ALBERT

Description: The isotopic signal (δ18O and δD) imprinted in ice cores from Antarctica is not solely generated by the temperature sensitivity of the isotopic composition of precipitation, but it also contains the signature of the intermittency of the precipitation patterns, as well as of post-deposition processes occurring at the surface and in the firn. This leads to a proxy signal recorded by the ice cores that may not be representative of the local climate variations. Due to precipitation intermittency, the ice cores only record brief snapshots of the climatic conditions, resulting in aliasing of the climatic signal and thus a large amount of noise which reduces the minimum temporal resolution at which a meaningful signal can be retrieved. The analyses are further complicated by isotopic diffusion, which acts as a low-pass filter that dampens any high-frequency changes. Here, we use reanalysis data (ERA-Interim) combined with satellite products of accumulation to evaluate the spatial distribution of the numerical estimates of the transfer function that describes the formation of the isotopic signal across Antarctica. As a result, the minimum timescales at which the signal-to-noise ratio exceeds unity range from less than 1 year at the coast to about 1000 years further inland. Based on solely physical processes, we are thus able to define a lower bound for the timescales at which climate variability can be reconstructed from the isotopic composition in ice cores.

Description: The oldest ice core records are obtained from the East Antarctic plateau. Water stable isotopes records are key for reconstructions of past climatic conditions both over the ice sheet and at the evaporation source. The accuracy of such climate reconstructions crucially depends on the knowledge of all the processes affecting the water vapour, precipitation and snow isotopic composition. Atmospheric fractionation processes are well understood and can be integrated in Rayleigh distillation and complex isotope enabled climate models. However, a comprehensive quantitative understanding of processes potentially altering the snow isotopic composition after the deposition is still missing, especially for exchanges between vapour and snow. In low accumulation sites such as found on the East Antarctic Plateau, these poorly constrained processes are especially likely to play a significant role. This limits the interpretation of isotopic composition from ice core records, specifically at short time scales. Here, we combine observations of isotopic composition in the vapour, the precipitation, the surface snow and the buried snow from various sites of the East Antarctic Plateau. At the seasonal scale, we highlight a significant impact of metamorphism on surface snow isotopic signal compared to the initial precipitation isotopic signal. In particular, in summer, exchanges of water molecules between vapour and snow are driven by the sublimation/condensation cycles at the diurnal scale. Using highly resolved isotopic composition profiles from pits in five East Antarctic sites, we identify a common 20 cm cycle which cannot be attributed to the seasonal variability of precipitation. Altogether, the smaller range of isotopic compositions observed in the buried and in the surface snow compared to the precipitation, and also the reduced slope between surface snow isotopic composition and temperature compared to precipitation, constitute evidences of post-deposition processes affecting the variability of the isotopic composition in the snow pack. To reproduce these processes in snow-models is crucial to understand the link between snow isotopic composition and climatic conditions and to improve the interpretation of isotopic composition as a paleoclimate proxy.

Description: In low-accumulation regions, the reliability of δ18O-derived temperature signals from ice cores within the Holocene is unclear, primarily due to the small climate changes relative to the intrinsic noise of the isotopic signal. In order to learn about the representativity of single ice cores and to optimise future ice-core-based climate reconstructions, we studied the stable-water isotope composition of firn at Kohnen Station, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Analysing δ18O in two 50 m long snow trenches allowed us to create an unprecedented, two-dimensional image characterising the isotopic variations from the centimetre to the 100-metre scale. Our results show seasonal layering of the isotopic composition but also high horizontal isotopic variability caused by local stratigraphic noise. Based on the horizontal and vertical structure of the isotopic variations, we derive a statistical noise model which successfully explains the trench data. The model further allows one to determine an upper bound for the reliability of climate reconstructions conducted in our study region at seasonal to annual resolution, depending on the number and the spacing of the cores taken.

Description: Stable water isotopes in firn and ice cores are extensively used to infer past climate changes. In low-accumulation regions their interpretation is however challenged by poorly constrained effects that may influence the initial isotope signal during and after deposition. This is reflected in snow-pit isotope data from Kohnen Station, Antarctica, which exhibit a clear seasonal cycle but also strong inter-annual variations that contradict local temperature observations. These inconsistencies persist even after averaging many profiles and are thus not explained by local stratigraphic noise. Previous studies have suggested that post-depositional processes may significantly influence the isotopic composition of East Antarctic firn. Here, we reject the hypothesis of post-depositional change within the open-porous firn beyond diffusion and densification. To this end, we analyse 22 stable water isotope profiles obtained from two snow trenches at Kohnen Station and examine the temporal isotope modifications by comparing the new with published trench data extracted 2 years earlier. The initial isotope profiles undergo changes over time due to downward-advection, firn diffusion and densification in magnitudes consistent with independent estimates. Beyond that, we find no evidence for additional modification of the original isotope record. These results show that the discrepancy between local temperatures and isotopes most likely originates from spatially coherent processes prior to or during deposition, such as precipitation intermittency or systematic isotope modifications acting on drifting or loose surface snow.

Description: Stable water isotopes in polar ice provide a wealth of information about past climate evolution. Snow pit studies allow us to relate observed weather and climate conditions to the measured isotope variations in the snow. They therefore offer the possibility to test our understanding of how isotope signals are formed and stored in firn and ice. As stable water isotopes in the snowfall are strongly correlated to air temperature, isotopes in the near surface snow are supposed to depict the seasonal cycle at a given site. Accordingly, variation between sites in accumulation rate is expected to be matched by variation in the number of seasonal cycles. However, snowpit studies from different accumulation conditions in East Antarctica reported similar isotopic variability and comparable apparent cycles in the δ18O and δD profiles with typical wavelengths of ∼ 20 cm. These observations are unexpected as the accumulation rates strongly differ between the sites, ranging from 20 to 80 mm w.e. yr−1 (∼ 5–25 cm of snow per year). Various mechanism have been proposed to explain the isotopic variations individually at each site; however, none of these is consistent with the similarity of the different profiles independent of the local accumulation conditions. Here, we systematically analyze the properties and origins of isotopic variations in high-resolution firn profiles from eight East Antarctic sites. First, we confirm the suggested cycle length (mean distance between peaks) of ∼ 20 cm by counting the isotopic maxima. Spectral analysis further shows a strong similarity between the sites but indicates no dominant periodic features. Finally, the apparent cycle length increases with depth for most East Antarctic sites, which is inconsistent with burial and compression of a regular seasonal cycle. We show that these results can be explained by isotopic diffusion acting on a noise dominated isotope signal. The firn diffusion length is rather stable across the East Antarctic and thus leads to similar power spectral densities of the isotopic variations. This in turn implies a similar distance between isotopic maxima in the firn profiles. Our results explain a large set of observations discussed in the literature, providing a simple explanation for the interpretation of apparent cycles in shallow isotope records, without invoking complex mechanisms. Finally, the results underline previous suggestions that isotopic signals in single ice cores from low-accumulation regions have a small signal-to-noise ratio and thus likely do not allow the reconstruction of interannual to decadal climate variations.

Description: The oldest ice core records are obtained from the East Antarctic plateau. Water isotopes records are key to reconstructing past climatic conditions over the ice sheet and at the evaporation source. The accuracy of climate reconstructions depends on knowledge of all the processes affecting water vapour, precipitation and snow isotopic compositions. Fractionation processes are well understood and can be integrated in Rayleigh distillation and isotope enabled climate models. However, a quantitative understanding of processes potentially altering the snow isotopic composition after the deposition is still missing. In low accumulation sites, such as those found in Antarctica, these poorly constrained processes are likely to play a significant role and limit the interpretation of isotopic composition. Here, we combine observations of isotopic composition in the vapour, the precipitation, the surface snow and the buried snow from Dome C, a deep ice core site on the East Antarctic Plateau. At the seasonal scale, we suggest a significant impact of metamorphism on surface snow isotopic signal compared to the initial precipitation signal. Particularly, in summer, exchanges of water molecules between vapour and snow are driven by the sublimation/condensation cycles at the diurnal scale. Using highly resolved isotopic composition profiles from pits in five Antarctic sites, we identify common patterns, despite different accumulation rates, which cannot be attributed to the seasonal variability of precipitation. Altogether, the difference in the signals observed in the precipitation, surface snow and buried snow isotopic composition constitute evidences of post-deposition processes affecting ice core records in low accumulation areas.

Description: The isotopic composition of water in ice sheets is extensively used to infer past climate changes. In low-accumulation regions their interpretation is, however, challenged by poorly constrained effects that may influence the initial isotope signal during and after deposition of the snow. This is reflected in snow-pit isotope data from Kohnen Station, Antarctica, which exhibit a seasonal cycle but also strong interannual variations that contradict local temperature observations. These inconsistencies persist even after averaging many profiles and are thus not explained by local stratigraphic noise. Previous studies have suggested that post-depositional processes may significantly influence the isotopic composition of East Antarctic firn. Here, we investigate the importance of post-depositional processes within the open-porous firn (≳ 10 cm depth) at Kohnen Station by separating spatial from temporal variability. To this end, we analyse 22 isotope profiles obtained from two snow trenches and examine the temporal isotope modifications by comparing the new data with published trench data extracted 2 years earlier. The initial isotope profiles undergo changes over time due to downward advection, firn diffusion and densification in magnitudes consistent with independent estimates. Beyond that, we find further modifications of the original isotope record to be unlikely or small in magnitude (≪ 1 ‰ RMSD). These results show that the discrepancy between local temperatures and isotopes most likely originates from spatially coherent processes prior to or during deposition, such as precipitation intermittency or systematic isotope modifications acting on drifting or loose surface snow.

Description: Ice-core-based records of isotopic composition are a proxy for past temperatures and can thus provide information on polar climate variability over a large range of timescales. However, individual isotope records are affected by a multitude of processes that may mask the true temperature variability. The relative magnitude of climate and non-climate contributions is expected to vary as a function of timescale, and thus it is crucial to determine those temporal scales on which the actual signal dominates the noise. At present, there are no reliable estimates of this timescale dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Here, we present a simple method that applies spectral analyses to stable-isotope data from multiple cores to estimate the SNR, and the signal and noise variability, as a function of timescale. The method builds on separating the contributions from a common signal and from local variations and includes a correction for the effects of diffusion and time uncertainty. We apply our approach to firn-core arrays from Dronning Maud Land (DML) in East Antarctica and from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). For DML and decadal to multi-centennial timescales, we find an increase in the SNR by nearly 1 order of magnitude (∼0.2 at decadal and ∼1.0 at multi-centennial scales). The estimated spectrum of climate variability also shows increasing variability towards longer timescales, contrary to what is traditionally inferred from single records in this region. In contrast, the inferred variability spectrum for WAIS stays close to constant over decadal to centennial timescales, and the results even suggest a decrease in SNR over this range of timescales. We speculate that these differences between DML and WAIS are related to differences in the spatial and temporal scales of the isotope signal, highlighting the potentially more homogeneous atmospheric conditions on the Antarctic Plateau in contrast to the marine-influenced conditions on WAIS. In general, our approach provides a methodological basis for separating local proxy variability from coherent climate variations, which is applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.

Description: Ice-core-based records of isotopic composition are a proxy for past temperatures and can thus provide information on polar climate variability over a large range of timescales. However, individual isotope records are affected by a multitude of processes that may mask the true temperature variability. The relative magnitude of climate and non-climate contributions is expected to vary as a function of timescale, and thus it is crucial to determine those temporal scales at which the actual signal dominates the noise. At present, there are no reliable estimates of this timescale dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Here, we present a simple method that applies spectral analyses to stable-isotope data from multiple cores to estimate the SNR, and the signal and noise variability, as a function of timescale. The method builds on separating the contributions from a common signal and from local variations and includes a correction for the effects of diffusion and time uncertainty. We apply our approach to firn-core arrays from Dronning Maud Land (DML) in East Antarctica and from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). For DML and decadal to multicentennial timescales, we find an increase of the SNR by nearly one order of magnitude (~0.2 at decadal and ~1.0 at multicentennial scales). The estimated spectrum of climate variability also shows increasing variability towards longer timescales, contrary to what is traditionally inferred from single records in this region. In contrast, the inferred variability spectrum for WAIS stays close to constant over decadal to centennial timescales, and the results even suggest a decrease in SNR over this range of timescales. We speculate that these differences between DML and WAIS are related to differences in the spatial and temporal scales of the isotope signal, highlighting the potentially more homogeneous atmospheric conditions on the Antarctic Plateau in contrast to the marine-influenced conditions on WAIS. In general, our approach provides a methodological basis for separating local proxy variability from coherent climate variations which is applicable to a large set of palaeoclimate records.

Description: Stable isotope ratios δ18O and δD in polar ice provide a wealth of information about past climate evolution. Snow-pit studies allow us to relate observed weather and climate conditions to the measured isotope variations in the snow. They therefore offer the possibility to test our understanding of how isotope signals are formed and stored in firn and ice. As δ18O and δD in the snowfall are strongly correlated to air temperature, isotopes in the near-surface snow are thought to record the seasonal cycle at a given site. Accordingly, the number of seasonal cycles observed over a given depth should depend on the accumulation rate of snow. However, snow-pit studies from different accumulation conditions in East Antarctica reported similar isotopic variability and comparable apparent cycles in the δ18O and δD profiles with typical wavelengths of  ∼  20 cm. These observations are unexpected as the accumulation rates strongly differ between the sites, ranging from 20 to 80 mm w. e.  yr−1 ( ∼  6–21 cm of snow per year). Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the isotopic variations individually at each site; however, none of these are consistent with the similarity of the different profiles independent of the local accumulation conditions.Here, we systematically analyse the properties and origins of δ18O and δD variations in high-resolution firn profiles from eight East Antarctic sites. First, we confirm the suggested cycle length (mean distance between peaks) of  ∼  20 cm by counting the isotopic maxima. Spectral analysis further shows a strong similarity between the sites but indicates no dominant periodic features. Furthermore, the apparent cycle length increases with depth for most East Antarctic sites, which is inconsistent with burial and compression of a regular seasonal cycle. We show that these results can be explained by isotopic diffusion acting on a noise-dominated isotope signal. The firn diffusion length is rather stable across the Antarctic Plateau and thus leads to similar power spectral densities of the isotopic variations. This in turn implies a similar distance between isotopic maxima in the firn profiles.Our results explain a large set of observations discussed in the literature, providing a simple explanation for the interpretation of apparent cycles in shallow isotope records, without invoking complex mechanisms. Finally, the results underline previous suggestions that isotope signals in single ice cores from low-accumulation regions have a small signal-to-noise ratio and thus likely do not allow the reconstruction of interannual to decadal climate variations.