Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Dominion Range Ice Core, Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica—General Site And Core Characteristics With Implications, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Mark S. Twickler, William Berry Lyons, Mary Jo Spencer, Debra A. Meese, Anthony J. Gow, Pieter Grootes, Todd Sowers, M. Scott Watson, Eric Saltzman

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The Transantarctic Mountains of East Antarctica provide a new milieu for retrieval of ice-core records. We report here on the initial findings from the first of these records, the Dominion Range ice-core record. Sites such as the Dominion Range are valuable for the recovery of records detailing climate change, volcanic activity, and changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere. The unique geographic location of this site and a relatively low accumulation rate combine to provide a relatively long record of change for this potentially sensitive climatic region. As such, information concerning the site and general core characteristics are presented, including …

Analysis Of A 290-Year Net Accumulation Time Series From Mt. Logan, Yukon, G. Holdsworth, H. R. Krouse, M. Nosal, M. J. Spencer, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

A 102.5-m mechanically continuous firn and ice core sequence retrieved from the Northwest Col of Mt. Logan (latitude 60°30'N; longitude 140°35'W; site location 5340 m a.s.l.) in the Yukon Territory, Canada, has been analyzed continuously for stable isotopes, pH and liquid electrolytic conductivity. Specific sections of the core have been analyzed for total β-activity (0-22 m) and trace ion concentrations (across major volcanic events) in order to date the core. In the lower half of the core, nitrate and some other ionic species are used to identify annual increments except between AD 1693 and AD 1720 and between AD 1729 …

Detailed Glaciochemical Investigations In Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica―A Proxy Climate Record, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Mark S. Twickler

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Advances in climate prediction depend on a knowledge of historical climatic sequences ranging in scale from decades to Millennia. Proxy data produced by pollen, sediment, tree rings,glacier fluctuations, and ice and snow cores are valuable in the construction of climatic sequences when direct observations of the atmosphere are either spatially or temporally lacking. Links between proxy data and the atmosphere generate the most confidence when actual components of climate are preserved in the proxy medium.

Ice-Core Records And Ozone Depletion—Potential For A Proxy Ozone Record, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Mary Jo Spencer, William Berry Lyons, Mark S. Twickler, J. Dibb

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Time-series of the ionic composition in polar ice cores can provide detailed direct and proxy records of seasonal to Millenial scale fluctuations in climate, atmospheric chemistry, and volcanic activity. Even though problems of species-source links and air/snow fractionation have not all been entirely resolved,the fact remains that ice cores currently hold the best hope of retrieving detailed paleo-atmospheric records. While direct links between the chemistry in ice cores and the ozone depletion phenomenon cannot be guaranteed, ice-core records provide the only means by which signals related to the ozone cycle can be produced for pre-measurement periods or for unmonitored sites. …

Transantarctic Mountains Ice Core Study, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Several sites within the Transantarctic Mountains fit the requirements necessary for the retrieval of ice cores that can provide valuable information concerning climate change and atmospheric chemistry.

Snow Chemistry From Xixabangma Peak, Tibet, Paul Andrew Mayewski, William Berry Lyons, Mary Jo Spencer, Jerry L. Clayton

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

[From conclusion] Although the cause of the differences in chemistry of the Xixabangma glacier fresh snow events cannot be adequately inferred from the limited number of samples available for this study, the existence of such different chemical signatures is encouraging for future studies in the region.

The Dominion Range Ice Core, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Localized-accumulation basins in the Transantarctic Mountains contain sites yielding ice-cores that provide highly detailed (seasonal to annual resolution, depending upon depth),several-thousand-year records of glacial history, climatic change, volcanic activity, and atmospheric chemistry. The scientific attraction of these sites, first, their geographic location with respect to other ice-core studies (which are most commonly recovered from inland sectors of the antarctic ice sheet)and second, the fact that Transantarctic Mountain sites are more directly comparable to glacial geologic records because the latter are usually based on studies in these mountains. Although the ice-core records from these sites cover shorter periods than glacial geologic …

The Glaciochemistry Of Snowpits From Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru, 1982, W. Berry Lyons, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Lonnie G. Thompson, Boyd Allen Iii

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

We present glaciochemical data from a pilot study of two snow-pits from Quelccaya ice cap, Peruvian Andes. These are the first samples to be analyzed from Quelccaya for nitrate and sulfate by ion chromatography (IC), for nitrate-plus-nitrite, reactive silicate and reactive iron by colorimetry, and for sodium by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The 3 m pits used in this study represent a one year record of mass accumulation and the 29 samples collected provide the first glaciochemical data from this area which can be compared with glaciochemical studies from other locations.

Reactive iron, reactive silicate and sodium, and the profiles of …

Glaciochemical Studies And Estimated Net Mass Balances For Rennick Glacier Area, Antarctica, Boyd Allen Iii, Paul Andrew Mayewski, W. Berry Lyons, Mary Jo Spencer

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Two snow and ice cores from the Rennick Glacier area, Antarctica (study area center point lat 71° 15' S, long 162° 30' E) were analyzed for the chemical species: chloride, sodium, reactive silicate, sulfate and nitrate. Core E1O (6.35 m) was taken from Evans Névé, a large accumulation basin at the head of Rennick Glacier. Core M1 (4.35 m) was extracted from the accumulation zone on the central plateau of the Morozumi Range, a small mountain massif bordering Rennick Glacier. Cores E1O and M1 span the time periods from 1929 to 1981 and from 1971 to 1981, respectively, as dated …

A Preliminary Assessment Of The Potential Application Of Glaciochemical Investigations On Heard Island, South Indian Ocean, Mary Jo Spencer, Paul Andrew Mayewski, William Berry Lyons, Martin R. Hendy

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Analyses of fluoride, chloride, sodium, sulfate, bromide. nitrate, and iron from a 3 m snow pit on Heard Island, collected at an elevation of 2450, m are used to assess the potential of glaciochemical studies on Heard Island glaciers. Sources Cor the chemical species are identified and, in particular, chloride, sodium, and sulCate are found to be useful seasonal indication. The total record measured is believed to be less than one mass-balance year.

Using An Ice Core To Characterize The Climatic History Of Antarctica, Paul Andrew Mayewski, W. B. Lyons

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Between 20 November and 14 December 1984, a remote tent camp was operated in the Dominion Range (center point, 85° 15' S 166° 10 'E) on an ice-covered massif located at the confluence of the heads of the Beardmore and Mill Glaciers in the Transantarctic Mountains. The camp was occupied by four members of the Glacier Research Group (University of New Hampshire) and three members of the Polar lee Coring Office (PICO) (University of Nebraska). The main task at the site was to retrieve an ice core from which chemical and physical time series will be made available to help …

Nitrate Plus Nitrite Concentrations In A Himalayan Ice Core, William Berry Lyons, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The measurement of chemical constituents in glacial ice has been useful in discerning historic trends in chemical deposition and hence paleo-atmospheric records in remote areas (Thompson and Mosley - Thompson, 1981; Johnson and Chamberlain, 1981; Ng and Patterson, 1981; Neftel et al., 1982). However, delineating the sources of the deposited chemical species in question is not always straightforward. This has been especially true for nitrate. Although it is now believed that man-made emissions are responsible for a high percentage of nitrate being deposited in remote areas of the Northern Hemisphere, numerous natural sources, named and unnamed, have also contributed to …

Chemical Composition Of A High Altitude Fresh Snowfall In The Ladakh Himalayas, Paul Andrew Mayewski, William Berry Lyons, N Ahmad

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Studies of the chemical constituents in Antarctic and Greenland snow and ice cores have proven to be extremely useful for determining the composition of the atmosphere during past climatic events (Boutron and Delmas, 1980; Herron, 1982) and hence provide data concerning climatic change. Despite the potential for the collection of similar types of information from high altitude temperate glacier snow and ice cores, their study has been limited. In addition, unlike polar ice sheets, high altitude temperate glaciers are not only close to populated area but have higher accumulation rates. Owing to the latter, preservation of detailed records on sub-annual …

Ice Mass Fluctuations In Northernvictoria Land, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

[From the introduction] Rennick Glacier is one of the major ice drainages for the northern Victoria Land sector of East Antarctica. Unlike glaciers farther south along the Transantarctic Mountains, Rennick Glacier does not drain into the Ross Ice Shelf but flows directly into a seasonally ice-covered ocean. Therefore, current fluctuations of this glacier are unhampered by the dampening effects of the Ross Ice Shelf. The primary controls on the activity of this glacier and others in this region are mass balance and sea level.

Source And Climatic Implication Of The Reactive Iron And Reactive Silicate Concentration Found In A Core From Meserve Glacier, Antartica, Paul Andrew Mayewski, William Berry Lyons

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Glaciochemistry has recently provided a useful tool in the study of snow accumulation rates (Herron and Langway, 1979; Bulter et al., 1980 Warburton and Young, 1981; Mayewski et al., in press) and the elucidation of long-term climatic change (Delmas et al., 1980; Thompson and Mosley-Thompson, 1981) as well as the definition of aerosol/precipitation source areas (Warburton and Linkletter, 1978). Recent glaciochemical work from Antarctica has suggested that although cations associated with seasalt(Na, Mg, Ca and K) decrease in concentration as one proceeds inland, crustally-derived chemical species such as Al and Fe remain relatively constant in snow and ice (Boutron and …

Geochemical And Glacio-Geomorphic Implications Of Basalt Weathering In The Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica, R. W. Talkington, Paul Andrew Mayewski, H. E. Gaudette

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Summary. The weathering of a suite of basalt clasts. that have been transported by mass wasting downslope in the Cumulus Hills region of the Queen Maud Mountains. Antarctica. is examined from both geochemical and glacio-geomorphic viewpoints. Chemical weathering. predominantly oxidation and hydration. increases in severity from clast core to rim for the suite. These weathering processes and concomitant formation of a weathering rind are suggested to be an accumulative process. culminating in the disaggregation of the rock due in part both to the chemical breakdown of the interstitial and intersertal basaltic glass and to physical weathering processes. Mass wasting rates …

Upper Rennick Glacier Ice Massfluctuation Study, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Glacial geologic mapping conducted during the 1974-75 field season revealed that at least two glacial events have affected the upper Rennick Glacier region: an older Evans glaciation probably correlative with a major expansion of the east antarctic ice sheet, and the Rennick glaciation, which since the end of the late Wisconsin has been in a retreat phase (Mayewski, Attig, and Drewry 1979). Ice surface reconstructions suggest that (1) in the area of the current Rennick Glacier grounding line, approximately 120 kilometers inland from its current terminus, Evansice was at least 1,000 meters higher and Rennick ice as much as 600meters …

Reconnaissance Glacio-Chemical Studies In The Indian Himalayas, Paul Andrew Mayewski, William Berry Lyons, Nasseruddin Ahmad

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Analysis of reactive silicate, ammonium, phosphate, iron and sodium from cores taken from three glaciers in the Kashmir portion of the Himalayas are reported as the first in a series of glacio-chemical studies designed to produce proxy paleoclimatic data for this region. This study stresses the elevation dependency of such studies and for the chemical species analyzed which are most reliable for the purpose of the study.

Acidity Of Recent Himalayan Snow, William Berry Lyons, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Nasseruddin Ahmad

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Surface snows collected at various elevations in the Indian Himalayas were analyzed in the field for pH as part of a broader study of the chemistry. The pH values are lower than the predicted ≅5.6 for unpolluted precipitation. Analysis of NO₃ + NO₂, Cl, SO₄ and NH₄ indicate that these low pH values are not completely due to the presence of strong mineral acids. The strong correlation of pH with elevation (i.e. temperature) suggests that the low pH values are due to the snow being supersaturated with CO₂.

Ice Mass Fluctuations In Victoria Land, Antarctica, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Jon M. Hassinger

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

[From the introduction] During the 1980-81 field season we conducted a two-part program: the first part was spent on the Rennick Glacier in northern Victoria Land, and the second in the ice-free valleys of southern Victoria Land. The primary objective of the program was to help elucidate the glacial and climatic history of Transantarctic Mountains ice masses by interpreting the records available from the spectrum true glaciers to rock glaciers.

An Example Of Eskers Formed In Stagnant Ice, David H. Coupland, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Study of stratified glacial deposits near Farmington, New Hampshire reveals that the retreat of Late Wisconsin ice in this area proceeded by means of ice-marginal stagnation. Eskers in t his area were formed within localized ice masses a t or near the base of thin ice by streams which had dendritic patterns and were subaerially exposed.

Characteristics And Significance Of Rock Glaciers In Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, Paul Andrew Mayewski, Jon Hassinger

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

[From the introduction] Rock glaciers, large-scale masses of frozen debris...form a group of features that, because of their dependence on temperature and precipitation, can be used as monitors of climatic change.

Glaciology And Glacio-Geomorphology In Victoria Landand Queen Maud Mountains, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

During the past year, data analysis has been under-taken on the recent and past dynamics of several northern Victoria Land glaciers, notably Rennick Glacier; the dynamics of selected rock glaciers in Wright Valley; and on the weathering characteristics of dolorites in the Queen Maud Mountains.

Past Levels And Present State Of Northern Victoria Land Glaciers, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Before 1973, movement of the Ross Ice Shelf had been measured near the Transantarctic Mountains (Swithinbank, 1963), near Ross Island (Stuart and Heine, 1961) and near the ice front and to the south of Roosevelt Island (Dorrer et at., 1969). Robin (1975), assuming steady state, extrapolated these data across the ice shelf by applying volume conservation principles to measured ice thickness profiles of the ice shelf.

Weathering Stages Of A Tholeiitic Basalt (Dolerite), Queen Maud Mountains, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The sparsity of datable material and key horizons throughout most of the Transantarctic Mountains requires that much of the mapping and correlation of glacial deposits, especially moraines, be based primarily on qualitative techniques. One qualitative method is to characterize the degree of weathering of clasts covering these deposits (Behling, 1971; Calkin, 1971; Nichols, 1971; and Mayewski, 1975). Lacking, however, is a detailed understanding of the role and method of weathering. To help solve this problem, soil studies have been made by Claridge and Campbell (1968) in the Shackleton Glacier region and Everett and Behling (1968), Linkletter (1972), Behling (1971), and …

Glacial Geologic Investigation Of Upper Rennick Glacier Region, Northern Victoria Land, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The 1974-1975 field season was spent investigating the upper Rennick Glacier area (figure) for (1) the relationship between the glacial history of the study area and the glacial histories already defined for more southerly sectors of the Transantarctic Mountains, (2) the history and dimensions of former fluctuations of the east antarctic ice sheet, Rennick Glacier, and its tributaries, as recorded in glacial deposits, and (3) the significance of this area in paleoclimatic reconstructions of Antarctica and the world.

Glacial Geology Near Mcmurdo Sound And Comparison With The Central Transantarctic Mountains, Paul Andrew Mayewski

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

(From summary, pp. 105-106) In the central Transantarctic Mountains, the Sirius Formation consists of both a lower massive till and an upper assemblage of interlayered till and stratified lenses. Deposits of the Sirius Formation found in the McMurdo region contain only the lower massive till. The lower massive till of the Sirius Formation is thought to be a basal till because of extremely strong fabric, high concentration of faceted and striated pebbles, and heterogeneous particle sizes (clay to boulders). Fabrics observed in the basal till indicate that the ice that deposited the Sirius Formation, although displaying a much higher surface …