Sulphate record from a northeast Greenland ice core over the last 1200 years based on continuous flow analysis

A 150 m deep ice core from the low-accumulation area of northeast Greenland was analyzed for sulphate, calcium, sodium and electrolytical meltwater conductivity at a depth resolution of approximately 1 cm by continuous flow analysis (CFA). the calcium and sodium profiles are used to establish a rela...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bigler, Matthias, Wagenbach, Dietmar, Fischer, Hubertus, Kipfstuhl, Josef, Miller, Heinrich, Sommer, Stefan, Stauffer, Bernhard
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: International Glaciological Society 2002
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.48350/158766
https://boris.unibe.ch/158766/
Description
Summary:A 150 m deep ice core from the low-accumulation area of northeast Greenland was analyzed for sulphate, calcium, sodium and electrolytical meltwater conductivity at a depth resolution of approximately 1 cm by continuous flow analysis (CFA). the calcium and sodium profiles are used to establish a relatively precise ice-core chronology by annual-layer counting back to AD 830. Inspection of the novel CFA method for sulphate revealed relative errors typically around 15%, but at least ±20 ng g–1, for concentrations 5130 ng g–1, and a current detection limit for routine ice-core analyses of 40 ng g–1. Annual sulphate peaks are shown to occur over almost the entire core, with only a small shift in seasonality between the modern and pre-industrial sections. Inspection of volcanic horizons allowed more accurate timing of these peaks and clear identification of calcium-rich events. Disregarding clear volcanic peaks, significant long-term changes of sulphate are only seen over the industrial period. However, a higher frequency of important volcanic inputs was identified around AD 1200.