Abstract. We present the first high-resolution (sub-annual) dust particle data set from West Antarctica, developed from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide deep ice core (79.468 • S, 112.086 • W), and use it to reconstruct changes in atmospheric circulation over the past 2400 years. We find a background dust flux of ∼ 4 mg m −2 year −1 and a mode particle size of 5-8 µm diameter. Through comparing the WAIS Divide record with other Antarctic ice core particle records, we observe that coastal and lower-elevation sites have higher dust fluxes and coarser particle size distributions (PSDs) than sites on the East Antarctic plateau, suggesting input from local dust sources at these lower-elevation sites. In order to explore the use of the WAIS Divide dust PSD as a proxy for past atmospheric circulation, we make quantitative comparisons between both mid-latitude zonal wind speed and West Antarctic meridional wind speed and the dust size record, finding significant positive interannual relationships. We find that the dust PSD is related to midlatitude zonal wind speed via cyclonic activity in the Amundsen Sea region. Using our PSD record, and through comparison with spatially distributed climate reconstructions from the Southern Hemisphere (SH) middle and high latitudes, we infer that the SH westerlies occupied a more southerly position from circa 1050 to 1400 CE (Common Era), coinciding with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). Subsequently, at ca. 1430 CE, the wind belt shifted equatorward, where it remained until the mid-to-late twentieth century. We find covariability between reconstructions of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the mid-latitude westerly winds in the eastern Pacific, suggesting that centennial-scale circulation changes in this region are strongly influenced by the tropical Pacific. Further, we observe increased coarse particle deposition over the past 50 years, consistent with observations that the SH westerlies have been shifting southward and intensifying in recent decades.

Abstract. The South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore) was drilled in 2014–2016 to provide a detailed multi-proxy archive of paleoclimate conditions in East Antarctica during the Holocene and late Pleistocene. Interpretation of these records requires an accurate depth–age relationship. Here, we present the SPICEcore (SP19) timescale for the age of the ice of SPICEcore. SP19 is synchronized to the WD2014 chronology from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) ice core using stratigraphic matching of 251 volcanic events. These events indicate an age of 54 302±519 BP (years before 1950) at the bottom of SPICEcore. Annual layers identified in sodium and magnesium ions to 11 341 BP were used to interpolate between stratigraphic volcanic tie points, yielding an annually resolved chronology through the Holocene. Estimated timescale uncertainty during the Holocene is less than 18 years relative to WD2014, with the exception of the interval between 1800 to 3100 BP when uncertainty estimates reach ±25 years due to widely spaced volcanic tie points. Prior to the Holocene, uncertainties remain within 124 years relative to WD2014. Results show an average Holocene accumulation rate of 7.4 cm yr−1 (water equivalent). The time variability of accumulation rate is consistent with expectations for steady-state ice flow through the modern spatial pattern of accumulation rate. Time variations in nitrate concentration, nitrate seasonal amplitude and δ15N of N2 in turn are as expected for the accumulation rate variations. The highly variable yet well-constrained Holocene accumulation history at the site can help improve scientific understanding of deposition-sensitive climate proxies such as δ15N of N2 and photolyzed chemical compounds.

Abstract. High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections.

Future changes in North Pacific wintertime climate will be largely determined by the response of the Aleutian Low (ALow) pressure system to anthropogenic forcing. Although the ALow has intensified over the twentieth century, global climate model projections of future ALow variability are equivocal. In order to evaluate decadal to centennial ALow forcing mechanisms and provide context for the modern intensification, here we combine a new Denali ice core (Alaska) sea‐salt sodium record with the Mount Logan ice core (Yukon) sodium record to develop a composite 1200 year record of ALow variability. The composite record indicates that the recent secular ALow intensification began circa 1741 and is unprecedented in magnitude and duration over the past millennium. North Pacific ice core snow accumulation and stable isotope records are consistent with this interpretation. The ALow intensification is associated with warming tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures, consistent with dynamic theory and instrumental correlations.