250 years of accumulation, oxygen isotope and chemical records in a firn core from Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

A 51.85-m tim core collected from site DT001 （accumulation rate 127 kgm^-2a^-1, mean annual temperature -33.1 ℃） on Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica, during the 1996-97 Chinese First Antarctic Inland Expedition has been analyzed for chemical composition and oxygen isotope ratio. A comparison between the seasonal variations of major ions was carried out in order to reduce the dating uncertainty, using the volcanic markers as time constrains. A deposition period of 251 years was determined. The calculated accumulation rates display an increasing trend before 1820, while after 1820, the trend of the accumulation is not obvious. Overall, temperature change in the region shows a slight increasing trend over the past 250 years. But, notably, a temperature decline of -2 ℃ is observed from 1860 to the present. This feature, at odds with the warming trend over the past century recorded in both hemispheres, likely reflects a regional characteristic related to the lack of a high latitude/low latitude link in the Southern Hemisphere circulation patterns. The results of the glaciochemical records of the firn core show that the mean concentrations of Cl^-, Na^＋ and Mg^2＋ are similar to those reported from other sites in East Antarctica. However, the mean concentration of Ca^2＋ is much higher than that reported from other regions, suggesting the influence of the strong local terrestrial sources in Princess Elizabeth Land. There is no evidence of a positive correlation between NO3^- concentrations and solar activity （11-year solar cycle and solar cycle length）, although solar proton events may account for some of the NO3^- peak values in the record.

Decreasing trend of temperature in Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica in the past 150 years

A 50-m firn core drilled in Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica, during the 1996/1997 Chinese First Antarctic Inland Expedition, has been measured for δ18O and major ions. Based on the high quality of the seasonal variations of major ions, the firn core was dated with errors within ±3 years. The features of the temperature change in the past 150 years in the investigated region have first been studied based on the oxygen isotope in the upper 32.93 m of the firn core. Results show that the temperature decreased nearly by 2°C in Princess Elizabeth Land in the past 150 years. On the background of the global, especially the Southern Hemispheric warming in the past 150 years, a temperature decline of 2°C in Princess Elizabeth Land likely reflects the impacts of the unique Southern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave (ACW) and the special terrain (such as the large drainage basins) on the coastal regions of Antarctica.