Dust record from the EPICA Dome C ice core, Antarctica, covering 0 to 800 kyr BP

Dust can affect the radiative balance of the atmosphere by absorbing or reflecting incoming solar radiation and it can be a source of micronutrients, such as iron, to the ocean. It has been suggested that production, transport, and deposition of dust is influenced by climatic changes on glacial-inte...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lambert, Fabrice, Delmonte, Barbara, Petit, Jean Robert, Bigler, Matthias, Kaufmann, Patrik R, Hutterli, Manuel A, Stocker, Thomas F, Ruth, Urs, Steffensen, Jørgen Peder, Maggi, Valter
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2008
Subjects:
Dome C
Antarctica
EDC
EPICA
EPICA Dome C
European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica
ICEDRILL
Ice drill
Antarc*
Antarctic
East Antarctica
ice core
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.695995
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.695995
Description
Summary:Dust can affect the radiative balance of the atmosphere by absorbing or reflecting incoming solar radiation and it can be a source of micronutrients, such as iron, to the ocean. It has been suggested that production, transport, and deposition of dust is influenced by climatic changes on glacial-interglacial timescales. Here we present a high-resolution aeolian dust record from the EPICA Dome C ice core in East Antarctica, which provides an undisturbed climate sequence over the last eight climatic cycles. We find that there is a significant correlation between dust flux and temperature records during glacial periods that is absent during interglacial periods. Our data suggests that dust flux is increasingly correlated with Antarctic temperature as climate becomes colder. We interpret this as progressive coupling of Antarctic and lower latitudes climate. Limited changes in glacial-interglacial atmospheric transport time Mahowald et al. (1999, doi:10.1029/1999JD900084), Jouzel et al. (2007, doi:10.1126/science.1141038), and Werner et al. (2002, doi:10.1029/2002JD002365) suggest that the sources and lifetime of dust are the major factors controlling the high glacial dust input. We propose that the observed ~25-fold increase in glacial dust flux over all eight glacial periods can be attributed to a strengthening of South American dust sources, together with a longer atmospheric dust particle life-time in the upper troposphere resulting from a reduced hydrological cycle during the ice ages.

Similar Items