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Densification of firn at the North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) camp is investigated using density surrogates: dielectric permittivities ϵv and ϵh at microwave frequencies with electrical fields in the vertical and horizontal planes, respectively. Dielectric anisotropy Δϵ (=ϵv - ϵh) is then examined as a surrogate for the anisotropic geometry of firn. Its size, fluctuations and mutual correlations are investigated in samples taken at depths from the surface to ~90 m. The initial Δϵ of ~0.06 appears within the uppermost 0.2 m. After that, Δϵ decreases rapidly until 21-26 m depth. Below this, Δϵ decreases slowly. Layers with more ions of fluorine, chlorine and some cations deposited between the autumn and the subsequent summer deform preferentially during all these stages. This layered deformation is explained partly by the textural effects initially formed by the seasonal variation of metamorphism, and partly by ions such as fluorine, chlorine and ammonium, which are known to modulate dislocation movement in the ice crystal lattice. Insolation-sensitive microstructure appears to be preserved all the way to the pore close-off, within layers of the summer-to-autumn metamorphism. Like previous authors, we hypothesize that calcium is not the active agent in the reported deformation- calcium correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice cores recovered from ice sheets contain microorganisms that were transported to the surface of the ice sheet along with airborne dust. The abundance of microorganisms in ice cores, as measured by direct cell count under a fluorescence microscope, is generally lower than that in other aquatic environments. It is possible that the abundance of microorganisms in ice cores is underestimated due to the degradation of fluorescent dye or because non-specific fluorescence from mineral particles inhibits the fluorescence signal from microorganisms. To investigate this possibility, we tested 4 types of antifade solution and 19 types of fluorescence dye, and selected the best combination in terms of prolonging the fluorescent signal from microorganisms and distinguishing biological signals from noise produced by non-specific particles. The results show that the optimal combination of solution and dye for cell counts of scarce microorganisms in ice cores is the nuclear acid dye "YOYO-1" (Molecular Probes®) and the antifade solution "EverBrite Mounting Medium" (Biotium). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The δD temperature proxy in Antarctic ice cores varies in parallel with CO 2 through glacial cycles. However, these variables display a puzzling asynchrony. Well-dated records of Southern Ocean temperature will provide crucial information because the Southern Ocean is likely key in regulating CO 2 variations. Here, we perform multiple isotopic analyses on an Antarctic ice core and estimate temperature variations at this site and in the oceanic moisture source over the past 720,000 years, which extend the longest records by 300,000 years. Antarctic temperature is affected by large variations in local insolation that are induced by obliquity. At the obliquity periodicity, the Antarctic and ocean temperatures lag annual mean insolation. Further, the magnitude of the phase lag is minimal during low eccentricity periods, suggesting that secular changes in the global carbon cycle and the ocean circulation modulate the phase relationship among temperatures, CO 2 and insolation in the obliquity frequency band.

Climatic variabilities on millennial and longer time scales with a bipolar seesaw pattern have been documented in paleoclimatic records, but their frequencies, relationships with mean climatic state, and mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding the processes and sensitivities that underlie these changes will underpin better understanding of the climate system and projections of its future change. We investigate the long-term characteristics of climatic variability using a new ice-core record from Dome Fuji, East Antarctica, combined with an existing long record from the Dome C ice core. Antarctic warming events over the past 720,000 years are most frequent when the Antarctic temperature is slightly below average on orbital time scales, equivalent to an intermediate climate during glacial periods, whereas interglacial and fully glaciated climates are unfavourable for a millennial-scale bipolar seesaw. Numerical experiments using a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with freshwater hosing in the northern North Atlantic showed that climate becomes most unstable in intermediate glacial conditions associated with large changes in sea ice and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Model sensitivity experiments suggest that the prerequisite for the most frequent climate instability with bipolar seesaw pattern during the late Pleistocene era is associated with reduced atmospheric CO 2 concentration via global cooling and sea ice formation in the North Atlantic, in addition to extended Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.