First sulfur isotope measurements in central Greenland ice cores along the preindustrial and industrial periods

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Patris, Nicolas, Delmas, Robert, Legrand, Michel, De Angelis, Martine, Ferron, Francisco, Stiévenard, Michel, Jouzel, Jean
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Glaces et Continents, Climats et Isotopes Stables (GLACCIOS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry La Jolla, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), University of California-University of California-University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), University of California-University of California, 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), Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie (GEOTRAC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2002
• Subjects: 0325 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Evolution of the atmosphere; 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphereconstituent transport and chemistry; 9315 Information Related to Geographic Region: Arctic region; sulfur isotopes; Greenland; pollution transport; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Arctic; Greenland ice cores; ice core
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03110089; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03110089/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03110089/file/2001JD000672.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JD000672

International audience Sulfur isotopes of sulfate have been measured in a discontinuous set of polar ice core samples from Summit, central Greenland, covering the preindustrial (from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century) and industrial (from 1872 to 1969 A.D.) periods. Results have been used to estimate the different source contributions to the deposited sulfate and their evolution along the last centuries. They indicate that the preindustrial background sulfate budget is slightly dominated on a year‐round average by marine biogenic emissions, amounting to close to half of the non‐sea‐salt sulfate (49%). The second contribution is provided by continental sources of secondary sulfate, including background volcanism and, to a lesser extent, continental biota (44% of the non‐sea‐salt sulfate). Sulfur emitted by relatively weak eruptions is found to be largely depleted in 34S compared to bulk volcanic S, suggesting an efficient washout of the heavier isotope during the tropospheric transport. The impact of human‐driven emissions on the sulfate deposited in central Greenland ice is visible in isotope data as early as 1870 A.D. The isotopic signature of anthropogenic sulfur deposited during the twentieth century is found to be constant (δ34S ≈ +3.0 ± 1.5‰), regardless of the changes of dominant source regions and emission processes. This signature is slightly but measurably lighter than the one reported for Arctic haze pollution events.