Continuous Ice-Core Chemical Analyses Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

McConnell, Joseph R.; Lamorey, G.; Lambert, Steven W.; Taylor, Kendrick C.

doi:10.1021/es011088z

Cited by 212 publications

(230 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The cylindrical ice core was cut into five parallel longitudinal samples, each with Ϸ3.3 ϫ Ϸ3.3-cm cross-section (24,25). We used two high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (HR-ICP-MS) connected in parallel to a continuous ice core-melter system to make repeat measurements of the isotopes 23 Na, 140 Ce, 111 Cd, 205 Tl, and 208 Pb, with only the innermost 10% of the longitudinal samples used for elemental and BC analyses (18,24,25). BC was measured by using a laser-based atmospheric analyzer (18).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic

McConnell

Edwards

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Toxic heavy metals emitted by industrial activities in the midlatitudes are transported through the atmosphere and deposited in the polar regions; bioconcentration and biomagnification in the food chain mean that even low levels of atmospheric deposition may threaten human health and Arctic ecosystems. Little is known about sources and long-term trends of most heavy metals before Ϸ1980, when modern measurements began, although heavymetal pollution in the Arctic was widespread during recent decades. Lacking detailed, long-term measurements until now, ecologists, health researchers, and policy makers generally have assumed that contamination was highest during the 1960s and 1970s peak of industrial activity in North America and Europe. We present continuous 1772-2003 monthly and annually averaged deposition records for highly toxic thallium, cadmium, and lead from a Greenland ice core showing that atmospheric deposition was much higher than expected in the early 20th century, with tenfold increases from preindustrial levels by the early 1900s that were two to five times higher than during recent decades. Tracer measurements indicate that coal burning in North America and Europe was the likely source of these metals in the Arctic after 1860. Although these results show that heavy-metal pollution in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic is substantially lower today than a century ago, contamination of other sectors may be increasing because of the rapid coal-driven growth of Asian economies.cadmium ͉ glaciochemistry ͉ Greenland ͉ lead ͉ thallium

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic

McConnell

Edwards

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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286

259

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“…In this system (adapted from ref. 26), a continuous series of longitudinal samples (cross-section Ϸ3.1 ϫ Ϸ3.1 cm) were analyzed by using an ice core melter coupled to two high-resolution, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (HR-ICP-MS), an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), and a traditional continuous flow analysis system.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

20th-Century doubling in dust archived in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core parallels climate change and desertification in South America

McConnell

Aristarain

Banta

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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238

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Crustal dust in the atmosphere impacts Earth's radiative forcing directly by modifying the radiation budget and affecting cloud nucleation and optical properties, and indirectly through ocean fertilization, which alters carbon sequestration. Increased dust in the atmosphere has been linked to decreased global air temperature in past ice core studies of glacial to interglacial transitions. We present a continuous ice core record of aluminum deposition during recent centuries in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, the most rapidly warming region of the Southern Hemisphere; such a record has not been reported previously. This record shows that aluminosilicate dust deposition more than doubled during the 20th century, coincident with the Ϸ1°C Southern Hemisphere warming: a pattern in parallel with increasing air temperatures, decreasing relative humidity, and widespread desertification in Patagonia and northern Argentina. These results have far-reaching implications for understanding the forces driving dust generation and impacts of changing dust levels on climate both in the recent past and future.aluminosilicate dust ͉ global warming ͉ human impacts ͉ Patagonia ͉ radiative transfer C rustal dust in the atmosphere has a direct impact on climate forcing in two significant ways: modifying the radiation balance and affecting cloud nucleation and optical properties (1, 2). Atmospheric crustal dust also supplies iron, an essential nutrient for phytoplankton, to ocean surface waters and may indirectly affect climate by modulating the biological export of carbon to the deep ocean (3). Impacts of atmospheric dust on regional radiation budgets are similar in magnitude to those from sulfate and biomass burning aerosols (4) but can be either negative or positive (1). Estimates of the optical properties of dust have been revised recently as a result of improved in situ and remote sensing measurements (5, 6), but warming has been predicted across areas of high albedo (7, 8) such as snow-and ice-covered regions of the Antarctic Peninsula where recent warming has been pronounced (9). Although atmospheric dustiness has been linked to large-amplitude, large-scale temperature changes in past ice core studies of glacial to interglacial transitions (10, 11), it is unclear whether projected climate warming in coming decades to centuries will result in more or less atmospheric dust (12). Decadal changes in dust flux have been reported for ice cores from the Antarctic Peninsula (13, 14), but reliable, high-time-resolution records of changes in dust levels during recent decades and centuries are sparse (15).Ice core records offer the possibility of reconstructing past changes in dust concentration (10,11,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Most previous high-resolution ice core studies used as proxies of atmospheric dust the non-sea-salt component of soluble calcium (nssCa) or magnesium (nssMg) that are computed by using estimated elemental ratios in sea salt aerosols (11,19). At many ice core sites, particularly coastal locations, the nssCa ...

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“…Core quality was excellent throughout most of the 579 m. By using a CFA system coupled to two inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (ICPMS) and a single particle soot photometer (SP2) for black carbon (BC) determination, a wide variety of 25 elements (e.g., Na, S, Br, Ca, Fe) and various chemical species (e.g., NO 3 -, NH 4 + , H + ) can be quantified simultaneously with low detection limits and an effective sampling resolution of~1 cm. Details of the analytical setup are given elsewhere [Bisiaux et al, 2012;McConnell, Lamorey, Lambert, and Taylor, 2002;McConnell et al, 2007;Pasteris, McConnell, and Edwards, 2012].…”

Section: Laboratory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall quantification uncertainties for the elements discussed in detail in this paper are less than AE5%. More details on recovery, accuracy, and reproducibility of the analytical setup are given by McConnell et al, 2007McConnell et al, , 2002 [12] The ice core samples from NEEM S1 were processed at the Desert Research Institute in the same way. The quality of the ice cores was excellent except for a section between 323 and 332 m where the cores were broken during transport.…”

Section: Laboratory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

A new bipolar ice core record of volcanism from WAIS Divide and NEEM and implications for climate forcing of the last 2000 years

et al. 2013

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Volcanism is a natural climate forcing causing short‐term variations in temperatures. Histories of volcanic eruptions are needed to quantify their role in climate variability and assess human impacts. We present two new seasonally resolved, annually dated non‐sea‐salt sulfur records from polar ice cores—WAIS Divide (WDC06A) from West Antarctica spanning 408 B.C.E. to 2003 C.E. and NEEM (NEEM‐2011‐S1) from Greenland spanning 78 to 1997 C.E.—both analyzed using high‐resolution continuous flow analysis coupled to two mass spectrometers. The high dating accuracy allowed placing the large bi‐hemispheric deposition event ascribed to the eruption of Kuwae in Vanuatu (previously thought to be 1452/1453 C.E. and used as a tie‐point in ice core dating) into the year 1458/1459 C.E. This new age is consistent with an independent ice core timescale from Law Dome and explains an apparent delayed response in tree rings to this volcanic event. A second volcanic event is detected in 1453 C.E. in both ice cores. We show for the first time ice core signals in Greenland and Antarctica from the strong eruption of Taupo in New Zealand in 232 C.E. In total, 133 volcanic events were extracted from WDC06A and 138 from NEEM‐2011‐S1, with 50 ice core signals—predominantly from tropical source volcanoes—identified simultaneously in both records. We assess the effect of large bipolar events on temperature‐sensitive tree ring proxies. These two new volcanic records, synchronized with available ice core records to account for spatial variability in sulfate deposition, provide a basis for improving existing time series of volcanic forcing.

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Continuous Ice-Core Chemical Analyses Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Cited by 212 publications

References 22 publications

Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic

Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic

20th-Century doubling in dust archived in an Antarctic Peninsula ice core parallels climate change and desertification in South America

A new bipolar ice core record of volcanism from WAIS Divide and NEEM and implications for climate forcing of the last 2000 years

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