Chronological characteristics for snow accumulation on Styx Glacier in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Abstract

Under the potential to reconstruct the past climatic and atmospheric conditions from a deep ice core in the coastal Antarctic site (Styx Glacier), an 8.84 m long firn core (73 degrees 50.975 ' S, 163 degrees 41.640 ' E; 1623 m a.s.l.) was initially studied to propose a reliable age scale for the local estimation of snow accumulation rate. The seasonal variations of delta O-18, methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and non-sea-salt sulfate (nssSO(4)(2-)) were used for the firn core dating and revealed 25 annual peaks (from 1990 to 2014) with volcanic sulfate signal. The observed declining trend in annual accumulation rate with a mean value of 146 +/- 60 kg m(-2) a(-1) is likely to be linked to the changes of sea-ice extent in the Ross Sea region. Moreover, the temporal variation of the annual mean delta O-18, an annual flux of MSA and nssSO(4)(2-) also likely to be under the influence of ice-covered and open water area. This study suggests a potential to recover past changes in an oceanic environment and will be useful for the interpretation of the long ice core drilled at the same site.