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Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1064
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1064
08 Jun 2023
 | 08 Jun 2023

The first firn core from Peter 1st Island – capturing climate variability across the Bellingshausen Sea

Elizabeth Ruth Thomas, Dieter Tetzner, Bradley Markle, Joel Pedro, Guisella Gacitúa, Dorothea Elisabeth Moser, and Sarah Jackson

Abstract. Peter 1st Island is situated in the Bellingshausen Sea, a region that has experienced considerable climate change in recent decades. Warming sea surface temperatures and reduced sea ice cover have been accompanied by warming surface air temperature, increased snowfall, and accelerated mass loss over the adjacent ice sheet. Here we present data from the first firn core drilled on Peter 1st Island, spanning the period 2001–2017 CE. The stable water isotope data capture regional changes in surface air temperature, and precipitation (snow accumulation) at the site, which are highly correlated with the surrounding Amundsen-Bellingshausen Seas, and the adjacent Antarctic Peninsula (r>0.6, p<0.05). The unique in-situ data from an automatic weather station, together with the firn core data, confirms the high skill of the ERA5 reanalysis in capturing daily mean temperature and inter-annual precipitation variability, even over a small Sub-Antarctic Island. This study demonstrates the suitability of Peter 1st Island for future deep ice core drilling, with the potential to provide an invaluable archive to explore ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions over decadal to centennial timescales for this dynamic region.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

12 Nov 2024
The first firn core from Peter I Island – capturing climate variability across the Bellingshausen Sea
Elizabeth R. Thomas, Dieter Tetzner, Bradley Markle, Joel Pedro, Guisella Gacitúa, Dorothea Elisabeth Moser, and Sarah Jackson
Clim. Past, 20, 2525–2538, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2525-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2525-2024, 2024
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

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The chemical records contained in a 12 m firn (ice) core from Peter 1st Island, a remote...
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