Secular Trends Of Accumulation Rate On Ice Cores From Dunde Ice Cap, China Over The Last 1000 Years

Abstract

Cooperative research programs were conducted on the Dunde Ice Cap (38°06′N, 96°26′E), China, in 1984, 1986, 1987, by the Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology (LIGG), China and the Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC), U.S.A. This paper gives the preliminary results of the analysis on accumulation rate of the ice cap over the last 1000 years. Three ice cores were recovered to bedrock from the ice-cap summit (5324 m a.s.l.). Core D-1 (139.8 m long) was divided in the field along the entire length and was shared equally between LIGG and BPRC. Core D-2 (136.6 m long) was returned frozen complete to the LIGG for ice-core measurements. In Core D-3 (138.4 m long) the upper sectors were melted and bottled in the field and the lower sectors were returned frozen to the BPRC, U.S.A. Core D-1 was analyzed in China along the entire length for oxygen isotope, liquid conductivity and pH. A year-by-year dating of the ice cores has been made with Dansgaard-Johnsen’s flow pattern by using the data of surface strain-rate (August 1986 to August 1987) and tritium measurements. The resulting time-scales of the ice cores in Dunde Ice Cap yield an age of 4600 yr B.P. The annual layer thicknesses of core D-1 were measured mainly by δ¹⁸O analysis and liquid conductivity. The lower δ¹⁸O is generally associated with higher electrical conductivity. Annual layer thickness was converted to accumulation rates and compared with meteorological records from Delingxa Meteorological Station. The mean accumulation rate is 518 mm in ice-equivalent. Particular attention is given to the possible impact of the Little Ice Age. Based on spectral analysis of time series for the accumulation variation with depth, short-term (30, 33 year at 0.01 level) and intermediate-term variation (120 year) were discussed. The ice-core research program has been supported by the Chinese National Foundation of Natural Science under Grant DO125-4860011.