60 years record of biogenic sulfur from Lambert Glacier basin firn core, East Antarctica

Author: Junying Sun   Jiawen Ren   Dahe Qin  

Publisher: International Glaciological Society

ISSN: 1727-5644

Source: Annals of Glaciology, Vol.35, Iss.1, 2002-01, pp. : 362-367

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Abstract

A 15.2 m deep firn core and a 2.7m snow pit were drilled in the western side of Lambert Glacier basin, East Antarctica, in January 1993.The sampling site LGB16 (72.8° S, 57.3° E) is located about 650 km from the coast, at approximately 2690 m a.s.l. The concentration of methanesulfonate (MSA) was determined in the firn core and snow pit.The continuous MSA record from LGB16, spanning about 60 years from 1933 to 1992, displays a decreasing trend in general, and sharp differences between the upper 10.2 m (corresponding to AD1952) and the bottom part from 10.2 to 15.2 m. The mean MSA concentration for the whole core is 11.3 ±14.5 ng g-1; for the upper 10.2 m it is 9.3 ± 6.3 ng g-1, compared to 15.4 ± 23.0 ng g-1 for the bottom part.The bottom part has a greater number of high MSA peaks, which is consistent with the Cl- and, to a lesser extent, Na+ records for this core. A negative correlation was observed between sea-ice area for the South Indian Ocean sector (40-90° E) and MSA concentration in LGB16. No significant link was observed between the high MSA concentration and El Niño events at this location.

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