Ice Cores May Reveal Historical Climate Changes in Antarctica

The timing and duration of historical climate changes have been debated by scientists for years. Ice core records, though, can offer a way for scientists to study glacial-interglacial cycles. However, the precise dating of the core is key to understanding the timing of these cycles.

In this latest study, the researchers drilled two deep ice cores at the remote dome summits Dome Fuji and EPICA Dome C in Antarctica. These cores were then synchronized in time by matching identical volcanic events. Precise synchronization was possible because volcanic eruptions on Earth can be identified in ice cores due to the presence of high concentrations of sulfuric acid.

In all, the researchers identified 1,401 volcanic matching points within the past 216 kyr. These matching points were then used to precisely compared the two chronologies between these ice cores.

The ages between the matching points in the cores were within 2 kyr, except during the last interglacial period, known as Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.

The causes of the age differences at MIS 5 were proposed to occur from an overestimation of the surface mass balance at around MIS5d-6 in the glaciological model and an error in one of the age constraints by about 3 kyr at MIS 5b.

The findings reveal a bit more about this time period and also show a possible better way of dating these ice cores when considering them for study for past climate change.

The findings are published in the journal Climate of the Past.

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