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The ability to infer past temperatures from ice core records has in the past relied on the assumption that after precipitation, the stable water isotopic composition of the snow surface layer is not modified before being buried deeper into the snowpack and transformed into ice. However, in extremely dry environments, such as the East Antarctic plateau, the precipitation is so sparse that the surface is exposed to the atmosphere for significant time before burial. During that exposure, several processes have been recently identified as impacting the snow isotopic composition after snowfall: (1) exchanges with the atmosphere (i.e. sublimation/condensation cycles), (2) wind effects (i.e. redistribution and pumping) and (3) exchanges with the firn below (i.e. metamorphism and diffusion).Here we present the data over several seasons and years of the atmospheric water vapor and snow surface isotopic composition at Dome C, East Antarctica. To understand the link between these two elements, we investigate the moisture fluxes at the surface of the ice sheet, at the snow-air interface. No eddy-covariance measurements are available for the recent years, we therefore make use of the available primary meteorological parameters measured continuously on site to estimate the surface moisture fluxes using the bulk method. We estimate that the cumulative effect of the moisture fluxes is positive: about 12% of the mean annual accumulation is sublimated away. Alongside, we see an enrichment in d18O in the snow surface during the summer months, when most of the moisture fluxes are taking place. The snow d-excess is also affected and evolving in anti-phase with d18O. This indicates occurrence of fractionation during sublimation in line with previous field and laboratory studies. The moisture fluxes could be a key driver of changes in the snow isotopic composition between precipitation events influencing the climate signal stored in the isotopic record of ice cores.

The water isotope composition of snow precipitations, archived in the Antarctic ice sheet every year, is an important proxy of climatic conditions. This signal depends on several parameters such as local temperature, altitude, moisture source areas and air mass pathways.However, especially in areas where snow accumulation is very low (as on the East Antarctic Plateau), the isotopic composition is affected by additional spatial variability induced by the interactions between the atmosphere and snow surface, and the pristine signal may be modified through isotopic exchanges, sublimation processes and mechanical mixing originated from wind action.Here, we present the isotopic composition (δD and δ18O) and the second-order parameter d-excess of surface snow and snowpit samples collected during the Italian-French campaign in Antarctica (2019-2020). The sampling sites cover the area from Dumont D'Urville to Concordia Station and from Concordia Station towards the South Pole (EAIIST – East Antarctic International Ice Sheet Traverse). These data, compared with a previous dataset of Antarctic surface snow isotopic composition (Masson-Delmotte et al. 2008), are analyzed to determine the variability of the spatial relationship between precipitation isotopic composition and local temperature in relation to geographical parameters (latitude, distance from the coast and elevation). The interpretation of these factors determining the isotope signature is the base to better define the amount of the effects caused by subsequent interaction between atmosphere and surface snow, and by the wind action.Understanding the spatial variability of this proxy, which strongly decreases the signal-to-noise ratio, could permit to improve the use of the “isotopic thermometer” to quantify past changes in temperature based on the stable isotopic record of deep ice cores.

Thinning of the deep ice core layers must be considered when the water isotopic composition of the Oldest Ice Core is to be analyzed. From an experimental point of view, a novel instrument combining a micro-destructive cold femtosecond - Laser Ablation (LA) sampling system, that provides high spatial resolution together with minimal usage of ice sample, and a Cavity Ring Down Spectrometer is being built for high-quality water isotope measurements. Laser ablation results in crater formation and its morphology depends on the laser parameters used. Optical images that show crater morphology under different experimental conditions allow crater characterization towards an efficient cold LA sampling. An ablation chamber and a transfer line are both the connecting parts between the LA system and the CRDS instrument. They are to be designed and constructed in the optimal size and shape to collect the ablated mass and guarantee its smooth delivery to the CRDS analyzer with minimum disturbance. Coupling a Laser Ablation system with a CRDS analyzer has already been achieved using a laser operating at the nanosecond regime and a cryo-cell as the ablation chamber. Comparison of the two Laser Ablation systems, by the means of ice sampling and collection of the ablated material, will be of great importance to understand the ablation mechanism and post-ablation processes on ice and further develop a system dedicated to water isotope measurements.

As part of the “East Antarctic International Ice Sheet Traverse” (EAIIST) project, surface snow and snow pit samples were collected along a traverse from Dome C toward the geographic South Pole during the 2019–2020 Antarctic campaign. Results on spatial distribution of major ions are here reported to understand deposition and post deposition processes in sites with very low snow accumulation rate in the East Antarctic Plateau where megadune and wind crust areas are present. The volcanic signature of Pinatubo eruption (occurred in 1991) was clearly visible in the non-sea salt SO42− stratigraphy from two snow pits (AGO-5 and PALEO) allowing the determination of annual accumulation rates that revealed to be 25.7 and 22.6 mm of water equivalent/year, respectively at the two sites. Moreover, a decreasing trend in accumulation rate as the distance from the Indian Ocean increases was detected. Mineral dust concentration and size show presence of a criptotephra layer in AGO5 and PALEO stratigraphies which is stratigraphically compatible with the deposition of volcanic ash related to the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle explosive eruption occurred in June 2011. The ssNa+ fraction, accounting for the 92.5 % of the total Na+, is preserved stably in the snow layers and was chosen as marker of sea spray deposition. Despite the very low accumulation rate in this area, the main deposition process of sea spray aerosol is the wet deposition. Conversely, both biogenic and crustal nssSO42− are dry deposited, the total flux of nssSO42− resulted to be constant in the Antarctic plateau, but the biogenic to crustal ratio increases as distance from Dome C increases. The presence and quantification (by nssCa2+) of a dry deposited crustal source, as the biogenic one, sheds light on the interpretation of nssSO42− biogenic stratigraphy during glacial and interglacial time in Antarctic ice cores. NssCl− represent the fraction of Cl− deposited as HCl and arises from the exchange reactions between chloride in the sea salt aerosol and acidic species such as H2SO4 and HNO3 that occurs both into the atmosphere (in this case HCl is deposited by wet deposition) and into the snow (at the expenses of NaCl or MgCl2 deposited as sea salt aerosol). The latter process could be particularly efficient in sites affected by wind crust formation, probably because of a longer exposure time of the snow layers to the atmosphere favouring the HCl volatilization . Another important marker in ice core is HNO3, that in the considered sites is found at very high concentration in the most superficial 3 cm of snow due to the uptake by superficial snow and possibly concentration effects from the layers beneath, but it is reversibly deposited. The depth of the active layer for HNO3 reemission was calculated and it spans from 22 cm to 12 cm; in addition, the concentration preserved in the snow decreases as the accumulation rate decreases, but wind scouring increases the efficiency of re-emission processes in the active layer. The knowledge and quantification of all the above reported processes will allow the interpretation of the ice core stratigraphies in low accumulation site likely hopefully recording, at selected sites, the climate history of more than one million years ago.

The EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core provides the longest continuous climatic record, covering the last 800 000 years (800 kyr). A unique opportunity to investigate decadal to millennial variability during past glacial and interglacial periods is provided by the high-resolution water isotopic record (δ18O and δD) available for the EDC ice core. We present here a continuous compilation of the EDC water isotopic record at a sample resolution of 11 cm, which consists of 27 000 δ18O measurements and 7920 δD measurements (covering, respectively, 94 % and 27 % of the whole EDC record), including published and new measurements (2900 for both δ18O and δD) for the last 800 kyr. Here, we demonstrate that repeated water isotope measurements of the same EDC samples from different depth intervals obtained using different analytical methods are comparable within analytical uncertainty. We thus combine all available EDC water isotope measurements to generate a high-resolution (11 cm) dataset for the past 800 kyr. A frequency decomposition of the most complete δ18O record and a simple assessment of the possible influence of diffusion on the measured profile shows that the variability at the multi-decadal to multi-centennial timescale is higher during glacial than during interglacial periods and higher during early interglacial isotopic maxima than during the Holocene. This analysis shows as well that during interglacial periods characterized by a temperature optimum at the beginning, the multi-centennial variability is strongest over this temperature optimum.

Water isotope ratios of ice cores are a key source of information on past temperatures. Through fractionation within the hydrological cycle, temperature is imprinted in the water isotopic composition of snowfalls. However, this signal of climatic interest is modified after deposition when snow remains at the surface exposed to the atmosphere. Comparing time series of surface snow isotopic composition at Dome C with satellite observations of surface snow metamorphism, we found that long summer periods without precipitation favor surface snow metamorphism altering the surface snow isotopic composition. Using excess parameters (combining dD, d17O, and d18O fractions) allow the identification of this alteration caused by sublimation and condensation of surface hoar. The combined measurement of all three isotopic compositions could help identifying ice core sections influenced by snow metamorphism in sites with very low snow accumulation.

Sunlit snow is highly photochemically active and plays a key role in the exchange of gas phase species between the cryosphere and the atmosphere. Bromine (Br), Iodine (I) and Mercury (Hg) can be photoactivated by the UV radiation and, in certain circumstances, released from the snowpack into the atmosphere. Mercury is a heavy metal with a known toxicity present in the environment in several different chemical forms. Once present in the snowpack, Hg is very labile and, thanks to the UV light, it can be reduced back to elemental Hg (Hg(0)) and undergo dynamic exchange with the atmosphere. Similar to mercury, iodine can undergo photochemical activation in surface snow resulting in its presence in the surrounding atmosphere where it plays a crucial role in new particle formation. Bromine has a central role in the mercury cycle in polar regions (through the Atmospheric mercury depletion events) as well as contributing to the tropospheric ozone cycle in the polar region causing the so-called Ozone depletion events. However, compared to Iodine and Mercury, it seems to be more stable after deposition into the snow pack. Here we present measurements of bromine, iodine and mercury performed by ICP-MS, on snow pit and shallow core samples taken over a 2100 km traverse in East Antarctica from the coast to the interior (Talos Dome – Dome C traverse 2016 and East Antarctic International Ice Sheet Traverse, EAIIST 2019). The shallow core and the snow pit samples at each site are estimated to cover about 10 to 20 years of snow accumulation, giving us a deposition record from approximately the late 90s, to around the early 21st century. The concentrations determined in different sampling sites show a rather clear decrease trend from the coast with the minima as we approach the inner part of the Antarctic plateau. In addition, the analysis of surface and bulk samples from EAIIST show a decrease of concentrations toward the inland except for the sites characterised by a strong snow metamorphosis caused mainly by the wind friction. In almost all the sampling sites of the EAIIST traverse the concentrations of Br, I and Hg increase with sample depth, possibly due to snowpack photochemical activation in the upper part of the snowpack. Future studies are planned to investigate the possible link between the determined concentration profile and the variation of the solar radiation reaching the Antarctic Plateau during spring caused by the ozone hole formation.

The growth and decay of marine ice sheets act as important controls on regional and global climate and sea level. The Wilkes Subglacial Basin ice sheet appears to have undergone thinning and ice discharge events during recent decades, but its past dynamics are still under debate. The aim of our study is to investigate ice margin retreat of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin ice sheet during late Pleistocene interglacials with the help of new high-resolution records from the TALDICE ice core. Here we present a multiproxy approach associated with modelling sensitivity experiments.The novel high-resolution δ18O signal reveals that interglacial periods MIS 7.5 and 9.3 are characterized by a unique double-peak feature, previously observed for MIS 5.5 (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2011), that is not seen in other Antarctic ice cores. A comparison with our GRISLI modelling results indicates that the Talos Dome site has probably undergone elevation variations of 100-400 m during past interglacials, with a major ice thickness variation during MIS 9.3, likely connected to a relevant margin retreat of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin ice sheet. To validate this elevation change hypothesis, the modelling outputs are compared to the ice-rafted debris record (IBRD) and the neodymium isotope signal from the U1361A sediment core (Wilson et al., 2018), which show that during MIS 5.5 and especially MIS 9.3, the Wilkes Subglacial Basin ice sheet has been subjected to ice discharge events.Overall, our results indicate that the interglacial double-peak δ18O signal could reflect decreases in Talos Dome site elevation during the late stages of interglacials due to Wilkes Subglacial Basin retreat events. These changes coincided with warmer Southern Ocean temperatures and elevated global mean sea level, confirming the sensitivity of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin ice sheet to ocean warming and its potential role in sea-level change.

The EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core has been drilled from 1996 to 2004. Its study revealed a unique 800 ka long continuous climatic record including 9 deglaciations. Ice cores contain numerous proxies in the ice and in the air trapped in bubbles (chronological constraints, greenhouse gases concentration, local temperature proxies, mid to low latitude climate proxies).Here, we focus on the link between the high and low latitudes during the glacial/interglacial transitions provided by the isotopic composition of water and oxygen archived in both ice and gas matrix. On one hand, the water isotopic composition brings information on past temperatures and water cycle re-organizations: dD records past temperature, whereas the combination of d18O with dD or d17O provide information on the past water cycle organization through d-excess and 17O-excess linked to climatic conditions of the evaporative regions. On the other hand, the elemental composition of oxygen expressed in the O2/N2 ratio provides key information for orbital dating over the last 800 ka in complement with the isotopic composition of atmospheric oxygen (d18O of O2 or d18Oatm) which is related as well to the low latitude water cycle.In this study, we present new high resolution records of water isotopes of many proxies (d18O, d-excess and 17O-excess) as well as high resolution measurements of O2/N2 and d18Oatm over the last 9 deglaciations on the EDC ice core. We detail the coherent low to mid-latitude orbital patterns obtained using our multiproxy approach with a focus on Termination II, Termination V and the 800 – 500 ka. deglaciations. We look at the similar patterns between terminations and between the different proxies presented.

We present a novel application of empirical methodologies that significantly reduce the chronological uncertainty of a low latitude-high altitude Alpine ice core record obtained in 2011 from the glacier Alto dell’Ortles (3859 m, Eastern Alps, Italy). A preliminary absolute timescale based on a peak in 3H activity, and 210Pb and 14C analyses on carbonaceous particles and organic remains provided evidence of one of the oldest Alpine ice core records spanning the last ~7000 years, back to the last Northern Hemisphere Climatic Optimum. Here we combine three empirical methods that provide an additional number of time markers that corroborate the multimillennial nature of the Alto dell’Ortles ice cores while significantly decreasing the uncertainty of the chronology. First, 14C analysis of an additional organic fragment (a charred spruce needle) discovered next to the basal ice provides an age (232 ± 126 BCE) which agrees with previous 14C dates in the oldest part of the record. Second, a new millennial-scale high resolution atmospheric Pb depositional record was used to synchronize the Alto dell’Ortles cores with an accurately-dated (±5 years) Pb record from an array of Arctic ice cores during the ~200 BCE to ~1900 CE time period. This match resulted in a shift of the initial Alto dell’Ortles timescale ~200 years earlier, but still within the initial time uncertainty. Third, novel seasonally resolved pollen records from the upper firn/ice portion of the Alto dell’Ortles cores were combined with δ18O and dust annual variations to refine the dating for the 20th century by means of an automatic algorithm (Straticounter; between 2011 and 1927 CE) and visual counting (1926–1900 CE). The time markers obtained by these three methods were combined in a continuous timescale by running a Montecarlo based fit (COPRA model). This Alto dell’Ortles revised chronology shows a significantly reduced uncertainty, between ±1 and ±4 years after 1927 CE, and between a maximum of ±100 years to a minimum of ±5 years between 1927 CE and 200 BCE by conservative estimates. An investigation of the revised chronology by means of a simple 1-D flow model suggests that non-steady-state conditions (e.g., changes in past snow accumulation rate) need to be considered to provide a full physical explanation of the age-depth relationship obtained. The new revised chronology will allow the constraint of the Holocene climatic and environmental histories emerging from this high-altitude glacial archive of Central Europe. The novel methodologies may also be adopted to build or improve the chronologies of other ice cores extracted from-low latitude/high-altitude glaciers that typically suffer from larger dating uncertainties compared with well dated polar records.

Water isotope ratios of ice cores are a key source of information on past temperatures. Through fractionation within the hydrological cycle, temperature is imprinted in the water isotopic composition of snowfalls. However, this signal of climatic interest is modified after deposition when snow remains at the surface exposed to the atmosphere. Comparing time series of surface snow isotopic composition at Dome C with satellite observations of surface snow metamorphism, we found that long summer periods without precipitation favor surface snow metamorphism altering the surface snow isotopic composition. Using excess parameters (combining D,17O, and 18O fractions) allow the identification of this alteration caused by sublimation and condensation of surface hoar. The combined measurement of all three isotopic compositions could help identifying ice core sections influenced by snow metamorphism in sites with very low snow accumulation., Plain Language Summary: Water isotopes in ice core records are often used to reconstruct past climate temperature variations. Classically, the temperature signal is thought to be imprinted in water isotopes of precipitation, and then archived in the ice core as it falls, and in cold areas of Antarctica, piles up for very long period. Here, we show that the surface snow isotopic composition varies in between precipitation events, suggesting that there might be more than one contribution to the isotopic signal in ice core records. This is particularly important for low accumulation sites, where the snow at the surface remains exposed for very long time periods. The combined use of several isotopic ratios in surface snow helps us disentangle the processes that create this signal., Key Points: During summer without precipitation, intense snow metamorphism shows a strong water isotopic signature. During summer without precipitation, intense snow metamorphism shows a strong water isotopic signature. The d‐excess and 17O‐excess of the snow is a proxy of snow metamorphism for low accumulation regions., FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (FP7 Ideas) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100011199, Foundation Prince Albert of Monaco, Alexander von Humboldt‐Stiftung (Humboldt‐Stiftung) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005156, DFG project CLIMAIC, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.934273

Environmental sustainability of viticulture is negatively affected by prolonged droughts. In limestone dominated regions, there is limited knowledge on grapevine water status and on methods for accurate evaluation of actual water demand, necessary to appropriately manage irrigation. During a dry vintage, we monitored plant and soil water relations in old and young vines of Istrian Malvasia on Karst red soil. The vineyard with young vines was additionally subdivided into two areas, based on their soil type, 1) karst silty-clay loam, and 2) mixture of crushed rocks and karst silty-clay loam (stony soil). Seasonal changes in exploited water resources were estimated via analysis of oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of rainfall, deep soil water, and xylem sap. We hypothesized that plants are able to thrive during drought thanks to the water stored in deep soil layers, while they rely less on superficial soil horizons. Our results show that vines growing on karstic substrates have deep roots securing the use of stable water sources during summer, with consequent favourable plant water status. In fact, both young and mature vines approached the threshold of severe water stress, but never surpassed it, as midday leaf water potentials were >−1.3 MPa in all study sites. Vines roots showed flexible water uptake, i.e. the ability to absorb water from deep or shallow soil horizons during drought and after late-summer thunderstorms, which was particularly evident in vines growing on the stony soil. In fact, precipitations of 20 mm were enough for plant water status recovery, due to fast infiltration. On the other hand, at least 50 mm of rainfall were necessary to induce water status recovery in more compact soil (karst silty-clay loam). Our findings provide new knowledge on the rooting depth and water needs of vines growing on shallow soils overlying fractured limestone bedrock.

Processes on both synoptic scale and mesoscale contribute to variations in the atmospheric water vapor isotopic signal in the lower troposphere. The drivers of the isotopic composition of water vapor at these temporal scales is a key topic of discussion. The aim of this paper is to decouple mesoscale from synoptic processes that affect the water vapor isotopic composition over a coastal lagoon and to quantify the vertical mixing and sea breeze contributions to the daily water vapor cycle. We monitored the water vapor isotopic composition at the beginning of the 2017 spring season for 21 days, at the inland boundary of the Venetian Lagoon (Italy) with a commercially available cavity ring-down spectroscopy analyzer. Mean atmospheric pressure fields and back trajectories are used to investigate the long-range transport of water vapor to the study area. Moisture source areas and d-excess correlation maps show that the control on the d-excess parameter is dominated by the mesoscale contribution. The daily cycle of water vapor is studied in detail, showing that the intrusion of air from the free atmosphere represents the main process that occurs in the morning. Under those circumstances, the morning variability of the water vapor isotopic composition can be used as a proxy for the Planetary Boundary Layer height. The study period was characterized by a constant development of the sea breeze circulation that conserved the marine signature of water vapor until the afternoon. However, the water vapor isotopic signal tends to stabilize when atmospheric conditions such as high relative humidity and a weak gradient in the atmospheric pressure field occur, leading to the establishment of an isotopic equilibrium between the atmospheric water vapor and surface waters.

Ice core dating is the first step for a correct interpretation of climatic and environmental changes. In this work, we release a stratigraphic dating of the uppermost 197 m of the 250 m deep GV7(B) ice core (drilling site, 70°41’S, 158°52’E, 1950 m a.s.l.) with a sub-annual resolution. Chemical stratigraphies of NO3−, MSA (methanesulfonic acid), non-sea salt SO42−, sea-salt ions and the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) were used in the annual layer counting upon the identification of a seasonal profile in their records. Different procedures were tested and thanks to the volcanic history of the core, obtained in previous works, an accurate age-depth correlation was obtained for the period 1179–2009 CE. Once the dating of the core was finalized, the annual mean accumulation rate was evaluated throughout the analyzed 197 m of the core, obtaining an annually resolved history of the snow accumulation on site in the last millennium. A small, yet consistent, rise in accumulation rate was found for the last 830 years since the middle of the 18th century.

The growth and decay of marine ice sheets act as important controls on regional and global climate, in particular, the behavior of the ice sheets is a key uncertainty in predicting sea-level rise during and beyond this century. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which contains deep subglacial basins with reverse-sloping, is considered to be susceptible to ice loss caused by marine ice sheet instability. Sediment core offshore Wilkes Subglacial Basin reveals oscillations in the provenance of detrital sediment that have been interpreted to reflect an erosion of Wilkes Basin during interglacial periods MIS 5, MIS 7, and MIS 9 greater than Holocene period (Wilson et al., 2018). The aim of our study is to investigate past climate and environmental changes in the coastal area of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet during MIS 7.5 and 9.3 with the help of a new high-resolution water isotopes record of the TALDICE ice core.Here we present new δ18O and δD high resolution (5 cm) records covering the oldest portion of the TALDICE ice core. MIS 7.5 and 9.3 isotopic signal reveals a unique feature, already observed for MIS 5.5, that has not been spotted in other Antarctic ice cores (Masson-Delmotte et al., 2011). Interglacial periods at TALDICE are characterized by a first peak, observed in correspondence to the culmination of the deglaciation event as for all Antarctic cores, followed by a less pronounced isotopic peak (for MIS 5.5 and 9.3) or a plateau (for MIS 7.5) prior to the glacial inception. Several factors might drive this peculiar behavior of the water stable isotopes record, as an increase in temperatures due to a drop in surface elevation or changes in moisture sources.The new δ18O and δD high-resolution records for the TALDICE ice core reveal a unique pattern that characterizes interglacial periods at Talos Dome. Taking into account the coastal position of the core and its vicinity to the Wilkes Subglacial Basin we intend to investigate the possible decrease in surface elevation, through the application of the GRISLI ice sheet model (Quiquet et al., 2018), and changes in moisture sources, traceable from the d-excess record.

Ice core dating is the first step for a correct interpretation of climatic and environmental changes. In this work, we release the dating of the uppermost 197 m of the 250 m deep GV7(B) ice core (drill site, 70∘41′ S, 158∘52′ E; 1950 m a.s.l. in Oates Land, East Antarctica) with a sub-annual resolution. Chemical records of NO3-, MSA (methanesulfonic acid), non-sea-salt SO42- (nssSO42-), sea-salt ions and water stable isotopes (δ18O) were studied as candidates for dating due to their seasonal pattern. Different procedures were tested but the nssSO42- record proved to be the most reliable on the short- and long-term scales, so it was chosen for annual layer counting along the whole ice core. The dating was constrained by using volcanic signatures from historically known events as tie points, thus providing an accurate age–depth relationship for the period 1179–2009 CE. The achievement of the complete age scale allowed us to calculate the annual mean accumulation rate throughout the analyzed 197 m of the core, yielding an annually resolved history of the snow accumulation on site in the last millennium. A small yet consistent rise in accumulation rate (Tr = 1.6, p<0.001) was found for the last 830 years starting around mid-18th century.

Succession of cold glacials and warm interglacials during the Quaternary results from large global climate responses to variable orbital configurations, accompanied by fluctuating greenhouse gas concentrations. Despite the influences of sea ice and atmospheric and ocean circulations in the Southern Ocean on atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate, past changes in this region remain poorly documented. Here, we present the 800 ka deuterium excess record from the East Antarctica EPICA Dome C ice core, tracking sea surface temperature in evaporative regions of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean from which moisture precipitated in East Antarctica is derived. We find that low obliquity leads to surface warming in evaporative moisture source regions during each glacial inception, although this relative temperature increase is counterbalanced by global cooling during glacial maxima. Links between the two regions during interglacials depends on the existence of a temperature maximum at the interglacial onset. In its absence, temperature maxima in the evaporative moisture source regions and in East Antarctica were synchronous. For the other interglacials, temperature maxima in the source areas lag early local temperature maxima by several thousand years, probably because of a change in the position of the evaporative source areas. Interglacial temperature coupling between East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean was set by the position of moisture source regions, according to an 800,000-year-long deuterium-excess ice-core record from East Antarctica.

Fe(II) is more soluble and bioavailable than Fe(III) species, therefore the investigation of their relative abundance and redox processes is relevant to better assess the supply of bioavailable iron to the ocean and its impact on marine productivity. In this context, we present a discrete chemiluminescence-based method for the determination of Fe(II) in firn matrices. The method was applied on discrete samples from a snow pit collected at Dome C (DC, Antarctica) and on a shallow firn core from the Holtedahlfonna glacier (HDF, Svalbard), providing the first Fe(II) record from both Antarctica and Svalbard. The method showed low detection limits (0.006 ng g−1 for DC and 0.003 ng g−1 for the HDF) and a precision ranging from 3% to 20% RSD. Fe(II) concentrations ranged between the LoD and 0.077 ng g−1 and between the LoD and 0.300 ng g−1 for the Antarctic and Arctic samples, respectively. The Fe(II) contribution with respect to the total dissolved Fe was comparable in both sites accounting, on average, for 5% and 3%, respectively. We found that Fe(II) correctly identified the Pinatubo/Cerro Hudson eruption in the DC record, demonstrating its reliability as volcanic tracer, while, on the HDF core, we provided the first preliminary insight on the processes that might influence Fe speciation in firn matrices (i.e. organic ligands and pH influences).

A comprehensive database of paleoclimate records is needed to place recent warming into the longer-term context of natural climate variability. We present a global compilation of quality-controlled, published, temperature-sensitive proxy records extending back 12,000 years through the Holocene. Data were compiled from 679 sites where time series cover at least 4000 years, are resolved at sub-millennial scale (median spacing of 400 years or finer) and have at least one age control point every 3000 years, with cut-off values slackened in data-sparse regions. The data derive from lake sediment (51%), marine sediment (31%), peat (11%), glacier ice (3%), and other natural archives. The database contains 1319 records, including 157 from the Southern Hemisphere. The multi-proxy database comprises paleotemperature time series based on ecological assemblages, as well as biophysical and geochemical indicators that reflect mean annual or seasonal temperatures, as encoded in the database. This database can be used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of Holocene temperature at global to regional scales, and is publicly available in Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format. Fil: Kaufman, Darrell. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: McKay, Nicholas. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Routson, Cody. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Erb, Michael. Northern Arizona University.; Estados Unidos Fil: Davis, Basil. University Of Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Heiri, Oliver. University Of Basel; Suiza Fil: Jaccard, Samuel. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Tierney, Jessica. University of Arizona; Estados Unidos Fil: Dätwyler, Christoph. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Axford, Yarrow. Northwestern University; Estados Unidos Fil: Brussel, Thomas. University of Utah; Estados Unidos Fil: Cartapanis, Olivier. University Of Bern; Suiza Fil: Chase, Brian. Universite de Montpellier; Francia Fil: Dawson, Andria. Mount Royal University; Canadá Fil: de Vernal, Anne. Université du Québec a Montreal; Canadá Fil: Engels, Stefan. University of London; Reino Unido Fil: Jonkers, Lukas. University Of Bremen; Alemania Fil: Marsicek, Jeremiah. University of Wisconsin-Madison; Estados Unidos Fil: Moffa Sánchez, Paola. University of Durham; Reino Unido Fil: Morrill, Carrie. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos Fil: Orsi, Anais. Université Paris-Saclay; Francia Fil: Rehfeld, Kira. Heidelberg University; Alemania Fil: Saunders, Krystyna. Australian Nuclear Science And Technology Organisation; Australia Fil: Sommer, Philipp. University Of Lausanne; Suiza Fil: Thomas, Elizabeth. University At Buffalo; Estados Unidos Fil: Tonello, Marcela Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentina Fil: Tóth, Mónika. Balaton Limnological Institute; Hungría Fil: Vachula, Richard. Brown University; Estados Unidos Fil: Andreev, Andrei. Alfred Wegener Institut Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research; Alemania Fil: Bertrand, Sebastien. Ghent University; Bélgica Fil: Massaferro, Julieta. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

A comprehensive database of paleoclimate records is needed to place recent warming into the longer-term context of natural climate variability. We present a global compilation of quality-controlled, published, temperature-sensitive proxy records extending back 12,000 years through the Holocene. Data were compiled from 679 sites where time series cover at least 4000 years, are resolved at sub-millennial scale (median spacing of 400 years or finer) and have at least one age control point every 3000 years, with cut-off values slackened in data-sparse regions. The data derive from lake sediment (51%), marine sediment (31%), peat (11%), glacier ice (3%), and other natural archives. The database contains 1319 records, including 157 from the Southern Hemisphere. The multi-proxy database comprises paleotemperature time series based on ecological assemblages, as well as biophysical and geochemical indicators that reflect mean annual or seasonal temperatures, as encoded in the database. This database can be used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of Holocene temperature at global to regional scales, and is publicly available in Linked Paleo Data (LiPD) format., Measurement(s)climateTechnology Type(s)digital curationFactor Type(s)temporal interval • geographic location • proxy typeSample Characteristic - Environmentclimate systemSample Characteristic - LocationEarth (planet) Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/27330

High precision measurements of triple isotopic composition of oxygen in water is a useful tool to infer the dynamic of past hydrological cycle when measured in ice core together with δ18O and δD. In particular, the triple isotopic composition of oxygen in water provides information on the climatic conditions of the evaporative sources. In parallel, it has been shown that the triple isotopic composition of oxygen in the atmospheric dioxygen can be a useful tracer of the global biosphere productivity and hence reconstruct the dynamic of the global biosphere productivity in the past from measurements performed in the air bubbles. Measuring triple isotopic composition of oxygen both in the water and in the atmospheric dioxygen trapped in bubbles in ice cores is thus a strong added value to study the past variability of water cycle and biosphere productivity in parallel to climate change.Here, we first present new laboratory experiments performed in closed biological chambers to show how the triple isotopic composition of oxygen in atmospheric dioxygen can be used for quantification of the biosphere productivity with determination of fractionation coefficients. Then, we present new records of triple isotopic composition of oxygen in water and O2 trapped in bubbles from the EPICA Dome C ice core over the deglaciations of the last 800 ka.

Stable water isotopes are widely-used tracers to investigate hydrological processes occurring in the atmosphere and to determine the geospatial origin of water, i.e. to acquire useful information about the hydrological cycles over catchment basins and to find the origin of water recharging rivers, aquifers, and springs. Mapping the isotopic composition of precipitation provides hydrological and climate information at regional and global scales. However, the isotopic composition of precipitation is usually analyzed at large scales with a limited spatial resolution. In Italy, a few studies mapped the oxygen stable isotopes using annually-averaged data, not accounting for the strong seasonality of the isotopic composition linked to climatic and weather factors. To partially fill this gap, the present study proposes a detailed analysis of more than 2250 isotope data (δ18O, δ2H, and deuterium excess) related to precipitations collected in the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) region (Italy) with monthly or seasonal frequency in 36 sites between 1984 and 2015.The FVG region lies at the north-eastern end of Italy, bordering Austria in the North and Slovenia in the East, and extends over ~7.9·103 km2. From a hydrogeological point of view, FVG is an interesting case study. Large highly-permeable carbonate aquifers are present in the Alps and Prealps, while the southern part of the region is characterized by an alluvial plain, split by the spring belt into two sectors: the High Plain in the North, characterized by an highly-permeable unconfined aquifer, and the Low Plain in the South, characterized by a system of confined and artesian aquifers. All the aquifers are recharged by the effective precipitations which in the FVG exhibits among the highest annual precipitation rates in Italy (with peaks >3000 mm/year).For the present research, the isotopic data were used: (i) to analyze the spatial and seasonal variability of isotopic composition; (ii) to relate water isotopes with orography and weather parameters collected from meteorological stations as well as using ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis; (iii) to reconstruct the local meteoric water lines across the FVG at annual and seasonal bases; (iv) to quantify interannual trends and analyze their spatial distribution; and (iv) to model the spatial distribution of isotope content in precipitation and create annual and seasonal maps.

The iconic curve of D in water showing the 8 glacial/interglacial cycles from the EPICA Dome C icecore is now a reference in paleoclimate. It shows past temperature variability back to 800 ka over the3200 m deep ice core with a 55 cm resolution. However, the millennial and centennial scalevariability gets more challenging to observe in the deepest part of the core. Indeed, the timeresolution worsens when going deeper in the ice because of the ice thinning: it is larger than 200years at 2500 m depth. Furthermore, isotopic diffusion affects the signal at the bottom of the icecore. Pol et al., (2010) have thus shown that the sub-millennial MIS (Marine Isotopic Stage) 19 signal(3157-3181 m deep) is erased because of diffusion and high resolution doesn’t add any furtherinformation at this depth. In this study we want to better characterize the increase of the isotopicdiffusion with depth by providing new high resolution water isotopes at several intervals over theEPICA ice core (EDC).We present here published high resolution (11 cm) d18O measurements over the EDC ice core aswell as new records of high resolution (11 cm) D over MIS 7;13 and 14). We use spectral analyses todetermine at which depth the isotopic diffusion erases the sub-millennial variability. We also showthat cold periods exhibit a larger variability of water isotopes than interglacial periods.The information obtained here is crucial for the new project Beyond EPICA oldest ice core, which hasthe goal of analyzing a 1.5 Ma old ice core. In the deepest part, 1 m of ice core could represent10 000 years of climate archive.

Paleoclimate reconstructions from ice core records can be hampered due to the lack of a reliable chronology, especially when the stratigraphy is disturbed and conventional dating methods are not readily applied. The noble gas radioisotopes 81Kr and 39Ar can in these cases provide robust constraints as they yield absolute, radiometric ages. 81Kr (half-life 229 ka) covers the time span from 50-1300 ka, which is particularly relevant for polar ice cores, whereas 39Ar (half-life 269 a) with a dating range of 50-1400 a is suitable for high mountain glaciers. For a long time the use of 81Kr and 39Ar for dating of ice samples was hampered by the lack of a detection technique that can meet its extremely small abundance at a reasonable sample size. Here, we report on 81Kr and 39Ar dating of Antarctic and Tibetan ice cores with the detection method Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA), using 5-10 kg of ice for 81Kr and 2-5 kg for 39Ar. Among others, we measured 81Kr in the lower section of Taldice ice core, which is difficult to date by conventional methods, and in the meteoric bottom of the Vostok ice core in comparison with an age scale derived from hydrate growth. Moreover, we have obtained an 39Ar profile for an ice core from central Tibet in combination with a timescale constructed by layer counting. The presented studies demonstrate how the obtained 81Kr and 39Ar ages can complement other methods in developing an ice core chronology, especially for the bottom part.[1] Z.-T. Lu, Tracer applications of noble gas radionuclides in the geosciences, Earth-Science Reviews 138, 196-214, (2014)[2] C. Buizert, Radiometric 81Kr dating identifies 120,000-year-old ice at Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111, 6876, (2014)[3] L. Tian, 81Kr Dating at the Guliya Ice Cap, Tibetan Plateau, Geophysical Research Letters, (2019)[4] http://atta.ustc.edu.cn

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) offers minimally destructive ice core impurity analysis at micron-scale resolution. This technique is especially suited for exploring closely spaced layers of ice within samples collected at low accumulation sites or in regions of highly compressed and thinned ice. Accordingly, LA-ICP-MS promises invaluable insights in the analysis of a future “Oldest ice core” from Antarctica. However, in contrast to ice core melting techniques, taking into account the location of impurities is crucial to avoid misinterpretation of ultra-fine resolution signals obtained from newly emerging laser ablation technologies. Here we present first results from a new LA-ICP-MS setup developed at the University of Venice, based on a customized two-volume cryogenic ablation chamber optimized for fast wash-out times. We apply our method for high-resolution chemical imagining analysis of impurities in samples from intermediate and deep sections of the Talos Dome and EPICA Dome C ice cores. We discuss the localization of both soluble and insoluble impurities within the ice matrix and evaluate the spatial significance of a single profile along the main core axis. With this, we aim at establishing a firm basis for a future deployment of the LA-ICP-MS in an “Oldest Ice Core”. Moreover, our work illustrates how LA-ICP-MS may offer new means to study the impurity-microstructure interplay in deep polar ice, thereby promising to advance our understanding of these fundamental processes.

The atmospheric processes determining the isotopic composition of precipitation on the Antarctic plateau are yet to be fully understood, as well as the post-depositional processes altering the snow pristine isotopic signal. Improving the comprehension of these physical mechanisms is of crucial importance for interpreting the isotopic records from ice cores drilled in the low accumulation area of Antarctica, e.g., the upcoming Beyond EPICA drilling at Little Dome C.Up to now, few records of the isotopic composition of precipitation in Antarctica are available, most of them limited in time or sampling frequency. Here we present a 9-year long δ18O and δD record (2008-2016) of precipitation at Concordia base, East Antarctica. The snow is collected daily on a raised platform (1 m), positioned in the clean area of the station; the precipitation collection is still being carried out each year by the winter over personnel.A significant positive correlation between isotopes in precipitation and 2-m air temperature is observed at both seasonal and interannual scale; the lowest temperature and isotopic values are usually recorded during winters characterized by a strongly positive Southern Annular Mode index.To improve the understanding of the mechanisms governing the isotopic composition of precipitation, we compare the isotopic data of Concordia samples with on-site observations, meteorological data from the Dome C AWS of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as with high-resolution simulation results from the isotope-enabled atmospheric general circulation models ECHAM5-wiso and ECHAM6-wiso, nudged with the ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses respectively.

The observed climate variability at the time scales of glacial-interglacial cycles and at the millennial ones are here summarized using water isotope records obtained from deep ice cores drilled in the Antarctic continent. The use of oxygen (and/or hydrogen) isotopic composition as a temperature proxy, as well as the different climatic and postdepositional factors impacting on it, is briefly introduced. So far only two ice cores, EPICA Dome C and Dome F, extend back in time; Dome C for 800,000 years and Dome F for 720,000 years. Both isotopic records show a change in the glacial-interglacial amplitude around 450,000 years before present, the so-called Mid-Brunhes event, with a lower interglacial intensity before this event, also shown in the CO2 records. This shows a strong association between temperature and atmospheric CO2 content.

International audience; In central Antarctica, where accumulation rates are very low, summer sublimation of surface snow is a key element of the surface mass balance, but its fingerprint in isotopic composition of water (δD, δ 18 O, and δ 17 O) remains unclear. In this study, we examined the influence of summer sublimation on δD, δ 18 O, and δ 17 O in precipitation using data sets of isotopic composition of precipitation at various sites on the inland East Antarctica. We found unexpectedly low δ 18 O values in the summer precipitation, decoupled from surface air temperatures. This feature can be explained by the combined effects of weak or nonexistent temperature inversion and moisture recycling associated with sublimation-condensation processes in summer. Isotopic fractionation during the moisture-recycling process also explains the observed high values of d-excess and 17 O-excess in summer precipitation. Our results suggest that the local cycle of sublimation-condensation in summer is an important process for the isotopic composition of surface snow, water vapor, and consequently precipitation on inland East Antarctica.

Each glacial – interglacial transition of the Quaternary occurs in a different orbital context leading to various timing for the deglaciation and sequence of high vs low latitudes events. Termination 3, 250 kyears before present (ka), is an unusual deglaciation in the context of the last 9 deglaciations recorded in the old EPICA Dome C (EDC) Antarctic ice core: it exhibits a three-phase sequence, two warming phases separated by a small cooling, the last phase suggesting a particularly rapid temperature increase. We present here new high resolution δ15N and deuterium excess (d-excess) data from the EDC ice core to provide a detailed temperature change estimate during this termination. Then, we combined the δD and δ18O to discuss the relationship between high and low latitude changes through the d-excess. We also provide the high vs low latitude sequence of events over this deglaciation without chronological uncertainty using low latitude ice core proxies. In agreement with previous studies based on speleothem analyses, we show that the first phase of Termination 3 (256–249 ka) is associated with small Heinrich like events linked to changes in ITCZ position, monsoon activity and teleconnections with Antarctica. In a context of minimum Northern Hemisphere insolation, this leads to a rather strong Antarctic warming, as observed in the δ15N record in contrast to the relatively small δD increase. The second warming phase occurs during the rise of the Northern hemisphere insolation, with a large Heinrich like event leading to the characteristic Antarctic warming observed in the δ15N and δD increase as for the more recent terminations.

The tree-ring stable carbon and oxygen isotope chronologies from two forest sites located in the Forni Glacier forefield (Italy)—one along the glacier stream (GL) and the other toward the valley slope (SL)—were analyzed with the aim of disentangling the precipitation and glacier meltwater inputs in source water δ18O, as reflected by the tree-ring cellulose δ18O. The cellulose δ18O from the GL trees has a negative correlation with winter and summer temperatures, whereas the cellulose δ18O from the SL trees has a positive correlation with precipitation δ18O. The isotopic signature of the source water at the GL site is also influenced by waters of glacial origin, as confirmed by the 18O-depleted glacier meltwater inputs (GMWI_δ18O) estimated by means of an isotope model. The GMWI_δ18O values are consistent with the mean difference measured between the δ18O in the glacier stream and in the precipitation and the winter and summer temperature explains up to 37 percent of the GMWI_δ18O variance. Our results show an increasing influence of glacier meltwater throughout the past decade for the GL site. Our analysis opens new opportunities to reconstruct changes in water regimes of the glacier streams by means of the tree-ring cellulose δ18O.

The chemistry of surface water and groundwater in some communities of the Lower Tano river basin, which is a coastal region of Ghana, has been characterized. Based on the obtained analytical results, 80% of the surface water (rivers), 100% of the hand dug wells and 96% of the boreholes in the study area are generally fresh and soft. Silicate weathering is the main hydrogeochemical processes contributing to the Na+ ions and HCO3− ions in the groundwater of the basin. Gibbs diagram used to identify the mechanisms controlling the water chemistry of the basin reveals that rock weathering resulting from silicate and carbonate minerals controls majority of the surface water and groundwater chemistry in the basin. Piper trilinear plots and Chadha’s diagram, used in this study, indicate that ion exchange processes, reverse ion exchange and rock weathering are the main hydrogeochemical processes controlling the groundwater resources in the basin. Stable isotopic (δ2H and δ18O) composition measurements obtained from the study indicate that 30% of the surface water (rivers and lagoon) are less depleted and subjected to evaporation, while the remaining 70% is highly depleted with negligible to no evaporation. Also, the groundwater in the basin is likely recharged by direct infiltration of rainfall from the local rains of the basin together with other sources.

The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of stream water, springs, groundwater tapped from irrigation wells and acid mine drainages were determined during two different surveys in 2015 in an area highly impacted by past-mining activity of Apuan Alps (Italy), as a guidance on good practices for water management. The isotopic local meteoric water line (LMWL) was built by monthly collecting rainwater between 2014 and 2018, given by delta D = 7.02 +/- 0.35 x delta O-18 + 8.54 +/- 2.89. The obtained results indicate that acid mine drainages (AMD) are supplied by freshwater from karst systems which flow throughout the post-mining workings. Such waters contaminate by interactions with sulfides (pyrite) that remained unmined in the ore-bodies. During rainstorms, infiltration rainwater displaces water ponding within mine, sharply increasing the outflow rate of highly-contaminated AMD. Acidic drippings in tunnels show an isotopic shift in both delta O-18 and delta D values attributable to pyrite oxidation and Fe hydrolysis. The data reveal that karst-springs represents the primary supply for the stream. The isotopic data also reveal that waters flowing in the bedrock carbonate aquifer represent the main feeding component for the overlying alluvial aquifer tapped by wells. The prevailing transfer of clean freshwaters from the carbonate aquifer towards the alluvial aquifer system mitigates the possible influence of contaminated water from stream seepage. However, these observations require a monitoring program on water quality to be established.

Ongoing climate change is apparently increasing tree mortality rates, and understanding mechanisms of drought-induced tree decline can improve mortality projections. Differential drought impact on conspecific individuals within a population has been reported, but no clear mechanistic explanation for this pattern has emerged. Following a severe drought (summer 2012), we monitored over a 3-year period healthy (H) and declining (D) Pinus nigra trees co-occurring in a karstic woodland to highlight eventual individual-specific physiological differences underlying differential canopy dieback. We investigated differences in water and carbon metabolism, and xylem anatomy as a function of crown health status, as well as eventual genotypic basis of contrasting drought responses. H and D trees exploited the same water pools and relied on similar hydraulic strategies to cope with drought stress. Genetic analyses did not highlight differences between groups in terms of geographical provenance. Hydraulic and anatomical analyses showed conflicting results. The hydraulic tracheid diameter and theoretical hydraulic conductivity were similar, but D trees were characterized by lower water transport efficiency, greater vulnerability to xylem conduit implosion and reduced carbohydrate stores. Our results suggest that extreme drought events can have different impacts on conspecific individuals, with differential vulnerability to xylem embolism likely playing a major role in setting the fate of trees under climate change.

Extreme summer droughts induced differential impacts in a population of Pinus nigra trees. We analyzed eventual physiological differences between desiccated and healthy trees. Desiccated trees were more vulnerable to drought-induced xylem embolism, and were also suffering from depletion of carbohydrate reserves. Our data suggest that genotypic or phenotypic intraspecific variability can play fundamental roles in defining individual drought responses/impacts, dictating the fate of single trees under global-change-type droughts., Ongoing climate change is apparently increasing tree mortality rates, and understanding mechanisms of drought-induced tree decline can improve mortality projections. Differential drought impact on conspecific individuals within a population has been reported, but no clear mechanistic explanation for this pattern has emerged. Following a severe drought (summer 2012), we monitored over a 3-year period healthy (H) and declining (D) Pinus nigra trees co-occurring in a karstic woodland to highlight eventual individual-specific physiological differences underlying differential canopy dieback. We investigated differences in water and carbon metabolism, and xylem anatomy as a function of crown health status, as well as eventual genotypic basis of contrasting drought responses. H and D trees exploited the same water pools and relied on similar hydraulic strategies to cope with drought stress. Genetic analyses did not highlight differences between groups in terms of geographical provenance. Hydraulic and anatomical analyses showed conflicting results. The hydraulic tracheid diameter and theoretical hydraulic conductivity were similar, but D trees were characterized by lower water transport efficiency, greater vulnerability to xylem conduit implosion and reduced carbohydrate stores. Our results suggest that extreme drought events can have different impacts on conspecific individuals, with differential vulnerability to xylem embolism likely playing a major role in setting the fate of trees under climate change.

International audience; Polar ice sheets are remarkable repositories of tephra layers. The Talos Dome ice core (72°49′S, 159°11′E), drilled at the edge of the East Antarctic Plateau, close to Late Quaternary volcanoes, offers considerable potential to extend the current tephra time-stratigraphic framework. A tephrochronological study was undertaken of the ice core sections related to the Last Interglacial and the transition to the subsequent glacial period. Thirteen macroscopically visible layers, interpreted to be related to primary deposition of fallout tephra, have been analysed for quantitative grain size and glass shard geochemistry. The layers, precisely framed within the climate (δ18O) record for the core, span in age from 111.6 ± 1.9 to 123.3 ± 2.2 ka. Coarse particle size suggests origin from regional sources. Indeed, the vast majority of the samples display an alkaline affinity and trachytic composition that are both typical geochemical features of rifting Antarctic volcanism. Using subtle differences in the geochemical signatures and the comparison with data from previous studies, a few layers are attributed to known coeval Mt. Melbourne eruptions. Another sample subset is consistent with derivation from The Pleiades and Mt. Rittmann volcanoes. One peculiar trachytic glass population appears to be related to activity of the more distant Marie Byrd Land volcanoes. The newly detected tephras provide stratigraphic markers that could facilitate future synchronisation and dating of palaeoclimatic records. The Talos Dome tephra inventory also contributes significantly to the reconstruction of the Northern Victoria Land explosive volcanism, for which chronostratigraphic data for the Last Interglacial temporal segment are poor.

In 2012, an extreme summer drought induced species-specific die-back in woody species in NE-Italy. Quercus pubescens and Ostrya carpinifolia were heavily impacted, while Prunus mahaleb was largely unaffected. By comparing seasonal changes in isotopic composition of xylem sap, rainfall and deep soil samples, we show that P. mahaleb has a deeper root system than the other two species. This morphological trait allowed P. mahaleb to maintain higher water potential (Ψ), gas exchange rates and non-structural carbohydrates content (NSC) throughout the summer, when compared to the other species. More favourable water and carbon states allowed relatively stable maintenance of stem hydraulic conductivity (k) throughout the growing season. In contrast, in Q. pubescens and O. carpinifolia decreasing Ψ and NSC were associated with significant hydraulic failure, with spring-to-summer k loss averaging 60%. Our data support to the hypothesis that drought-induced tree decline is a complex phenomenon that cannot be modelled on the basis of single predictors of tree status like hydraulic efficiency, vulnerability, and carbohydrate content. Our data highlight the role of rooting depth in seasonal progression of water status, gas exchange and NSC, with possible consequences for energy-demanding mechanisms involved in the maintenance of vascular integrity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.