Modification of three ice-core δ¹⁸ O records from an area of high melt

Authors: Hou, Shugui; Ren, Jiawen; Qin, Dahe

Source: Annals of Glaciology, Volume 43, Number 1, September 2006 , pp. 172-176(5)

Publisher: International Glaciological Society

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Abstract:

Stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O) of three shallow ice cores (extending back to 1963) from Ürümqi glacier No. 1 at the headwater of Ürümqi river, Tien Shan, northwest China, were used to test the relationship between δ¹⁸O and contemporaneous surface air temperature (T_a). The ice cores were dated using the seasonal stable-isotopic signals, and seven insoluble particulate β-activity horizons associated with known nuclear tests. Although a strong positive relationship exists between δ¹⁸O in precipitation and T_a at our study site, this relationship is not preserved between the annually averaged ice-core δ¹⁸O records and the local temperature due to post-depositional modification. These results indicate that the processes forming the ice-core chemical records in areas of high melt must be understood before the δ¹⁸O record can be confidently interpreted as a climatic indicator.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.3189/172756406781812140

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