Non-spherical microparticle shape in Antarctica during the last glacial period affects dust volume-related metrics

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: A. Chesler, D. Winski, K. Kreutz, B. Koffman, E. Osterberg, D. Ferris, Z. Thundercloud, J. Mohan, J. Cole-Dai, M. Wells, M. Handley, A. Putnam, K. Anderson, N. Harmon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: Environmental pollution; TD172-193.5; Environmental protection; TD169-171.8; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; South Pole; Coulter; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; South pole
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-477-2023; https://doaj.org/article/3710064019694042a6f0519a6e4ff6c4

Knowledge of microparticle geometry is essential for accurate calculation of ice core volume-related dust metrics (mass, flux, and particle size distributions) and subsequent paleoclimate interpretations, yet particle shape data remain sparse in Antarctica. Here we present 41 discrete particle shape measurements, volume calculations, and calibrated continuous particle time series spanning 50–16 ka from the South Pole Ice Core (SPC14) to assess particle shape characteristics and variability. We used FlowCAM, a dynamic particle imaging instrument, to measure aspect ratios (width divided by length) of microparticles. We then compared those results to Coulter counter measurements on the same set of samples as well as high-resolution laser-based (Abakus) data collected from SPC14 during continuous flow analysis. The 41 discrete samples were collected during three periods of millennial-scale climate variability: Heinrich Stadial 1 (18–16 ka , n =6 ∼250 years per sample), the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (27–18 ka , n =19 ∼460 years per sample), and during both Heinrich Stadial 4 (42–36 ka , n =8 ∼620 years per sample) and Heinrich Stadial 5 (50–46 ka , n =8 ∼440 years per sample). Using FlowCAM measurements, we calculated different particle size distributions (PSDs) for spherical and ellipsoidal volume estimates. Our calculated volumes were then compared to published Abakus calibration techniques. We found that Abakus-derived PSDs calculated assuming ellipsoidal, rather than spherical, particle shapes provide a more accurate representation of PSDs measured by Coulter counter, reducing Abakus to Coulter counter flux and mass ratios from 1.82 (spherical assumption) to 0.79 and 1.20 (ellipsoidal assumptions; 1 being a perfect match). Coarser particles ( >5.0 µm diameter) show greater variation in measured aspect ratios than finer particles ( <5.0 µm ). While fine particle volumes can be accurately estimated using the spherical assumption, applying the same assumption to coarse particles has a large effect on ...