Annual Layers Research Articles

Negative Effect of <I>Epinotia granitalis</I> (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Feeding on the Survival of <I>Semanotus japonicus</I> (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Larvae

One important mortality factor of Semanotus japonicus Lacordaire (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) larvae in the trunks of Cryptomeria japonica (Lf.) D. Don (Taxodiaceae) is the presence of oleoresin secreted from traumatic resin canals (TRCs) in the phloem. The present 2-yr investigation examined whether the extent of feeding in the phloem and/or the survival of S. japonicus larvae were negatively influenced by TRCs occurred by Epinotia granitalis (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) larval feeding when these larvae fed simultaneously in the same trunk. The survival of S. japonicus larvae until they reach the xylem, the damage to the xylem, and emergence were investigated. The occurrence of TRCs at the E. granitalis feeding sites was significantly higher at the 1-3-yr-old annual layer compared with nonfeeding sites, suggesting that E. granitalis feeding induces the occurrence. The extent of feeding in the phloem by S. japonicus larvae that were dead there tended to be shorter with number of E. granitalis feeding sites, but the extent of some larvae was long in spite of the existence of E. granitalis feeding, suggesting that larvae feeding opposite to E. granitalis feeding sites could not be influenced by TRCs occurred by E. granitalis. The survival of S. japonicus larvae until they reached xylem did not decrease with the number of E. granitalis feeding sites because preformed TRCs considerably influenced the survival, whereas the survival until damaging the xylem and until emerging decreased. These results indicate that E. granitalis feeding induces the occurrence of TRCs in C. japonica and negatively influences the feeding behavior and survival of S. japonicus, although the survival varies with the feeding direction in respect to E. granitalis feeding sites or the existence of preformed TRCs.

Salinity model errors induced by wind stress uncertainties in the Macaronesian region

Motivated by the imminent launches of two Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) satellite missions, this paper investigates salinity error covariances due to wind stress uncertainties in a regional simulation of the eastern North-Atlantic Ocean from 2000 to 2006. This work follows the study by Mourre et al. (2008), which concluded that the wind stress forcing was the main source of SSS model error in this region. The present study is based on ensemble simulations that start from the same initial conditions but are driven by different wind stresses. The error modes of the wind stress forcing field are approximated by the variability modes of the wind stress. Our results indicate that the surface salinity ensemble spread has an average value over the modelling domain of around 0.1 psu. Under the influence of model dynamics, the largest spreads are found in areas of significant SSS advection. The surface salinity spread also experiences a significant temporal variability at seasonal and interannual scales. The periods of error growth have a duration around 3–4 months. Horizontal SSS error correlation distances are inhomogeneous and anisotropic due to ocean dynamics. They are larger than 100 km almost everywhere in the domain, and can extend over 400 km along the path of the main surface currents. In addition, salinity and temperature anomalies induced by the wind stress forcing are not confined to the surface layers, but propagate into the ocean interior under the influence of vertical dynamical processes. Vertical salinity error correlation distances from the surface are locally larger than the annual maximum mixed layer depth. In areas where subduction occurs, the vertical correlation radii exceed 500 m. According to these results, it is expected that satellite SSS data assimilation in this region will be challenging because (i) the magnitude of the SSS model error is of the same order as the accuracy of the observations, and (ii) the horizontal SSS error correlation scales are comparable to the spatial resolution of satellite SSS products. On the positive side, the temporal resolution of satellite SSS data is finer than the time scale of SSS model error growth.

Stratigraphic analysis of an ice core from the Prince of Wales Icefield, Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada, using digital image analysis: High‐resolution density, past summer warmth reconstruction, and melt effect on ice core solid conductivity

High‐resolution (1 mm) stratigraphic information was derived from digital image analysis of an ice core from the Prince of Wales (POW) Icefield, Central Ellesmere Island, Canada. Following careful image processing, a profile of ice core transmitted light was derived from the greyscale images and used to reconstruct high‐resolution density variations for the unfractured sections of the core. Images were further classified into infiltration and glacier ice using an automatic thresholding procedure, and were converted to a high‐resolution melt percentage index. The mean annual melt percentage over the last 580 years was 9%, and melting occurred in 8 years out of 10. Melting obliterated most of the original depositional sequence, and seasonal density cycles were mostly unrecognizable. The ice core solid conductivity was greater and more variable in melt features than in glacier ice, owing to washout of strong acids by meltwater (elution) and chemical enrichment upon refreezing. This hindered the identification of acid volcanic layers and further compromised dating by annual layer counting. Comparison of the melt record with those from other Arctic ice caps shows that the melt‐temperature relationship on POW Icefield is site‐specific. We speculate that this is due to the peculiar position of the icefield, which rests on the periphery of the Baffin Bay maritime climate zone, and to the proximity of the North Open Water polynya, which controls snow accumulation variability on the icefield and affects the melt percentage index.

Annual growth layers as proxies of past growth conditions for benthic microbial mats in a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake

Perennial microbial mats can be the dominant autotrophic community in Antarctic lakes. Their seasonal growth results in clearly discernible annual growth layering. We examined features of live microbial mats from a range of depths in Lake Hoare, Antarctica, that are likely to be preserved in these layers to determine their potential as proxies of past growth performance. Cyanobacteria dominated the mat for all but the deepest depth sampled. Changes in areal concentrations of phycobilin pigments, organic matter and extracellular polysaccharide and in species composition did not correspond to changes in various water column properties, but showed a linear relationship with irradiance. Carbonate accumulation in the mats correlated with biomass markers and may be inferred as an index of mat performance. We examined the carbonate content of annual layers laid down from 1958-1959 to 1994-1995 in sediment cores from 12 m depth. The carbonate content in the layer showed a significant correlation with the mean summer air temperature. These data suggest a link between air temperature and microbial mat growth performance, and suggest that it is mediated via irradiance. Laminated microbial mats in Antarctic lakes have the potential to act as fine-resolution records of environmental conditions in the recent past, although interpretation is complex.

Spatial and temporal variability in snow accumulation at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide over recent centuries

Ice cores collected in 2000 (ITASE 00‐1) and 2005 (WDC05A, WDC05Q) from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide (WAIS Divide) project site were used to investigate the spatial and temporal variability in accumulation. The ice cores were dated based on annual layer counting of multiple glaciochemical measurements resulting in bottom depth ages for WDC05A, WDC05Q, and ITASE 00‐1 of 1775, 1521, and 1653 A.D., with mean annual accumulation rates of 0.200, 0.204, and 0.221 mweq a−1, respectively. Small‐scale spatial variability (SSV) was determined using an analysis of variance of accumulation in the ice core array, thereby quantifying the uncertainty in individual accumulation records. Results indicate that the spatial variability was 0.030 mweq a−1, or approximately 15% of the average annual accumulation. An accumulation record representative of the WAIS Divide local area over recent centuries was developed using a principal component analysis to identify the coherent accumulation signal. The WAIS Divide local record exhibited 14% interannual variability (1 standard deviation of the mean) with the SSV reduced to 0.017 mweq a−1. Correlations of the WAIS Divide local accumulation record with atmospheric indices (e.g., Antarctic Oscillation) exhibited periods when the records oscillate in and out of phase. Thus, reconstructing local and global atmospheric indices from WAIS Divide accumulation records over recent centuries may prove problematic.

Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype Section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records

AbstractThe Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP (NGRIP) contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision. This climatic event is most clearly reflected in an abrupt shift in deuterium excess values, accompanied by more gradual changes in δ18O, dust concentration, a range of chemical species, and annual layer thickness. A timescale based on multi‐parameter annual layer counting provides an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2 k (before AD 2000) for the base of the Holocene, with a maximum counting error of 99 yr. A proposal that an archived core from this unique sequence should constitute the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) has been ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences. Five auxiliary stratotypes for the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary have also been recognised. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A promising location in Patagonia for paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions revealed by a shallow firn core from Monte San Valentín (Northern Patagonia Icefield, Chile)

The study of past climate variability from ice core investigations has been largely developed both in polar areas over the past decades and, more recently, in tropical regions, specifically along the South American Andes between 0° and 20°S. However a large gap still remains at mid‐latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. In this framework, a 15.3‐m long shallow firn core has been extracted in March 2005 from the summit plateau of Monte San Valentín (3747 m, 46°35′S, 73°19′W) in the Northern Patagonia Icefield to test its potential for paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The firn temperature is −11.9°C at 10‐m depth allowing to expect well preserved both chemical and isotopic signals, unperturbed by water percolation. The dating of the core, on the basis of a multi‐proxy approach combining annual layer counting and radionuclide measurements, shows that past environment and climate can be reconstructed back to the mid‐1960s. A mean annual snow accumulation rate of 36 ± 3 cm year−1 (i.e., 19 ± 2 g cm−2 year−1) is inferred, with a snow density varying between 0.35 and 0.6 g cm−3, which is much lower than accumulation rates previously reported in Patagonia at lower elevations. Here, we present and discuss high‐resolution profiles of the isotopic composition of the snow and selected chemical markers. These data provide original information on environmental conditions prevailing over Southern Patagonia in terms of air masses trajectories and origins and biogeochemical reservoirs. Our main conclusion is that the San Valentín site is not only influenced by air masses originating from the southern Pacific and directly transported by the prevailing west winds but also by inputs from South American continental sources from the E–NE, sometimes mixed with circumpolar aged air masses, the relative influence of these two very distinct source areas changing at the interannual timescale. Thus this site should offer a wealth of information regarding (South) Pacific, Argentinian NE–E areas and Antarctic climate variability.

Seasonal development of phloem in Siberian larch stems

The seasonal development of phloem in the stems of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ldb.) was studied over two seasons on 50-60-year-old trees growing in a natural stand in the Siberian forest-steppe zone. Trees at the age of 20-25 years were used to study metabolites in differentiating and mature phloem elements, cambial zone, and radially growing xylem cells in the period of early and late wood formation. The development of the current-year phloem in the stems of 50-60-year-old trees started, depending on climatic conditions, in the second-third decades of May, 10-20 days before the xylem formation, and ended together with the shoot growth cessation in late July. Monitoring of the seasonal activity of cambium producing phloem sieve cells and the duration of their differentiation compared to the xylem derivatives in the cambium demonstrated that the top production of phloem and xylem cells could coincide or not coincide during the season, while their differentiation activity was always in antiphase. Sieve cells in the early phloem are separated from those in the late phloem by a layer of tannin-containing cells, which are formed in the period when late xylem formation starts. The starch content in the structural elements of phloem depends on the state of annual xylem layer development. The content of low molecular weight carbohydrates, amino acids, organic acids, and phenols in phloem cells, cambial zone, and xylem derivatives of the cambium depends on the cell type and developmental stage as well as on the type of forming wood (early or late) differing by the cell wall parameters and, hence, by the requirement for assimilates. Significant differences in the dynamics of substances per dry weight and cell were observed during cell development.

The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) in the NGRIP ice core

The Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP (NGRIP) contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision. This climatic event is most clearly reflected in an. abrupt shaft in deuterium excess values, accompanied by more gradual changes in delta O-18, dust concentration, a range of chemical species, and annual layer thickness. A timescale based on multi-parameter annual layer counting provides an age of 11,700 yr b2k (before AD2000) for the base of the Holocene, with, an estimated 2 sigma uncertainty of 99 yr: It is proposed that an archived core from this unique sequence should constitute the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period).

Synchronizing ice cores from the Renland and Agassiz ice caps to the Greenland Ice Core Chronology

Four ice cores from the Agassiz ice cap in the Canadian high arctic and one ice core from the Renland ice cap in eastern Greenland have been synchronized to the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) which is based on annual layer counts in the DYE‐3, GRIP and NGRIP ice cores. Volcanic reference horizons, seen in electrical conductivity measurements (ECM) have been used to carry out the synchronization throughout the Holocene. The Agassiz ice cores have been matched to the NGRIP ice core ECM signal, while the Renland core has been matched to the GRIP ice core ECM signal, thus tying the cores to GICC05. Furthermore, it has been possible to synchronize the Renland ice core to NGRIP‐GICC05 in the glacial period back to 60,000 years b2k (years before A.D. 2000), on the basis of a matching of transitions between stadials and interstadials. This work brings the total number of ice core records that have been rigorously tied to the GICC05 timescale up to nine. Renland annual layer thicknesses are increasing with depth during the period from 7 to 8.5 ka b2k, a highly unusual observation only matched by a similar thickness increase in the glacial section of the Renland core some 60 ka ago. Annual layer thicknesses in the Agassiz ice cores point to a well‐developed Raymond bump in the Agassiz ice cap.

Identification of the Fugloyarbanki tephra in the NGRIP ice core: a key tie‐point for marine and ice‐core sequences during the last glacial period

AbstractA visible tephra horizon in the NGRIP ice core has been identified by geochemical analysis as the Fugloyarbanki Tephra, a widespread marker horizon in marine cores from the Faroe Islands area and the northern North Atlantic. An age of 26 740 ± 390 yr b2k (1σ uncertainty) is derived for this tephra according to the new Greenland Ice Core Chronology (GICC05) based on multi‐parameter counting of annual layers. Detection of this tephra for the first time within the NGRIP ice core provides a key tie‐point between marine and ice‐core records during the transition between MIS 3 and 2. Identification of this volcanic event within the Greenland records demonstrates the future potential of using tephrochronology to precisely correlate palaeoarchives in widely separated localities that span the last glacial period, as well as providing a potential method for examining the extent of the radiocarbon marine reservoir effect at this time. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A 60 000 year Greenland stratigraphic ice core chronology

Abstract. The Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) is a time scale based on annual layer counting of high-resolution records from Greenland ice cores. Whereas the Holocene part of the time scale is based on various records from the DYE-3, the GRIP, and the NorthGRIP ice cores, the glacial part is solely based on NorthGRIP records. Here we present an 18 ka extension of the time scale such that GICC05 continuously covers the past 60 ka. The new section of the time scale places the onset of Greenland Interstadial 12 (GI-12) at 46.9±1.0 ka b2k (before year AD 2000), the North Atlantic Ash Zone II layer in GI-15 at 55.4±1.2 ka b2k, and the onset of GI-17 at 59.4±1.3 ka b2k. The error estimates are derived from the accumulated number of uncertain annual layers. In the 40–60 ka interval, the new time scale has a discrepancy with the Meese-Sowers GISP2 time scale of up to 2.4 ka. Assuming that the Greenland climatic events are synchronous with those seen in the Chinese Hulu Cave speleothem record, GICC05 compares well to the time scale of that record with absolute age differences of less than 800 years throughout the 60 ka period. The new time scale is generally in close agreement with other independently dated records and reference horizons, such as the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion, the French Villars Cave and the Austrian Kleegruben Cave speleothem records, suggesting high accuracy of both event durations and absolute age estimates.

Dating annual layers of a shallow Antarctic ice core with an optical scanner

AbstractThis study tests novel methods for automatically identifying annual layers in a shallow Antarctic ice core (WDC05Q) using images that were collected with an optical scanner at the US National Ice Core Laboratory. A new method of optimized variance maximization (OVM) modeled the density-related changes in annual layer thickness directly from image variance. This was done by using multi-objective complex (MOCOM) parameter optimization to drive a low-pass filtering scheme. The OVM-derived changes in annual layer thickness corresponded well with the results of an independent glaciochemical interpretation of the core. Individual annual cycles in image brightness were then identified by using OVM results to apply a depth-varying low-pass filter and fitting a second-order polynomial to a locally detrended neighborhood. The resulting map of annual cycles agreed to within 1% of the overall annual count of the glaciochemical interpretation. Agreement on the presence of specific annual layer features was 96%. It was also shown that the MOCOM parameter optimization could calibrate the image-based results to match directly the date of a specific volcanic marker.

Surface characteristics at Dome A, Antarctica: first measurements and a guide to future ice-coring sites

AbstractAn assessment of the glaciological and meteorological characteristics of Dome A, the summit of the East Antarctic ice sheet, is made based on field investigations during the austral summer of 2004/05. Knowledge of these characteristics is critical for future international studies such as deep ice-core drilling. The assessment shows that: (1) Dome A is characterized by a very low 10m depth firn temperature, –58.3˚C (nearly 3˚C lower than at EPICA Dome C and 1˚C lower than at Vostok). (2) Automatic weather station (AWS) measurements of snow surface height and reference layers in a snow pit indicate the present-day snow accumulation rate at Dome A is within the range 1–3cmw.e. a–1. Densification models suggest a range of 1–2cmw.e. a–1. This is lower than at other sites along the ice divide of East Antarctica (IDEA). Annual layers at Dome A are thus potentially thinner than at other sites, so that a longer record is preserved in a given ice thickness. (3) The average wind speed observed at Dome A (<4ms–1) is lower than at other sites along IDEA. Together, these parameters, combined with radio-echo sounding data and information on the subglacial drainage distribution beneath Dome A, suggest Dome A as a candidate site for obtaining the oldest ice core.

Lateglacial environmental variability from Swiss tree rings

Evidence of annually resolved environmental variations during the Allerød interstadial is presented using 81 fossil Scots pine tree-ring series from Gaenziloo and Landikon, near Zurich, Switzerland. The absolute age of the trees ranges between 11,920 and 10,610 14C BP, which was determined by wiggle-matching radiocarbon ages to the Cariaco 14C data set. From the two sites we created a composite floating Allerød chronology on the basis of their 632 years of overlap ( r=0.57), after individual spline detrending. Merging both data sets resulted in a Lateglacial tree-ring chronology covering 1050 years. Regional curve standardization (RCS) was applied to preserve low-frequency information. Growth behavior of the fossil trees was compared with a recent composite pine data set from the central Swiss Alps and reveals distinct differences. The new Allerød RCS chronology reveals major Lateglacial variations, such as the Gerzensee oscillation, the abrupt climate shift towards the Younger Dryas and some short-term events. Radiocarbon ages agree well with those from other sites on the Swiss Plateau. For hemispheric comparisons we used the annual layer thickness record from the NGRIP ice core and the gray-scale varve record from the Cariaco basin. Even though the amplitudes are not yet fully understood, similarities on decadal-to-centennial scales are apparent.

Novel Dating Method for Speleothems with Microscopic Fluorescent Annual Layers

Terrestrial carbonate deposits with a banded layer structure can be good tools for the extraction of past environmental information on global and local scales using trace element concentrations and stable isotope ratios. The absolute age dating is most important for the reconstruction of an environmental chronicle. The measurements of fluorescent annual bandings in stalagmites using a microscopic spectrofluorometer with an XY-stage can be a convenient dating method and are especially effective for young samples whose absolute age is very difficult to be determined by other methods. The number of annual bandings was objectively counted using a personal computer. The optimal conditions for the measurements are discussed. The annual banding in stalagmites is caused by the seasonal differences in the fulvic acid concentrations in the dripping water which forms speleothems.

Ice thinning, upstream advection, and non-climatic biases for the upper 89% of the EDML ice core from a nested model of the Antarctic ice sheet

Abstract. A nested ice flow model was developed for eastern Dronning Maud Land to assist with the dating and interpretation of the EDML deep ice core. The model consists of a high-resolution higher-order ice dynamic flow model that was nested into a comprehensive 3-D thermomechanical model of the whole Antarctic ice sheet. As the drill site is on a flank position the calculations specifically take into account the effects of horizontal advection as deeper ice in the core originated from higher inland. First the regional velocity field and ice sheet geometry is obtained from a forward experiment over the last 8 glacial cycles. The result is subsequently employed in a Lagrangian backtracing algorithm to provide particle paths back to their time and place of deposition. The procedure directly yields the depth-age distribution, surface conditions at particle origin, and a suite of relevant parameters such as initial annual layer thickness. This paper discusses the method and the main results of the experiment, including the ice core chronology, the non-climatic corrections needed to extract the climatic part of the signal, and the thinning function. The focus is on the upper 89% of the ice core (appr. 170 kyears) as the dating below that is increasingly less robust owing to the unknown value of the geothermal heat flux. It is found that the temperature biases resulting from variations of surface elevation are up to half of the magnitude of the climatic changes themselves.

Timing of the late glacial and Younger Dryas cold reversal in southern Chile varved sediments

The timing of the last deglaciation in southern Chile is re-evaluated from a calendar varve chronology (Lago Puyehue, 40° S). The climate shifts are analysed by continuous annual varve-thickness measurements through the ∼17,100 cal. year to 10,800 cal. year BP time window (∼3.5 m sediment core). The varve years are determined by the alternation of light (phytoplankton-rich) and dark (terrigenous and organic-rich) layers forming graded annual couplets (∼0.2 to 0.8 mm/year). The varve chronology is constructed by conventional varve-counting methods on thin sections after correction for instantaneous volcanic and/or seismic events detected in the thin sections. The calibrated varve-age model derived from the manual varve counting is constrained by high-resolution grey-scale (GS) semi-automatic counts of the annual light phytoplankton-rich layers (∼120 μm to 300 μm thick). Due to physical sediment properties the GS constitutes a proxy record for the phytoplankton/terrigenous varve-thickness variations through the sediment record. The varve couplets are thicker/thinner during humid/dry phases and darker/lighter (negative/positive annual grey-scale index) during cold/warm phases. Our results show that at 40° S the last deglaciation took place in two phases between ∼17,100 cal. year and ∼15,500 cal. year BP. We note a climate instability between ∼15,500 cal. year and 13,300 cal. year BP and a significant dry phase between ∼15,000 and 14,500 cal. year BP. We evidence a cold event in two phases between ∼13,300 and 12,200 cal. year BP interrupted by a dry event between ∼12,800 and 12,600 cal. year BP. The onset of a significant warmer period is observed after ∼11,500 cal. year BP. Our results provide new evidence of a Younger Dryas cool reversal in southern Chile, i.e., the Huelmo/Mascardi event Hajdas et al. (2003) associated with an abrupt dry pulse at ∼12,800–12,600 cal. year BP. The high-resolution grey-scale measurements performed on the biogenic varves from Lago Puyehue provide a reliable calibrated chronology of the regional environmental and climate shifts during the last deglaciation.

Radiocarbon and ice‐core chronologies during glacial and deglacial times

Accurate timescales are the backbone of palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Detailed comparison between land, ocean, and ice archives and their respective climate proxies requires high‐resolution and accurate dating. For terrestrial and marine climate archives, calibration of radiocarbon (14C) dates provides a common timescale. However, for the time interval between 12.4 and 26 thousand calendar years B.P, i.e., beyond tree‐ring‐based calibration, the accepted radiocarbon calibration curve IntCal04 relies at present on marine 14C series, with associated uncertainties of the calendar scale. For ages older than 26 thousand calendar years B.P, there is no recommended calibration curve because of timescale discrepancies in the data sets covering that period. Dansgaard‐ Oeschger (D/O) and Heinrich events in ice cores provide useful templates for high‐latitude climate sequences during the last glacial period. Annual layer counting provides an independent timescale, with counting errors caused by false identification of annual layers being small (several decades) in the Holocene. However, such errors may add up to several thousand years during Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3.

Spatial and temporal variability of surface mass balance near Talos Dome, East Antarctica

Predictions concerning Antarctica's contribution to sea level change have been hampered by poor knowledge of surface mass balance. Snow accumulation is the most direct climate indicator and has important implications for paleoclimatic reconstruction from ice cores. Snow accumulation measurements (stake, core, snow radar) taken along a 500‐km transect crossing Talos Dome (East Antarctica) have been used to assess accumulation signals and the representativeness of ice core records. Stake readings show that accumulation hiatuses can occur at sites with accumulation rates below 120 kg m−2 yr−1. Differences between cores and stakes can lead to statistical misidentification of annual layers determined from seasonal signals at sites with accumulation rates below 200 kg m−2 yr−1 because of nondetection of higher and lower values. Achieving ±10% accuracy in the reconstruction of snow accumulation from single cores requires high accumulation (750 kg m−2 yr−1). Low‐accumulation sites are representative if cumulative rates computed over several years are used to reach the 750 kg m−2 yr−1 threshold. Temporal variability of accumulation over the last two centuries shows no significant increase in accumulation. Wind‐driven processes are a fundamental component of surface mass balance. Spatial variations in accumulation are well correlated with surface slope changes along the wind direction and may exceed 200 kg m−2 yr−1 within 1 km. Wind‐driven sublimation rates are less than 50 kg m−2 yr−1 in plateau areas and up to 260 kg m−2 yr−1 in slope areas and account for 20–75% of precipitation, whereas depositional features are negligible in surface mass balance.