Firn Air Isotope and Temperature Measurements from Siple Dome and South Pole
 Data Contributors
- SEVERINGHAUS, JEFFREY P.
- GRACHEV, A.
- BATTLE, M.
Parameters
- ICE CORE AIR BUBBLES > FIRN AIR
- ICE SHEETS > FIRN AIR ISOTOPES, FIRN AIR ISOTOPES
- ISOTOPES > FIRN AIR ISOTOPES
- SNOW/ICE TEMPERATURE > FIRN TEMPERATURE, FIRN TEMPERATURE
Instruments
- FLASKS
- MASS SPECTROMETERS
- THERMISTORS
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Documentation Access Data
This data set includes d15N, d18O/2, dO2/N2/4, d40Ar/4, d38/Ar/2,
d84Kr/48, and d132Xe/96 values for air drawn from the top 15 to 50 m
of firn at the South Pole (summer and winter 1998) and a site at Siple
Dome (summers 1996 and 1998). Data also include related firn
temperature measurements. The objective of this research was to better understand thermal
fractionation processes affecting records of atmospheric history from
firn and ice core gases. Recent work (e.g., Severinghaus and Brook,
1999) has exploited trapped air in ice and deep firn as a record of
past atmospheric composition and climate change. Interpretation of these paleoclimate archives is complicated by artifacts of thermal
diffusion, a process in which heavier gases migrate down temperature
gradients toward colder regions in the firn. Seasonal temperature
change at the snow surface creates strong temperature gradients in the
top few meters of the firn, which cause isotopic fractionation of firn
gases. A specific goal of this research is to identify any long-term
effects of seasonal temperature fluctuations on firn air isotopic
anomalies. Data CitationSeveringhaus, J.P., A. Grachev, and M. Battle. 2001. Thermal fractionation of air in polar firn by seasonal temperature gradients. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems [online journal] 2: Paper no. 2000GC000146. Sample Location Map
See Also
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