Refining the isotopic (Sr-Nd) signature of potential source areas for glacial dust in East Antarctica

The geographical origin of the mineral dust transported to the East Antarctic Plateau from the Southern Hemisphere (SH) continents has been investigated by means of the isotopic (Sr-Nd) signature of samples from Potential Source Areas (PSAs). Dust reaching Antarctica is fine-grained (<5 um), and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Delmonte, B, Basile-Doelsch, I, Petit, J, Michard, A, Revel-Rolland, M, Maggi, V, Gemmiti, B
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10281/17855
https://doi.org/10.1051/jp4:20030317
Description
Summary:The geographical origin of the mineral dust transported to the East Antarctic Plateau from the Southern Hemisphere (SH) continents has been investigated by means of the isotopic (Sr-Nd) signature of samples from Potential Source Areas (PSAs). Dust reaching Antarctica is fine-grained (<5 um), and therefore the new isotopic fields have been defined in the equivalent size range. The so obtained dataset evidences a partial overlap among the signatures of the Ice Core dust and South America, New Zealand and the Antarctic Dry Valleys, while South Africa appear distinctly different; further data are needed for the Australian continent. Despite the geochemical similarity with the Dry Valleys and New Zealand, Southern South America still appears to be the most probable source for dust in Antarctica in glacial times