Spatial and temporal stable water isotope data from the upper snowpack at the EastGRIP camp site, NE Greenland sampled in summer 2018

• Main Authors: Zuhr, Alexandra M., Wahl, Sonja, Steen-Larsen, Hans Christian, Hörhold, Maria, Meyer, Hanno, Gkinis, Vasileios, Laepple, Thomas
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Greenland; East Greenland; East Greenland Ice-core Project; Greenland ice core; Greenland Ice core Project; ice core
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-136; https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2023-136/

Stable water isotopes stored in snow, firn and ice are used to reconstruct environmental parameters. The imprint of these parameters at the snow surface as well as their preservation in the upper snowpack is determined by a number of processes influencing the recording of the environmental signal. Here, we present a dataset of approximately 3,800 snow samples analysed for their stable water isotope composition which were obtained during the summer season at the deep drilling site of the East Greenland Ice Core Project in northeast Greenland. Sampling was carried out every third day between 14 May and 3 August 2018 along a 39 m long transect. Three depth intervals in the top 10 cm were sampled on 30 positions with a higher resolution closer to the surface (0–1 cm and 1–4 cm depth vs. 4–10 cm). The sample analysis was carried out at two renowned stable water isotope laboratories and produced isotope data with an overall highest uncertainty of 0.09 ‰ for δ 18 O and 0.8 ‰ for δ D. This unique dataset shows strongest δ 18 O variability closest to the surface, damped and delayed variations in the lowest layer and a trend towards increasing homogeneity towards the end of the season, especially in the deepest layer. Additional information on the snow height and its temporal changes suggests a non-uniform spatial imprint of the seasonal climatic information in this area potentially following the stratigraphic noise of the surface. The data can be used to study the relation between snow height (changes) as well as the imprint and preservation of the isotopic composition at a site with 10–14 cm w.eq. yr -1 accumulation. The high temporal resolution sampling allows additional analyses on (post-)depositional processes, such as vapour-snow exchange. The data can be accessed at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.956626 (Zuhr et al., 2023).