Continuous flow analysis methods for sodium, magnesium and calcium detection in the Skytrain ice core

Dissolved and particulate sodium, magnesium and calcium are analyzed in ice cores to determine past changes in sea ice extent, terrestrial dust variability and atmospheric aerosol transport efficiency. They are also used to date ice cores if annual layers are visible. Multiple methods have been deve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Glaciology
Main Authors: Mackenzie M. Grieman, Helene M. Hoffmann, Jack D. Humby, Robert Mulvaney, Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, Julius Rix, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Rebecca Tuckwell, Eric W. Wolff
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2022
Subjects:
Glaciological instruments and methods
ice core
paleoclimate
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
Antarctic
Skytrain Ice Rise
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Journal of Glaciology
Sea ice
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.75
https://doaj.org/article/11c0b92f81d547fd9036add7658c9dcb
Description
Summary:Dissolved and particulate sodium, magnesium and calcium are analyzed in ice cores to determine past changes in sea ice extent, terrestrial dust variability and atmospheric aerosol transport efficiency. They are also used to date ice cores if annual layers are visible. Multiple methods have been developed to analyze these important compounds in ice cores. Continuous flow analysis (CFA) is implemented with instruments that sample the meltstream continuously. In this study, CFA with ICP-MS (inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry) and fast ion chromatography (FIC) methods are compared for analysis of sodium and magnesium. ICP-MS, FIC and fluorescence methods are compared for analysis of calcium. Respective analysis of a 10 m section of the Antarctic WACSWAIN Skytrain Ice Rise ice core shows that all of the methods result in similar levels of the compounds. The ICP-MS method is the most suitable for analysis of the Skytrain ice core due to its superior precision (relative standard deviation: 1.6% for Na, 1.3% for Mg and 1.2% for Ca) and sampling frequency compared to the FIC method. The fluorescence detection method may be preferred for calcium analysis due to its higher depth resolution (1.4 cm) relative to the ICP-MS and FIC methods (~4 cm).

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