Sea Ice Versus Storms: What Controls Sea Salt in Arctic Ice Cores?

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The sea ice surface is thought to be a major source of sea salt aerosol, suggesting that sodium records of polar ice cores may trace past sea ice extent. Here we test this possibility for the Arctic, using a chemical transport model to simul...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rhodes, RH, Yang, X, Wolff, EW
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2018
Subjects:
sea salt aerosol
sea ice proxy
chemical transport model
Arctic
ice core
Greenland
Greenland ice cores
Sea ice
Online Access:https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/280431
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.27802
Description
Summary:<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The sea ice surface is thought to be a major source of sea salt aerosol, suggesting that sodium records of polar ice cores may trace past sea ice extent. Here we test this possibility for the Arctic, using a chemical transport model to simulate aerosol emission, transport, and deposition in the satellite era. Our simulations suggest that sodium records from inland Greenland ice cores are strongly influenced by the impact of meteorology on aerosol transport and deposition. In contrast, sodium in coastal Arctic cores is predominantly sourced from the sea ice surface and the strength of these aerosol emissions controls the ice core sodium variability. Such ice cores may therefore record decadal to centennial scale Holocene sea ice changes. However, any relationship between ice core sodium and sea ice change may depend on how sea ice seasonality impacts sea salt emissions. Field‐based observations are urgently required to constrain this.</jats:p> European Union Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (658120, SEADOG) awarded to RHR. EWW acknowledges support from the Royal Society (RP 120096) XY acknowledges funding from NERC (NE/J023051/1).

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