Amery Ice Shelf Methanesulphonic Acid Record from Shallow Cores

Six shallow ice cores from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica provide a record of methanesulphonic acid (MSA) and other chemical parameters over the last 1-2 decades. The data, collected between 1999 and 2002, supports research into links between MSA, biological activity, and sea-ice extent in the Prydz Bay region. The project was conducted under ASAC Project 1224 and data is archived by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in methanesulphonic acid (MSA) concentrations across six core sites to investigate links with biological activity.
• Correlate MSA records with other measured parameters like major trace ions and oxygen isotopes to assist in dating and interpreting the climate signal.
• Investigate teleconnections between the MSA proxy record from the Prydz Bay region and historical sea-ice extent data.
• Compare MSA records from cores G2 and A506 with other Antarctic ice core datasets to improve spatial coverage of high-resolution climate records.

Strengths

• Data from six distinct ice core sites (G2, A506, AM1, AM2, AM3, AM4) collected over a multi-year period.
• Core parameters include methanesulphonic acid (MSA), major trace ions, oxygen isotopes, and hydrogen peroxide for multi-proxy analysis.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to six shallow cores, each approximately 5 meters in length.
• Data availability is partial, with only two of the six cores (G2, A506) confirmed as archived.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is focused on the last 1-2 decades up to 2002, with no updates since 2005.

Provenance

Source

ASAC Project 1224, archived by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC).

Collection Method

Ice core drilling and subsequent chemical analysis of core samples.

Time Range

Covers approximately the last 1-2 decades prior to 2002, with cores collected between 1999 and 2002.

Freshness

Data collection concluded in 2002; last metadata update was in 2005.

Geography

Amery Ice Shelf, Prydz Bay region, Antarctica.