High resolution measurements of carbon monoxide along a late Holocene Greenland ice core: evidence for in-situ production

• Main Authors: Faïn, X., Chappellaz, J., Rhodes, R. H., Stowasser, C., Blunier, T., Mcconnell, J. R., Brook, E. J., Preunkert, S., Legrand, Michel, Desbois, T., Romanini, D.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre for Ice and Climate Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI), Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique Saint Martin d’Hères (LIPhy), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2013
• Subjects: [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-OPTICS]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Optics [physics.optics]; Greenland; Greenland ice core; ice core; North Greenland
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00996454; https://doi.org/10.5194/CPD-9-2817-2013

International audience We present high-resolution measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations from continuous analysis of a shallow ice core from the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling project (NEEM-2011-S1). An Optical Feedback - Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectrometer (OF-CEAS) was coupled to a continuous melter system during a 4-week laboratory-based measurement campaign. This analytical setup generates highly stable measurements of CO concentrations with an external precision of 7.8 ppbv (1 sigma) based on a comparison of replicate cores. The NEEM-2011-S1 CO record spans 1800 yr and exhibits highly variable concentrations at the scale of annual layers, ranging from 75 to 1327 ppbv. The most recent section of this record (i.e. since 1700 AD) agrees with existing discrete CO measurements from the Eurocore ice core and the deep NEEM firn. However, it is difficult to interpret in terms of atmospheric CO variation due to high frequency, high amplitude spikes in the data. 68% of the elevated CO spikes are observed in ice layers enriched with pyrogenic aerosols. Such aerosols, originating from boreal biomass burning emissions, contain organic compounds, which can be oxidized or photodissociated to produce CO in-situ. We suggest that elevated CO concentration features could present a new integrative proxy for past biomass burning history. Furthermore, the NEEM-2011-S1 record reveals an increase in baseline CO level prior to 1700 AD (129 m depth), with the concentration remaining high even for ice layers depleted in dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Overall, the processes driving in-situ production of CO within the NEEM ice are complex and may involve multiple chemical pathways.