1. Investigation of a deep ice core from the Elbrus western plateau, the Caucasus, Russia
- Author
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Anna Kozachek, P. A. Toropov, Patrick Ginot, Vladimir Mikhalenko, Michel Legrand, Saehee Lim, Sergey Sokratov, Alexey A. Ekaykin, Ulrich Schotterer, Stanislav Kutuzov, Xavier Faïn, S. Preunkert, Ivan Lavrentiev, Vladimir Ya. Lipenkov, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences [Moscow] (RAS), Arctic Environment Laboratory, Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), Climate and Environmental Physics [Bern] (CEP), Physikalisches Institut [Bern], Universität Bern [Bern]-Universität Bern [Bern], Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), and Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
lcsh:GE1-350 ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Plateau ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,δ18O ,lcsh:QE1-996.5 ,Borehole ,Glacier ,010502 geochemistry & geophysics ,Snow ,01 natural sciences ,lcsh:Geology ,Ice core ,13. Climate action ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,Paleoclimatology ,Ice age ,Geomorphology ,lcsh:Environmental sciences ,Geology ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes ,Water Science and Technology - Abstract
A 182 m ice core has been recovered from a borehole drilled through the glacier to the bedrock at the Western Plateau of Mt Elbrus (43°20'53.9'' N, 42°25'36.0'' E; 5115 m a.s.l.), the Caucasus, Russia, in 2009. This is the first ice core in the region which represents a paleoclimate record practically undisturbed by seasonal melting. Relatively high snow accumulation rate at the drilling site enabled analysis of the intra-seasonal climate proxies' variability. Borehole temperatures ranged from −17 °C at 10 m depth and −2.4 °C at 182 m. A detailed radio-echo sounding survey showed that the glacier thickness ranged from 45 m near marginal zone of the plateau up to 255 m at the central part. The ice core has been analyzed for stable isotopes (δ18O and δ D), major ions (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, NH4+, SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, F-), succinic acid (HOOCCH2COOH), and tritium content. The mean annual net accumulation rate was estimated from distinct annual oscillations of δ18O, δ D, succinic acid, and NH4+ and is 1455 mm w.e. for the last 140 years. Using annual layer counting also for the dating of the ice core, a good agreement with the absolute markers of the tritium 1963 bomb test time horizon located at the core depth of 50.7 m w.e. and the sulfate peak of the Katmai eruption (1912) at 87.7 m w.e. was obtained. According to mathematical modeling results, the bottom ice age at the maximal glacier depth is predicted to be about 660 years BP. As the 2009 borehole was situated downstream of this point, the estimated bottom ice age of the drilling site does not exceed 350–400 years BP. Taking into account the information that we have acquired on the Western Plateau Elbrus glacier and first results of the ice core analysis, these data can be used to reconstruct the atmospheric history of the European region.
- Published
- 2015