USAP-DC

This collaborative project explores the signatures and causes of natural climate change in the region surrounding Antarctica over the last 40,000 years as the Earth transitioned from an ice age into the modern warm period. The researchers will investigate how the wind belts that surround Antarctica changed in their strength and position through time, and document explosive volcanic eruptions and CO2 cycling in the Southern Ocean as potential climate forcing mechanisms over this interval. Understanding how and why the climate varied naturally in the past is critical for improving understanding of modern climate change and projections of future climate under higher levels of atmospheric CO2.

The investigators plan to conduct a suite of chemical measurements along the 1500m length of the South Pole Ice Core, including major ion and trace element concentrations, and microparticle (dust) concentrations and size distributions. These measurements will (1) extend the South Pole record of explosive volcanic eruptions to 40,000 years using sulfate and particle data; (2) establish the relative timing of climate changes in dust source regions of Patagonia, New Zealand, and Australia using dust flux data; (3) investigate changes in the strength and position of the westerly wind belt using dust size distribution data; and (4) quantify the flux of bioavailable trace metals deposited as dust to the Southern Ocean over time. These chemistry records will also be critical for creating the timescale that will be used by all researchers studying records from the South Pole core. The project will support four graduate students and several undergraduate students across three different institutions, and become a focus of the investigators' efforts to disseminate outcomes of climate change science to the broader community.

Person	Role
Osterberg, Erich	Investigator and contact

Antarctic Glaciology	Award # 1443663
Antarctic Glaciology	Award # 1443397
Antarctic Glaciology	Award # 1443336

USAP-1443336_1

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
USAP-DC	The South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore) chronology and supporting data	CSV; Excel	exists
USAP-DC	South Pole ice core (SPC14) discrete methane data	Excel	exists
USAP-DC	South Pole Ice Core Holocene Major Ion Dataset	CSV; Excel	exists
USAP-DC	SPICEcore 400-480 m Major Ions SDSU	CSV; Excel	exists
USAP-DC	South Pole Ice Core Sea Salt Sodium	CSV; Excel	deprecated
USAP-DC	South Pole (SPC14) microparticle concentration, mass concentration, flux, particle-size-distribution mode, and aspect ratio measurements	CSV; Excel	exists
USAP-DC	Preliminary SPC14 high-resolution Fe and Mn biologically relevant and dissolved trace metal concentrations spanning -42 – 54,300 years BP.	CSV	exists
USAP-DC	South Pole Ice Core Sea Salt and Major Ions	CSV	exists

1. Winski, D. A., Fudge, T. J., Ferris, D. G., Osterberg, E. C., Fegyveresi, J. M., Cole-Dai, J., Thundercloud, Z., Cox, T. S., Kreutz, K. J., Ortman, N., Buizert, C., Epifanio, J., Brook, E. J., Beaudette, R., Severinghaus, J., Sowers, T., Steig, E. J., Kahle, E. C., Jones, T. R., Morris, V., Aydin, M., Nicewonger, M. R., Casey, K. A., Alley, R. B., Waddington, E. D., Iverson, N. A., Bay, R. C., and Souney, J. M.: The SP19 Chronology for the South Pole Ice Core – Part 1: Volcanic matching and annual-layer counting, Clim. Past Discuss. 2019 (doi:10.5194/cp-2019-61)
2. Winski, D. A., Fudge, T. J., Ferris, D. G., Osterberg, E. C., Fegyveresi, J. M., Cole-Dai, J., Thundercloud, Z., Cox, T. S., Kreutz, K. J., Ortman, N., Buizert, C., Epifanio, J., Brook, E. J., Beaudette, R., Severinghaus, J., Sowers, T., Steig, E. J., Kahle, E. C., Jones, T. R., Morris, V., Aydin, M., Nicewonger, M. R., Casey, K. A., Alley, R. B., Waddington, E. D., Iverson, N. A., Dunbar, N. W., Bay, R. C., Souney, J. M., Sigl, M., and McConnell, J. R. (2019) The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core – Part 1: volcanic matching and annual layer counting, Clim. Past, 15, 1793–1808 (doi:10.5194/cp-15-1793-2019)
3. Hartman, L. H., Kurbatov, A. V., Winski, D. A., Cruz-Uribe, A. M., Davies, S. M., Dunbar, N. W., … Yates, M. G. (2019). Volcanic glass properties from 1459 C.E. volcanic event in South Pole ice core dismiss Kuwae caldera as a potential source. Scientific Reports, 9(1). (doi:10.1038/s41598-019-50939-x)
4. Epifanio, J. A., Brook, E. J., Buizert, C., Edwards, J. S., Sowers, T. A., Kahle, E. C., … Kennedy, J. A. (2020). The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core - Part 2: gas chronology, Δage, and smoothing of atmospheric records. (doi:10.5194/cp-2020-71)
5. Epifanio, J. A., Brook, E. J., Buizert, C., Edwards, J. S., Sowers, T. A., Kahle, E. C., … Kennedy, J. A. (2020). The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core – Part 2: gas chronology, Δage, and smoothing of atmospheric records. Climate of the Past, 16(6), 2431–2444. (doi:10.5194/cp-16-2431-2020)
6. Winski, D. A., Osterberg, E. C., Kreutz, K. J., Ferris, D. G., Cole‐Dai, J., Thundercloud, Z., … Jones, T. R. (2021). Seasonally Resolved Holocene Sea Ice Variability Inferred From South Pole Ice Core Chemistry. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(8). (doi:10.1029/2020gl091602)
7. Jiang, S., Shi, G., Cole-Dai, J., An, C., & Sun, B. (2021). Occurrence, latitudinal gradient and potential sources of perchlorate in the atmosphere across the hemispheres (31°N to 80°S). Environment International, 156, 106611. (doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106611)
8. Cole-Dai, J., Peterson, K. M., Kennedy, J. A., Cox, T. S., & Ferris, D. G. (2018). Evidence of Influence of Human Activities and Volcanic Eruptions on Environmental Perchlorate from a 300-Year Greenland Ice Core Record. Environmental Science & Technology, 52(15), 8373–8380. (doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b01890)
9. Jiang, S., Shi, G., Cole-Dai, J., Zhao, Q., Li, Y., Wang, D., & Sun, B. (2021). Sources and sinks of perchlorate in soil in coastal ice-free areas of Antarctica. CATENA, 207, 105706. (doi:10.1016/j.catena.2021.105706)
10. Chesler, A., Winski, D., Kreutz, K., Koffman, B., Osterberg, E., Ferris, D., Thundercloud, Z., Mohan, J., Cole-Dai, J., Wells, M., Handley, M., Putnam, A., Anderson, K., & Harmon, N. (2022). Non-spherical microparticle shape in Antarctica during the last glacial period affects dust volume-related metrics. (doi:10.5194/cp-2022-36)
11. Cao, Y., Jiang, Z., Alexander, B., Cole-Dai, J., Savarino, J., Erbland, J., & Geng, L. (2022). On the potential fingerprint of the Antarctic ozone hole in ice-core nitrate isotopes: a case study based on a South Pole ice core. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 22(20), 13407–13422. (doi:10.5194/acp-22-13407-2022)
12. Chesler, A., Winski, D., Kreutz, K., Koffman, B., Osterberg, E., Ferris, D., Thundercloud, Z., Mohan, J., Cole-Dai, J., Wells, M., Handley, M., Putnam, A., Anderson, K., & Harmon, N. (2023). Non-spherical microparticle shape in Antarctica during the last glacial period affects dust volume-related metrics. Climate of the Past, 19(2), 477–492. (doi:10.5194/cp-19-477-2023)
13. Cao, Y., Jiang, Z., Alexander, B., Cole-Dai, J., Savarino, J., Erbland, J., & Geng, L. (2022). On the fingerprint of the Antarctica ozone hole in ice core nitrate isotopes: a case study based on a South Pole ice core. (doi:10.5194/acp-2022-417)