Methane and Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis of Siple Dome Ice Core Subsamples
Summary
This data set is part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet cores (WAISCORES) project, an NSF-funded project to understand the influence of the West Antarctic ice sheet on climate and sea level change. WAISCORES researchers acquired and analyzed ice cores from the Siple Dome, in the Siple Coast region, West Antarctica. Siple Dome ice cores were analyzed for methanesulfonate (MSA) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS). The methanesulfonate analysis was done on cores A-E and a hot water core, and the carbonyl sulfide analysis was done on 11 C cores. Methanesulfonate data include the sample identification number, depth, and methanesulfonate parts per billion (ppb) of each sample. Carbonyl sulfide data include the depth, OCS parts per trillion (ppt) of each sample, percent error, and gas age (years). Data are available via FTP in tab-delimited ASCII text (.dat, .txt) file format.
Citing These Data
The following example shows how to cite the use of this data set in a publication. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.
The following example shows how to cite the use of this data set in a publication. List the principal investigators, year of data set release, publisher: NSIDC, and digital media.
Saltzman, E. and M. Aydin. 2003. Methane and Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis of Siple Dome Ice Core Subsamples. Boulder, Colorado, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5P848VP.
Overview Table
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Data format | ASCII data (.dat) and text files (.txt) |
| Spatial coverage and resolution |
Southernmost Latitude: 81°S Northernmost Latitude: 81°S Westernmost Longitude: 149°W Easternmost Longitude: 148°W |
| Temporal coverage and resolution | Data were obtained during three Antarctic field seasons in 1996 to 1999. |
| File naming convention |
msaA1.dat msaA2.dat msaC.dat msaHW.dat OCSdata.txt |
| File size | The data set is 58 KB total. |
| Parameter(s) | Methanesulfonate concentration in parts per billion (ppb, 109) Carbonyl sulfide concentration in parts per trillion (ppt, 1012) Gas age in years |
| Procedures for obtaining data | Data are available via FTP. |
Table of Contents
- Contacts and Acknowledgments
- Detailed Data Description
- Data Access and Tools
- Data Acquisition and Processing
- References and Related Publications
- Document Information
1. Contacts and Acknowledgments
Investigator(s)
Dr. Eric Saltzman
University of California, Irvine
Department of Earth System Science
Irvine, California 92697
USA
Dr. Murat Aydin
University of California, Irvine
Department of Earth System Science
Irvine, California 92697
USA
Technical Contact
NSIDC User Services
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0449 USA
phone: +1 303.492.6199
fax: +1 303.492.2468
form: Contact NSIDC User Services
e-mail: nsidc@nsidc.org
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by NSF OPP grant 0338359.
2. Detailed Data Description
Format
Data are available as tab-delimited ASCII text files (.dat, .txt).
File and Directory Structure
Data are available on the FTP site in the ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/DATASETS/AGDC/waiscores/saltzman/ directory. Table 1 lists the files in this directory:
| File Name | Description |
|---|---|
|
msaA1.dat msaA2.dat msaB.dat msaC.dat msaE.dat msaHW.dat |
Methanesulfonate analysis for ice cores A through E and a hot water core |
| msameta.html | Notes related to the methanesulfonate data, available as an HTML file |
| OCSdata.txt | Carbonyl sulfide analysis for 11 C ice cores, available as a tab-delimited ASCII text file |
| OCSmeta.txt | Notes related to the carbonyl sulfide data, available as an ASCII text file |
File Naming Convention
Files are named according to the following convention and as described in Table 2:
xxxid.zzz
Where:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| xxx | Analysis type, msa or OCS |
| id | Core site identification:
|
| .zzz | File Extension type:
|
File Size
The data set contains 10 files ranging in size from 1 KB to 14 KB.
Spatial Coverage
Ice core data were collected at the Siple Dome site in the Siple Coast region of Antarctica.
Southernmost Latitude: 81°S
Northernmost Latitude: 81°S
Westernmost Longitude: 149°W
Easternmost Longitude: 148°W
Temporal Coverage
Data were obtained during three Antarctic field seasons in 1996 to 1999.
Parameter or Variable
Parameters for methanesulfonate analysis include the depth in meters (m) and methanesulfonate ion concentration in parts per billion (ppb). Parameters for carbonyl sulfide analysis include depth in meters (m), carbonyl sulfide ion concentration in parts per trillion (ppt), the percent error of the concentration (%), and the gas age in years.
Parameter Description
Carbonyl sulfide(OCS) and methane sulfonate (MSA) data files include methanesulfonate and carbonyl sulfide concentration measurements for ice cores at Siple Dome summit. Table 3 provides details on the files and parameters.
| Parameter | Description |
| Methanesulfonate Analysis | |
| MSA analysis | Files containing sample ID, measurement depth, and ion concentration in parts per billion (ppb) |
| Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis | |
| OCS analysis | File containing measurement depth, ion concentration in parts per trillion (ppt), percent error of ion concentration (%), and gas age in years |
Sample Data Record
Below are two sample records from the Methane Analysis and Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis data files. Only the first four data records are shown from each data file. The Methane Analysis sample record is from msaA1.dat and the Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis sample record is from OCSdata.txt.
Methane Analysis:
| Sample Id | Top Depth (m) | MSA (ppb) |
| Siple 1 | 4.32 | 13.63 |
| 2-SIPLE | 4.83 | 14.66 |
| Siple 3 | 5.61 | 26.11 |
| Siple 4 | 6.29 | 16.09 |
Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis:
| depth (m) | OCS (ppt) | error (%) | gas age (years) |
| 88.645 | 392.5 | 7.0 | 376.7 |
| 84.820 | 432.7 | 5.6 | 341.8 |
| 86.570 | 380.7 | 4.1 | 357.6 |
| 82.290 | 337.0 | 4.5 | 315.8 |
3. Data Access and Tools
Data Access
Data are available via FTP.
Volume
The total volume of the data set is 58 KB.
Software and Tools
Data are accessible using standard spreadsheet software.
Related Data Collections
- Analysis of Siple Dome Ice Core: Carbonyl Sulfide (COS), Methyl Chloride (CH3Cl), and Methyl Bromide (CH3Br)
- Antarctic Glaciological Data Center (AGDC)
- WAISCORES: Deep Ice Coring in West Antarctica
4. Data Acquisition and Processing
Analysis of the ice core sub-samples for methanesulfonate was carried out using chemically suppressed ion chromatography. Carbonyl sulfide concentration was measured in air extracted from 11 ice cores. Air trapped in the ice cores was released using a dry extraction technique and analyzed by a gas chromatography with mass selective detection. For more information on data acquisition methods, see the researchers' notes in the msameta.html and OCSmeta.txt files and the References and Related Publications listed below.
5. References and Related Publications
Aydin, M., W. J. De Bruyn, and E. S. Saltzman. 2002. Preindustrial Atmospheric Carbonyl Sulfide (OCS) from an Antarctic Ice Core. Geophysical Research Letters 29(9), 1359: doi:10.1029/2002GL014796.
Etheridge, D. M., G. I. Pearman, and F. de Silva. 1988. Atmospheric Trace-gas Variations as Revealed by Air Trapped in an Ice Core from Law Dome, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology 10, 28-33.
Schwander, J. 1989. The Transformation of Snow to Ice and the Occlusion of Gases. In The Environmental Record in Glaciers and Ice Sheets, edited by H. Oeschger and C. C. Langway. John Wiley, New York.
Schwander, J., B. Stauffer, and A. Sigg. 1988. Air Mixing in Firn and the Age of the Air at Pore Close-off. Annals of Glaciology 10, 141-145.
Sowers, T. and J. Jubenville. 2000. A Modified Extraction Technique for Liberating Occluded Gases from Ice Cores. Journal of Geophysical Research 105, 29155-29164: doi:10.1029/2000JD900335.
Trudinger, C. M., I. G. Enting, D. M. Etheridge, R. J. Francey, V. A. Levchenko, L. P. Steele, D. Raynaud, and L. Arnaud. 1997. Modeling Air Movement and Bubble Trapping in Firn. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 6747-6763.
Table 4 list related documents that are available on the NSIDC Web site.
| Document | Description | URL |
|---|---|---|
| WAISCORES | Project Web site | http://nsidc.org/data/waiscores/ |
| Antarctic Glaciological Data Center | Data center Web site | http://nsidc.org/agdc/ |
6. Document Information
Acronyms
The acronyms used in this document are listed in Table 5.
| Acronym | Description |
|---|---|
| .DAT | Data file extension |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol |
| HTML | Hypertext Markup Language |
| MSA | Methanesulfonate |
| NSIDC | National Snow and Ice Data Center |
| OCS | Carbonyl sulfide |
| PPB | Parts per billion, 109 |
| PPT | Parts per trillion, 1012 |
| .TXT | Text file extension |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator |
| WAISCORES | Western Divide West Antarctic Ice Cores |
Document Creation Date
9 September 2009
Document URL
http://nsidc.org/data/docs/agdc/nsidc0131_saltzman/index.html
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