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.
Methane and Carbonyl Sulfide Analysis of Siple Dome Ice Core Subsamples, Version 1
NSIDC does not archive these data.
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Geographic Coverage |
Detailed Data Description
Data are available as tab-delimited ASCII text files (.dat, .txt).
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 |
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 |
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:
|
The data set contains 10 files ranging in size from 1 KB to 14 KB.
The total volume of the data set is 58 KB.
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
Data were obtained during three Antarctic field seasons in 1996 to 1999.
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 |
Software and Tools
Data are accessible using standard spreadsheet software.
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.
References and Related Publications
Contacts and Acknowledgments
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
This research was supported by NSF OPP grant 0338359.
Document Information
Document Creation Date
9 September 2009
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