The climate signal recorded in the oxygen-isotope, accumulation and major-ion time series from the Eclipse ice core, Yukon Territory, Canada

Abstract

The high accumulation rate, nearly complete preservation and detailed chronology of the Eclipse ice core, Yukon Territory, Canada, are well suited for comparison of the glaciochemical record with instrumental time series of temperature, precipitation and sea-level pressure. Results of cross-correlation analysis of instrumental temperature records with the Eclipse 18O time series reveal a significant positive relationship between summertime 18O at Eclipse and summer (April-September) temperatures in northwestern North America. The results indicate that the Eclipse 18O time series provides a better proxy for regional temperature than does the 18O time series from the Mount Logan ice-core record for which only negative correlations were found. Winter accumulation at Eclipse is significantly correlated with several sites in Alaska, but not with any sites in the Yukon. The 18O, accumulation and glaciochemical time series also display significant correlations with the Northern Hemisphere sea-level pressure dataset, especially between wintertime sulfate and nitrate concentrations at Eclipse and the intensity of the wintertime Siberian high and Aleutian and Icelandic lows.These results suggest that year-to-year variability in the deposition of pollutants at Eclipse can be linked to changes in atmospheric circulation, while longterm trends can be explained by changes in source strength.

Department

Earth Sciences, Earth Systems Research Center

Publication Date

1-2002

Journal Title

Annals of Glaciology

Publisher

International Glaciological Society

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3189/172756402781817266

Document Type

Article

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