Firn-air δ15N in modern polar sites and glacial–interglacial ice: a model-data mismatch during glacial periods in Antarctica?

• Published in: Quaternary Science Reviews
• Main Authors: Landais, Amaelle, Barnola, Jean-Marc, Kawamura, Kenji, Caillon, Nicolas, Delmotte, M., van Ommen, T., Dreyfus, G., Jouzel, Jean, Masson-Delmotte, Valérie, Minster, B., Freitag, J., Leuenberger, M., Schwander, Jakob, Huber, C., Etheridge, D. M., Morgan, Vin
• Other Authors: Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Glaces et Continents, Climats et Isotopes Stables (GLACCIOS), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Center for Atmospheric and Oceanic Studies Sendai, Tohoku University Sendai, ICOS-RAMCES (ICOS-RAMCES), Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE-CRC), Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, Abteilung Klinische Sozialmedizin, Berufs- und Umweltdermatologie, Universität Heidelberg Heidelberg = Heidelberg University, Physics Institute, Universität Bern / University of Bern (UNIBE), CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, European projects FIRETRACC and CRYOSTAT
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Antarctic; Greenland; Byrd; Law Dome; Kohnen; Kohnen Station; Berkner Island; Dome F; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00375513; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.06.007

International audience The phase lag between atmospheric composition (air bubbles) and temperature (water isotopes) can be quantified from ice cores provided that the age difference between entrapped air and the surrounding air can be correctly estimated. This difference depends on the lock-in depth (LID), when air no longer mixes with the atmosphere. The LID can be estimated from firnification models or from the air isotopic composition (δ15N and δ40Ar). Both methods give consistent results for Greenland and one coastal site in Antarctica (Byrd). New firn measurements in Greenland (NorthGRIP) and Antarctica (Berkner Island, BAS depot, Dome C) confirm that firnification models correctly reproduce the present LID over a large range of surface conditions. However, a systematic mismatch is observed for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in East Antarctic sites (Vostok, Dome C, Dome F) questioning the model's validity. Here we use new δ15N measurements from two coastal Antarctic sites (Kohnen Station and Law Dome) providing depth estimates again distinct from firnification model calculations. We show that this discrepancy can be resolved by revising the estimate of past accumulation rates. δ15N measurements can therefore help to constrain past accumulation rate and improve ice core dating.