Stable isotopes in the snow of the coastal areas of Antarctica

The first results of study of stable isotopes of oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and hydrogen (δD) in the snow samples taken on the islands of Marguerite Bay (Antarctic Peninsula), in the Vecherny Oasis (Enderby Land), and Larsemann Hills (Princess Elizabeth Land) by the participants of the 12^th Belarusian Antarctic Expedition (January–March 2020) are presented. The concentration of water isotopes: deuterium (D) and oxygen-18 (¹⁸O) in the samples was determined using a laser isotope composition analyzer Picarro L2130. A total of 32 snow samples were analyzed. The statistical parameters of the isotopic composition of snow were estimated, and the main differences in the content of δ¹⁸O and δD between the study areas were shown. A decrease in the content of heavy oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the newly fallen snow to the old snow of the surface horizons is shown. The maximum values of δ¹⁸O and δD are typical for the Maritime Antarctica, decreasing towards the coastal zone and further – towards its continental part. The possible factors affecting the isotope content are described. It is shown that the monitoring of the isotope composition can be an integral part of the monitoring of climatic changes within the area of operation of the Belarusian Antarctic Expedition. The study of the isotopic composition of surface snow is important for the reconstruction of the paleoclimate of the marginal zone of the Antarctic ice sheet based on the ice cores study.

1. Ekaykin A. A. Stable isotopes of water in glaciology and paleogeography. Saint Petersburg, 2016. 63 p. (in Russian).

2. Laepple T., Munch T., Casado M., Hoerhold M., Landais A., Kipfstuhl S. On the similarity and apparent cycles of isotopic variations in East Antarctic snow pits. The Cryosphere, 2018, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 169–187. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-169-2018

3. Masson-Delmotte V., Hou S., Ekaykin A., Jouzel J., Aristarain A., Bernardo R. T., Bromwich D., Cattani O., Delmotte M., Falourd S., Frezzotti M., Gallée H., Genoni L., Isaksson E., Landais A., Helsen M. M., Hoffmann G., Lopez J., Morgan V., Motoyama H., Noone D., Oerter H., Petit J. R., Royer A., Uemura R., Schmidt G. A., Schlosser E., Simões J. C., Steig E. J., Stenni B., Stievenard M., van den Broeke M. R., van de Wal R. S. W., van de Berg W. J., Vimeux F., White J. W. C. A review of Antarctic surface snow isotopic composition: observations, atmospheric circulation, and isotopic modeling. Journal of Climate, 2008, vol. 21, no. 13, pp. 3359–3387. https://doi.org/10.1175/2007jcli2139.1

4. Petit J. R., Jouzel J., Raynaud D., Barkov N. I., Barnola J. M., Basile I., Bender M., Chappellaz J., Davis M., Delaygue G., Delmotte M., Kotlyakov V. M., Legrand M., Lipenkov V. Y., Lorius C., Pepin L., Ritz C., Saltzman E., Stievenard M. Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature, 1999, vol. 399, no. 6735, pp. 429–436. https://doi.org/10.1038/20859

5. Jouzel J., Masson-Delmotte V., Cattani O., Dreyfus G., Falourd S., Hoffmann G., Minster B., Nouet J., Barnola J. M., Chappellaz J., Fischer H., Gallet J. C., Johnsen S., Leuenberger M., Loulergue L., Luethi D., Oerter H., Parrenin F., Raisbeck G., Raynaud D., Schilt A., Schwander J., Selmo E., Souchez R., Spahni R., Stauffer B., Steffensen J. P., Stenni B., Stocker T. F., Tison J. L., Werner M., Wolff E. W. Orbital and millennial Antarctic climate variability over the past 800,000 years. Science, 2007, vol. 317, no. 5839, pp. 793–796. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1141038

6. Kawamura K., Abe-Ouchi A., Motoyama H., Ageta Y., Aoki S., Azuma N., Fujii Y., Fujita K., Fujita S., Fukui K., et al. State dependence of climatic instability over the past 720,000 years from Antarctic ice cores and climate modeling. Sciences Advances, 2017, vol. 3, no. 2, art. e1600446. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600446

7. Masson-Delmotte V., Buiron D., Ekaykin A., Frezzotti M., Gallee H., Jouzel J., Krinner G., Landais A., Motoyama H., Oerter H., Pol K., Pollard D., Ritz C., Schlosser E., Sime L. C., Sodemann H., Stenni B., Uemura R., Vimeux F. A comparison of the present and last interglacial periods in six Antarctic ice cores. Climate of the Past, 2011, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 397–423. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-397-2011

8. Casado M., Landais A., Picard G., Munch T., Laepple T., Stenni B., Dreossi G., Ekaykin A., Arnaud L., Genthon C., Touzeau A., Masson-Delmotte V., Jouzel J. Archival processes of the water stable isotope signal in East Antarctic ice cores. The Cryosphere, 2018, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 1745–1766. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1745-2018

9. Ma T., Li L., Shi G., Li Yu. Acquisition of Post-Depositional Effects on Stable Isotopes (δ18O and δD) of Snow and Firn at Dome A, East Antarctica. Water, 2020, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 1707. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061707

10. Thamban M., Thakur R. C. Trace metal concentrations of surface snow from Ingrid Christensen Coast, East Antarctica – spatial variability and possible anthropogenic contributions. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2013, vol. 185, no. 4, pp. 2961–2975. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2764-0

11. Simões J. C., Ferron F. A., Aristarain A. J., Bernardo R. T., Stievenard M., Pourchet M. Ice core study from the King George Island ice cap, South Shetlands, Antarctica. Pesqui. Antarct, 2004, vol. 4, pp. 9–23. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228753749_Ice_core_study_from_King_George_Island_South_Shetlands_Antarctica (accessed 15.03.2020).

12. Altnau S., Schlosser E., Isaksson E., Divine D. Climatic signals from 76 shallow firn cores in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The Cryosphere, 2015, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 925–944. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-925-2015

13. Casado M., Münch T., Laepple T. Climatic information archived in ice cores: impact of intermittency and diffusion on the recorded isotopic signal in Antarctica. Climate of the Past, 2020, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 1581–1598. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1581-2020

14. Ekaykin A. A., Vladimirova D. O., Tebenkova N. A., Brovkov E. V., Veres A. N., Kovyazin A. V., Kozachek A. V., Lindren M., Shibaev Yu. A., Preobrazhenskaya A. V., Lipenkov V. Ya. Spatial variability of snow isotopic composition and accumulation rate at the stake farm of Vostok station (Сentral Antarctica). Arctic and Antarctic Research, 2019, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 46–62 (in Russian). https://doi.org/10.30758/0555-2648-2019-65-1-46-62

15. Fernandoy F., Tetzner D., Meyer H., Gacitúa G., Hoffmann K., Falk U., Lambert F., MacDonell S. New insights into the use of stable water isotopes at the northern Antarctic Peninsula as a tool for regional climate studies. The Cryosphere, 2018, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1069–1090. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-1069-2018

16. Natural Environmental Research Council British Antarctic Survey Sensor. Observation Service Online Meteorological Data for the Rothera Station. Available at: http://basmet.nerc-bas.ac.uk/sos/ (accessed 27.03.2021)

17. Grigholm B., Mayewski P. A., Kurbatov A. V., Casassa G., Staeding A. C., Handley M., Sneed S. B., Introne D. S. Chemical Composition of Fresh Snow from Glaciar Marinelli, Tierra Del Fuego, Chile. Journal of Glaciology, 2009, vol. 55, no. 193, pp. 769–776. https://doi.org/10.3189/002214309790152546