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Here we use high-precision carbon isotope data (δ¹³C-CO₂) to show atmospheric CO₂during Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS 4, ~70.5-59 ka) was controlled by a succession of millennial-scale processes. Enriched δ¹³C-CO₂during peak glaciation suggests increased ocean carbon storage. Variations in δ¹³C-CO₂in early MIS 4 suggest multiple processes were active during CO₂drawdown, potentially including decreased land carbon and decreased Southern Ocean air-sea gas exchange superposed on increased ocean carbon storage. CO₂remained low during MIS 4 while δ¹³C-CO₂fluctuations suggest changes in Southern Ocean and North Atlantic air-sea gas exchange. A 7 ppm increase in CO₂at the onset of Dansgaard-Oeschger event 19 (72.1 ka) and 27 ppm increase in CO₂during late MIS 4 (Heinrich Stadial 6, ~63.5-60 ka) involved additions of isotopically light carbon to the atmosphere. The terrestrial biosphere and Southern Ocean air-sea gas exchange are possible sources, with the latter event also involving decreased ocean carbon storage.

 

Abstract. Here we present a newly developed ice core gas-phase proxy that directlysamples a component of the large-scale atmospheric circulation:synoptic-scale pressure variability. Surface pressure changes weakly disrupt gravitational isotopic settling in the firn layer, which is recorded in krypton-86 excess (86Krxs). The 86Krxs may therefore reflect the time-averaged synoptic pressure variability over several years (site “storminess”), but it likely cannot record individual synoptic events as ice core gas samples typically average over several years. We validate 86Krxs using late Holocene ice samples from 11 Antarctic ice cores and 1 Greenland ice core that collectively represent a wide range of surface pressure variability in the modern climate. We find a strong spatial correlation (r=-0.94, p<0.01) between site average 86Krxs and time-averaged synoptic variability from reanalysis data. The main uncertainties in the analysis are the corrections for gas loss and thermal fractionation and the relatively large scatter in the data. Limited scientific understanding of the firn physics and potential biases of 86Krxs require caution in interpreting this proxy at present. We show that Antarctic 86Krxs appears to be linked to the position of the Southern Hemisphere eddy-driven subpolar jet (SPJ), with a southern position enhancing pressure variability. We present a 86Krxs record covering the last 24 kyr from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core. Based on the empirical spatial correlation of synoptic activity and 86Krxs at various Antarctic sites, we interpret this record to show that West Antarctic synoptic activity is slightly below modern levels during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), increases during the Heinrich Stadial 1 and Younger Dryas North Atlantic cold periods, weakens abruptly at the Holocene onset, remains low during the early and mid-Holocene, and gradually increases to its modern value. The WAIS Divide 86Krxs record resembles records of monsoon intensity thought to reflect changes in the meridional position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) on orbital and millennial timescales such that West Antarctic storminess is weaker when the ITCZ is displaced northward and stronger when it is displaced southward. We interpret variations in synoptic activity as reflecting movement of the South Pacific SPJ in parallel to the ITCZ migrations, which is the expected zonal mean response of the eddy-driven jet in models and proxy data. Past changes to Pacific climate and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may amplify the signal of the SPJ migration. Our interpretation is broadly consistent with opal flux records from the Pacific Antarctic zone thought to reflect wind-driven upwelling. We emphasize that 86Krxs is a new proxy, and more work is called for to confirm, replicate, and better understand these results; until such time, our conclusions regarding past atmospheric dynamics remainspeculative. Current scientific understanding of firn air transport andtrapping is insufficient to explain all the observed variations in86Krxs. A list of suggested future studies is provided. 

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and a key player in atmospheric chemistry. Important uncertainties remain in the global atmospheric methane budget, with natural geologic emissions being one of the particularly uncertain terms. In recent bottom-up studies, geologic emissions have been estimated to comprise up to 10% of the global budget (40–60 Teragrams of methane per year, Tg CH4 yr–1). In contrast, top-down constraints from 14C of methane in preindustrial air extracted from ice cores indicate that the geologic methane source is approximately an order of magnitude lower. Recent bottom-up inventories propose microseepage (diffuse low-level flux of methane through soils over large areas) as the largest single component of the geologic methane flux. In this study, we present new measurements of methane microseepage from the Appalachian Basin (Western New York State) and compare these with prior microseepage measurements from other regions and with predicted values from the most recent bottom-up inventory. Our results show lower microseepage values than most prior data sets and indicate that positive microseepage fluxes in this region are not as widespread as previously assumed. A statistical analysis of our results indicates that mean microseepage flux in this region has very likely been overestimated by the bottom-up inventory, even though our measurements more likely than not underestimate the true mean flux. However, this is a small data set from a single region and as such cannot be used to evaluate the validity of the microseepage emissions inventory as a whole. Instead, the results demonstrate the need for a more extensive network of direct geologic emission measurements in support of improved bottom-up inventories. 

Abstract. Important uncertainties remain in our understanding of the spatial andtemporal variability of atmospheric hydroxyl radical concentration ([OH]).Carbon-14-containing carbon monoxide (14CO) is a useful tracer that canhelp in the characterization of [OH] variability. Prior measurements ofatmospheric 14CO concentration ([14CO] are limited in both theirspatial and temporal extent, partly due to the very large air sample volumes that have been required for measurements (500–1000 L at standardtemperature and pressure, L STP) and the difficulty and expense associatedwith the collection, shipment, and processing of such samples. Here wepresent a new method that reduces the air sample volume requirement to≈90 L STP while allowing for [14CO] measurement uncertainties that are on par with or better than prior work (≈3 % or better, 1σ). The method also for the first time includes accurate characterization of the overall procedural [14CO] blank associated with individual samples, which is a key improvement over prior atmospheric 14CO work. The method was used to make measurements of [14CO] at the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, USA, between November 2017 and November 2018. The measurements show the expected [14CO] seasonal cycle (lowest in summer)and are in good agreement with prior [14CO] results from anotherlow-latitude site in the Northern Hemisphere. The lowest overall [14CO]uncertainties (2.1 %, 1σ) are achieved for samples that aredirectly accompanied by procedural blanks and whose mass is increased to≈50 µgC (micrograms of carbon) prior to the 14Cmeasurement via dilution with a high-CO 14C-depleted gas.