Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


HendersonKeithA2002 sf.pdf (2.85 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

An Ice Core Paleoclimate Study of Windy Dome, Franz Josef Land (Russia): Development of a Recent Climate History for the Barents Sea

Henderson, Keith A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392106069

Abstract Details

2002, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Geological Sciences.
A 315-meter ice core obtained in April-May, 1997 from the summit of Windy Dome, Franz Josef Land in the Russian high Arctic (81°N, 64°E, 509 masl) reflects 772 years of climate variability in the Barents Sea region. Paleotemperatures inferred from oxygen isotope (d18O) calibration indicate a dramatic and sustained wintertime warming of more than 8°C occurring abruptly around 1910, halting the persistent cold temperatures of the Little Ice Age (LIA, ~1450 to ~1870 A.D.). Summer temperatures, related to meltwater formation, rose earlier (~1850) but only by approximately 0.5°C relative to the LIA mean, consistent with regional tree-ring histories. The age scale for the finely-sampled Windy Dome ice core was generated by three-parameter (chloride, d18O, and melt-stratigraphy) reconciled layer counting, guided by the detection of recent nuclear testing horizons and nine known volcanic eruptions, and confirmed by duplicating the cosmogenic record of solar variability. Accordingly, a proposed common time scale based on this superior chronology is presented, that realigns previous Eurasian Arctic ice core records to illustrate a consistent pattern of climate change along the northern Barents continental margin from Nordauslandet, Svalbard to Severnaya Zemlya. While the temporal climate changes fit a global paradigm, it is cautioned that the wintertime fluctuations that occurred here represent a threshold change in the position of the polar front and should be weighted accordingly when considering hemispheric-scale climatology. Soluble ionic constituents in the ice core reveal a strong signature of anthropogenic emissions by rising sulfate and nitrate levels, and also 20th century agricultural activity via ammonium. The degree of post-depositional modification of core parameters was quantified, with ion fractionation and multi-year percolation indicated to reduce concentrations of more mobile ions (e.g., SO42-, Mg2+) by up to 10-15%, and solid-liquid stable isotope fractionation currently responsible for a ~0.9‰ difference between bubbly and melt-infiltrated ice. Regular oscillations in pH values suggest a succession of "stacked percolation cells" that are sealed and archived every 13-14 years on average. Periodicities of 40-70 years were detected by Singular-Spectrum Analysis (SSA) in several parameters, and the annual signal strength of d18O and chloride is shown to be related to the extent of meltwater formation and thereby summer temperatures.
Lonnie G. Thompson (Advisor)
W. Berry Lyons (Committee Member)
E. Scott Bair (Committee Member)
Claire L. Parkinson (Committee Member)
218 p.
Geological; Geology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Henderson, K. A. (2002). An Ice Core Paleoclimate Study of Windy Dome, Franz Josef Land (Russia): Development of a Recent Climate History for the Barents Sea [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392106069

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Henderson, Keith. An Ice Core Paleoclimate Study of Windy Dome, Franz Josef Land (Russia): Development of a Recent Climate History for the Barents Sea. 2002. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392106069.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Henderson, Keith. "An Ice Core Paleoclimate Study of Windy Dome, Franz Josef Land (Russia): Development of a Recent Climate History for the Barents Sea." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392106069

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1392106069
368
© 2002, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.