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Mineral Dust Variability in Antarctic Ice
for Different Climate Conditions
Anna Wegner, Natalia Sudarchikova, Hubertus Fischer
and Uwe Mikolajewicz
Abstract This study aims to understand the dust deposition changes on the
Antarctic ice sheet in different climatic stages. To this end, high-resolution dust
concentration and size pro
les from the EPICA-DML ice core over the transition
from the last glacial to the Holocene (T1) were combined with model experiments
for four interglacial time slices and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A strong
decrease in dust concentration (factor 46) and a slight increase in dust size was
observed during T1. A strong coupling between transport and intensi
ed sources
during the glacial could be derived from the seasonal variability of concentration
and size and its phase-lag. This strong coupling vanishes during the Holocene. The
model simulates increased dust deposition in Antarctica for all past interglacial time
slices compared to the pre-industrial period. The major cause for the increase is
enhanced Southern Hemisphere dust emission, but changes in atmospheric transport
are also relevant. The maximum dust deposition in Antarctica is simulated for the
LGM, showing a 10-fold increase compared to preindustrial conditions.
Keywords Mineral dust
Antarctica
Glacial and interglacial periods
Climate
model
Ice core
Atmospheric transport
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