Solar Forcing Recorded by Aerosol Concentrations in Coastal Antarctic Glacier Ice, McMurdo Dry Valleys

Ice-core chemistry data from Victoria Lower Glacier, Antarctica, suggest, at least for the last 50 years, a direct influence of solar activity variations on the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) climate system via controls on air-mass input from two competing environments: the East Antarctic ice sheet and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of Glaciology
Main Authors: Bertler, Nancy A.N., Mayewski, Paul Andrew, Sneed, Sharon B., Naish, Tim R., Morgenstern, Uwe, Barrett, Peter J.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: DigitalCommons@UMaine 2005
Subjects:
Earth Sciences
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctica
ice core
Ice Sheet
McMurdo Dry Valleys
Ross Sea
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ers_facpub/141
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756405781813203
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/context/ers_facpub/article/1140/viewcontent/mayewski_41_52_56.pdf
Description
Summary:Ice-core chemistry data from Victoria Lower Glacier, Antarctica, suggest, at least for the last 50 years, a direct influence of solar activity variations on the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) climate system via controls on air-mass input from two competing environments: the East Antarctic ice sheet and the Ross Sea. During periods of increased solar activity, when total solar irradiance is relatively high, the MDV climate system appears to be dominated by air masses originating from the Ross Sea, leading to higher aerosol deposition. During reduced solar activity, the Antarctic interior seems to be the dominant air-mass source, leading to lower aerosol concentration in the ice-core record. We propose that the sensitivity of the MDV to variations in solar irradiance is caused by strong albedo differences between the ice-free MDV and the ice sheet.

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