Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Geological Sciences
Publication Date
1-1-2009
Abstract
In autumn 2005, a joint expedition between the University of Maine and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research recovered three ice cores from Guoqu Glacier (33°34′37.8″N, 91°10′35.3″E, 5720 m above sea level) on the northern side of Mt. Geladaindong, central Tibetan Plateau. Isotopes (δ18O), major soluble ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl−, NO3−, SO42−), and radionuclide (β‐activity) measurements from one of the cores revealed a 70‐year record (1935–2005). Statistical analysis of major ion time series suggests that atmospheric soluble dust species dominate the chemical signature and that background dust levels conceal marine ion species deposition. The soluble dust time series have interspecies relations and common structure (empirical orthogonal function (EOF) 1), suggesting a similar soluble dust source or transport route. Annual and seasonal correlations between the EOF 1 time series and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis climate variables (1948–2004) suggest that the Mt. Geladaindong ice core record provides a proxy for local and regional surface pressure. An approximately threefold decrease of soluble dust concentrations in the middle to late 1970s, accompanied by regional increases in pressure and temperature and decreases in wind velocity, coincides with the major 1976–1977 shift of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from a negative to a positive state. This is the first ice core evidence of a potential teleconnection between central Asian atmospheric soluble dust loading and the PDO. Analysis of temporally longer ice cores from Mt. Geladaindong may enhance understanding of the relationship between the PDO and central Asian atmospheric circulation and subsequent atmospheric soluble dust loading.
Recommended Citation
Grigholm, B., Mayewski, P. A., Kang, S., Zhang, Y., Kaspari, S., Sneed, S. B., & Zhang, Q. (2009). Atmospheric soluble dust records from a Tibetan ice core: Possible climate proxies and teleconnection with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 114(D20), D20118. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008jd011242
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Rights
Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.
Included in
Atmospheric Sciences Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Geology Commons, Glaciology Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.