Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis
<p>Water stable isotope records in polar ice cores have been largely used to reconstruct past local temperatures and other climatic information such as evaporative source region conditions of the precipitation reaching the ice core sites. However, recent studies have identified post-deposition...
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Copernicus Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
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| author | I. Ollivier I. Ollivier H. C. Steen-Larsen B. Stenni L. Arnaud M. Casado A. Cauquoin G. Dreossi C. Genthon B. Minster G. Picard M. Werner A. Landais |
| author_facet | I. Ollivier I. Ollivier H. C. Steen-Larsen B. Stenni L. Arnaud M. Casado A. Cauquoin G. Dreossi C. Genthon B. Minster G. Picard M. Werner A. Landais |
| author_sort | I. Ollivier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Water stable isotope records in polar ice cores have been largely used to reconstruct past local temperatures and other climatic information such as evaporative source region conditions of the precipitation reaching the ice core sites. However, recent studies have identified post-depositional processes taking place at the ice sheet's surface, modifying the original precipitation signal and challenging the traditional interpretation of ice core isotopic records. In this study, we use a combination of existing and new datasets of precipitation, snow surface, and subsurface isotopic compositions (<span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i><sup>18</sup></span>O and deuterium excess (d-excess)); meteorological parameters; ERA5 reanalyses; outputs from the isotope-enabled climate model ECHAM6-wiso; and a simple modelling approach to investigate the transfer function of water stable isotopes from precipitation to the snow surface and subsurface at Dome C in East Antarctica. We first show that water vapour fluxes at the surface of the ice sheet result in a net annual sublimation of snow, from 3.1 to 3.7 mm w.e. yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> (water equivalent) between 2018 and 2020, corresponding to 12 % to 15 % of the annual surface mass balance. We find that the precipitation isotopic signal cannot fully explain the mean, nor the variability in the isotopic composition observed in the snow, from annual to intra-monthly timescales. We observe that the mean effect of post-depositional processes over the study period enriches the snow surface in <span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i><sup>18</sup></span>O by 3.0 ‰ to 3.3 ‰ and lowers the snow surface d-excess by 3.4 ‰ to 3.5 ‰ compared to the incoming precipitation isotopic signal. We also show that the mean isotopic composition of the snow subsurface is not statistically different from that of the snow surface, indicating the preservation of the mean isotopic composition of the snow surface in the top centimetres of the snowpack. This study confirms previous findings about the complex interpretation of the water stable isotopic signal in the snow and provides the first quantitative estimation of the impact of post-depositional processes on the snow isotopic composition at Dome C, a crucial step for the accurate interpretation of isotopic records from ice cores.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-48d0b5f9a20b4c01951301faee78f8e0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-48d0b5f9a20b4c01951301faee78f8e02025-01-16T09:00:11ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242025-01-011917320010.5194/tc-19-173-2025Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysisI. Ollivier0I. Ollivier1H. C. Steen-Larsen2B. Stenni3L. Arnaud4M. Casado5A. Cauquoin6G. Dreossi7C. Genthon8B. Minster9G. Picard10M. Werner11A. Landais12Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, NorwayLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), IPSL, CEA–CNRS–UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceGeophysical Institute, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Mestre (Venice), ItalyUniversité Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, FranceLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), IPSL, CEA–CNRS–UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceInstitute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, JapanDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Mestre (Venice), ItalyLaboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD), IPSL, Sorbonne Université–CNRS, Paris, FranceLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), IPSL, CEA–CNRS–UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceUniversité Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE, Grenoble, FranceAlfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, GermanyLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), IPSL, CEA–CNRS–UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France<p>Water stable isotope records in polar ice cores have been largely used to reconstruct past local temperatures and other climatic information such as evaporative source region conditions of the precipitation reaching the ice core sites. However, recent studies have identified post-depositional processes taking place at the ice sheet's surface, modifying the original precipitation signal and challenging the traditional interpretation of ice core isotopic records. In this study, we use a combination of existing and new datasets of precipitation, snow surface, and subsurface isotopic compositions (<span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i><sup>18</sup></span>O and deuterium excess (d-excess)); meteorological parameters; ERA5 reanalyses; outputs from the isotope-enabled climate model ECHAM6-wiso; and a simple modelling approach to investigate the transfer function of water stable isotopes from precipitation to the snow surface and subsurface at Dome C in East Antarctica. We first show that water vapour fluxes at the surface of the ice sheet result in a net annual sublimation of snow, from 3.1 to 3.7 mm w.e. yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> (water equivalent) between 2018 and 2020, corresponding to 12 % to 15 % of the annual surface mass balance. We find that the precipitation isotopic signal cannot fully explain the mean, nor the variability in the isotopic composition observed in the snow, from annual to intra-monthly timescales. We observe that the mean effect of post-depositional processes over the study period enriches the snow surface in <span class="inline-formula"><i>δ</i><sup>18</sup></span>O by 3.0 ‰ to 3.3 ‰ and lowers the snow surface d-excess by 3.4 ‰ to 3.5 ‰ compared to the incoming precipitation isotopic signal. We also show that the mean isotopic composition of the snow subsurface is not statistically different from that of the snow surface, indicating the preservation of the mean isotopic composition of the snow surface in the top centimetres of the snowpack. This study confirms previous findings about the complex interpretation of the water stable isotopic signal in the snow and provides the first quantitative estimation of the impact of post-depositional processes on the snow isotopic composition at Dome C, a crucial step for the accurate interpretation of isotopic records from ice cores.</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/173/2025/tc-19-173-2025.pdf |
| spellingShingle | I. Ollivier I. Ollivier H. C. Steen-Larsen B. Stenni L. Arnaud M. Casado A. Cauquoin G. Dreossi C. Genthon B. Minster G. Picard M. Werner A. Landais Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis The Cryosphere |
| title | Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis |
| title_full | Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis |
| title_fullStr | Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis |
| title_short | Surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica – a multi-dataset and modelling analysis |
| title_sort | surface processes and drivers of the snow water stable isotopic composition at dome c east antarctica a multi dataset and modelling analysis |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/173/2025/tc-19-173-2025.pdf |
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