Abstract
The stable isotope, aerosol, and atmospheric gas records in ice cores
provide exceptional archives of past climate. Supported by the U.S.
National Science Foundation (Office of Polar Programs – Antarctic
Glaciology), a new 1,750-meter long ice core (SPC14) was recovered from
South Pole, Antarctica, during the 2014-2015 (0 to 736 m) and 2015-2016
(736 to 1750 m) field seasons. SPC14 is the highest resolution interior
East Antarctic ice core that extends into the glacial period. It
provides a record of the climate history of a unique area of the East
Antarctic plateau that is partially influenced by weather systems that
cross the West Antarctic ice sheet. The SPICEcore project also includes
novel measurements of ultra-trace level atmospheric gases that are made
feasible by the very cold temperatures, low impurity levels, and the
relatively high accumulation rate at the South Pole. Preliminary
estimates of the timescale suggest that the ice at 1750 meters depth is
~54,000 years in age and therefore the SPICEcore project
contributes towards the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences
(IPICS) goal to create a bipolar network of ice core climate and climate
forcing records for the last 40,000 years. This presentation provides a
high-level overview of the SPICEcore project.