A 45.97 m long ice core was recovered in the accumulation area of Glaciar Tyndall (50˚59’05’’ S, 73˚31’12’’W; 1756ma.s.l.), Campo de Hielo Patagόnico Sur (southern Patagonia icefield), during December 1999. the firn core was subjected to visual stratigraphic observation and bulk density measurements in the field, and later to analyses of water isotopes (δ18O, δD), major dissolved ions and snow algal biomass. the drillhole remained dry down to about 43 m depth, where a water-soaked layer appeared. Seasonal cycles were found for δ18O, δD and the D-excess, although the amplitudes of the cycles decreased with depth. Major dissolved ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl–, SO42–) and algal biomass exhibit rapid decreases in the upper 3 m, probably due to meltwater elution. Annual increments defined by the δ18O and D-excess peaks suggest that the minimum net accumulation rates at this location were 17.8ma–1 in 1997/98–1998/99 and 411.0 ma–1 in 1998/99–1999/2000. These are much higher values than those previously obtained from past ice-core studies in Patagonia, but are of the same order of magnitude as those predicted from various observations in ablation areas of Patagonian glaciers.

To study the glaciological processes controlling the mass budget of Greenland's peripheral glaciers and ice caps, field measurements were carried out on Qaanaaq ice cap, a 20 km long ice cap in northwestern Greenland. In the summer of 2012, we measured surface melt rate, ice flow velocity and ice thickness along a survey route spanning the ice margin (200 m a.s.l.) to the ice-cap summit (1110 m a.s.l.). Melt rates in the ablation area were clearly influenced by dark materials covering the ice surface, where degree-day factors varied from 5.44 mm w.e. K -1 d -1 on a clean surface to 8.26 mm w.e. K -1 d -1 in the dark regions. Ice velocity showed diurnal variations, indicating the presence of surface-meltwater induced basal sliding. Mean ice thickness along the survey route was 120 m, with a maximum thickness of 165 m. Ice velocity and temperature fields were computed using a thermomechanically coupled numerical glacier model. Modelled ice temperature, obtained by imposing estimated annual mean air temperature as the surface boundary condition, was substantially lower than implied by the observed ice velocity. This result suggests that the ice dynamics and thermodynamics of the ice cap are significantly influenced by heat transfer from meltwater and changing ice geometry.

ABSTRACT. In order to find environmental signals based on the dust and calcium-ion concentrations in ice cores, we determine the constituent elements of residue particles obtained after melting ice samples. We have designed a sublimating system that operates at -458C, below the eutectic temperatures of major salts. This system permits us to obtain a great many non-volatile particles. After studying the nonvolatile particles, we immersed them in water to remove soluble particles and compounds. We thereby analyzed a total of 1272 residue particles (from the melted sample), 2418 non-volatile particles (after sublimation) and 1463 insoluble particles taken from five sections of Last Glacial Maximum ice from the Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice core. Their constituent elements were determined by scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and compared to the dust, calcium-ion and sodium-ion concentrations measured by ion chromatography. Our results indicate that >99.9% of the insoluble particles contain silicon but no sulfur, nitrogen or chlorine. A significant number of the non-volatile particles, however, contain sulfur and chlorine. We conclude that insoluble dust consists mostly of silicate, that almost all calcium ions originate from calcium sulfate and that almost all sodium ions originate from sodium sulfate and sodium chloride.

Introduction

Light-absorbingsnowimpuritiesofelementalcarbon(EC),organiccarbon(OC),andmineraldusthave been measured at three locations at elevations from 1,469 to 1,992m on August 1, 2011, and at the site SIGMA-A (78 N, 68 W, elevation 1,490m) on the northwest Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) during the period from June 28 to July 12, 2012. At SIGMA-A, a remarkable snow surface lowering together with snow meltingwasobservedduringtheobservationperiodin2012,whenarecordsurfacemeltingeventoccurred over the GrIS. The concentrations in the surface were 0.9, 3.8, and 107ppbw for EC, OC, and dust, respectively,atthebeginningoftheperiod,whichincreasedto4.9,17.2,and1327ppbwforEC,OC,anddust, respectively,attheend. TheECanddustconcentrationswereremarkablyhigherthanthoseatthethree locations in 2011 and the recent measurements at Summit. However, our measurements for EC and OC could be underestimated because a recent study indicates that the collection efficiency of a quartz fiber filter, which we employed, is low. We confirm that the snow surface impurity concentrations were enhanced in the observation period, which can be explained by the effects of sublimation/evaporation and snowmeltamplificationassociatedwithdrasticmelting. Scanningelectronmicroscopyanalysisofsurface snowimpuritiesonJuly12revealedthatthemajorcomponentofsnowimpuritiesismineraldustwithsize larger than 5µm, which suggests possible emission source areas are peripheral bare soil regions of Greenlandand/ortheCanadianArctic.

A precise age scale based on annual layer counting is essential for investigating past environmental changes from ice core records. However, subannual scale dating is hampered by the irregular intraannual variabilities of oxygen isotope (δ18O) records. Here we propose a dating method based on matching the δ18O variations between ice core records and records simulated by isotope‐enabled climate models. We applied this method to a new δ18O record from an ice core obtained from a dome site in southeast Greenland. The close similarity between the δ18O records from the ice core and models enables correlation and the production of a precise age scale, with an accuracy of a few months. A missing δ18O minimum in the 1995/1996 winter is an example of an indistinct δ18O seasonal cycle. Our analysis suggests that the missing δ18O minimum is likely caused by a combination of warm air temperature, weak moisture transport, and cool ocean temperature. Based on the age scale, the average accumulation rate from 1960 to 2014 is reconstructed as 1.02 m yr−1 in water equivalent. The annual accumulation rate shows an increasing trend with a slope of 3.6 mm yr−1, which is mainly caused by the increase in the autumn accumulation rate of 2.6 mm yr−1. This increase is likely linked to the enhanced hydrological cycle caused by the decrease in Arctic sea ice area. Unlike the strong seasonality of precipitation amount in the ERA reanalysis data in the southeast dome region, our reconstructed accumulation rate suggests a weak seasonality.

The mass concentrations of light-absorbing snow impurities at Sapporo, Japan, were measured during six winters from 2007 to 2013. Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were measured with the thermal optical method, and dust concentration was determined by filter gravimetric measurement. The measurement results using the different filters were compared to assess the filtration efficiency. Adding NH 4 H 2 PO 4 coagulant to melted snow samples improved the collection efficiency for EC particles by a factor of 1.45. The mass concentrations of EC, OC, and dust in the top 2 cm layer ranged in 0.007-2.8, 0.01-13, and 0.14-260 ppmw, respectively, during the six winters. The mass concentrations and their short-term variations were larger in the surface than in the subsurface. The snow impurity concentrations varied seasonally; that is, they remained relatively low during the accumulation season and gradually increased during the melting season. Although the surface snow impurities showed no discernible trend over the six winters, they varied from year to year, with a negative correlation between the snow impurity concentrations and the amount of snowfall. The surface snow impurities generally increased with the number of days elapsed since snowfall and showed a different rate for EC (1.44), OC (9.96), and dust (6.81). The possible processes causing an increase in surface snow impurities were dry deposition of atmospheric aerosols, melting of surface snow, and sublimation/evaporation of surface snow.

The Southeastern Greenland Dome (SE‐Dome) has both a high elevation and a high accumulation rate (1.01 m we yr−1), which are suitable properties for reconstructing past environmental changes with a high time resolution. For this study, we measured the major ion fluxes in a 90 m ice core drilled from the SE‐Dome region in 2015 and present the records of annual ion fluxes from 1957 to 2014. From 1970 to 2010, the trend of nonsea‐salt (nss) SO42− flux decreases, whereas that for NH4+ increases, tracking well with the anthropogenic SOx and NH3 emissions mainly from North America. The result suggests that these fluxes reflect histories of the anthropogenic SOx and NH3 emissions. In contrast, the decadal trend of NO3− flux differs from the decreasing trend of anthropogenic NOx emissions. Although the cause of this discrepancy remains unclear, it may be related to changes in particle formation processes and chemical scavenging rates caused by an increase in sea salt and dust and/or a decrease in nssSO42−. We also find a high average NO3− flux (1.13 mmol m−2 yr−1) in the ice core, which suggests a negligible effect from postdepositional NO3− loss. Thus, the SE‐Dome region is an excellent location for reconstructing nitrate fluxes. Over a decadal time scale, our NO3− flux record is similar to those from other ice cores in Greenland high‐elevation sites, suggesting that NO3− concentration records from these ice cores are reliable.