Siple Dome shallow ice cores: a study in coastal dome microclimatology

Ice cores at Siple Dome, West Antarctica, receive the majority of their precipitation from Pacific Ocean moisture sources. Pacific climate patterns, particularly the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), affect local temperature, atmospheric circulation, snow accum...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate of the Past
Main Authors: T. R. Jones, J. W. C. White, T. Popp
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2014
Subjects:
geo
envir
Antarctic
Dome The
Pacific
Siple
Siple Dome
West Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1253-2014
http://www.clim-past.net/10/1253/2014/cp-10-1253-2014.pdf
https://doaj.org/article/5db0a4e939ec4f3e8b6c5bef1193130a
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Summary:Ice cores at Siple Dome, West Antarctica, receive the majority of their precipitation from Pacific Ocean moisture sources. Pacific climate patterns, particularly the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), affect local temperature, atmospheric circulation, snow accumulation, and water isotope signals at Siple Dome. We examine borehole temperatures, accumulation, and water isotopes from a number of shallow ice cores recovered from a 60 km north–south transect of the dome. The data reveal spatial gradients partly explained by orographic uplift, as well as microclimate effects that are expressed differently on the Pacific and inland flanks. Our analyses suggest that while an ENSO and SAM signal are evident at Siple Dome, differences in microclimate and possible postdepositional movement of snow makes climate reconstruction problematic, a conclusion which should be considered at other West Antarctic coastal dome locations.

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