Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record
Increasing paleoclimatic evidence suggests that the Little Ice Age (LIA) was a global climate change event. Understanding the forcings and associated climate system feedbacks of the LIA is made difficult by the scarcity of Southern Hemisphere paleoclimate records. We use a new glaciochemical record...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f511610b1f5f4917a8150b23b0bb87ca 2023-05-15T13:52:20+02:00 Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record R. H. Rhodes N. A. N. Bertler J. A. Baker H. C. Steen-Larsen S. B. Sneed U. Morgenstern S. J. Johnsen 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 https://doaj.org/article/f511610b1f5f4917a8150b23b0bb87ca EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.clim-past.net/8/1223/2012/cp-8-1223-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/f511610b1f5f4917a8150b23b0bb87ca Climate of the Past, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 1223-1238 (2012) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 2022-12-31T14:36:30Z Increasing paleoclimatic evidence suggests that the Little Ice Age (LIA) was a global climate change event. Understanding the forcings and associated climate system feedbacks of the LIA is made difficult by the scarcity of Southern Hemisphere paleoclimate records. We use a new glaciochemical record of a coastal ice core from Mt. Erebus Saddle, Antarctica, to reconstruct atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica over the past five centuries. The LIA is identified in stable isotope (δD) and lithophile element records, which respectively demonstrate that the region experienced 1.6 ± 1.4 °C cooler average temperatures prior to 1850 AD than during the last 150 yr and strong (>57 m s −1 ) prevailing katabatic winds between 1500 and 1800 AD. Al and Ti concentration increases of an order of magnitude (>120 ppb Al) are linked to enhanced aeolian transport of complex silicate minerals and represent the strongest katabatic wind events of the LIA. These events are associated with three 12–30 yr intervals of cooler temperatures at ca. 1690 AD, 1770 AD and 1840 AD. Furthermore, ice core concentrations of the biogenic sulphur species MS − suggest that biological productivity in the Ross Sea polynya was ~80% higher prior to 1875 AD than at any subsequent time. We propose that cooler Antarctic temperatures promoted stronger katabatic winds across the Ross Ice Shelf, resulting in an enlarged Ross Sea polynya during the LIA. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica ice core Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea Climate of the Past 8 4 1223 1238 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 R. H. Rhodes N. A. N. Bertler J. A. Baker H. C. Steen-Larsen S. B. Sneed U. Morgenstern S. J. Johnsen Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
topic_facet |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Increasing paleoclimatic evidence suggests that the Little Ice Age (LIA) was a global climate change event. Understanding the forcings and associated climate system feedbacks of the LIA is made difficult by the scarcity of Southern Hemisphere paleoclimate records. We use a new glaciochemical record of a coastal ice core from Mt. Erebus Saddle, Antarctica, to reconstruct atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica over the past five centuries. The LIA is identified in stable isotope (δD) and lithophile element records, which respectively demonstrate that the region experienced 1.6 ± 1.4 °C cooler average temperatures prior to 1850 AD than during the last 150 yr and strong (>57 m s −1 ) prevailing katabatic winds between 1500 and 1800 AD. Al and Ti concentration increases of an order of magnitude (>120 ppb Al) are linked to enhanced aeolian transport of complex silicate minerals and represent the strongest katabatic wind events of the LIA. These events are associated with three 12–30 yr intervals of cooler temperatures at ca. 1690 AD, 1770 AD and 1840 AD. Furthermore, ice core concentrations of the biogenic sulphur species MS − suggest that biological productivity in the Ross Sea polynya was ~80% higher prior to 1875 AD than at any subsequent time. We propose that cooler Antarctic temperatures promoted stronger katabatic winds across the Ross Ice Shelf, resulting in an enlarged Ross Sea polynya during the LIA. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. H. Rhodes N. A. N. Bertler J. A. Baker H. C. Steen-Larsen S. B. Sneed U. Morgenstern S. J. Johnsen |
author_facet |
R. H. Rhodes N. A. N. Bertler J. A. Baker H. C. Steen-Larsen S. B. Sneed U. Morgenstern S. J. Johnsen |
author_sort |
R. H. Rhodes |
title |
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
title_short |
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
title_full |
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
title_fullStr |
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
title_full_unstemmed |
Little Ice Age climate and oceanic conditions of the Ross Sea, Antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
title_sort |
little ice age climate and oceanic conditions of the ross sea, antarctica from a coastal ice core record |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 https://doaj.org/article/f511610b1f5f4917a8150b23b0bb87ca |
geographic |
Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica ice core Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica ice core Ice Shelf Ross Ice Shelf Ross Sea |
op_source |
Climate of the Past, Vol 8, Iss 4, Pp 1223-1238 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://www.clim-past.net/8/1223/2012/cp-8-1223-2012.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/f511610b1f5f4917a8150b23b0bb87ca |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1223-2012 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1223 |
op_container_end_page |
1238 |
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1766256620010995712 |