200-year ice core bromine reconstruction at Dome C (Antarctica): observational and modelling results

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Burgay, François, Fernández, Rafael Pedro, Segato, Delia, Turetta, Clara, Blaszczak-Boxe, Christopher S., Rhodes, Rachael H., Scarchilli, Claudio, Ciardini, Virginia, Barbante, Carlo, Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso, Spolaor, Andrea
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2023
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; Antarctic; East Antarctica; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Sea ice; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-391-2023; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00064708; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00063433/tc-17-391-2023.pdf; https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/391/2023/tc-17-391-2023.pdf

Bromine enrichment (Brenr) has been proposed as an ice core proxy for past sea-ice reconstruction. Understanding the processes that influence bromine preservation in the ice is crucial to achieve a reliable interpretation of ice core signals and to potentially relate them to past sea-ice variability. Here, we present a 210 years bromine record that sheds light on the main processes controlling bromine preservation in the snow and ice at Dome C, East Antarctic plateau. Using observations alongside a modelling approach, we demonstrate that the bromine signal is preserved at Dome C and it is not affected by the strong variations in ultraviolet radiation reaching the Antarctic plateau due to the stratospheric ozone hole. Based on this, we investigate whether the Dome C Brenr record can be used as an effective tracer of past Antarctic sea ice. Due to the limited time window covered by satellite measurements and the low sea-ice variability observed during the last 30 years in East Antarctica, we cannot fully validate Brenr as an effective proxy for past sea-ice reconstructions at Dome C.