The pH value and electrical conductivity of atmospheric environment from ice cores in the Tianshan Mountains

Electrical Conductivity Measurement （ECM） from ice core is a representative index for atmospheric environmental change. The pH value and ECM from three shallow ice cores （each 3.85 m, 231 ice samples total） on Glacier No.1 at the headwater of Urumqi River, Glacier No.48 in Kuitun area, and Miaoergou Glacier in Hami area in the eastern Tianshan Mountains, western China, were measured and analyzed for atmospheric environment records research. Ice core record shows that the changing trend of pH and ECM in three sites in recent years is different： ECM in Kuitun increases with the ice depth change, but ECM in Hami and Urumqi Glacier No.1 ice cores show a decreasing trend. Average ECM value in Hami is much larger than other two sites, just as the dust concentration and ions concentration are also very high in this site. ECM records in all three sites are mainly affected by aerosol mineral dust of Central Asia, and correlative coefficients of ECM and mineral ions such as Ca^2＋, Mg^2＋, Na^2＋ are all significantly high. The pH value and ECM are also significantly high correlative coefficients in the eastern Tianshan Mountains. Comparison between the eastern Tianshan Mountains and other sites in western China, and Polar Regions, shows that the difference of ECM can very well reflect the spatial difference of worldwide atmospheric environment.

A COMPARISON: PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE RECORDS OF CHINESE LESS AND ANTARCTIC ICE CORES OVER LAST 150,000 YEARS

Studies on Chinese loess and a comparison with Antarctic ice cores provided a general pattern of global environmental change and the regional differentiation over last 150,000 years. Climatic change revealed by magnetic susceptibility of Linxia loess section in China was paralled with temperature variation revealed by δD of Vostok ice core over last 150,000 years, which indicates a pattern of climatic change tendencies on a long-scale (thousand years). However, the ranges of variation at the same phase, especially, during the last Inter-glacial age (80,000-140,000 a.B.P.) were more different between Chinese loess sections and Antarctic ice cores.

A concise overview on historical black carbon in ice cores and remote lake sediments in the northern hemisphere

Black Carbon(BC),as a driver of environmental change,could significantly impact the snow by accelerating melting and decreasing albedo.Systematic documentation of BC studies is crucial for a better understanding of its spatial and temporal trends.This study reviewed the BC studies in the ice core and remote lake sediments and their sources in the northern hemisphere.The literature surveyed points to around 2.9 to 3.7 times increase of BC in the European Alps and up to a three-fold increase of BC in the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau(HTP)after the onset of industrialization in Europe and Asia,respectively.BC concentration from Greenland ice core showed seven times increase with an interrupted trend after 1950's.South Asian emissions were dominant in the HTP along with a contribution from the Middle East,whereas Western European and local emissions were responsible for the change in BC concentration in the European Alps.In the Arctic,contributions from North America,Europe and Asia persisted.Similarly,a historical reconstruction of lake sediments records demonstrates the effects of emissions from long-range transport,sediment focusing,local anthropogenic activities,precipitation and total input of flux on the BC concentration.

Review of pre-processing technologies for ice cores

High-resolution ice core records covering long time spans enable reconstruction of the past climatic and environmental conditions allowing the investigation of the earth system's evolution. Preprocessing of ice cores has direct impacts on the data quality control for further analysis since the conventional ice core processing is time-consuming, produces qualitative data, leads to ice mass loss, and leads to risks of potential secondary pollution. However, over the past several decades, preprocessing of ice cores has received less attention than the improvement of ice drilling, the analytical methodology of various indices, and the researches on the climatic and environmental significance of ice core records. Therefore, this papers reviews the development of the processing for ice cores including framework, design as well as materials, analyzes the technical advantages and disadvantages of the different systems. In the past, continuous flowanalysis(CFA) has been successfully applied to process the polar ice cores. However, it is not suitable for ice cores outside polar region because of high level of particles, the memory effect between samples, and the filtration before injection. Ice core processing is a subtle and professional operation due to the fragility of the nonmetallic materials and the random distribution of particles and air bubbles in ice cores, which aggravates uncertainty in the measurements. The future developments of CFA are discussed in preprocessing, memory effect, challenge for brittle ice, coupling with real-time analysis and optimization of CFA in the field. Furthermore, non-polluting cutters with many different configurations could be designed to cut and scrape in multiple directions and to separate inner and outer portions of the core. This system also needs to be coupled with streamlined operation of packaging, coding, and stacking that can be implemented at high resolution and rate, avoiding manual intervention. At the same time, information of the longitudinal sections could be scanned andidentified, and then classified to obtain quantitative data. In addition, irregular ice volume and weight can also be obtained accurately. These improvements are recorded automatically via user-friendly interfaces. These innovations may be applied to other paleomedias with similar features and needs.

Atmospheric Methane in Ice Cores

The reconstruction of air trapped in ice cores provides us the most direct information about atmospheric CH4 variations in the past history. Ice core records from the ＂Three Poles （Antarctica, Greenland and Tibetan Plateau）＂ reveal the detailed fluctuations of atmospheric CH4 concentration with time and are allowed to quantify the CH4 differences among latitudes. These data are indispensably in the farther study of the relationship between greenhouse gases and climatic change, and of the past changes in terrestrial CH4 emissions. Ice cores reconstruction indicates that atmospheric CH4 concentration has increased quickly since industrialization, and the present day＇s level of atmospheric CH4 （1800 ppby） is unprecedented during the past Glacial-Interglacial climate cycles.

Comparative studies in method for stratigraphical structure measurement of ice cores: Identification of cloudy bands

Cloudy bands are typical stratigraphic structure in deep ice core. Detailed recording of cloudy bands is important for dating of ice core since pair of series cloudy band and clear layer is corresponds to annual layer and it sometimes corresponds to volcanic ash layer. We developed two type scanners, transmitted light method and laser tomograph method for the stratigraphic study. Measurements were carried out for NGRIP deep ice core, which containing many cloudy bands, using the two type scanners and digital camera. We discussed about the possibility of identification of cloudy bands by each method and about advantage and disadvantage of measurements and their results.

An Overview of the Studies on Black Carbon and Mineral Dust Deposition in Snow and Ice Cores in East Asia

Black carbon （BC） is the most eff ective insoluble light-absorbing particulate （ILAP）, which can strongly absorb solar radiation at visible wavelengths. Once BC is deposited in snow via dry or wet process, even a small amount of BC could signifi cantly decrease snow albedo, enhance absorption of solar radiation, accelerate snow melting, and cause climate feedback. BC is considered the second most important component next to CO2 in terms of global warming. Similarly, mineral dust （MD） is another type of ILAP. So far, little attention has been paid to quantitative measurements of BC and MD deposition on snow surface in the midlatitudes of East Asia, especially over northern China. In this paper, we focus on reviewing several experiments performed for collecting and measuring scavenging BC and MD in the high Asian glaciers over the mountain range （such as the Himalayas） and in seasonal snow over northern China. Results from the surveyed literature indicate that the absorption of ILAP in seasonal snow is dominated by MD in the Qilian Mountains and by local soil dust in the Inner Mongolian region close to dust sources. The detection of BC in snow and ice cores using modern techniques has a large bias and uncertainty when the snow sample is mixed with MD. Evidence also indicates that the reduction of snow albedo by BC and MD perturbations can signifi cantly increase the net surface solar radiation, cause surface air temperature to rise, reduce snow accumulation, and accelerate snow melting.

THE HISTORICAL CLIMATIC RECORDS IN ICE CORES FROM THE SURFACE LAYER OF WILKES LAND, ANTARCTICA

The information preserved in the surface layer of the Antarctic ice sheet is so abundant and detailed that in the areas with a high accumulation rate the annual climatic changes in the past can be distinguished. After conducting an investigation into the stratigraphical features of ice cores from two typical shallow boreholes in the Wilkes Land, one inland and another near the margin, analyzing δ(~18)O and the gross β radioactivity in the cores, as well as anslyzing the power spectra of δ^(18)O, the authors present some important assessments on the climatic information in the past several decades therein such as the annual mean temperature and precipitation, and suggest that there is a period of 11 years with which the climate changes cyclically in East Antactica. Such a studying method will be of value in both theory and practice to the inland Antarctica, where direct meteorological observation is deficient.

Late Holocene glacier variations indicated by theδ18O of ice core enclosed gaseous oxygen in the central Tibetan Plateau

Theδ18O of ice core enclosed gaseous oxygen(δ18Obub)has been widely used for climate reconstruction in polar regions.Yet,less is known about its climatic implication in the mountainous glaciers as the lack of continuous record.Here,we present a long-term,continuousδ18Obub record from the Tanggula glacier in the central Tibetan Plateau(TP).Based on comparisons of its variation with regional climate and glacier changes,we found that there was a good correlation between the variation of theδ18Obub in this alpine ice core and the accumulation and melting of this glacier.The more developed the firn layer on glacier surface,the more positive theδ18Obub.Conversely,the more intense the glacier melting,the more negative theδ18Obub.Combined with the chronology of ice core enclosed gases,the glacier variations since the late Holocene in the central TP were reconstructed.The result showed that there were four accumulation and three deficit periods of glaciers in this region.The strongest glacier accumulation period was 1610-300 B.C.,which corresponds to the Neoglaciation.The most significant melting period was the last 100 years,which corresponds to the recent global warming.The Medieval Warm Period was relatively significant in the central TP.However,during the Little Ice Age,there was no significant glacier accumulation in the central TP,and even short deficit events occurred.Comparisons of the late Holocene glacier variation in the central TP with glacier and climate variations in the TP and the Northern Hemisphere showed that it was closely related to the North Atlantic Oscillation.

The older ice,the better science

Ice cores have revolutionized our views of the Earth system.They record past climatic and environmental parameters that range on time scales from synoptic events to hundreds of thousands of years.For instance,the Vostok ice core reached an age of 420 ka(thousand years)(Figure 1),revealing a close linkage between climate and greenhouse gas concentrations over the last four glacial-interglacial cycles(Petit et al.,1999).

Crucial physical characteristics of sea ice in the Arctic section of 143°–180°W during August and early September 2008

Sea-ice physical characteristics were investigated in the Arctic section of 143^-180~W during Au- gust and early September 2008. Ship-based observations show that both the sea-ice thickness and concentration recorded during southward navigation from 30 August to 6 September were remark- ably less than those recorded during northward navigation from 3 to 30 August, especially at low latitudes. Accordingly, the marginal ice zone moved from about 74.0~N to about 79.5~N from mid-August to early September. Melt-pond coverage increased with increasing latitude~ peaking at 84.4~N, where about 27% of ice was covered by melt ponds. Above this latitude, melt-pond coverage decreased evidently as the ice at high latitudes experienced a relatively short melt season and commenced its growth stage by the end of August. Regional mean ice thickness increased from 0.8 （~=0.5） m at 75.0~N to 1.5 （＋0.4） m at 85.0~N along the northward navigation while it decreased rapidly to 0.6 （-t-0.3） m at 78.0~N along the southward navigation. Because of relatively low ice concentration and thin ice in the investigated Arctic sector, both the short-term ice stations and ice camp could only be set up over multiyear sea ice. Observations of ice properties based on ice cores collected at the short-term ice stations and the ice camp show that all investigated floes were essentially isothermal with high temperature and porosity, and low density and salinity. Most ices had salinity below 2 and mean density of 800-860 kg/m3. Significant ice loss in the investigated Arctic sector during the last 15 a can be identified by comparison with the previous observations.

Variation of culturable bacteria along depth in the East Rongbuk ice core,Mt.Everest

Ice melt water from a 22.27 m ice core which was drilled from the East Rongbuk Glacier, Mt. Everest was incubation in two incubation ways： plate melt water directly and enrichment melt water prior plate, respectively. The abundance of cultivable bacteria ranged from 0-295 CFU mL-I to 0--1720 CFU mL-1 in two incubations with a total of 1385 isolates obtained. Comparing to direct cultivation, enrichment cultivation recovered more bacteria. Pigment-producing bacteria accounted for an average of 84.9% of total isolates. Such high percentage suggested that pigment production may be an adaptive physiological feature for the bacteria in ice core to cope with strong ultraviolet radiation on the glacier. The abundances of cultivable bacteria and pigment-producing isolates varied synchronously along depth： higher abundance in the middle and lower at the top and bottom. It indicated that the middle part of the ice core was hospitable for the microbial survival. Based on the physiological properties of the colonies, eighty-nine isolates were selected for phylogenetic analysis. Obtained 16S rRNA gene sequences fell into four groups： Firmicutes, Alpha-Proteobacteria, Gamma-Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, with the Firmicutes being dominant. Microbial compositions derived from direct and enrichment cultivations were not overlapped. We suggest that it is a better way to explorethe culturable microbial diversity in ice core by combining the approaches of both direct and enrichment cultivation.

Dome Argus: Ideal site for deep ice drilling

Located on the centre of ice drainage range, the highest Dome Argus （Dome A） of East Antarctic Ice Sheet （EAIS）, could be represented as an ideal site for deep ice cores drilling containing oldest paleo-climate records. To select a suitable drilling site for deep ice core, it needs gather all information pertaining to the local meteorology, ice sheet landforms, ice thickness, subgla- cial topography of bed rocks, ice velocity, internal structures of ice sheet, etc. Based on the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences （IPICS）, we present recent achievement of glaciological research and its perspective at Dome A in this paper. We system- atically discussed the merits and possible ventures of potential drilling sites around Dome A. Among all the candidates, we find that the Chinese Antarctic Kunlun Station is the best site for and assess further the possibility to obtain a replicate core for carrying out the first deep ice core drilling campaign. We emphasize studying dynamics and evolution of climate change.

Glaciochemical records from Naimona’Nyi ice core in the Himalayas

A 6-m ice core was recovered in 2004 from the Naimona＇Nyi Glacier, the middle Himalayas. Empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis on the major ion reveals that EOF1 represents the variations of majority of ions which may be originated from crustal aerosols. Comparing the calcium concentrations from the Naimona＇Nyi with these from Dasuopu, East Rongbuk and Guliya ice cores, it is observed that calcium, a good indicator of the input of crustal aerosol in snow, concentrates mostly in the Guliya ice core located on the northern Tibetan Plateau, and gradually decreases from west to east in the Himalayas.

Anthropogenic trace metals in an ice core at Vestfonna,Svalbard, Norway

A 211 m depth ice core observation was carried out at the top of the Vestfonna Ice Cap in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, Norway in 1995. Chronology of the ice core was determined by tritium analysis and comparison to the volcanic eruption of Laki; the resulting accumulation rate is 0.34 0.35 m water eq.·yr -1 for the last 400 year. Concentrations of Al, V, Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Ag, Cd, Pb and U in an ice core have been determined by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS) with a desolvated micro concentric nebulizer, which is a recent development and can achieve high sensitivity with low uptake rate of 60 mL/min. The concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn had increased from 1940s declined from 1970s to present. However, the profiles of Pb, Cu, and Zn were different and they seem to be influenced by the difference of sources. Since the ratios between Cu, Pb, and Zn in Svalbard is similar to that in French Alps, the source area of these elements is estimated to be Europe.

Source of major ions from an ice core of the No.12 Glacier in Laohugou Valley,Qilian Mountain

In June 2006,a 20.12 m shallow ice core was recovered from an elevation of 5,040 m in the northern branch firn basin of No.12 Glacier,Great Snow Mountain,in the western part of Qilian Mountain,China.Isotopes(δ 18 O),major soluble ions,and radionuclide(β-activity) measurements from the ice core revealed a 46-year record(1960-2006).In this paper,the method of sea-salt ion tracer,correlation analysis and trend analysis were used in this research to confirm the source of the chemical composition.The correlation analysis and HYSPLIT backward trajectory analysis suggests that atmospheric soluble dust species dominate the chemical signature.

The δ^(18)O in the Guliya shallow ice core during the prevailing summer monsoons and sea-air interactions

The correlations of the d18Omax in the shallow ice core from the Guliya ice cap on the Tibetan Plateau with the global sea surface temperatures (SST) and height at the 500 hPa over the Northern Hemisphere were analyzed. The correlated regions on oceans that have a significant influence on the d18Omax in the Guliya ice core are all located in ocean currents, or convergent regions of currents. They are the eastern Equatorial Pacific, the Northern Pacific Current, the Hot Pool in the eastern Indian Ocean, the Mozambique Current, the Northern Atlantic Current, the Canary Current and the Atlantic Equatorial Current. The d18Omax in the Guliya ice core has negative correlations with the SST located in the lower latitudes, and positive correlations with the SST in the middle latitudes. The correlated areas at the 500 hPa that have a great impact on the d18Omax are located in the subtropical highs over the mid-low-latitude oceans and the long-wave trough area over Balkhash Lake, where there are marked negative correlations between the heights in those areas and the d18Omax. The influencing mechanism is displayed by the diversity of the vapor origins transported to the Guliya region. The strengths of the European ridge and the ridge over Baikal Lake have notable positive correlations with the d18Omax. The two systems indirectly influence the vapor transportation towards the Guliya region by the adjustment of long-wave trough and ridge.

Atmospheric Methane over the Past 2000 Years from a Sub-tropical Ice Core, Central Himalayas

A high-resolution 2ooo-year methane record has been constructed from an ice core recovered at 7200 m a.s.1, on the Dasuopu Glacier in the central Himalayas. This sub-tropical methane record reveals an increasing trend in the concentration of methane during the industrial era that is similar to observations from polar regions. However, we also observed the differences in the atmospheric methane mixing ratio between this monsoon record and those from polar regions during pre-industrial times. In the time interval o N 1850 A.D., the average methane concentration in the Dasuopu ice core was 782±40 ppbv and the maximum temporal variation exceeded 200 ppbv. The difference gradient of methane concentration in Dasuopu ice core with Greenland and Antarctica cores are 66±40 ppbv and 107±40 ppbv, respectively. This suggests that the tropical latitudes might have acted as a major global methane source in preindustrial times. In addition, the temporal fluctuation of the pre-industrial methane records suggests that monsoon evolution incorporated with high methane emission from south Asia might be responsible for the relatively high methane concentration observed in the Dasuopu ice core around A.D. 800 and A.D. 1600. These results provide a rough understanding of the contribution of tropical methane source to the global methane budget and also the relationship betweenatmospheric methane and climate change.

Response of magnitude of δ^(18)O in shallow ice core of Dasuopu Glacier in the Tibetan Plateau to large scale sea-air interaction

A close correlation between δ 18O in the shallow ice core in Dasuopu Glacier of the Tibetan Plateau and large scale SST is found. The marked correlated regions are mainly distributed in the ocean currents of the Oceans. The SST in different sea regions influences the precipitation and vapor origin of Dasuopu Glacier by way of its actions on atmospheric circulation. When the circulation situation favoring the transportation of oceanic vapor towards the glaciers of the southern Plateau appears, the δ18O in precipitation decreases, when that infavoring the transportation of oceanic vapor but favoring the transportation of the inland vapor towards the glaciers appears. the δ 18O in precipitation increases. Among various SST and circulation factors influencing δi8O in the ice core, the mean SST anomalies in the region A5 of the Northern Pacific Current and the position of the north boundary of Subtropical high over the South China Ocean have the important impact on the δ 18O in Dasuopu Glacier during midwinter,the mean SST anomalies in the region B of the Northern Pacific Current, the center position of the arctic vortex over the Northern Hemisphere and the strength of the arctic vortex over the Pacific have the important impact on the δ 18O in the Dasuopu Glacier during midsummer. The variations of these factors restrict the magnitude of δ 18O in the ice core, and their influence all have the omen.

A 290-a record of atmospheric circulation over the North Pacific from a Mt. Logan ice core, Yukon Territory

Calibrations between sodium （Na^＋） concentrations from a Mt. Logan ice core and sea level pressure （SLP） series show that Na^＋ concentrations are closely correlated with the autumn-time （September-October-November） Aleutian low （AleuLow）. A deepening of the AleuLow strengthens the transport of sea-salt aerosols from the North Pacific to the Mt. Logan region. The Mt. Logan Na^＋ record is used to develop a 292 a （1688-1979） reconstruction of the AleuLow revealing a dramatic intensification of atmospheric circulation over the North Pacific region since the 20th century. Mean SLP of the AleuLow was about 1 hPa lower during the 20th century than during prior periods. The strongest deepening of the AleuLow appeared in the 1950s. Significant correlations are also found between the Mt. Logan AleuLow proxy series and the Pacific decadal oscillation （PDO） and Pacific circulation （PC） index during the 20th century. Evolutionary spectral analysis of the proxy record shows significant periodicities from 15 to 30 a consistent with PDO fluctuations and the bidecadal oscillation of North Pacific atmosphere-ocean circulation. A period of 11 a in the AleuLow record may be associated with the Schwabe 11-a cycle of sunspot activity. Additional longer ice core records from this region will aid in the efforts to further understand the climatic change over the North Pacific region.