Firn Air Inert Gas and Oxygen Observations from Siple Dome, 1996, and the South Pole, 2001, Version 1
Data set id:
NSIDC-0290
DOI: 10.7265/N5FJ2DQC

Overview

This data set includes gas ratios in polar firn air: O2/N2, 15N/14N, 40Ar/N2, 40Ar/36Ar, 40Ar/38Ar, 84Kr/36Ar, 132Xe/36Ar, and 22Ne/36Ar. Investigators sampled air from the permeable snowpack (firn) layer at two sites: Siple Dome, Antarctica in 1996 and at the South Pole in 2001. They observed and modeled the processes of gravitational settling, thermal fractionation, and preferential exclusion of small gas molecules from closed air bubbles. The purpose of this study was to understand these physical processes, which affect the composition of bubbles trapped in ice. By measuring these gas ratios in the ancient air preserved in bubbles trapped in ice, researchers can determine past atmospheric composition and local temperature changes along with the relative timing and magnitude of such events.
Parameter(s):
FIRNICE CORE AIR BUBBLESICE SHEETSISOTOPESSNOW/ICESNOW/ICE CHEMISTRY
Platform(s):
GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS
Sensor(s):
CORING DEVICES, FLASKS, MASS SPECTROMETERS
Data Format(s):
PDF, Excel
Temporal Coverage:
15 December 1996 to 21 December 1996
21 January 2001 to 21 January 2001
Temporal Resolution:
Not Specified
Spatial Resolution:
  • Not Specified
Spatial Coverage:
N:
-90
S:
-90
E:
0
W:
0
N:
-80.667
S:
-80.667
E:
-148.767
W:
-148.767
Blue outlined yellow areas on the map below indicate the spatial coverage for this data set.
NSIDC does not archive or provide citation guidance for these data.