The concentration variation features of sea salt ions and non sea salt ions in a firn recovered from Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

• Main Authors: Mingjun, Zhang, Jiawen, Ren, Cunde, Xiao, Zhongqin, Li, Dahe, Qin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2004
• Subjects: Antarctic; East Antarctica; Princess Elizabeth Land; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2274/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2274/1/A200402001.pdf

A 51.85m firn core drilled in Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica, during the 1996-1997 Chinese First Antarctic Inland Expedition, has been measured for δ(18) and major ions. Based on the high quality data of the seasonal variations of major ions, the firn core was dated with errors within ±3 years. The 51.85m firn core record extends for 251 years (A. D. 1745-1996). The results of the glacio-chemistry data of the firn core show that the mean concentrations of Cl(-), Na(+) and Mg(2+) are similar to those reported from other coastal areas in East Antarctica. However, mean concentrations of Ca(2+) are much higher than those reported from other regions, this anomaly phenomenon may be related to the strong local terrestrial sources. It is found that the variations of three kinds of sea salt ions (Cl(-), Na(+) and Mg(2+)) in the past 150 years show very similarly rising trends, which may be the results the Southern Hemisphere warming in the past century.