Analysis of the Concentration of Microparticles in an Ice Core from Byrd Station, Antarctica

Abstract

Measurements were made of the concentrations and size distribution of microparticles in 15 representative sections, averaging 1 meter in length, taken from the 2l64-meter-long ice core from Byrd Station. This study was designed to clarify relationships between microparticle concentrations and climate, by comparing the concentrations and size distribution with б18O values of ice from the same depths. Relationships were established over seasonal, decennial and millennial time intervals, and an outlined chronology for the ice core was determined. The particle analysis is based on the hypothesis that the stratigraphic record of snow deposition in the dry-snow facies of ice sheets is preserved in the variations of microparticle concentration and size distribution. In the study the use of a multi-channel Model "T" Coulter Counter enabled considerable improvements in the rate and quality of data collection.