Accumulation and geochemical evidence for the Little Ice Age episode in eastern Antarctica

Data on accumulation and concentration of chemical compounds recorded in an essentially unexplored area(Dome Argus)of the Indian Ocean sector of eastern Antarctica during the past 2,680 years(680 B.C. to 1999 A.D.) are presented. During the first 1, 700 years(680 B. C. to 1000 A. D.), the accumulation data shows a slightly decreasing trend, while chemical ions appear to be stable, representing a stable climatic condition. An intensive increasing trend of the accumulation occurred during the 12^(th) to 14^(th) century. The period from 15^(th) to 19^(th) century was characterized by a rapid reducing accumulation and concentrations of volatile compounds suffering post-depositional loss linked to sparse precipitation amount,which was temporally consistent with the Little Ice Age(LIA) episode. Comparison between observed accumulation rates with other eastern Antarctic ice cores show a consistent decreasing trend during LIA, while sea salt and dust-originated ions increased due to sea ice extent and intensified atmospheric transportation. Distribution of volcanic originated sulfate over the Antarctic continent show a significant change during the 15^(th) century, coincident with the onset of the LIA. These results are important for the assessment of Antarctic continent mass balance and associated interpretation of the Dome A deep ice core records.

Comparison of temperature extremes between Zhongshan Station and Great Wall Station in Antarctica

Although temperature extremes have led to more and more disasters, there are as yet few studies on the extremes and many disagreements on temperature changes in Antarctica. Based on daily minimum, maximum, and mean air temperatures(Tmin, Tmax, Tmean) at Great Wall Station(GW) and Zhongshan Station(ZS), we compared the temperature extremes and revealed a strong warming trend in Tmin, a slight warming trend in Tmean, cooling in Tmax, a decreasing trend in the daily temperature range, and the typical characteristic of coreless winter temperature. There are different seasonal variabilities, with the least in summer. The continentality index and seasonality show that the marine air mass has more effect on GW than ZS. Following the terminology of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC AR5), we defined nine indices of temperature extremes, based on the Antarctic geographical environment. Extreme-warm days have decreased, while extreme-warm nights have shown a nonsignificant trend. The number of melting days has increased at GW, while little change at ZS. More importantly, we have found inverse variations in temperature patterns between the two stations, which need further investigation into the dynamics of climate change in Antarctica.

Sources, evolution and impacts of EC and OC in snow on sea ice： a measurement study in Barrow, Alaska

Based on the field measurements in Barrow, Alaska within the period of April-May 2015, we investigate the sources and variations of elemental carbon(EC) and organic carbon(OC) in the surface layer of snowpack on sea ice, and estimate their effects on the sea ice albedo. Results show that the snow OC in Barrow are from natural sources(e.g. terrestrial higher plants and micro-organisms) mainly, as well as biomass burning(e.g. forest fires and straw combustion) as an important part. Both EC and OC can accumulate at the snow surface with snow melt. The variations in EC and OC and liquid water content in the snow layer are well consistent during the snow-melting period. A higher rate of snow melt implied a more efficient enrichment of EC and OC. In the last phase of snow melt, the concentration increased to a maximum of 16.2 ng/g for EC and 128 ng/g for OC, which is ~10 times larger than those before snow melt onset. Except for the dominant influence of melt amplification mechanism, the variation in concentrations of EC and OC could be disturbed by the air temperature fluctuation and snowfall. Our study indicates that the lightabsorbing impurities contributed 1.6%-5.1% to the reduction in sea ice albedo with melt during the measurement period. The significant period oflight-absorbing impurities influencing on sea ice albedo begins with the rapid melting of overlying snow and ends before the melt ponds formed widely, which lasted for about 10 days in Barrow, 2015.