Taylor Ice Dome study 1993-1994: An ice core to bedrock PIETER M. GROOTES, ERIC J. STEIG, and MINZE STuWER,
Department of Geological Sciences and Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
aylor Dome* , a small ice dome centered at 77040'S site. Because many investigators are involved in the Taylor T 158°00'E, has been studied over the previous three field Dome project (table), we decided to keep core sampling in the seasons to find the best location to extract an ice core to field to a minimum; we concentrated instead on joint U.S. bedrock (Grootes, Steig, and Massey 1991; Grootes and Steig sampling in the new National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) 1992; Morse and Waddington 1992, 1993; Waddington et al. near Denver. Samples cut immediately after drilling to deter1991, 1993 PP. 499-516). During the 1993-1994 field season, mine density, ultrasound velocity in the "unrelaxed" core, as we recovered a 554-meter (in) long core to bedrock plus about well as crystal size and orientation were studied by Joan Fitz6 centimeters (cm) of basal sediment and rock debris at a site patrick, U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, in a laboratory about 1.5 kilometers (km) (three ice thicknesses) southwest of snowtrench. Trench temperature was below -20°C at all times the flow divide over a relatively flat local bedrock high (the mean-annual temperature in the area is -43°C, Wadding(77 0 47.7'S 158 0 43.1'E, elevation 2,400±20 m) (Morse and ton et al. 1993, pp. 499-516), and thus provided safe storage Waddington 1993). for trapped gases in the core. Further core sampling was done Drilling was done by a PICO (Polar Ice Coring Office) on a core processing line built in the cold rooms of the Crary crew of eight, working around the clock, using the PICO 13.2 Laboratory in McMurdo, where the density of the 1-rn firn cm deep-drill system that reached bedrock in the summit sections was measured, and the core was sampled at low resarea of the Greenland ice sheet 1 July 1993. This is the first olution for oxygen isotopes (1 in sample from 0-250 m, 0.5 time that an antarctic intermediate depth ice core to bedrock m per sample below 250 m) and '°Be (5 in sample) down has been drilled in a fluid-filled hole in a one-season drilling to 341 in The cut face of the core was polished with a operation. The control room was heated, but all drilling activmicrotome blade and used for electrical conductivity measities and the initial processing of the core took place in the urements (ECM) and visual stratigraphy. open. Nevertheless, all work could proceed in all but the highFor the transport of the core from the field to McMurdo est winds (about 2 days lost). The actual drilling took only 17 and then to NICL, a protocol was developed with Antarctic days (9-13 December 1993 and 6-20 January 1994), including Support Associates (ASA) and National Science Foundation bad weather and repair times). The PICO-drill instrumentrepresentatives that provided continuous temperature monipackage was used to record the orientation of the core in the ice Investigators participa ting in the Taylor Dome ice core project sheet on the core. Below 335 in, we encountered brittle ice which _____________ Investigator led to internal fractures and breaks in the core and, occasionally, to badly broken or shattered M. Bender University of Rhode Island 02/N2,180/160,15N/14N, CH 4 of core with loss of orientation. In trapped air most cases, however, the continu- J. Fitzpatrick U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Physical properties, ice fabric ity of the core for orientation and P.M. Grootes 180/160 of ice University of Washington sampling purposes was preserved T. Hinkley U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Trace metals University of Maine Diatoms and organic particles and core loss was minimal. The D. Kellogg D. Lal 14C Scripps Institution of In-situ oriented core makes it possible to Oceanography determine the relationship P.A. Mayewski University of New Hampshire Major cations-anions, methane sulfonic between inclined layers observed acid in the core and in the ice radar E. Saltzman University of Miami Methane sulfonic acid and halogens and Pai-Yei Whung plots. E. Steig University of Washington 1013e, 36Cl The 1-rn core sections were and M. Stuiver stored before shipping in a snowwith R. Finkel Lawrence Livermore National 1013e, 36Cl trench excavated near the drill Laboratories K. Taylor Desert Research Institute Electrical conductivity, dielectric properties E. Mosley-Thompson Ohio State University Microparticles *The name "McMurdo Dome" has also been used for this ice dome (for examE.D. Waddington University of Washington Geophysical studies, automatic weather ple, Denton et al. 1989). "Taylor Dome" stations has now been proposed to the Advisory E.D. Waddington Committee on Antarctic Names of the with G.Clow U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Bore-hole temperature and deformation official name.
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record, obtained shortly after the core had been drilled, will be compared with the full ECM and dielectric properties records recently measured by K. Taylor, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada, during core sampling at NICL (June and July 1994). The successful completion of the core to bedrock was made possible by the dedication and competence of all involved. The PICO crew of Dave Giles kept the drill work successfully going through breakdowns, high wind, and drifting snow. The ASA construction crew and the camp staff of Bill Danford opened camp early under windy and cold conditions, and then kept it tidy and comfortable throughout the long season. The ASA logistics and support organization, with Rick Campbell, Brian Stone, and Jill Vereyken, prepared and handled the large amounts of cargo, and the crews of VXE-6 and the 109th New York Air National Guard moved it, whenever possible, in an exemplary manner. Sarah Sturges' excellent cooking made for a contented camp. Navy personnel stationed at camp as communication/ weather expert (Allan Stratton and Bridget Roy) and medic (T.J. LeMay) were very competent and their willingness to help, and even participate in core processing, is much appreciated. The enthusiasm of the science crew, consisting of Bob Brown, Todd Burke, Ron Connell, Kim Cunningham, Joan Fitzpatrick, Piet Grootes,
toring of the core with recording thermometers to be able to guarantee its suitability for gas studies. During core-sampling at NICL 20 June to 9 July 1994, some breaks that were not present when the core was first logged at the drill site were observed, but generally the core quality had deteriorated little during transport. NICL now holds in archive about 50 percent of the core, except in sections where discontinuous samples have used the full core. Preliminary observations of the core follow. In the firn, a clear stratigraphy with glazed crusts and finer, denser windpacked layers similar to those observed in nearby snowpits was observed. The layering can be followed across the firn-ice transition into the ice. This transition occurs between 70 and 80 rn [a pore close-off density of 0.83 grams per cubic centimeter is interpolated at 71.9 m depth, figure 1 (Fitzpatrick personal communication)]. There is good agreement between the results of high-precision density measurements made at the drill site (Fitzpatrick, Antarctic Journal, in this issue) and the 1-rn-section densities measured in the Crary Laboratory. Most of the negative excursions in the 1-m data set are related to core quality (loss at breaks, core dog gouges). Ultra-sound velocity, crystal size, and crystal orientation show a clear transition in the ice around 370 m depth (Fitzpatrick personal communication). This may be the glacialinterglacial transition that was predicted to occur at about 400 m depth in the preliminary flow model (Waddington et al. 1993, pp. 499-516). In that case, the core contains about 180 m of pre-Holocene ice and promises a significant glacial climatic and environmental record. The base of the ice showed an abrupt transition from clear ice to grayish silty-sandy sediment with some dark specks appearing in the last meter of clear ice above the bed. The basal temperature was about -26°C (PICO personal communication), close to the -24°C predicted at 550 m depth by preliminary modeling which assumed a 600-rn deep bore hole (Waddington et al. 1993, pp. 499-516). We measured the ECM in Antarctica in the Crary Laboratory to obtain an early impression of the environmental record preserved in the core. We thereby assumed that wind strength and dust concentrations, which are known to have been stronger and higher, respectively, during full glacial times, provide a connection between climate and ECM similar to that observed in the Greenland GISP2 core (Taylor et al. 1993a,b). A high-quality digital conductivity record was obtained. Figure 2 shows the ECM record of a 3.5-rn section of Holocene ice that displays some of the information gained from the ECM. A dust layer visible in the core at 311.43 m depth coincides with an 8-cm wide band of very low conductivity indicating the dust was alkaline and neutralized the core's acidity, which is responsible for most of its electrical conductivity. Increased conductivity on either side of the dust conductivity-minimum and again between 309.6 and 309.8 m depth suggests increased acidity such as is caused by volcanic SO2 emissions. The dust at 311.43 m points to a possible nearby source of the eruption. Detailed particle and chemical analyses can be focussed on similar promising sections identified by the ECM record. The preliminary McMurdo ECM
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0.6
0
jI 0.5
.r TU
0.4
0.3 20 40 60 80 100
Depth (meters) Figure 1. Density of the firn part of the Taylor Dome, Antarctica, ice core as function of depth as measured on 1-rn core sections at the Crary Laboratory, McMurdo. The • denotes high-precision density of 0.1-rn sections measured by J. Fitzpatrick, U.S. Geological Survey. Low-density outliers are generally related to core damage. (g/cc denotes grams per cubic centimeter.)
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Boaz Luz, Eric Steig, Craig Tozer, and Jill Turner, made it possible not only to process the core and obtain a first glimpse of the information contained in it but also to complete a full program of surface sampling of snowpits and shallow, hand-augered cores. The friendly collaboration of the geophysics survey team of Ed Waddington, Dave Morse, Brian Peterka, and Andrew Stirling is much appreciated. The Crary Laboratory with Steve Kottmeier, Kristin Larsen, and Dave Walden provided excellent support and space for core processing and 10Be sample preparation. The assistance and advice of Ken Taylor and Dave Morse in the construction of the ECM system is gratefully acknowledged. The project was supported by National Science Foundation grant OPP 89-15924.
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-5
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309.5 310 310.5 311 311.5 31 308.5 309
Depth (m) Figure 2. Electrical conductivity measurements of a Holocene section of the Taylor Dome, Antarctica, ice core measured in the Crary Laboratory, McMurdo, in January 1994. The conductivity-low around 311.4 m depth corresponds with a visible dust layer in the core. High conductivity around this low and around 309.7 m depth is probably of volcanic origin and suggests two volcanic eruptions, of which the older one deposited alkaline ash on Taylor Dome.
References PICO. 1994. Personal communication. Taylor, K.C., C.U. Hammer, R.B. Alley, H.B. Clausen, D. Dahl-Jensen, A.J. Gow, N.S. Gundestrup, J. Kipfstuhl, J.C. Moore, and E.D. Waddington. 1993a. Electric conductivity measurements from the GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores. Nature, 366, 549-552. Taylor, K.C., G.W. Lamorey, G.A. Doyle, R.B. Alley, P.M. Grootes, P.A. Mayewski, J.W.C. White, and L.K. Barlow. 1993b. The "flickering switch" of late Pleistocene climate change. Nature, 361, 432-436. Waddington, E.D., D.L. Morse, M.J. Balise, and J.F. Firestone. 1991. Glacier geophysical studies for an ice-core site at "Taylor Dome." Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 26(5), 71-73. Waddington, E.D., D.L. Morse, P.M. Grootes, and E.J. Steig. 1993. The connection between ice dynamics and paleoclimate from ice cores: a study of Taylor Dome, Antarctica. In W.R. Peltier (Ed.), Ice in the climate system [NATO ASI Series 1(12)]. Berlin/ Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Denton, G.H., J.G. Bockheim, S.C. Wilson, and M. Stuiver. 1989. Late Wisconsin and early Holocene glacial history, inner Ross Embayment, Antarctica. Quaternary Research, 31, 151-182. Fitzpatrick, J.J. 1994. Personal communication. Fitzpatrick, J.J. 1994. Preliminary report on the physical and stratigraphic properties of the Taylor Ice Dome ice core. Antarctic jour-
nal of the U.S.,29(5).
Grootes, P.M., E.J. Steig, and C. Massey. 1991. "Taylor Ice-Dome" study: Reconnaissance 1990-1991. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 26(5),69-71. Grootes, P.M., and E.J. Steig. 1992. Taylor Dome ice-core study. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 27(5), 57-58. Morse, D.L, and E.D. Waddington. 1992. Glacier geophysical studies for an ice-core site at Taylor Dome: Year two. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 27(5), 59-61. Morse, D.L, and E.D. Waddington. 1993. Glacier geophysical studies at Taylor Dome: Year three. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 28(5), 67-69.
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