Abstract
AbstractDust events originating from the Saharan desert have far‐reaching environmental impacts, but the causal mechanism of magnitude and occurrence of Saharan dust events (SDEs) during the preinstrumental era requires further research, particularly as a potential analog for future climate. Using an ultrahigh resolution glacio‐chemical record from the 2013 Colle Gnifetti ice core drilled in the Swiss‐Italian Alps, we reconstructed a 2000‐year‐long summer Saharan dust record. We analyzed both modern (1780–2006) and premodern Common Era (CE) major and trace element records to determine air mass source regions to the Colle Gnifetti glacier and assess similarities to modern and reconstructed climate trends in the Northern Hemisphere. This new proxy SDE reconstruction, produced using measurements from a novel, continuous ultrahigh‐resolution (120‐μm) ice core analysis method (laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometer) is comprised of 316,000 data points per element covering the period 1–1820 CE. We found that the Colle Gnifetti ice core captures an anomalous increase in Saharan dust transport during the onset of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (870–1000 CE) and records other prominent shorter events (CE, 140–170, 370–450, 1320–1370, and 1910–2000), offering a framework for new insights into the implications of Saharan dust variability.
Highlights
Dust transport from the Saharan region to Europe is linked to the state of the climate system (Middleton & Goudie, 2001), yet variability in the intensity of these events is poorly constrained for the past two millennia during which both natural and anthropogenic climate change has occurred
This study presents the longest continuous, ultra-high-resolution ice core record yet produced, utilized as a proxy for Fe-bearing Saharan dust events via southerly air masses to the European Alps derived from North Africa over the past 2000 years
Environmental signals are well preserved in the Colle Gnifetti (CG) ice core; the combination of multiple ice core sampling techniques creates a reliable record to interpret the long-term behavior of Saharan dust transport in relation to its occurrence, duration, and magnitude
Summary
Dust transport from the Saharan region to Europe is linked to the state of the climate system (Middleton & Goudie, 2001), yet variability in the intensity of these events is poorly constrained for the past two millennia during which both natural and anthropogenic climate change has occurred. To further investigate SDE transport to Europe and their response to changing climates, we present in this paper the longest, continuous, ultra-high-resolution ice core record yet produced reflecting Saharan dust transported to the European Alps. This record was developed using an innovative technique of compiling continuous measurements from ultra-high resolution (120-μm) LA-ICP-MS technology, applied to the Colle Gnifetti ice core below the firn-ice transition. Relatively little is known about Saharan dust transport during significant climate events of the Common Era such as the LIA and MCA (e.g. Thevenon et al, 2009; Thevenon et al, 2012; Bohleber et al, 2018) and understanding the variability and causality of past climate anomalies can offer essential insights for future climate change (e.g. Antoine & Nobileau, 2006)
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