to the adjustments applied at LOCEAN to saline water data produced either by CRDS or isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), but the scatter found suggests that care is needed when merging datasets from different laboratories. Examples of time series in the surface North Atlantic subpolar gyre illustrate the temporal changes in water isotope composition that can be detected with a carefully validated dataset, The WAPITI project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement 637770). The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition was made possible by funding from the Swiss Polar Institute and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, and F. Alexander Haumann was supported by SNSF grant numbers P2EZP2_175162 and P400P2_186681

The Southern Ocean upper-layer freshwater balance exerts a global climatic influence by modulating density stratification and biological productivity, and hence the exchange of heat and carbon between the atmosphere and the ocean interior. It is thus important to understand and quantify the time-varying freshwater inputs, which is challenging from measurements of salinity alone. Here we use seawater oxygen isotopes from samples collected between 2016 and 2021 along a transect spanning the Scotia and northern Weddell Seas to separate the freshwater contributions from sea ice and meteoric sources. The unprecedented retreat of sea ice in 2016 is evidenced as a strong increase in sea ice melt across the northern Weddell Sea, with surface values increasing approximately two percentage points between 2016 and 2018 and column inventories increasing approximately 1 to 2 m. Surface meteoric water concentrations exceeded 4% in early 2021 close to South Georgia due to meltwater from the A68 megaberg; smaller icebergs may influence meteoric water at other times also. Both these inputs highlight the importance of a changing cryosphere for upper-ocean freshening; potential future sea ice retreats and increases in iceberg calving would enhance the impacts of these freshwater sources on the ocean and climate. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Heat and carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean: the state of the art and future priorities’.

The west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a region of marked climatic variability, exhibiting strong changes in sea ice extent, retreat of most of its glaciers, and shifts in the amount and form of precipitation. These changes can have significant impacts on the oceanic freshwater budget and marine biogeochemical processes; it is thus important to ascertain the relative balance of the drivers, and the spatial scales over which they operate. We present a novel 7‐year summer‐season (October to March; 2011 to 2018) series of oxygen isotopes in seawater (δ18O), augmented with some winter sampling, collected adjacent to Anvers Island at the WAP. These data are used to attribute oceanic freshwater changes to sea ice and meteoric sources, and to deduce information on the spatial scales over which the changes are driven. Sea ice melt shows significant seasonality (∼9% range) and marked interannual changes, with pronounced maxima in seasons 2013/14 and 2016/17. Both of these extrema are driven by anomalous winds, but reflect strongly contrasting dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice responses. Meteoric water also shows seasonality (∼7% range), with interannual variability reflecting changes in the input of accumulated precipitation and glacial melt to the ocean. Unlike sea ice melt, meteoric water extremes are especially pronounced in thin (

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Although the oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of calcite (δ18Ocalcite) and, to a lesser extent, diatom silica (δ18Odiatom) are widely used tracers of past hydroclimates (especially temperature and surface water hydrology), the degree to which these two hosts simultaneously acquire their isotope signals in modern lacustrine environments, or how these are altered during initial sedimentation, is poorly understood. Here, we present a unique dataset from a natural limnological laboratory to explore these issues. This study compares oxygen and hydrogen isotope data (δ18O, δ2H) of contemporary lake water samples at ~2-weekly intervals over a 2-year period (2010–12) with matching collections of diatoms (δ18Odiatom) and calcite (δ18Ocalcite) from sediment traps (at 10 m and 25 m) at Rostherne Mere (maximum depth 30 m), a well-monitored, eutrophic, seasonally stratified monomictic lake in the UK. The epilimnion shows a seasonal pattern of rising temperature and summer evaporative enrichment in 18O, and while there is a temperature imprint in both δ18Odiatom and δ18Ocalcite, there is significant inter-annual variability in both of these signals. The interpretation of δ18Odiatom and δ18Ocalcite values is complicated due to in-lake processes (e.g. non-equilibrium calcite precipitation, especially in spring, leading to significant 18Ocalcite depletion), and for δ18Odiatom, by post-mortem, depositional and possibly dissolution or diagenetic effects. For 2010 and 2011 respectively, there is a strong temperature dependence of δ18Ocalcite and δ18Odiatom in fresh trap material, with the fractionation slope for δ18Odiatom of ca. −0.2‰/°C, in agreement with several other studies. The δ18Odiatom data indicate the initiation of rapid post-mortem secondary alteration of fresh diatom silica (within ~6 months), with some trap material undergoing partial maturation in situ. Diatom δ18O of the trap material is also influenced by resuspension of diatom frustules from surface sediments (notably in summer 2011), with the net effect seen as an enrichment of deep-trap 18Odiatom by about +0.7‰ relative to shallow-trap values. Contact with anoxic water and anaerobic bacteria are potentially key to initiating this silica maturation process, as deep-trap samples that were removed prior to anoxia developing do not show enrichment. Dissolution (perhaps enhanced by anaerobic bacterial communities) may also be responsible for changes to δ18Odiatom that lead to increasing, but potentially predictable, error in inferred temperatures using this proxy. High resolution, multi-year monitoring can shed light on the complex dynamics affecting δ18Odiatom and δ18Ocalcite and supports the careful use of sedimentary δ18Odiatom and δ18Ocalcite as containing valuable hydroclimatic signals especially at a multi-annual resolution, although there remain substantial challenges to developing a reliable geothermometer on paired δ18Odiatom and δ18Ocalcite. In particular, δ18Odiatom needs cautious interpretation where silica post-mortem secondary alteration is incomplete and diatom preservation is not perfect, and we recommend dissolution be routinely assessed on diatom samples used for isotopic analyses.

Highlights • Novel multi-disciplinary approach to tracing freshwater and particle transport into boundary currents; • Significant glacial inputs reach coastal waters and are transported rapidly offshore; • Low surface water dissolved silicon concentrations maintained by diatom activity despite strong glacial and benthic supplies. Abstract Biogeochemical cycling in high-latitude regions has a disproportionate impact on global nutrient budgets. Here, we introduce a holistic, multi-disciplinary framework for elucidating the influence of glacial meltwaters, shelf currents, and biological production on biogeochemical cycling in high-latitude continental margins, with a focus on the silica cycle. Our findings highlight the impact of significant glacial discharge on nutrient supply to shelf and slope waters, as well as surface and benthic production in these regions, over a range of timescales from days to thousands of years. Whilst biological uptake in fjords and strong diatom activity in coastal waters maintains low dissolved silicon concentrations in surface waters, we find important but spatially heterogeneous additions of particulates into the system, which are transported rapidly away from the shore. We expect the glacially-derived particles – together with biogenic silica tests – to be cycled rapidly through shallow sediments, resulting in a strong benthic flux of dissolved silicon. Entrainment of this benthic silicon into boundary currents may supply an important source of this key nutrient into the Labrador Sea, and is also likely to recirculate back into the deep fjords inshore. This study illustrates how geochemical and oceanographic analyses can be used together to probe further into modern nutrient cycling in this region, as well as the palaeoclimatological approaches to investigating changes in glacial meltwater discharge through time, especially during periods of rapid climatic change in the Late Quaternary.

Stable isotope analyses of ostracod shells are a commonly-used proxy for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Although the fundamental controls on isotope composition of ostracod shells are well understood and, in some instances, quantifiable, the paleoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of records from lake sediments depends strongly on the characteristics of individual lakes including the climatic setting, depth, volume, hydrology, aquatic vegetation and catchment properties. This is particularly important for coastal lakes where physio-chemical variations may occur on diurnal timescales. Here, we combine variations in δ18Owater, δ18Oostracod and δ13Costracod, hourly water temperature, and Mg/Caostracod inferred water temperatures (constraining calcification temperature) to improve palaeoenvironmental interpretation and provide insights into lake carbon cycle. The dataset improves understanding of complex coastal lake site systematics and downcore interpretation of stable isotopes from C. torosa, a geographically widespread brackish water ostracod. The δ18Oostracod values show a complex relationship with temperature and suggest, in most circumstances, that δ18Owater is the dominant control on δ18Oostracod. During times of fresher water, δ13Costracod increases, suggesting increasing aquatic productivity. Above a certain δ18Owater threshold however, aquatic productivity begins to decline. The interpretation of δ13Costracod in some coastal lakes, may therefore be dependent on understanding of the range of expected δ18Owater. Due to short-term (diurnal to seasonal) variations that cause large ranges in δ18Owater and δ18Oostracod, stable isotope analyses of C. torosa should be: (1) undertaken on multiple single shells (2) where carapaces are preserved, paired with trace-element/Ca analyses on the same individual; and (3) undertaken alongside a study of the modern lake system.

Understanding the modern day relationship between climate and the oxygen isotopic composition of precipitation (δ18OP) is crucial for obtaining rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from a variety of archives. To date, the majority of empirical studies into the meteorological controls over δ18OP rely upon daily, event scale, or monthly time series from individual locations, resulting in uncertainties concerning the representativeness of statistical models and the mechanisms behind those relationships. Here, we take an alternative approach by analysing daily patterns in δ18OP from multiple stations across the British Isles (n = 10–70 stations). We use these data to examine the spatial and seasonal heterogeneity of regression statistics between δ18OP and common predictors (temperature, precipitation amount and the North Atlantic Oscillation index; NAO). Temperature and NAO are poor predictors of daily δ18OP in the British Isles, exhibiting weak and/or inconsistent effects both spatially and between seasons. By contrast δ18OP and rainfall amount consistently correlate at most locations, and for all months analysed, with spatial and temporal variability in the regression coefficients. The maps also allow comparison with daily synoptic weather types, and suggest characteristic δ18OP patterns, particularly associated with Cylonic Lamb Weather Types. Mapping daily δ18OP across the British Isles therefore provides a more coherent picture of the patterns in δ18OP, which will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the climatic controls. These observations are another step forward towards developing a more detailed, mechanistic framework for interpreting stable isotopes in rainfall as a palaeoclimate and hydrological tracer.

Rapid warming over the past 50 years on the Antarctic Peninsula is associated with the collapse of a number of ice shelves and accelerating glacier mass loss1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. In contrast, warming has been comparatively modest over West Antarctica and significant changes have not been observed over most of East Antarctica8, 9, suggesting that the ice-core palaeoclimate records available from these areas may not be representative of the climate history of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we show that the Antarctic Peninsula experienced an early-Holocene warm period followed by stable temperatures, from about 9,200 to 2,500 years ago, that were similar to modern-day levels. Our temperature estimates are based on an ice-core record of deuterium variations from James Ross Island, off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. We find that the late-Holocene development of ice shelves near James Ross Island was coincident with pronounced cooling from 2,500 to 600 years ago. This cooling was part of a millennial-scale climate excursion with opposing anomalies on the eastern and western sides of the Antarctic Peninsula. Although warming of the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula began around 600 years ago, the high rate of warming over the past century is unusual (but not unprecedented) in the context of natural climate variability over the past two millennia. The connection shown here between past temperature and ice-shelf stability suggests that warming for several centuries rendered ice shelves on the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula vulnerable to collapse. Continued warming to temperatures that now exceed the stable conditions of most of the Holocene epoch is likely to cause ice-shelf instability to encroach farther southward along the Antarctic Peninsula.

A 1000 year long subdecadal-resolution record of carbonate oxygen isotopes (δ18Oc) from Lough-na-Shade, Ireland, provides evidence for changing atmospheric circulation over northwest Europe. The total range of δ18Oc values (>5‰) is too large to be explained by changes in water temperature. Moreover, good correlation between the lake record and a previously published δ18O time series from an Irish speleothem indicates that the changes in oxygen isotopes are best explained by variations in the isotopic composition of precipitation. The amplitude of change during this period is too large to be explained by shifts in condensation temperature. Instead we suggest that there have been changes in vapour source and transport paths connected with shifts in atmospheric circulation. Changes from a source area from further south within the North Atlantic to one further to the north could explain the prominent positive shift in oxygen-isotope values between the early eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, for example. Our results also demonstrate the value of a ‘multiple-archive’ approach to deconvolving lake-based carbonate isotope profiles, which are often complex.

Lakes in sub-Arctic regions have the potential of retaining many different aspects of water isotope composition in their sediments which can be used for palaeoclimate reconstruction. It is therefore important to understand the modern isotope hydrology of these lakes. Here we discuss the significance of variations in water isotope composition of a series of lakes located in north-west Swedish Lapland. Climate in this region is forced by changes in the North Atlantic which renders it an interesting area for climate reconstructions. We compare δ18Olake and δ2Hlake collected between 2001 and 2006 and show that the lakes in this sub-Arctic region are currently mainly recharged by shallow groundwater and precipitation which undergoes little subsequent evaporation, and that the d18O and δ2H composition of input to the majority of the lakes varies on a seasonal basis between winter precipitation (and spring thaw) and summer precipitation. Seasonal variations in the isotopic composition of the lake waters are larger in lakes with short residence times (6 months), which retain an isotopic signal closer to that of annual mean precipitation. Lake waters also show a range of isotope values between sites due to catchment elevation and timing of snow melt. The lake water data collected in this study was supported by isotope data from lake waters, streams and ground waters from1995 to 2000 reported in other studies.

The Hawara Pyramid is an outstanding monument. However, the mudbrick structure shows signs of erosion, and the passages and chambers are currently submerged. The problem of water ingress has mainly arisen since the 1880s. In this study, an initial assessment of the pyramid structure was made and causes of water ingress were investigated through analysis of water samples. Stable oxygen isotope measurements indicate that the source of water within the pyramid is the Bahr Selah canal. Water within the pyramid is highly saline compared to the Bahr Selah, and evaporation can only partly account for this high salinity. The composition of dissolved ions suggests that dissolution of salts in soils and from bedrock in the vicinity of the pyramid has enhanced the salinity of water percolating into the pyramid structure. Water ingress and salt deposition are at present the main threat to the integrity of the monument. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Carbon isotopes (13C) and C/N ratios from bulk organic matter have recently been used as alternative proxies for relative sea-level (RSL) reconstruction where there are problems associated with conventional biological indictors. A previous study on a single isolation basin (Upper Loch nan Eala) in northwest Scotland has shown a clear relationship between 13C, C/N ratios and palaeosalinity from Younger Dryas and Holocene aged sediments. In this paper we present results of 13C and C/N ratio analyses from other isolation basins in northwest Scotland over the Holocene and the Lateglacial period in order to validate this technique. The results from the Holocene sequences support the earlier findings that this technique can be used to identify RSL change from isolation basins over the Holocene in this region. The relationship between 13C, C/N ratios and RSL change is not apparent in sediments of Lateglacial age. Other environmental variables such as atmospheric CO2 concentration, poor vegetation development and temperature influence 13C values during this period.

We present a collection of high-resolution chemistry and stable isotope records from the plateau of the Greenland ice cap during the cold event 8200 yr ago. Using a composite of four records, the cold event is observed as a 160.5 yr period during which decadal-mean isotopic values were below average, within which there is a central event of 69 yr during which values were consistently more than one standard deviation below the average for the preceding period. Four cores in north, south, and central Greenland show differences at decadal and shorter timescales; it is not yet clear if this represents significant spatial differences in response. The results show clear evidence for colder temperatures and a decrease in snow-accumulation rate. However, the changes in chemical concentrations for the ions looked at here are small, suggesting only minor changes in atmospheric circulation for this event. Apart from the decrease in methane concentration, Greenland ice cores give only weak evidence for effects outside the North Atlantic region.

A standard method for the analysis of carbon isotope composition of bulk organic matter (δ 13 C bulk ) in palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphic studies of sedimentary basins associated with hydrocarbons is suggested. This method includes the removal of interstitial hydrocarbon within the sediments, which is shown to have a negative effect on δ 13 C. Using the method, a δ 13 C bulk trend ( c . −21 to −24‰) was found within the Lower Permian Al Khlata and lower Gharif formations of Thuleilat-16 and -42 well sections, south Oman. Palaeontological and sedimentological evidence indicates considerable palaeoenvironmental change, from a cold climate lowland fern flora and upland primitive conifer flora low in the sequence, to a lowland cycad-like and upland glossopterid or other gymnospermous flora higher in the sequence. The lithologies range from glacial diamictite at the base to calcrete horizons and redbeds at the top. It is therefore likely that the δ 13 C bulk trend is related to palaeoenvironmental change.

Microfossils in isolation basin sediments are frequently used to reconstruct sea-level change, but preservation problems and non-analogue situations can limit their usefulness. Here we investigate the potential of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) and C/N ratios from bulk organic matter, as an alternative proxy of salinity within isolation basin sediments from a basin in northwest Scotland. Within the Holocene sediment δ13C and C/N are determined largely by the mean weighted values of the predominant source of the organic material. Analysis of modern materials and comparison with the diatom record shows that the marine parts of the sequence are dominated by high δ13C and variable C/N. In the fresh water sequences the organic material is a mixture of both freshwater aquatic and terrestrial plant input that have relatively low δ13C and high C/N. The application of δ13C and C/N ratios in the studied basin in general follow the environmental change recorded by the diatoms and shows the potential of bulk organic matter in the investigation of salinity change in isolation basins. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of waters in a small valley at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, were monitored over three summers (1999 to 2001). These stable isotopes track water movement through the catchment, especially seasonal precipitation and snow melt. All samples fall close to the regional meteoric water line but factors other than air temperature cause year-to-year variability. Residence times are in the order of days thus the lake water provides an average of precipitation falling only a few days before, except in the winter when the lakes are effectively closed. Freezing of surface waters preserves the isotope signature of the underlying waters from the previous summer. In spring, meltwaters from winter snow are isotopically depleted having δ18O and δD as low as -13‰ and -100‰ (VSMOW). Ice- cover break-up in late December allows complete water column mixing. By February, the lakes are relatively enriched isotopically (δ18O -9‰) by summer precipitation. Precipitation isotopic composition at Halley Station, Brunt Ice Shelf, is similar, illustrating the broad-scale effects of the Weddell Sea cyclonic atmospheric circulation. These data form a useful reference data-set for the ground-based validation of atmospheric models and palaeoclimate reconstructions in this isolated sector of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Two medium-depth ice cores were retrieved from Berkner Island by a joint project between the Alfred-Wegener-Institut and the British Antarctic Survey in the 1994/95 field season. A 151m deep core from the northern dome (Reinwarthhöhe) of Berkner Island spans 700 years, while a 181 m deep core from the southern dome (Thyssenhöhe) spans approximately 1200 years. Both cores display clear seasonal cycles in electrical conductivity measurements, allowing dating by annual-layer counting and the calculation of accumulation profiles. Stable-isotope measurements (both δ18O and δD), together with the accumulation data, allow us to estimate changes in climate for most of the past millennium: the data show multi-decadal variability around a generally stable long-termmean. In addition, a full suite of major chemistry measurements is available to define the history of aerosol deposition at these sites: again, there is little evidence that the chemistry of the sites has changed over the past six centuries. Finally, we suggest that the southern dome, with an ice thickness of 950 m, is an ideal site from which to gain a climate history of the late stages of the last glacial and the deglaciation for comparison with the records from the deep Antarctic ice cores, and with other intermediate-depth cores such as Taylor Dome and Siple Dome.

Over the past 50 years, warming of the Antarctic Peninsula has been accompanied by accelerating glacier mass loss and the retreat and collapse of ice shelves. A key driver of ice loss is summer melting; however, it is not usually possible to specifically reconstruct the summer conditions that are critical for determining ice melt in Antarctic. Here we reconstruct changes in ice-melt intensity and mean temperature on the northern Antarctic Peninsula since AD 1000 based on the identification of visible melt layers in the James Ross Island ice core and local mean annual temperature estimates from the deuterium content of the ice. During the past millennium, the coolest conditions and lowest melt occurred from about AD 1410 to 1460, when mean temperature was 1.6 degrees C lower than that of 1981-2000. Since the late 1400s, there has been a nearly tenfold increase in melt intensity from 0.5 to 4.9%. The warming has occurred in progressive phases since about AD 1460, but intensification of melt is nonlinear, and has largely occurred since the mid-twentieth century. Summer melting is now at a level that is unprecedented over the past 1,000 years. We conclude that ice on the Antarctic Peninsula is now particularly susceptible to rapid increases in melting and loss in response to relatively small increases in mean temperature.

Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the shells of the freshwater Unio mollusc yield information on the isotopic composition of the water in which the shell was formed, which in turn relates to climatic conditions prevailing during the bivalves' life span. Here we analysed shells from one modern Unio, from a modern lake shore in Anatolia, and 4 subfossil Unio shells from Catalhoyuk (dated between 7200 BC and 5000 BC, Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods). Sequential carbon and oxygen isotope analysis along the surface of the shells provides information on seasonal or shorter-term variability of lake waters during the lifetime of the organisms. delta O-18 values of the modern shell are consistent with it being collected from a dammed portion of the Seyhan River that does not undergo intensive summer evaporation. This is in contrast to many of the surface water bodies in Anatolia which suffer extensive evaporation in the arid summers. delta O-18 values of the subfossil shells from the Catalhoyuk middens indicate that the bivalves came from lakes which evaporated extensively during the summer months but were replenished by high winter rainfall, suggesting that the subfossil shells lived in relatively small lakes or ponds. Stable isotope analysis along the growth of freshwater bivalves is one of the few methods for investigating seasonal water fluctuations in the past. These results may alter current interpretations on the environment of Catalhoyuk during the Neolithic, although more work is needed to confirm these initial findings. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[1] The accumulation, isotopic and chemical signals of an ice core from James Ross Island, Antarctica, are investigated for the interval from 1967 to 2008. Over this interval, comparison with station, satellite and reanalysis data allows for a detailed assessment of the environmental information preserved in the ice. Accumulation at James Ross Island is enhanced during years when the circumpolar westerlies are weak, allowing more precipitation events to reach the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. The stable water isotope composition of the ice core has an interannual temperature dependence consistent with the spatial isotope-temperature gradient across Antarctica, and preserves information about both summer and winter temperature variability in the region. Sea salts in the ice core are derived from open water sources in the marginal sea ice zone to the north of James Ross Island and transported to the site by strengthened northerly and westerly winds in the winter. A strong covariance with temperature means that the sea salt record may be able to be utilized, in conjunction with the isotope signal, as an indicator of winter temperature. Marine biogenic compounds in the ice core are derived from summer productivity within the sea ice zone to the south of James Ross Island. This source region may have become significant only in recent decades, when the collapse of nearby ice shelves established new sites of open water with high summer productivity. These findings provide a foundation for interpreting the environmental signals in the James Ross Island ice core, which extends though the whole Holocene and represents the oldest ice core that has been recovered from the Antarctic Peninsula region.

Large and abrupt temperature oscillations during the last glacial period, known as Dansgaard‐Oeschger (DO) events, are clearly observed in the Greenland ice core record. Here we present a new high‐resolution chemical (2 mm) and stable isotope (20 mm) record from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) ice core at the onset of one of the most prominent DO events of the last glacial, DO‐8, observed ∼38,000 years ago. The unique, subannual‐resolution NGRIP record provides a true sequence of change during a DO warming with detailed annual layer counting of very high depth resolution geochemical measurements used to determine the exact duration of the transition. The continental ions, indicative of long‐range atmospheric loading and dustiness from East Asia, are the first to change, followed by the snow accumulation, the moisture source conditions, and finally the atmospheric temperature in Greenland. The sequence of events shows that atmospheric and oceanic source and circulation changes preceded the DO warming by several years.

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The relationship between isotope ratios in precipitation and lake waters was monitored by bi-weekly measurements taken over a five and a half year period between May 2000 and September 2005 (a period of 1964 days) at Lochnagar, a remote mountain lake in eastern Scotland. Short-term changes in the oxygen isotope composition of lake water (δ18OL) at Lochnagar follow a seasonal pattern similar to isotopes in local precipitation (δ18OP), however changes in catchment residence time, snow accumulation, lake ice cover and lake stratification modify the temporal structure of δ18OL over the seasonal cycle. Of particular importance is precipitation amount, which controls catchment and lake residence times, and determines the degree of phase lag and amplitude change between δ18OL and δ18OP. A simple mass balance model replicates these effects and demonstrates that the degree of phase lag and amplitude reduction is predictable given known input/volume ratio. The implications of these observations for the use of δ18O records in palaeoclimatology are important, since it is rare that authigenic and biogenic minerals or organic compounds (from which δ18O and/or δ2H can be measured) are produced in a lake evenly throughout the year.