An East Antarctic, sub-annual resolution water isotope record from the Mount Brown South Ice core

• Published in: Scientific Data
• Main Authors: Vasileios Gkinis, Sarah Jackson, Nerilie J. Abram, Christopher Plummer, Thomas Blunier, Margaret Harlan, Helle Astrid Kjær, Andrew D. Moy, Kerttu Maria Peensoo, Thea Quistgaard, Anders Svensson, Tessa R. Vance
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2024
• Subjects: Science; Q; Antarctic; Austral; Indian; Mount Brown; South Ice; Antarc*; ice core
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03751-w; https://doaj.org/article/4e3140834ff74a8c9df4f690269715f6

Abstract We report high resolution measurements of the stable water isotope ratios (δ 18O, δD) from the Mount Brown South ice core (MBS, 69.11° S 86.31° E). The record covers the period 873 - 2009 CE with sub-annual temporal resolution. Preliminary analyses of surface cores have shown the Mount Brown South site has relatively high annual snowfall accumulation (0.3 metres ice equivalent) with a seasonal bias toward lower snowfall during austral summer. Precipitation at the site is frequently related to intense, short term synoptic scale events from the mid-latitudes of the southern Indian Ocean. Higher snowfall regimes are associated with easterly winds, while lower snowfall regimes are associated with south-easterly winds. Isotope ratios are measured with Infra-Red Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy, calibrated on the VSMOW/SLAP scale and reported on the MBS2023 time scale interpolated accordingly. We provide estimates for measurement precision and internal accuracy for δ 18O and δD.