Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy
Impurities in polar ice do not only allow the reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol concentrations but also influence the physical properties of the ice. However, the localisation of impurities inside the microstructure is still under debate and little is known about the mineralogy of solid inc...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:14ac1f9689f544a48457235867cde9e5 2023-05-15T16:03:44+02:00 Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy N. Stoll M. Hörhold T. Erhardt J. Eichler C. Jensen I. Weikusat 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 https://doaj.org/article/14ac1f9689f544a48457235867cde9e5 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/667/2022/tc-16-667-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/14ac1f9689f544a48457235867cde9e5 The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 667-688 (2022) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 2022-12-31T16:32:29Z Impurities in polar ice do not only allow the reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol concentrations but also influence the physical properties of the ice. However, the localisation of impurities inside the microstructure is still under debate and little is known about the mineralogy of solid inclusions. In particular, the general mineralogical diversity throughout an ice core and the specific distribution inside the microstructure is poorly investigated; the impact of the mineralogy on the localisation of inclusions and other processes is thus hardly known. We use dust particle concentration, optical microscopy, and cryo-Raman spectroscopy to systematically locate and analyse the mineralogy of micro-inclusions in situ inside 11 solid ice samples from the upper 1340 m of the East Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. Micro-inclusions are more variable in mineralogy than previously observed and are mainly composed of mineral dust (quartz, mica, and feldspar) and sulfates (mainly gypsum). Inclusions of the same composition tend to cluster, but clustering frequency and mineralogy changes with depth. A variety of sulfates dominate the upper 900 m, while gypsum is the only sulfate in deeper samples, which however contain more mineral dust, nitrates, and dolomite. The analysed part of the core can thus be divided into two depth regimes of different mineralogy, and to a lesser degree of spatial distribution, which could originate from different chemical reactions in the ice or large-scale changes in ice cover in northeast Greenland during the mid-Holocene. The complexity of impurity mineralogy on the metre scale and centimetre scale in polar ice is still underestimated, and new methodological approaches are necessary to establish a comprehensive understanding of the role of impurities. Our results show that applying new methods to the mineralogy in ice cores and recognising its complexity, as well as the importance for localisation studies, open new avenues for understanding the role of impurities in ice cores. Article in Journal/Newspaper East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland The Cryosphere 16 2 667 688 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 N. Stoll M. Hörhold T. Erhardt J. Eichler C. Jensen I. Weikusat Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Impurities in polar ice do not only allow the reconstruction of past atmospheric aerosol concentrations but also influence the physical properties of the ice. However, the localisation of impurities inside the microstructure is still under debate and little is known about the mineralogy of solid inclusions. In particular, the general mineralogical diversity throughout an ice core and the specific distribution inside the microstructure is poorly investigated; the impact of the mineralogy on the localisation of inclusions and other processes is thus hardly known. We use dust particle concentration, optical microscopy, and cryo-Raman spectroscopy to systematically locate and analyse the mineralogy of micro-inclusions in situ inside 11 solid ice samples from the upper 1340 m of the East Greenland Ice Core Project ice core. Micro-inclusions are more variable in mineralogy than previously observed and are mainly composed of mineral dust (quartz, mica, and feldspar) and sulfates (mainly gypsum). Inclusions of the same composition tend to cluster, but clustering frequency and mineralogy changes with depth. A variety of sulfates dominate the upper 900 m, while gypsum is the only sulfate in deeper samples, which however contain more mineral dust, nitrates, and dolomite. The analysed part of the core can thus be divided into two depth regimes of different mineralogy, and to a lesser degree of spatial distribution, which could originate from different chemical reactions in the ice or large-scale changes in ice cover in northeast Greenland during the mid-Holocene. The complexity of impurity mineralogy on the metre scale and centimetre scale in polar ice is still underestimated, and new methodological approaches are necessary to establish a comprehensive understanding of the role of impurities. Our results show that applying new methods to the mineralogy in ice cores and recognising its complexity, as well as the importance for localisation studies, open new avenues for understanding the role of impurities in ice cores. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
N. Stoll M. Hörhold T. Erhardt J. Eichler C. Jensen I. Weikusat |
author_facet |
N. Stoll M. Hörhold T. Erhardt J. Eichler C. Jensen I. Weikusat |
author_sort |
N. Stoll |
title |
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
title_short |
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
title_full |
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
title_fullStr |
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) ice core – Part 2: Implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
title_sort |
microstructure, micro-inclusions, and mineralogy along the egrip (east greenland ice core project) ice core – part 2: implications for palaeo-mineralogy |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 https://doaj.org/article/14ac1f9689f544a48457235867cde9e5 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
East Greenland East Greenland Ice-core Project Greenland Greenland ice core Greenland Ice core Project ice core The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 16, Pp 667-688 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/667/2022/tc-16-667-2022.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/14ac1f9689f544a48457235867cde9e5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
667 |
op_container_end_page |
688 |
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1766399424148275200 |