Diatoms in Ice Cores

Abstract:

Winds in the Southern Ocean drive exchanges of heat and carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere. Recent wind dynamics also explain the dominant patterns of both basal and surface melting of glaciers and ice shelves in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas. Long records of past wind strength and atmospheric circulation are needed to assess the significance of these recent changes. Marine diatoms (unicellular algae) recovered from Antarctic Peninsula ice cores offer potential as a novel proxy of past winds. Ecological affinities of the identified diatom taxa provide evidence of provenance and back trajectory analyses show air mass pathways to the ice core sites. Diatom records from Antarctic Peninsula ice cores that cover the last two decades show positive and robust correlation coefficients with various wind vectors associated with the Amundsen Sea Low. Collectively, the data presented provide good evidence that diatoms in ice cores offer genuine potential as a new proxy for past regional wind dynamics.