Accumulation patterns around Dome C, East Antarctica, in the last 73 kyr

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: M. G. P. Cavitte, F. Parrenin, C. Ritz, D. A. Young, B. Van Liefferinge, D. D. Blankenship, M. Frezzotti, J. L. Roberts
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018
• Subjects: Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Geology; QE1-996.5; East Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1401-2018; https://doaj.org/article/8a28b82685914165a91f0edf21e68e68

We reconstruct the pattern of surface accumulation in the region around Dome C, East Antarctica, since the last glacial. We use a set of 18 isochrones spanning all observable depths of the ice column, interpreted from various ice-penetrating radar surveys and a 1-D ice flow model to invert for accumulation rates in the region. The shallowest four isochrones are then used to calculate paleoaccumulation rates between isochrone pairs using a 1-D assumption where horizontal advection is negligible in the time interval of each layer. We observe that the large-scale (100s km) surface accumulation gradient is spatially stable through the last 73 kyr, which reflects current modeled and observed precipitation gradients in the region. We also observe small-scale (10 s km) accumulation variations linked to snow redistribution at the surface, due to changes in its slope and curvature in the prevailing wind direction that remain spatially stationary since the last glacial.