Annual Layering Research Articles

Reconstruction of annual accumulation rate on firn, synchronising H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> concentration data with an estimated temperature record

Abstract. This work deals with reconstructing firn layer thicknesses at the deposition time from the firn's observed thickness in ice cores, thus reconstructing the annual accumulation, yielding a timescale and an ice-core chronology. We employed a dynamic time warping algorithm to find an optimal, non-linear alignment between an H2O2 concentration data series from 98 m worth of ice cores of a borehole on the central ice divide of the Detroit Plateau, the Antarctic Peninsula, and an estimated local temperature time series. The viability and the physical reliability of the procedure are rooted in the robustness of the seasonal marker H2O2 in a high-accumulation context, which brought the entire borehole to within the operational life span of four Antarctic stations around the Antarctic Peninsula. The process was heavily based on numerical optimisation, producing a mathematically sound match between the two series to estimate the annual layering efficiently on the entire data section at once, being disposition-free. The results herein confirm a high annual accumulation rate of aN=2.8 m w.e./yr, which is of the same order of magnitude as and highly correlated with that of the Bruce Plateau and twice as large as that of the Gomez Plateau, 300 and 1200 km further south, respectively.

The aqueduct of Gerasa – Intra-annual palaeoenvironmental data from Roman Jordan using carbonate deposits

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) deposits from Roman aqueducts are an innovative archive to obtain local high-resolution palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data in interdisciplinary studies. Deposits from one of the aqueducts of the Roman city of Gerasa provide a record of 59 years during the 1st to 3rd centuries CE, divided into three sequences separated by plaster layers. Annual carbonate layers show an alternation of sparite, formed in winter, and micrite, formed in summer. Brown bands at the base of many sparite layers probably correspond to large rainstorms in early winter. A fine lamination present in the brown bands may be diurnal in origin. Stable isotope and trace element data confirm annual layering, indicate strongly variable flow rate in the aqueduct and show truncations that may have been associated with drying up of the channel in some years. The trace element pattern is typical of a relatively small aquifer with a rapid response to precipitation. The trace element composition changes abruptly from the first to the second carbonate sequence, suggesting that a spring was added to increase the flow rate. Deformation twins in calcite crystals at the top of the second sequence may be due to earthquake damage after 48 years of use. The presence of abundant clay in the carbonate sequence, especially in the third sequence, suggests seismic damage to the channel. The channel was usually replastered after damage. The aqueduct went out of use sometime after the mid-2nd to mid-3rd century CE. The carbonate archive stores key information on groundwater quantity and composition and indirectly on air temperature, rainfall, extreme environmental events and land use at sub-annual resolution.

Grazer responses to variable macroalgal resource conditions facilitate habitat structuring.

Consumer responses to altered resource conditions can vary depending on dietary preference, resource characteristics and secondary resource features such as shelter. These can have cascading effects, especially if the consumed resource impacts on overall ecological functioning. In this study, we assessed the dietary composition of grazer communities following seasonal changes in the characteristics of their staple food-source (macroalgae). This was conducted in the living stromatolite pools growing along the coast of South Africa. Stable isotope mixing models suggested that following macroalgal bleaching in summer, metazoan consumers shifted their diet from predominantly macroalgae to a generalist composition. This has important implications for the integrity of the stromatolite matrix and its layered deposition. Where previously in winter stromatolite microalgae comprised a minor component of metazoan consumer diets, in summer, following a change in the resource conditions of macroalgae, microalgae featured more prominently in grazer diets. This seasonal grazing pressure on stromatolite-related resources probably promotes the pattern of annual layering observed in the stromatolite accretion. It also demonstrates a mechanism whereby grazer dietary shifts following a change in their preferred food resource can affect the ecosystem structure of their environment, specifically the stromatolite layering process which responds to microalgal growth or grazing conditions.

Laser Ultrasound Observations of Mechanical Property Variations in Ice Cores

The study of climate records in ice cores requires an accurate determination of annual layering within the cores in order to establish a depth-age relationship. Existing tools to delineate these annual layers are based on observations of changes in optical, chemical, and electromagnetic properties. In practice, no single technique captures every layer in all circumstances. Therefore, the best estimates of annual layering are produced by analyzing a combination of measurable ice properties. We present a novel and complimentary elastic wave remote sensing method based on laser ultrasonics. This method is used to measure variations in ultrasonic wave arrival times and velocity along the core with millimeter resolution. The laser ultrasound system does not require contact with the ice core and is non-destructive. Custom optical windows allow the source and receiver lasers to be located outside the cold room, while the core is scanned by moving it with a computer-controlled stage. We present results from Antarctic firn and ice cores that lack visual evidence of a layered structure, but do show travel-time and velocity variations. In the future, these new data may be used to infer stratigraphic layers from elastic parameter variations within an ice core, as well as analyze ice crystal fabrics.

On the occurrence of annual layers in Dome Fuji ice core early Holocene ice

Abstract. Whereas ice cores from high-accumulation sites in coastal Antarctica clearly demonstrate annual layering, it is debated whether a seasonal signal is also preserved in ice cores from lower-accumulation sites further inland and particularly on the East Antarctic Plateau. In this study, we examine 5 m of early Holocene ice from the Dome Fuji (DF) ice core at a high temporal resolution by continuous flow analysis. The ice was continuously analysed for concentrations of dust, sodium, ammonium, liquid conductivity, and water isotopic composition. Furthermore, a dielectric profiling was performed on the solid ice. In most of the analysed ice, the multi-parameter impurity data set appears to resolve the seasonal variability although the identification of annual layers is not always unambiguous. The study thus provides information on the snow accumulation process in central East Antarctica. A layer counting based on the same principles as those previously applied to the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice core Project) and the Antarctic EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dronning Maud Land (EDML) ice cores leads to a mean annual layer thickness for the DF ice of 3.0 ± 0.3 cm that compares well to existing estimates. The measured DF section is linked to the EDML ice core through a characteristic pattern of three significant acidity peaks that are present in both cores. The corresponding section of the EDML ice core has recently been dated by annual layer counting and the number of years identified independently in the two cores agree within error estimates. We therefore conclude that, to first order, the annual signal is preserved in this section of the DF core. This case study demonstrates the feasibility of determining annually deposited strata on the central East Antarctic Plateau. It also opens the possibility of resolving annual layers in the Eemian section of Antarctic ice cores where the accumulation is estimated to have been greater than in the Holocene.

Densification of polar snow: Measurements, modeling, and implications for altimetry

Density profiles in the upper 10–14 m of snow have been measured along a 500 km traverse across the Greenland ice sheet, using a neutron scattering technique. Repeat measurements, over periods ranging from a few days to 5 years, allow strain rates to be determined as a function of depth. Very large strain rates are observed in the surface layer of snow over summer periods. In the underlying multiyear snow, strain rate decreases with decreasing porosity. However, once this effect has been removed, the effect of increasing overburden pressure is counteracted by increasing strength of the material. There are fluctuations in strain rate associated with the annual layering, which indicate that winter and summer snow have different strengths. Based on these observations, we derive a new densification equation which includes the effect of snow density and snow type, and the effect of temperature, described by an Arrhenius expression with activation energy of the order of 110 kJ mol−1 and an exponential prefactor determined simply by the temperature history of the snow. For multiyear snow and meteorological conditions that do not vary from year to year, our equation reduces to a form similar to the Herron and Langway equation for first‐stage densification. Using the new equation, we calculate the sensitivity of compaction rate to short‐term fluctuations in temperature and accumulation as 0.11–0.20 m a−1 K−1 and 0.33–0.95 m a−1(meters water equivalent)−1, respectively, and discuss the consequent uncertainty in satellite measurements of the long‐term elevation trend in this area of the Greenland ice sheet.

Environmental and depositional controls on laminated freshwater carbonates: An example from the Roman aqueduct of Patara, Turkey

Carbonate deposits in aqueducts are a new high-resolution data source for environmental changes during the time of the Roman Empire, notably in the fields of palaeoclimate and spring hydrology. In order to distinguish environmental effects from those related to depositional setting, laminated carbonate deposits were compared along the entire length of an ancient aqueduct channel at Patara, Turkey. The carbonate deposits, up to 80mm in thickness, are composed of lamina couplets up to 1mm thick of alternating porous microspar and dense, columnar sparite. The former formed in the dry, warm season and the latter in the wet, cool season. The presence of biofilms seems to play a role in the development of the porous laminae. The relative importance of both lamina types depends also on the location within the aqueduct: dense, coarse-crystalline laminae dominate in steep sections of the aqueduct, while porous, fine-crystalline laminae are mostly found on gentle slopes. This is attributed to the flow velocity of the water, since fast flow on steep slopes hampers the development of biofilms. Carbonate microstructures can vary considerably down the line of a specific aqueduct; hence multiple sampling is needed along the channel in order to collect specimens suitable for detailed research. δ18O profiles show oscillations with increasing amplitude downstream reflecting rising water temperatures in the channel, while evaporation plays a minor, damping role on these oscillations. The periodicity of the δ18O values can be used to recognise annual layering in order to establish the number of years an aqueduct was operating. δ13C values are higher in open masonry channel sections than in ceramic pipes, probably due to stronger degassing of CO2 in the open channel. Carbonate deposits in Roman aqueducts hold high promises as seasonally resolved archives of hydrology and climate and, possibly, of earthquakes.

Assessing a multilayered dynamic firn-compaction model for Greenland with ASIRAS radar measurements

AbstractA method to assess firn compaction using data collected with the Airborne SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar)/Interferometric Radar Altimeter System (ASIRAS) is developed. For this, we develop a dynamical firn-compaction model that includes meltwater retention. Based on the ASIRAS data, which show internal layers as annual horizons in the uppermost firn, the method relies on inferring the age/ depth (internal layers) information from the radar data using a Monte Carlo inversion technique to tune in parallel both the firn model and the atmospheric forcing parameters (temperature and accumulation). The model is validated against two firn cores, and it is shown that applying both firn densities and age/ depth information for the inversion gives the most accurate understanding of model biases. The method is then applied to a 67 km section of the EGIG line forced by atmospheric output from a regional climate model using only age/depth information in the inversion step. The layers traced by the ASIRAS data are modeled with a root-mean-square error of 9 cm, which is within the estimated error of the layer tracing. This gives us confidence in applying observed annual layering from firn radar data to assess firn compaction; however, the study also indicates that our firn-model-tuning parameters are site-dependent and cannot be parameterized by temperature and accumulation alone.

Optical-televiewer-based identification and characterization of material facies associated with an Antarctic ice-shelf rift

AbstractWe have drilled 13 boreholes within and around a through-cutting rift on the (unofficially named) Roi Baudouin Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Logging by optical televiewer (OPTV) combined with core inspection has resulted in the identification and characterization of several material facies. Outside the rift, OPTV-imaged annual layering indicates ~150 years of accumulation over the 66 m length of one of the boreholes. Luminosity analysis of this image also reveals the presence of numerous dark melt layers as well as a systematic decrease in background luminosity, interpreted in terms of a progressive increase in light transmission during firnification. We identify four material facies within the rift: snow, granular ice, marine ice and unconsolidated platelets. We interpret the granular ice facies as snow that has been saturated by percolating sea water, and the underlying marine ice as compacted buoyant platelets that have adhered to the rift base. Core sections reveal the presence of tubular channels within the marine ice, indicating that it is macroporous and permeable to sea water. The lower boundary of this facies merges into a mushy layer of unconsolidated platelets that were successfully imaged by OPTV, revealing irregular sub-horizontal layering similar to that reported previously on the basis of (directional) borehole video.

Annual layering in the NGRIP ice core during the Eemian

Abstract. The Greenland NGRIP ice core continuously covers the period from present day back to 123 ka before present, which includes several thousand years of ice from the previous interglacial period, MIS 5e or the Eemian. In the glacial part of the core, annual layers can be identified from impurity records and visual stratigraphy, and stratigraphic layer counting has been performed back to 60 ka. In the deepest part of the core, however, the ice is close to the pressure melting point, the visual stratigraphy is dominated by crystal boundaries, and annual layering is not visible to the naked eye. In this study, we apply a newly developed setup for high-resolution ice core impurity analysis to produce continuous records of dust, sodium and ammonium concentrations as well as conductivity of melt water. We analyzed three 2.2 m sections of ice from the Eemian and the glacial inception. In all of the analyzed ice, annual layers can clearly be recognized, most prominently in the dust and conductivity profiles. Part of the samples is, however, contaminated in dust, most likely from drill liquid. It is interesting that the annual layering is preserved despite a very active crystal growth and grain boundary migration in the deep and warm NGRIP ice. Based on annual layer counting of the new records, we determine a mean annual layer thickness close to 11 mm for all three sections, which, to first order, confirms the modeled NGRIP time scale (ss09sea). The counting does, however, suggest a longer duration of the climatically warmest part of the NGRIP record (MIS5e) of up to 1 ka as compared to the model estimate. Our results suggest that stratigraphic layer counting is possible basically throughout the entire NGRIP ice core, provided sufficiently highly-resolved profiles become available.

Glaciological and climatic significance of Hercules Dome, Antarctica: An optimal site for deep ice core drilling

We present glaciological and climatological characteristics of Hercules Dome, Antarctica (86°S, 105°W), which demonstrate its potential as a deep ice core site. Annual layering in δD ratios from a 72 m ice core collected by the US‐ITASE 2002 traverse indicate accumulation rates of 0.16–0.20 m/yr ice equivalent over the last 300 years. Age control from stratigraphy seen in the radio‐echo sounding data collected during the same traverse suggests a rate of 0.09–0.11 m/yr averaged over the past 18,000 years. Ice stratigraphy also indicates that the ice divide position has been stable through at least this period. Comparison of satellite‐derived temperature anomalies with atmospheric reanalysis data show that the site is sensitive to the two dominant patterns of climate variability in the high‐latitude Southern Hemisphere. Climate proxy data from a deep ice core at Hercules Dome would be indicative of changes in Pacific Southern Hemisphere climate variability and may provide new information on rapid climate change events in Antarctica. The sensitivity of the site and the combination of relatively high accumulation rates, low temperatures (mean annual −35°C to −40°C), and simple ice flow suggest that Hercules Dome is an ideal site for a future deep ice core.

Two-dimensional electrical stratigraphy of the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core

AbstractA two-dimensional array of electrical conductivity measurements (ECM) has been used to image the acidity of the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core in a vertical plane. Annual layering and possible stratigraphic discontinuities are apparent. A brief disruption to the chemical stratigraphy is detected at 680 m. Below 800 m, weaker layering occurs and is interpreted as the result of post-depositional migration of chemical species. This technique provides a way to observe the horizontal continuity of chemical layers in an ice core and identify some types of flow irregularity.

Dating the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core by manual and computer interpretation of annual layering

AbstractThe Holocene portion of the Siple Dome (Antarctica) ice core was dated by interpreting the electrical, visual and chemical properties of the core. The data were interpreted manually and with a computer algorithm. The algorithm interpretation was adjusted to be consistent with atmospheric methane stratigraphic ties to the GISP2 (Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2) ice core, 10Be stratigraphic ties to the dendrochronology 14 C record and the dated volcanic stratigraphy. The algorithm interpretation is more consistent and better quantified than the tedious and subjective manual interpretation.

Microstructure of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter deposited around hot springs and geysers, Yellowstone National Park: the role of biological and abiological processes in sedimentation

Slightly alkaline hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone National Park exhibit distinctive assemblages of high-temperature (>73 °C) siliceous sinter reflecting local hydrodynamic conditions. The main depositional zones include subaqueous pool and channel bottoms and intermittently wetted subaerial splash, surge, and overflow areas. Subaqueous deposits include particulate siliceous sediment and dendritic and microbial silica framework. Silica framework forms thin, porous, microbe-rich films coating subaqueous surfaces. Spicules with intervening narrow crevices dominate in splash zones. Surge and overflow deposits include pool and channel rims, columns, and knobs. In thin section, subaerial sinter is composed of (i) dark brown, nearly opaque laminated sinter deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness; (ii) clear translucent silica deposited subaqueously through precipitation driven by supersaturation; (iii) heterogeneous silica representing silica-encrusted microbial filaments and detritus; and (iv) sinter debris. Brownish laminations form the framework of most sinter deposited in surge and overflow zones. Pits and cavities are common architectural features of subaerial sinter and show concave-upward pseudo-cross-laminations and micro-unconformities developed through migration. Marked birefringence of silica deposited on surfaces that evaporate to dryness is probably a strain effect. Repeated wetting and evaporation, often to dryness, and capillary effects control the deposition, morphology, and microstructure of most high-temperature sinter outside of the fully subaqueous zone. Microbial filaments are abundant on and within high-temperature sinter but do not provide the main controls on morphology or structuring except in biofilms developed on subaqueous surfaces. Millimetre-scale lamination cyclicity in much high-temperature sinter represents annual layering and regular seasonal fluctuations in silica sedimentation.

Origin of annual laminations in tufa deposits, southwest Japan

Laminated tufas and a tufa-depositing stream in SW Japan (Shirokawa, Ehime Prefecture) were studied monthly over a 3-yr period. A series of samples from the tufa clearly reveals the pattern of annual laminations. The annual layering pattern was primarily controlled by changes in the rate of calcite precipitation, as calculated from water chemistry. The concentration of dissolved CaCO 3, which correlates with the precipitation rate, was high in summer–autumn and low in winter–spring, owing to changes in the partial pressure of CO 2 in underground air. Regular seasonal changes in underground PCO 2 probably resulted from two temperature-dependent processes, the diffusion of soil CO 2 and the ventilation of underground air. These changes, in addition to water temperature changes, altered the precipitation rate, which has a clear seasonal pattern, especially in the lower stream. The seasonal precipitation rate was high in summer–autumn and low in winter–spring, which is consistent with the seasonal lamination pattern seen in the tufas. The textures of collected samples show that the laminations consist of densely calcified summer–autumn (June–October) laminae and lightly calcified winter–spring (November–May) laminae. We infer that the increased precipitation rate stimulated thick calcite encrustation on cyanobacterial filaments to produce the dense textures. This interpretation is supported by the lowered organic/inorganic carbon-production ratio in summer–autumn. Seasonal variations in cyanobacterial assemblages are present, but do not reflect the seasonal lamination pattern. Because the relevant processes are temperature dependent, the seasonal lamination pattern at Shirokawa is thought to generally apply to other laminated tufas deposited in temperate climates. However, a reversed pattern can result from local and climatic circumstances. Dense laminae were deposited in winter near the source of the spring at Shirokawa, because calcite precipitation was high owing to low underground PCO 2 in winter. Reversed patterns reported from northwestern Europe were probably influenced by seasonal rainfall, which is reflected in hydrological conditions.

Snow-accumulation studies in Antarctica with ground-penetrating radar using 50, 100 and 800 MHz antenna frequencies

AbstractSnow radar profiles were measured in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, in the vicinity of the Finnish research station Aboa during austral summer 1999/2000. The aim was to study the annual layering in the upper 50 m of the snowpack and to compare the results obtained by three radar antenna frequencies (50, 100 and 800 MHz). Intercomparison of the radar profiles measured by the three frequencies shows that some individua linternal layers are visible with different antennas. Sparse accumulation-rate data from stake measurements and snow pits are compared with layer depths. The comparison reveals a great deal of scatter due to the large interannual variability in accumulation patterns. Using the radar layers as isochrones together with a model of depth–density–radar-wave velocity allows the individual accumulation data to be integrated, and a better estimate of accumulation patterns is obtained. Using the radar layering seems to be a much better method of estimating accumulation rate in this region than using a short series of stake measurements, even in the absence of deep ice cores to directly date the radar layering.

Corrigendum to: ‘Annual layering in the upper Jurassic Kimmeridge clay formation, UK, quantified using an ultra-high resolution SEM-EDX investigation’ [Sed. Geol. 137 (2000) 9–23

Corrigendum to: ‘Annual layering in the upper Jurassic Kimmeridge clay formation, UK, quantified using an ultra-high resolution SEM-EDX investigation’ [Sed. Geol. 137 (2000) 9–23

Potential for stratigraphic folding near ice-sheet centers

AbstractLack of agreement between the deep portions of the Greenland Icecore Project (GRIP) and Greenland Ice Sheet Project II (GISP2) ice cores from central Greenland suggests that folds may disrupt annual layering, even near ice divides. We use a simple kinematic flow model to delineate regions where slope disturbances (“wrinkles”) introduced into the layering could overturn into recumbent folds, and where they would flatten, leaving the stratigraphic record intact. Wrinkles are likely to originate from flow disturbances caused internally by inhomogeneities and anisotropy in the ice rheological properties, rather than from residual surface structures (sastrugi), or from open folds associated with transient flow over bed topography. If wrinkles are preferentially created in anisotropic ice under divides, where the resolved shear stress in the easy-glide direction can be weak and variable, then the deep intact climate record at Dye 3 may result from its greater distance from the divide. Alternatively, the larger simple shear at Dye 3 may rapidly overturn wrinkles, so that they are not recognizable as folds. The ice-core record from Siple Dome may be intact over a greater fraction of its depth compared to the central Greenland records if its flat bedrock precludes fluctuations in the stress orientation near the divide.

Annual layering in the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge clay formation, UK, quantified using an ultra-high resolution SEM-EDX investigation

Abstract This paper reports the results of an ultra-high resolution investigation of the geochemistry of the Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation (KCF) using scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). Sub-millimetre banding is revealed in which each band (approximately 112 μm thick) comprises a couplet of coccolith-rich and coccolith-poor sediment. Major element analysis reveals that regularly-spaced peaks in the relative amount of calcium are associated with coccolith-rich bands. It is argued that each couplet represents an annual layer, the calcium peaks corresponding to an annual bloom of coccolithophorids. There is also a broad correlation between the calcium/aluminium ratio and the ratios of sodium/aluminium, phosphorus/aluminium and potassium/aluminium to calcium/aluminium ratios. We tentatively suggest that there may be a link here, sodium, phosphorous, and potassium today being key nutrients for coccolith productivity. Aluminium is taken as representing the background terrigenous (clay) fraction. If each banded couplet is indeed annual and if the thickness of such bands were to be representative of the KCF as a whole, then the post-compactional thickness is broadly in agreement with sedimentation rates of 100 μm per year calculated by Oschmann (1990) . This study confirms the view that the KCF in southern England accumulated in a predominantly anoxic environment that favoured the preservation of organic material within the bottom sediment. Bundles of bands, clustering in groups of about 8–10 are tentatively related to short-term changes in insolation (possibly sun-spot cycles).

Age vs depth of glacial ice at South Pole

Knowledge of age as a function of depth in glacial ice is important for both glaciology and paleoclimatology. For sites near a ridge or dome, an ice flow model together with information on accumulation rate provides a first approximation. If the accumulation rate is high enough, annual layering of isotopes and dust measured in a solid core can provide a precise age vs depth relationship. For South Pole, the flow geometry is not simple and no deep core exists. Nevertheless, by remotely sensing peaks in scattering and absorption of light from pulsed sources buried at depths down to 2200 m, we have been able to determine age vs depth for ages up to 65,000 years. Analysis of radar isochrons by Siegert and Hodgkins provides a rough extension of the age vs depth model to ∼165,000 years near bedrock.