M. A. J. Curran’s research while affiliated with Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and other places

Atmospheric methane is second only to CO2 in terms of anthropogenic greenhouse warming and is a key player in global atmospheric chemistry. Atmospheric methane has been increasing at a record rate during the past few years and the causes of this alarming acceleration are uncertain, with changes in natural and anthropogenic sources as well as in the OH sink all potentially playing a role. The preindustrial and early industrial atmosphere offers an opportunity to better understand the methane budget with only minimal anthropogenic interference. There are currently large disagreements among prior studies as to the relative importance of geologic (fossil) and biological sources of the natural methane budget. Further, it is uncertain how the strength of the OH sink (the main methane removal mechanism) changed between the preindustrial and today. New large volume ice cores were drilled at Law Dome, Antarctica to obtain measurements of 14C of atmospheric methane (14CH4) and 14C of atmospheric carbon monoxide (14CO) that allow for insights into both of these questions. In the pre-nuclear atmosphere, 14CH4 is an unambiguous indicator of the fossil fraction of the methane budget. The new 14CH4 results show good agreement with the few previously available ice core and firn air 14CH4 data points, indicating that the natural geologic CH4 source is very small. 14CO is a useful indicator of changes in the OH sink. Our results (after corrections for in situ cosmogenic 14CO) do not show significant changes in 14CO at the Law Dome site since ≈1870. Interpretation of the 14CO results using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model is currently in progress.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a naturally occurring atmospheric trace gas, a regulated pollutant, and one of the main components determining the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Evaluating climate–chemistry models under different conditions than today and constraining past CO sources requires a reliable record of atmospheric CO mixing ratios ([CO]) that includes data since preindustrial times. Here, we report the first continuous record of atmospheric [CO] for Southern Hemisphere (SH) high latitudes over the past 3 millennia. Our continuous record is a composite of three high-resolution Antarctic ice core gas records and firn air measurements from seven Antarctic locations. The ice core gas [CO] records were measured by continuous flow analysis (CFA), using an optical feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectrometer (OF-CEAS), achieving excellent external precision (2.8–8.8 ppb; 2σ) and consistently low blanks (ranging from 4.1±1.2 to 7.4±1.4 ppb), thus enabling paleo-atmospheric interpretations. Six new firn air [CO] Antarctic datasets collected between 1993 and 2016 CE at the DE08-2, DSSW19K, DSSW20K, South Pole, Aurora Basin North (ABN), and Lock-In sites (and one previously published firn CO dataset at Berkner) were used to reconstruct the atmospheric history of CO from ∼1897 CE, using inverse modeling that incorporates the influence of gas transport in firn. Excellent consistency was observed between the youngest ice core gas [CO] and the [CO] from the base of the firn and between the recent firn [CO] and atmospheric [CO] measurements at Mawson station (eastern Antarctica), yielding a consistent and contiguous record of CO across these different archives. Our Antarctic [CO] record is relatively stable from -835 to 1500 CE, with mixing ratios within a 30–45 ppb range (2σ). There is a ∼5 ppb decrease in [CO] to a minimum at around 1700 CE during the Little Ice Age. CO mixing ratios then increase over time to reach a maximum of ∼54 ppb by ∼1985 CE. Most of the industrial period [CO] growth occurred between about 1940 to 1985 CE, after which there was an overall [CO] decrease, as observed in Greenland firn air and later at atmospheric monitoring sites and attributed partly to reduced CO emissions from combustion sources. Our Antarctic ice core gas CO observations differ from previously published records in two key aspects. First, our mixing ratios are significantly lower than reported previously, suggesting that previous studies underestimated blank contributions. Second, our new CO record does not show a maximum in the late 1800s. The absence of a [CO] peak around the turn of the century argues against there being a peak in Southern Hemisphere biomass burning at this time, which is in agreement with (i) other paleofire proxies such as ethane or acetylene and (ii) conclusions reached by paleofire modeling. The combined ice core and firn air [CO] history, spanning -835 to 1992 CE, extended to the present by the Mawson atmospheric record, provides a useful benchmark for future atmospheric chemistry modeling studies.

The temperature of the Earth is one of the most important climate parameters. Proxy records of past climate changes, in particular temperature, represent a fundamental tool for exploring internal climate processes and natural climate forcings. Despite the excellent information provided by ice core records in Antarctica, the temperature variability of the past 2000 years is difficult to evaluate from the low-accumulation sites in the Antarctic continent interior. Here we present the results from the Aurora Basin North (ABN) ice core (71∘ S, 111∘ E, 2690 m a.s.l.) in the lower part of the East Antarctic plateau, where accumulation is substantially higher than other ice core drilling sites on the plateau, and provide unprecedented insight into East Antarctic past temperature variability. We reconstructed the temperature of the last 2000 years using two independent methods: the widely used water stable isotopes (δ18O) and by inverse modelling of borehole temperature and past temperature gradients estimated from the inert gas stable isotopes (δ40Ar and δ15N). This second reconstruction is based on three independent measurement types: borehole temperature, firn thickness, and firn temperature gradient. The δ18O temperature reconstruction supports stable temperature conditions within 1 ∘C over the past 2000 years, in agreement with other ice core δ18O records in the region. However, the gas and borehole temperature reconstruction suggests that surface conditions 2 ∘C cooler than average prevailed in the 1000–1400 CE period and supports a 20th century warming of 1 ∘C. A precipitation hiatus during cold periods could explain why water isotope temperature reconstruction underestimates the temperature changes. Both reconstructions arguably record climate in their own way, with a focus on atmospheric and hydrologic cycles for water isotopes, as opposed to surface temperature for gas isotopes and boreholes. This study demonstrates the importance of using a variety of sources for comprehensive paleoclimate reconstructions.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a naturally occurring atmospheric trace gas, a regulated pollutant and one of the main components determining the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Evaluating climate-chemical models under different conditions than today and constraining past CO sources requires a reliable record of atmospheric CO mixing ratios ([CO]) since pre-industrial times. Here, we report the first continuous record of atmospheric [CO] for Southern Hemisphere (SH) high latitudes over the past three millennia. Our continuous record is a composite of three high-resolution Antarctic ice core gas records and firn air measurements from seven Antarctic locations. The ice core gas [CO] records were measured by continuous flow analysis (CFA) using an optical-feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectrometer (OF-CEAS), achieving excellent external precision (2.8–8.8 ppbv, 2σ), and consistently low blanks (ranging from 4.1 ± 1.2 to 7.4 ± 1.4 ppbv), enabling paleo-atmospheric interpretations. Six new firn air [CO] Antarctic datasets collected between 1993 and 2016 CE at the DE08-2, DSSW19K, DSSW20K, South Pole, ABN, and Lock-In sites (and one previously published firn CO dataset at Berkner) were used to reconstruct the atmospheric history of CO from ~1897 CE using inverse modeling that incorporates the influence of gas transport in firn. Excellent consistency was observed between the youngest ice core gas [CO] and the [CO] from the base of the firn, and between the recent firn [CO] and atmospheric [CO] measurements at Mawson station (East Antarctica), yielding a consistent and contiguous record of CO across these different archives. Our Antarctic [CO] record is relatively stable from −835 to 1500 CE with mixing ratios within a 30–45 ppbv range (2σ). There is a ~5 ppbv decrease in [CO] to a minimum at around 1700 CE, during the Little Ice Age. CO mixing ratios then increase over time to reach a maximum of ~54 ppbv by ~1985 CE. Most of the industrial period [CO] growth occurred between about 1940 to 1985 CE, after which there was an overall [CO] decrease, as observed at atmospheric monitoring sites around the world and in Greenland firn air. Our Antarctic ice core gas CO observations differ from previously published records in two key aspects. First, our mixing ratios are significantly lower than reported previously, suggesting previous studies underestimated blank contributions. Second, our new CO record does not show a maximum in the late 1800s. The absence of CO peak around the turn of the century argues against there being a peak in Southern Hemisphere biomass burning at this time, which is in agreement with (i) other paleofire proxies such as ethane or acetylene and (ii) conclusions reached by paleofire modeling. The combined ice core and firn air CO history, spanning −835–1992 CE, extended to the present day by the Mawson atmospheric record, provides a useful benchmark for future atmospheric chemistry modeling studies.

The temperature of the earth is one of the most important climate parameters. Proxy records of past climate changes, in particular temperature, are a fundamental tool for exploring internal climate processes and natural climate forcings. Despite the excellent information provided by ice core records in Antarctica, the temperature variability of the past 2000 years is difficult to evaluate from the low accumulation sites in the Antarctic continent interior. Here we present the results from the Aurora Basin North (ABN) ice core (71° S, 111° E, 2690 m a.s.l.) in the lower part of the East Antarctic plateau where accumulation is substantially higher than other ice core drilling sites on the plateau, and provide unprecedented insight in East Antarctic past temperature variability. We reconstructed the temperature of the last 2000 years using two independent methods: the widely used water stable isotopes (δ18O), and by inverse modelling of borehole temperature and past temperature gradients estimated from the inert gas stable isotopes (δ40Ar and δ15N). This second reconstruction is based on three independent measurement types: borehole temperature, firn thickness, and firn temperature gradient. The δ18O temperature reconstruction supports stable temperature conditions within 1 °C over the past 2000 years, in agreement with other ice core δ18O records in the region. However, the gas and borehole temperature reconstruction suggest that surface conditions 2 °C cooler than average prevailed in the 1000–1400 CE period, and support a 20th century warming of 1 °C. These changes are remarkably consistent with reconstructed Southern Annular Mode (SAM) variability, as it shows colder temperatures during the positive phase of the SAM in the beginning of the last millennium, with rapidly increasing temperature as the SAM changes to the negative phase. The transition to a negative SAM phase after 1400 CE is however not accompanied by a warming in West Antarctica, which suggests an influence of Pacific South American modes, inducing a cooling in West Antarctica while ABN is warming after this time. A precipitation hiatus during cold periods could explain why water isotope temperature reconstruction underestimates the temperature changes. Both reconstructions arguably record climate in their own way, with a focus on atmospheric and hydrologic cycles for water isotopes, as opposed to surface temperature for gases isotopes and borehole. This study demonstrates the importance of using a variety of sources for comprehensive paleoclimate reconstructions.

Standard proxies for reconstructing surface mass balance (SMB) in Antarctic ice cores are often inaccurate or coarsely resolved when applied to more complicated environments away from dome summits. Here, we propose an alternative SMB proxy based on photolytic fractionation of nitrogen isotopes in nitrate observed at 114 sites throughout East Antarctica. Applying this proxy approach to nitrate in a shallow core drilled at a moderate SMB site (Aurora Basin North), we reconstruct 700 years of SMB changes that agree well with changes estimated from ice core density and upstream surface topography. For the under-sampled transition zones between dome summits and the coast, we show that this proxy can provide past and present SMB values that reflect the immediate local environment and are derived independently from existing techniques. Snow accumulation rates in Antarctica can now be reconstructed from nitrate isotopes in snow and ice. This independent technique offers scientists a new tool for studying how Antarctic climate changed in the past and how it may change in the future.

Ice core records from Law Dome in East Antarctica collected over the last four decades provide high-resolution data for studies of the climate of Antarctica, Australia, and the Southern and Indo-Pacific oceans. Here, we present a set of annually dated records of trace chemistry, stable water isotopes and snow accumulation from Law Dome covering the period from -11 to 2017 CE (1961 to -66 BP 1950) and the level-1 chemistry data from which the annual chemistry records are derived. Law Dome ice core records have been used extensively in studies of the past climate of the Southern Hemisphere and in large-scale data syntheses and reconstructions in a region where few records exist, especially at high temporal resolution. This dataset provides an update and extensions both forward and back in time of previously published subsets of the data, bringing them together into a coherent set with improved dating to enable continued use of this record. The data are available for download from the Australian Antarctic Data Centre at 10.26179/5zm0-v192.

Bio‐essential iron can relieve nutrient limitation and stimulate marine productivity in the Southern Ocean. The fractional iron solubility of aerosol iron is an important variable determining iron availability for biological uptake. However, estimates of dissolved iron (dFe; iron < 0.2 μm) and the factors driving the variability of fractional iron solubility in pristine air masses are largely unquantified. To constrain inputs of fractional iron solubility to remote East Antarctic waters, dFe, total dissolvable iron (TDFe), trace elements and refractory black carbon were analyzed in a 9‐year‐old snow pit (2005–2014) from a new ice core site at Aurora Basin North (ABN) in Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. Extremely low annual dFe deposition fluxes were estimated (0.2 × 10⁻⁶ g m⁻² y⁻¹), while annual TDFe deposition fluxes (70 × 10⁻⁶ g m⁻² y⁻¹) were comparable to other Antarctic sites. TDFe is dominantly sourced from mineral dust. Unlike coastal Antarctic sites where the variability of fractional iron solubility in modern snow is explained by a mixture of dust and biomass burning sources, dFe deposition and fractional iron solubility at ABN (ranging between 0.1% and 6%) is enhanced in episodic high precipitation events from synoptic warm air masses. Enhanced fractional iron solubility reaching the high elevation site at ABN is suggested through the mechanism of cloud processing of background mineral dust that modifies the dust chemistry and increases iron dissolution during long‐range transport. This study highlights a complex interplay of sources and processes that drive fractional iron solubility in pristine air masses.