TL;DR: In this paper, the isotope composition of snow in Greenland with meteorological and climatic parameters has been linked with the past few hundred years measured in ice cores using a new record of isotope values from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 and Greenland Ice Core Project sites at Summit, Greenland.
Abstract: Recent efforts to link the isotopic composition of snow in Greenland with meteorological and climatic parameters have indicated that relatively local information such as observed annual temperatures from coastal Greenland sites, as well as more synoptic scale features such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the temperature seesaw between Jakobshaven, Greenland, and Oslo, Norway, are significantly correlated with δ18O and δD values from the past few hundred years measured in ice cores. In this study we review those efforts and then use a new record of isotope values from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 and Greenland Ice Core Project sites at Summit, Greenland, to compare with meteorological and climatic parameters. This new record consists of six individual annually resolved isotopic records which have been average to produce a Summit stacked isotope record. The stacked record is significantly correlated with local Greenland temperatures over the past century (r=0.471), as well as a number of other records including temperatures and pressures from specific locations as well as temperature and pressure patterns such as the temperature seesaw and the North Atlantic Oscillation. A multiple linear regression of the stacked isotope record with a number of meteorological and climatic parameters in the North Atlantic region reveals that five variables contribute significantly to the variance in the isotope record: winter NAO, solar irradiance (as recorded by sunspot numbers), average Greenland coastal temperature, sea surface temperature in the moisture source region for Summit (30°–20°N), and the annual temperature seesaw between Jakobshaven and Oslo. Combined, these variables yield a correlation coefficient of r=0.71, explaining half of the variance in the stacked isotope record.
One of the great strengths of ice cores as proxies for past environmental conditions is that they can provide not only the long timescale necessary to view the large changes of the past glacial periods but also the high temporal resolution needed to look at socially relevant timescales, that is, subannual to decadal changes in climate and environmental conditions.
A total of six cores in the Summit region were drilled, sampled, and measured with sufficient temporal detail to calculate annual isotopic values.
The results of these studies are reviewed below.
3.2.1. Comparison with coastal temperatures. On the basis of both theoretical considerations and observations, stable
Isotope ratios of polar snows are commonly interpreted in terms of temperatures [Dansgaard, 1964] .
This approach depends on several key assumptions but is generally accepted as a very good first-order interpretation.
In all cases, except for the comparison with coastal temperatures mentioned earlier, the correlations with the stacked record were higher than the correlations with individual records.
Figure 6b shows the stacked isotopic record versus annual, winter (December-January-February.
TL;DR: Preliminary evidence of zonal distribution of microbial community is provided, and the biogeography of microorganisms in glacier ice is suggested to be similar to that of other geographically isolated glaciers.
Abstract: . Microbial community patterns vary in glaciers worldwide, presenting unique responses to global climatic and environmental changes. Four bacterial clone libraries were established by 16S rRNA gene amplification from four ice layers along the 42-m-long ice core MuztB drilled from the Muztag Ata Glacier. A total of 151 bacterial sequences obtained from the ice core MuztB were phylogenetically compared with the 71 previously reported sequences from three ice cores extracted from ice caps Malan, Dunde, and Puruogangri. Six phylogenetic clusters Flavisolibacter, Flexibacter (Bacteroidetes), Acinetobacter, Enterobacter (Gammaproteobacteria), Planococcus/Anoxybacillus (Firmicutes), and Propionibacter/Luteococcus (Actinobacteria) frequently occurred along the Muztag Ata Glacier profile, and their proportion varied by seasons. Sequence analysis showed that most of the sequences from the ice core clustered with those from cold environments, and the sequence clusters from the same glacier more closely grouped together than those from the geographically isolated glaciers. Moreover, bacterial communities from the same location or similarly aged ice formed a cluster, and were clearly separate from those from other geographically isolated glaciers. In summary, the findings provide preliminary evidence of zonal distribution of microbial community, and suggest biogeography of microorganisms in glacier ice.
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...Ice core records have been used to reconstruct a history of climatic and glacial changes, presenting consistent results with the available climatic data (Naftz et al., 2002; Thompson et al., 1989, 2000; White et al., 1997; Yao, et al., 1999)....
TL;DR: In this article, daily measurements of stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of atmospheric water vapor (δ18Ovapor, δDvapor) and rain during 2007-2008 CE over Ahmedabad, India, show that the onset of monsoon is marked by a dramatic decrease of ∼2.9
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify regions of the Northern Hemisphere where the teleconnection patterns of the Arctic Oscillation are stationary and apply this technique to high resolution coral, tree ring, ice core and mollusk shell data to understand proxy-climate teleconnections and their use for climate reconstruction.
Abstract: . Proxy data can bring observed climate variability of the last 100 years into a long-term context. We identify regions of the Northern Hemisphere where the teleconnection patterns of the Arctic Oscillation are stationary. Our method provides a systematic way to examine optimal sites for the reconstruction of climate modes based on paleoclimatic archives that sensitively record temperature and precipitation variations. We identify the regions for boreal winter and spring that can be used to reconstruct the Arctic Oscillation index in the pre-instrumental period. Finally, this technique is applied to high resolution coral, tree ring, ice core and mollusk shell data to understand proxy-climate teleconnections and their use for climate reconstructions.
20 citations
Cites methods from "The climate signal in the stable is..."
...The signature of the AO/NAO has been detected in proxy data on interannual to millennial time scales (White et al., 1997; Cook et al., 2002; Appenzeller et al., 1998; Rimbu et al., 2001a; Schöne et al., 2003; Vinther et al., 2003; Felis et al., 2004)....
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...…term context, proxy data from different paleoclimatic archives have been used to record aspects of AO/NAO variability, as e.g., ice core records (White et al., 1997; Appenzeller et al., 1998; Vinther et al., 2003), tree ring data (Cook et al., 2002), coral data (Felis et al., 2000), mollusk…...
TL;DR: The authors used the diffusion model of Whillans and Grootes [1985] to calculate the effects of isotopic diffusion in nine shallow ice cores recovered over a 150 × 150 km grid centered on Summit, Greenland.
Abstract: The climatologically important seasonal signal in ice core oxygen isotope records is altered by diffusion with time. Here we use the diffusion model of Whillans and Grootes [1985] to calculate the effects of isotopic diffusion in nine shallow ice cores recovered over a 150 × 150 km grid centered on Summit, Greenland. Two different computational methods give similar results for the back-diffused δ18O seasonal extrema. Although back diffusing the ice core δ18O records improves the correlations between the individual ice core oxygen isotope and Greenland coastal temperature records; the correlations remain poor, particularly for the low-accumulation sites. Stacking the back-diffused isotopic records from several cores results in much higher correlations, with a strong winter linkage between west coast stations and central Greenland. These correlations are also significantly greater than the correlations between the stacked measured (diffused) isotopic profiles and coastal temperatures. Our results indicate that the use of ice core isotopic records to identify anomalous seasons requires that diffusion effects be accounted for.
TL;DR: In this article, daily precipitation δ18O values were recorded through a 7-year period at Tustervatn, Norway, close to the Arctic Circle, and the relationship of DJF precipitation to the NAO index was particularly strong, but varied between air mass trajectory clusters.
TL;DR: In this paper, the isotopic fractionation of water in simple condensation-evaporation processes is considered quantitatively on the basis of the fractionation factors given in section 1.2.
Abstract: In chapter 2 the isotopic fractionation of water in some simple condensation-evaporation processes are considered quantitatively on the basis of the fractionation factors given in section 1.2. The condensation temperature is an important parameter, which has got some glaciological applications. The temperature effect (the δ's decreasing with temperature) together with varying evaporation and exchange appear in the “amount effect” as high δ's in sparse rain. The relative deuterium-oxygen-18 fractionation is not quite simple. If the relative deviations from the standard water (S.M.O.W.) are called δ D and δ 18 , the best linear approximation is δ D = 8 δ 18 . Chapter 3 gives some qualitative considerations on non-equilibrium (fast) processes. Kinetic effects have heavy bearings upon the effective fractionation factors. Such effects have only been demonstrated clearly in evaporation processes, but may also influence condensation processes. The quantity d = δ D −8 δ 18 is used as an index for non-equilibrium conditions. The stable isotope data from the world wide I.A.E.A.-W.M.O. precipitation survey are discussed in chapter 4. The unweighted mean annual composition of rain at tropical island stations fits the line δ D = 4.6 δ 18 indicating a first stage equilibrium condensation from vapour evaporated in a non-equilibrium process. Regional characteristics appear in the weighted means. The Northern hemisphere continental stations, except African and Near East, fit the line δ D = 8.0 δ 18 + 10 as far as the weighted means are concerned (δ D = 8.1 δ 18 + 11 for the unweighted) corresponding to an equilibrium Rayleigh condensation from vapour, evaporated in a non-equilibrium process from S.M.O.W. The departure from equilibrium vapour seems even higher in the rest of the investigated part of the world. At most stations the δ D and varies linearily with δ 18 with a slope close to 8, only at two stations higher than 8, at several lower than 8 (mainly connected with relatively dry climates). Considerable variations in the isotopic composition of monthly precipitation occur at most stations. At low latitudes the amount effect accounts for the variations, whereas seasonal variation at high latitudes is ascribed to the temperature effect. Tokyo is an example of a mid latitude station influenced by both effects. Some possible hydrological applications are outlined in chapter 5. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1964.tb00181.x
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the complete oxygen isotope record for the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) core, drilled 28 km west of the GRIP core, and observe large, rapid climate fluctuations throughout the last glacial period.
Abstract: RECENT results1,2 from the Greenland Ice-core Project (GRIP) Summit ice core suggest that the climate in Greenland has been remarkably stable during the Holocene, but was extremely unstable for the time period represented by the rest of the core, spanning the last two glaciations and the intervening Eemian inter-glacial. Here we present the complete oxygen isotope record for the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) core, drilled 28 km west of the GRIP core. We observe large, rapid climate fluctuations throughout the last glacial period, which closely match those reported for the GRIP core. However, in the bottom 10% of the cores, spanning the Eemian interglacial and the previous glacia-tion, there are significant differences between the two records. It is possible that ice flow may have altered the chronological sequences of the stratigraphy for the bottom part of one or both of the cores. Considerable further work will be necessary to evaluate the likelihood of this, and the extent to which it will still be possible to extract meaningful climate information from the lowest sections of the cores.
TL;DR: Measured 18O/16O ratios from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core extending back to 16,500 cal yr B.P. provide a continuous record of climate change since the last glaciation as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the well-known tendency for winter temperatures to be low over northern Europe when they are high over Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, and conversely, they found that these pressure anomalies are so distributed that the pressure in the region of the Icelandic low is negatively correlated with the pressure over the North Pacific Ocean and over the area south of 50°N in the North Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Middle East.
Abstract: We have investigated the well-known tendency for winter temperatures to be low over northern Europe when they are high over Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, and conversely. Well-defined pressure anomalies over most of the Northern Hemisphere are associated with this regional seesaw in temperature, and these pressure anomalies are so distributed that the pressure in the region of the Icelandic low is negatively correlated with the pressure over the North Pacific Ocean and over the area south of 50°N in the North Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Middle East, but positively correlated with the pressure over the Rocky Mountains. The composite patterns of pressure anomalies in the seesaw are almost identical to the fist eigenvector in the monthly mean pressure, but the standard deviations of pressure anomalies in seesaw mouths are as large as the standard deviations of monthly means in general. Since 1840 the seesaw, as defined by temperatures in Scandinavia and Greenland, occurred in more than 40%...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Southern Oscillations (SO) from the standpoint of their association with Northern Hemisphere winter mean distributions of sea-level pressure (SLP) and 500 mb height.
Abstract: The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Southern Oscillation (SO) are compared from the standpoint of their association with Northern Hemisphere winter mean distributions of sea-level pressure (SLP) and 500 mb height. The NAO and SO are associated with significant SLP differences over much of the hemisphere except for Siberia and western North America. Significant SLP and 500 mb height differences occur in the NAO over the Atlantic Ocean and near Baja California, while in the SO they occur over the Pacific Ocean, India and the western Atlantic. Only over the latter region do large pressure and height variations consistently occur in the extremes of both oscillations; these are also associated with winter temperature variability over the southeastern United States. For example, during winter 1982–83, when the two oscillations simultaneously reached extremes, the NAO was associated with record December warmth east of the Mississippi River, but during January and February the SO dominated the heigh...