We present a novel ice/firn core melter system that uses fraction collectors to collect discrete, high-resolution (<1 cm/sample possible), continuous, coregistered meltwater samples for analysis of eight major ions by ion chromatography (IC), >32 trace elements by inductively coupled plasma sectorfield mass spectrometry (ICP-SMS), and stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes by isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). The new continuous melting with discrete sampling (CMDS) system preserves an archive of each sample, reduces the problem of incomplete particle dissolution in ICP-SMS samples, and provides more precise trace element data than previous ice melter models by using longer ICP-SMS scan times and washing the instrument between samples. CMDS detection limits are similar to or lower than those published for ice melter systems coupled directly to analytical instruments and are suitable for analyses of polar and mid-low-latitude ice cores. Analysis of total calcium and sulfur by ICP-SMS and calcium ion, sulfate, and methanesulfonate by IC from the Mt. Logan Prospector-Russell Col ice core confirms data accuracy and coregistration of the split fractions from each sample. The reproducibility of all data acquired by the CMDS system is confirmed by replicate analyses of parallel sections of the GISP2 D ice core.

A highly resolved Mt. Everest ice core reveals a decrease in marine and increase in continental air masses related to relatively high summer surface pressure over Mongolia, and reduction in northward incursions of the summer South Asian monsoon since ∼1400 AD. Previously published proxy records from lower sites south of the Himalayas indicate strengthening of the monsoon since this time. These regional differences are consistent with a south–north seesaw in convective activity in the Asian monsoon region, and reflect a southward shift in the mean summer position of the monsoon trough since ∼1400 AD. The change in monsoonal circulation at 1400 AD is synchronous with a reduction in solar irradiance and the onset of the LIA. This demonstrates a hemispheric scale circulation reorganization at this time, and the potential for future large shifts in monsoonal circulation.

A high‐resolution, 8000 year‐long ice core record from the Mt. Logan summit plateau (5300 m asl) reveals the initiation of trans‐Pacific lead (Pb) pollution by ca. 1730, and a >10‐fold increase in Pb concentration (1981–1998 mean = 68.9 ng/l) above natural background (5.6 ng/l) attributed to rising anthropogenic Pb emissions from Asia. The largest rise in North Pacific Pb pollution from 1970–1998 (end of record) is contemporaneous with a decrease in Eurasian and North American Pb pollution as documented in ice core records from Greenland, Devon Island, and the European Alps. The distinct Pb pollution history in the North Pacific is interpreted to result from the later industrialization and less stringent abatement measures in Asia compared to North America and Eurasia. The Mt. Logan record shows evidence for both a rising Pb emissions signal from Asia and a trans‐Pacific transport efficiency signal related to the strength of the Aleutian Low.

Thirteen annually resolved accumulation-rate records covering the last ~200 years from the Pine Island–Thwaites and Ross drainage systems and the South Pole are used to examine climate variability over West Antarctica. Accumulation is controlled spatially by the topography of the ice sheet, and temporally by changes in moisture transport and cyclonic activity. A comparison of mean accumulation since 1970 at each site to the long-term mean indicates an increase in accumulation for sites located in the western sector of the Pine Island–Thwaites drainage system. Accumulation is negatively associated with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) for sites near the ice divide, and periods of sustained negative SOI (1940–42, 1991–95) correspond to above-mean accumulation at most sites. Correlations of the accumulation-rate records with sea-level pressure (SLP) and the SOI suggest that accumulation near the ice divide and in the Ross drainage system may be associated with the mid-latitudes. The post-1970 increase in accumulation coupled with strong SLP–accumulation-rate correlations near the coast suggests recent intensification of cyclonic activity in the Pine Island– Thwaites drainage system.

ABSTRACT. An updated compilation of published and new data of major-ion (Ca, Cl, K, Mg, Na, NO 3 , SO 4 ) and methylsulfonate (MS) concentrations in snow from 520 Antarctic sites is provided by the national ITASE (International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition) programmes of Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the national Antarctic programme of Finland. The comparison shows that snow chemistry concentrations vary by up to four orders of magnitude across Antarctica and exhibit distinct geographical patterns. The Antarctic-wide comparison of glaciochemical records provides a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of the fundamental factors that ultimately control the chemistry of snow or ice samples. This paper aims to initiate data compilation and administration in order to provide a framework for facilitation of Antarctic-wide snow chemistry discussions across all ITASE nations and other contributing groups. The data are made available through the ITASE web page (http:// www2.umaine.edu/itase/content/syngroups/snowchem.html) and will be updated with new data as they are provided. In addition, recommendations for future research efforts are summarized.