Oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope variations in a firn core, Eights station, western Antarctica

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Epstein, Samuel, Sharp, Robert P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: American Geophysical Union 1967
• Subjects: Bellingshausen Sea; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1029/JZ072i022p05595

Oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope analyses of samples from a firn core at Eights station indicate that annual accumulation over a 10-year interval was 39–40 g/cm² of water, confirming a condition of relatively heavy precipitation in the Bellingshausen Sea coastal area. The mean δ value (−26.6) of the O^(18)/O^(16) ratios is consistent with the relatively low elevation (452 meters) and near-coastal location of Eights station. These data support an earlier suggestion that a cyclical variation of particulate matter recognized in the firn occurs with an approximate 2-year period. No other interrelationship between variations in particulate matter and hydrogen or oxygen isotopes was found. Copyright 1967 by the American Geophysical Union. (Received May 26, 1967.) This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant GA-98 and used a mass spectrometer constructed under Atomic Energy Commission contract AT (04-3)-427. Publication 1353, Division of Geological Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Published - jgr5593.pdf