Recent intra‐annual snow accumulation at South Pole: Implications for ice core interpretation

McConnell, Joseph R.; Bales, R. C.; Davis, Donald R.

doi:10.1029/97jd00848

Cited by 44 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The temporal and spatial variability of the SMB over the previous 800 yr indicates that SMB changes over most of Antarctica are statistically negligible and do not exhibit an overall clear trend. This result is in accordance with the results presented by Monaghan et al (2006), which demonstrate statistically insignificant changes in the SMB over the past 50 yr. However, a clear increase in accumulation of more than 10 % (> 300 kg m −2 yr −1 ) has occurred in high-SMB coastal regions and over the highest part of the East Antarctic ice divide since the 1960s.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Low-accumulation sites are representative if their cumulative rates are computed over several years. Variations in the multi-year averages of the annual SMB decrease with the square root of the number of observation years (McConnell et al, 1997;van der Veen et al, 1999b;Goodwin et al, 2003;Frezzotti et al, 2007;Kameda et al, 2008;Banta et al, 2008). SMB records have been computed using cumulative rates over several years to reach an approximate 700 kg m −2 yr −1 threshold, allowing the estimation of the annual SMB at ±10 % accuracy, which is comparable to the accuracy obtained with instrumental measurements (e.g., those measuring rain precipitation).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The novel methodology utilises a predictor function based on the simulated precipitation from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast -European Re-Analysis 40 (ECMWF ERA-40) snowfall field, from 1960 to 2000, and is used to interpolate various instrumental measurements (e.g., ice core and snow pit data and daily observations). Monaghan et al (2006Monaghan et al ( ) chose 1985Monaghan et al ( -1994 as the reference decade, which allows the ERA-40 precipitation to be both calibrated against the instrumental record and adjusted for biases. Unfortunately, this technique is unusable in this study because the Reanalysis ERA-40 dataset ends at 1958.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These time windows represent the periods with the maximum number of available ice cores for each average record. Monaghan et al (2006) developed an innovative technique for the study of snowfall over the last 5 decades . The novel methodology utilises a predictor function based on the simulated precipitation from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast -European Re-Analysis 40 (ECMWF ERA-40) snowfall field, from 1960 to 2000, and is used to interpolate various instrumental measurements (e.g., ice core and snow pit data and daily observations).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is evidence of a warming and freshening trend in the waters of the Southern Ocean and a reduction of the sea ice extent during the 1950s and 1960s (Curran et al, 2003;Abram et al, 2010). However, firn cores coupled with an atmospheric reanalysis model of the AIS indicate statistically insignificant or slightly negative SMB changes in the AIS since the 1950s (Monaghan et al, 2006). SMB research based on firn/ice core records from recent decades reveals a variety of changes and trends, ranging from slight increases (Thompson et al, 1994;Morgan et al, 1991;MosleyThompson et al, 1999;Frezzotti et al, 2005;Goodwin et al, 2003;Stenni et al, 2002;Urbini et al, 2008;Igarashi et al, 2011;Fujita et al, 2011) to doublings (Thomas et al, 2008), to decreases Kaspari et al, 2004;Schlosser and Oerter, 2002;Kaczmarska et al, 2004;Ren et al, 1999), or to no significant trend in the SMB Ruth et al, 2004;Anschütz et al, 2009Anschütz et al, , 2011Sommer et al, 2000;Karlöf et al, 2005;Stenni et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Global climate models suggest that Antarctic snowfall should increase in a warming climate and mitigate rises in the sea level. Several processes affect surface mass balance (SMB), introducing large uncertainties in past, present and future ice sheet mass balance. To provide an extended perspective on the past SMB of Antarctica, we used 67 firn/ice core records to reconstruct the temporal variability in the SMB over the past 800 yr and, in greater detail, over the last 200 yr.Our SMB reconstructions indicate that the SMB changes over most of Antarctica are statistically negligible and that the current SMB is not exceptionally high compared to the last 800 yr. High-accumulation periods have occurred in the past, specifically during the 1370s and 1610s. However, a clear increase in accumulation of more than 10 % has occurred in high SMB coastal regions and over the highest part of the East Antarctic ice divide since the 1960s. To explain the differences in behaviour between the coastal/ice divide sites and the rest of Antarctica, we suggest that a higher frequency of blocking anticyclones increases the precipitation at coastal sites, leading to the advection of moist air in the highest areas, whereas blowing snow and/or erosion have significant negative impacts on the SMB at windy sites. Eight hundred years of stacked records of the SMB mimic the total solar irradiance during the 13th and 18th centuries. The link between those two variables is probably indirect and linked to a teleconnection in atmospheric circulation that forces complex feedback between the tropical Pacific and Antarctica via the generation and propagation of a large-scale atmospheric wave train.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr

et al. 2013

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Acidity decline in Antarctic ice cores during the Little Ice Age linked to changes in atmospheric nitrate and sea salt concentrations

et al. 2014

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Acidity is an important chemical variable that impacts atmospheric and snowpack chemistry.Here we describe composite time series and the spatial pattern of acidity concentration (Acy = H + À HCO 3 À ) during the last 2000 years across the Dronning Maud Land region of the East Antarctic Plateau using measurements in seven ice cores. Coregistered measurements of the major ion species show that sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ), nitric acid (HNO 3 ), and hydrochloric acid (HCl) determine greater than 98% of the acidity value. The latter, also described as excess chloride (ExCl À ), is shown mostly to be derived from postdepositional diffusion of chloride with little net gain or loss from the snowpack. A strong inverse linear relationship between nitrate concentration and inverse accumulation rate provides evidence of spatially homogenous fresh snow concentrations and reemission rates of nitrate from the snowpack across the study area. A decline in acidity during the Little Ice Age (LIA, 1500-1900 Common Era) is observed and is linked to declines in HNO 3 and ExCl À during that time. The nitrate decline is found to correlate well with published methane isotope data from Antarctica (δ 13 CH 4 ), indicating that it is caused by a decline in biomass burning. The decrease in ExCl À concentration during the LIA is well correlated to published sea surface temperature reconstructions in the Atlantic Ocean, which suggests increased sea salt aerosol production associated with greater sea ice extent.

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The spectral and chemical measurement of pollutants on snow near South Pole, Antarctica

et al. 2017

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Remote sensing of light‐absorbing particles (LAPs), or dark colored impurities, such as black carbon (BC) and dust on snow, is a key remaining challenge in cryospheric surface characterization and application to snow, ice, and climate models. We present a quantitative data set of in situ snow reflectance, measured and modeled albedo, and BC and trace element concentrations from clean to heavily fossil fuel emission contaminated snow near South Pole, Antarctica. Over 380 snow reflectance spectra (350–2500 nm) and 28 surface snow samples were collected at seven distinct sites in the austral summer season of 2014–2015. Snow samples were analyzed for BC concentration via a single particle soot photometer and for trace element concentration via an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Snow impurity concentrations ranged from 0.14 to 7000 part per billion (ppb) BC, 9.5 to 1200 ppb sulfur, 0.19 to 660 ppb iron, 0.013 to 1.9 ppb chromium, 0.13 to 120 ppb copper, 0.63 to 6.3 ppb zinc, 0.45 to 82 parts per trillion (ppt) arsenic, 0.0028 to 6.1 ppb cadmium, 0.062 to 22 ppb barium, and 0.0044 to 6.2 ppb lead. Broadband visible to shortwave infrared albedo ranged from 0.85 in pristine snow to 0.62 in contaminated snow. LAP radiative forcing, the enhanced surface absorption due to BC and trace elements, spanned from <1 W m−2 for clean snow to ~70 W m−2 for snow with high BC and trace element content. Measured snow reflectance differed from modeled snow albedo due to specific impurity‐dependent absorption features, which we recommend be further studied and improved in snow albedo models.

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Recent intra‐annual snow accumulation at South Pole: Implications for ice core interpretation

Cited by 44 publications

References 13 publications

A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr

A synthesis of the Antarctic surface mass balance during the last 800 yr

Acidity decline in Antarctic ice cores during the Little Ice Age linked to changes in atmospheric nitrate and sea salt concentrations

The spectral and chemical measurement of pollutants on snow near South Pole, Antarctica

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