A sequential chemical extraction procedure was developed and tested to investigate the utility of meteoric 10Be as a tracer for authigenic mineral formation beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Subglacial meltwater is widely available under the Antarctic Ice Sheet and dissolved gases within it have the potential to drive chemical weathering processes in the subglacial environment. Meteoric 10Be is a cosmogenic nuclide with a half-life of 1.39⋅10^6 years that is incorporated into glacier ice, therefore its abundance in the subglacial environment in Antarctica is meltwater dependent. It is known to adsorb to fine-grained particles in aqueous solution, precipitate with amorphous oxides/hydroxides, and/or be incorporated into authigenic clay minerals during chemical weathering. The presence of 10Be in chemical weathering products derived from beneath the ice therefore indicates chemical weathering processes in the subglacial environment. Freshly emerging subglacial sediments from the Mt. Achernar blue ice moraine were subject to chemical extractions where these weathering phases were isolated and 10Be concentrations therein quantified. Optimization of the phase isolation was developed by examining the effects of each extraction on the sample mineralogy and chemical composition. Experiments on 10Be desorption revealed that pH 3.2–3.5 was optimal for the extraction of adsorbed 10Be. Vigorous disaggregation of the samples before grain size separations and acid extractions is crucial due to the incorporation of the nuclide in clay minerals and its preferential absorption to clay-sized particles. 10Be concentrations of 2–22⋅10^7 atoms⋅g^ -1 measured in oxides and clay minerals in freshly emerging sediments strongly indicate subglacial chemical weathering in the catchment of the Mt. Achernar moraine. Based on total 10Be sample concentrations, local basal melt rates, and 10Be ice concentrations, sediment-meltwater contact in the subglacial environment is on the order of thousands of years per gram of underlying fine sediment. Strong correlation (R = 0.97) between 10Be and smectite abundance in the sediments supports authigenic clay formation in the subglacial environment. This suggests meteoric 10Be is a useful tool to characterize subglacial geochemical weathering processes under the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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Warm-based basal sediment entrainment and far-field Pleistocene origin evidenced in central Transantarctic blue ice through stable isotopes and internal structures
ABSTRACT Stable isotopes of water (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) were measured in the debris-laden ice underlying an Antarctic blue ice moraine, and in adjoining Law Glacier in the central Transantarctic Mountains. Air bubble content and morphology were assessed in shallow ice core samples. Stable isotope measurements plot either on the meteoric waterline or are enriched from it. The data cluster in two groups: the ice underlying the moraine has a δ 2 H:δ 18 O slope of 5.35 ± 0.92; ice from adjoining portions of Law Glacier has a slope of 6.69 ± 1.39. This enrichment pattern suggests the moraine's underlying blue ice entrained sediment through refreezing processes acting in an open system. Glaciological conditions favorable to warm-based sediment entrainment occur 30–50 km upstream. Basal melting and refreezing are further evidenced by abundant vapor figures formed from internal melting of the ice crystals. Both the moraine ice and Law Glacier are sufficiently depleted of heavy isotopes that their ice cannot be sourced locally, but instead must be derived from far-field interior regions of the higher polar plateau. Modeled ice flow speeds suggest the ice must be at least 80 ka old, with Law Glacier's ice possibly dating to OIS 5 and moraine ice older still.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10054582
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Glaciology
- ISSN:
- 0022-1430
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 12
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Blood Falls is a hypersaline, iron‐rich discharge at the terminus of the Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. In November 2014, brine in a conduit within the glacier was penetrated and sampled using clean‐entry techniques and a thermoelectric melting probe called the IceMole. We analyzed the englacial brine sample for filterable iron (
f Fe), total Fe, major cations and anions, nutrients, organic carbon, and perchlorate. In addition, aliquots were analyzed for minor and trace elements and isotopes including δD and δ18O of water, δ34S and δ18O of sulfate,234U,238U, δ11B,87Sr/86Sr, and δ81Br. These measurements were made in order to (1) determine the source and geochemical evolution of the brine and (2) compare the chemistry of the brine to that of nearby hypersaline lake waters and previous supraglacially sampled collections of Blood Falls outflow that were interpreted asend ‐member brines. The englacial brine had higher Cl−concentrations than the Blood Falls end‐member outflow; however, other constituents were similar. The isotope data indicate that the water in the brine is derived from glacier melt. The H4SiO4concentrations and U and Sr isotope suggest a high degree of chemical weathering products. The brine has a low N:P ratio of ~7.2 with most of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the form of NH4+. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations are similar to end‐member outflow values. Our results provide strong evidence that the original source of solutes in the brine was ancient seawater, which has been modified with the addition of chemical weathering products. -
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Abstract The Arctic hydrological cycle is predicted to intensify as the Arctic warms, due to increased poleward moisture transport during summer and increased evaporation from seas once ice‐covered during winter. Records of past Arctic precipitation seasonality are important because they provide a context for these ongoing changes. In some Arctic lakes, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ18O and δ2H, respectively) vary seasonally, due to seasonal changes in precipitation δ18O and δ2H. We reconstruct precipitation seasonality from Lake N3, a well‐dated lake sediment archive in Disko Bugt, western Greenland, by generating Holocene records of two proxies that are produced at different times of the year, and therefore record different lake water seasonal isotopic compositions. Aquatic plants synthesize waxes throughout the summer, and their δ2H reflects winter‐biased precipitation δ2H at Lake N3, whereas chironomids synthesize their head capsules between late summer and winter, and their δ18O reflects summer‐biased precipitation δ18O at Lake N3. During the middle Holocene at Lake N3, aquatic plant leaf wax was strongly2H‐depleted, while chironomid chitin was18O‐enriched. We guide interpretations of these records using sensitivity tests of a lake water and energy balance model, where we change precipitation amount and isotope seasonality inputs. The sensitivity tests suggest that the contrasting trends between proxies were likely caused by an increase in precipitation amount during all seasons and an increase in precipitation isotope seasonality, in addition to proxy‐specific mechanisms, highlighting the importance of understanding lake‐ and proxy‐specific systematics when interpreting records from sediment archives.
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Arctic sea-ice loss is emblematic of an amplified Arctic water cycle and has critical feedback implications for global climate. Stable isotopes (δ 18 O, δ 2 H, d-excess ) are valuable tracers for constraining water cycle and climate processes through space and time. Yet, the paucity of well-resolved Arctic isotope data preclude an empirically derived understanding of the hydrologic changes occurring today, in the deep (geologic) past, and in the future. To address this knowledge gap, the Pan-Arctic Precipitation Isotope Network (PAPIN) was established in 2018 to coordinate precipitation sampling at 19 stations across key tundra, subarctic, maritime, and continental climate zones. Here, we present a first assessment of rainfall samples collected in summer 2018 ( n = 281) and combine new isotope and meteorological data with sea ice observations, reanalysis data, and model simulations. Data collectively establish a summer Arctic Meteoric Water Line where δ 2 H = 7.6⋅δ 18 O–1.8 ( r 2 = 0.96, p < 0.01). Mean amount-weighted δ 18 O, δ 2 H, and d-excess values were −12.3, −93.5, and 4.9‰, respectively, with the lowest summer mean δ 18 O value observed in northwest Greenland (−19.9‰) and the highest in Iceland (−7.3‰). Southern Alaska recorded the lowest mean d-excess (−8.2%) and northern Russia the highest (9.9‰). We identify a range of δ 18 O-temperature coefficients from 0.31‰/°C (Alaska) to 0.93‰/°C (Russia). The steepest regression slopes (>0.75‰/°C) were observed at continental sites, while statistically significant temperature relations were generally absent at coastal stations. Model outputs indicate that 68% of the summer precipitating air masses were transported into the Arctic from mid-latitudes and were characterized by relatively high δ 18 O values. Yet 32% of precipitation events, characterized by lower δ 18 O and high d-excess values, derived from northerly air masses transported from the Arctic Ocean and/or its marginal seas, highlighting key emergent oceanic moisture sources as sea ice cover declines. Resolving these processes across broader spatial-temporal scales is an ongoing research priority, and will be key to quantifying the past, present, and future feedbacks of an amplified Arctic water cycle on the global climate system.more » « less
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Abstract Temporal changes in the magnitude and geographic distribution of different sources of nitrous oxide (N2O) are not well constrained. To better understand the dynamics of N2O in the atmosphere over the last century, we have reconstructed the mole fraction, δ15Nbulk, δ18O, and δ15NSPvalues of N2O from ice cores, firn air archives, and modern atmospheric samples. We have provided new firn air records from the Styx Glacier, Antarctica, and the North Greenland Eemian Ice drilling Project, and updated the firn air transport modeling of the published records. The composite reconstruction shows that the N2O growth rates were 0.26 ± 0.05, 0.15 ± 0.05 and 0.75 ± 0.01 ppb yr−1during 1850–1930 (P1), 1931–1965 (P2) and 1966–2021 CE (P3), respectively. The temporal slope found in a linear least squares fit in δ15Nbulkand δ18O were −0.010 ± 0.025 and −0.004 ± 0.031‰ yr−1, −0.014 ± 0.013 and −0.009 ± 0.017‰ yr−1, and −0.040 ± 0.013 and −0.022 ± 0.005‰ yr−1during P1, P2 and P3 phases, respectively. Overall, a significant long‐term trend was not observed in δ15NSPdata. Two‐box model calculations using N2O mole fraction suggest that the total N2O flux (
F T ) at 2015 CE was 17.5 ± 1.1 TgN yr−1, where flux from the natural (F N ) and anthropogenic (F A ) sources were ∼60% and 40% ofF T , respectively, and the contribution ofF A was ∼30% ofF T at 1900 CE. EstimatedF A and δ15Nbulkof atmospheric N2O suggest that the anthropogenic emissions from continental regions were 12%, 25% and 76% ofF A during P1, P2 and P3 phases, respectively.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.4
