WAIS Divide Ice Core Chemistry from 6000 to 27000 Years Before Present

A continuous analytical system measured chemical species in longitudinal samples from the WAIS Divide deep ice core between 1300 and 2710 meters depth. The data corresponds to a time range from approximately 6000 to 27000 years before present. The dataset was produced by the organization SCIOPS and is hosted on NASA EarthData.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing past atmospheric aerosol loading based on measured elements like Na, Mg, S, Ca, Sr, and Ce.
• Analyzing historical nitrogen cycle dynamics based on ammonium (NH4) and nitrate (NO3-) concentrations.
• Correlating volcanic or fire events with ice core chemistry signals based on black carbon and elemental data.
• Calibrating climate models using high-resolution temporal chemical profiles from the described depth range.

Strengths

• Covers a significant time span of approximately 21,000 years (from ~6000 to ~27000 years before present).
• Data was generated using high-resolution analytical instruments including ICP-MS spectrometers.
• Includes a range of analytes, from specific elements to chemical species like ammonium and nitrate.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

SCIOPS

Collection Method

Continuous analysis of longitudinal ice core samples using ICP-MS, black carbon analyzer, spectrophotometers, and fluorimeters.

Time Range

~6000 to ~27000 years before present

Freshness

unknown

Geography

WAIS Divide, Antarctica (79°28'S, 112°4'W, 1759 m elevation)