Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air
Chemical and isotopic records obtained from polar ice cores have provided some of the most iconic datasets in Earth system science. Here, I discuss how the different records are formed in the ice sheets, emphasising in particular the contrast between chemistry held in the snow/ice phase, and that wh...
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ftucambridgeesc:oai:eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk:2851 2023-05-15T13:55:44+02:00 Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air Wolff, E. W. 2012-08 image http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/ http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/1/GA.gif http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/cs/c2cs35227c en eng Royal Society of Chemistry http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/1/GA.gif Wolff, E. W. (2012) Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air. Chemical Society Reviews, 41 (19). 6247 - 6258. ISSN 0306-0012, ESSN: 1460-4744 DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C <https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C > 01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems Article PeerReviewed 2012 ftucambridgeesc https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C 2020-08-27T18:09:27Z Chemical and isotopic records obtained from polar ice cores have provided some of the most iconic datasets in Earth system science. Here, I discuss how the different records are formed in the ice sheets, emphasising in particular the contrast between chemistry held in the snow/ice phase, and that which is trapped in air bubbles. Air diffusing slowly through the upper firn layers of the ice sheet can also be sampled in large volumes to give more recent historical information on atmospheric composition. The chemical and geophysical issues that have to be solved to interpret ice core data in terms of atmospheric composition and emission changes are also highlighted. Ice cores and firn air have provided particularly strong evidence about recent changes (last few decades to centuries), including otherwise inaccessible data on increases in compounds that are active as greenhouse gases or as agents of stratospheric depletion. On longer timescales (up to 800 000 years in Antarctica), ice cores reveal major changes in biogeochemical cycling, which acted as feedbacks on the very major changes in climate between glacial and interglacial periods. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica ice core Ice Sheet University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences: ESC Publications Chemical Society Reviews 41 19 6247 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences: ESC Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftucambridgeesc |
language |
English |
topic |
01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems |
spellingShingle |
01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems Wolff, E. W. Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
topic_facet |
01 - Climate Change and Earth-Ocean Atmosphere Systems |
description |
Chemical and isotopic records obtained from polar ice cores have provided some of the most iconic datasets in Earth system science. Here, I discuss how the different records are formed in the ice sheets, emphasising in particular the contrast between chemistry held in the snow/ice phase, and that which is trapped in air bubbles. Air diffusing slowly through the upper firn layers of the ice sheet can also be sampled in large volumes to give more recent historical information on atmospheric composition. The chemical and geophysical issues that have to be solved to interpret ice core data in terms of atmospheric composition and emission changes are also highlighted. Ice cores and firn air have provided particularly strong evidence about recent changes (last few decades to centuries), including otherwise inaccessible data on increases in compounds that are active as greenhouse gases or as agents of stratospheric depletion. On longer timescales (up to 800 000 years in Antarctica), ice cores reveal major changes in biogeochemical cycling, which acted as feedbacks on the very major changes in climate between glacial and interglacial periods. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wolff, E. W. |
author_facet |
Wolff, E. W. |
author_sort |
Wolff, E. W. |
title |
Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
title_short |
Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
title_full |
Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
title_fullStr |
Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
title_full_unstemmed |
Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
title_sort |
chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air |
publisher |
Royal Society of Chemistry |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/ http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/1/GA.gif http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/cs/c2cs35227c |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica ice core Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica ice core Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/2851/1/GA.gif Wolff, E. W. (2012) Chemical signals of past climate and environment from polar ice cores and firn air. Chemical Society Reviews, 41 (19). 6247 - 6258. ISSN 0306-0012, ESSN: 1460-4744 DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C <https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C > |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1039/C2CS35227C |
container_title |
Chemical Society Reviews |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
19 |
container_start_page |
6247 |
_version_ |
1766262568715812864 |