Open AccessUpdated ice core record captures industrial era carbon variability
Author(s) -
Schultz Colin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1002/2013eo380013
Subject(s) - ice core , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , carbon dioxide , isotopes of carbon , environmental science , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , earth science , fossil fuel , carbon fibers , carbon cycle , dome (geology) , core (optical fiber) , atmospheric carbon cycle , physical geography , geology , climatology , meteorology , environmental chemistry , carbon sequestration , chemistry , paleontology , geography , materials science , total organic carbon , ecology , organic chemistry , ecosystem , composite number , composite material , biology
In 1999, researchers published data from ice cores collected at Law Dome, a research site in East Antarctica. These data are distinguished by their high time resolution and by their overlap with modern measurements, providing one of the most important records of how the atmosphere's chemical composition changed over the past 1000 years. Air trapped in bubbles in the ice core let researchers measure the concentration of carbon dioxide and other gases and analyze the ratio of carbon‐13 to carbon‐12 isotopes in the atmospheric carbon dioxide. Burning fossil fuel releases carbon dioxide that is depleted in carbon‐13 isotopes, and the Law Dome record provided evidence that modern increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are due to anthropogenic activity. In a new study, Rubino et al ., a team that includes some of the authors from the original analysis, use novel tools and techniques to update their ice core record.