Abstract
Stable isotopic composition in Antarctic snow and ice is commonly regarded as one of invaluable palaeoclimate proxies and plays a critically important role in reconstructing past climate change. In this paper we summarized the spatial distribution and the controlling factors of δD, δ 18O, d-excess and 17O-excess in Antarctic snow and ice, and discussed their reliability and applicability as palaeoclimate proxies. Recent progress in the stable isotopic records from Antarctic deep ice cores was reviewed, and perspectives on bridging the current understanding gaps were suggested.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Petit J, Jouzel J, Raynaud D, et al. Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature, 1999, 399: 429–436
Watanabe O, Jouzel J, Johnsen S, et al. Homogeneous climate variability across East Antarctica over the past three glacial cycles. Nature, 2003, 422: 509–512
EPICA community members. Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core. Nature, 2004, 429: 623–629
Jouzel J, Masson-Delmotte V, Cattani O, et al. Orbital and millennial Antarctic climate variability over the past 800000 years. Science, 2007, 317: 793–796
Kawamura K, Shuji A, Takakiyo N, et al. Accurately dated 700000-year climatic record from the Dome Fuji ice core, Antarctica. In: IPICS First Open Science Conference abstracts. Preqúîle de Giens, France, 2012. 1–65
Loulergue L, Schilt A, Spahni R, et al. Orbital and millennial-scale features of atmospheric CH4 over the past 800000 years. Nature, 2008, 453: 383–386
Lüthi D, Le Floch M, Bereiter B, et al. High-resolution carbon dioxide concentration record 650000–800000 years before present. Nature, 2008, 453: 379–382
Lambert F, Delmonte B, Petit J, et al. Dust-climate couplings over the past 800000 years from the EPICA Dome C ice core. Nature, 2008, 452: 616–619
Dansgaard W. Stable isotopes in precipitation. Tellus, 1964, 16: 436–468
Merlivat L, Jouzel J. Global climate interpretation of the deuterium-oxygen 18 relationship for precipitation. J Geophys Res, 1979, 84: 5029–5033
Jouzel J, Merlivat L. Deuterium and oxygen-18 in precipitation: Modeling of the isotope effects during snow formation. J Geophys Res, 1984, 89: 11749–11757
Barkan E, Luz B. High precision measurements of 17O/16O and 18O/16O of O2 in H2O. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom, 2005, 19: 3737–3742
Barkan E, Luz B. Diffusivity fractionations of H2 16O/H2 17O and H2 16O/H2 18O in air and their implications for isotope hydrology. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom, 2007, 21: 2999–3005
Landais A, Barkan E, Vimeux F, et al. Combined analysis of water stable isotopes (H2 16O, H2 17O, H2 18O, HD16O) in ice cores. Science, 2009, 323: 315–328
Angert A, Cappa C, Depaolo D. Kinetic 17O effects in the hydrologic cycle: Indirect evidence and implications. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 2004, 68: 3487–3495
Landais A, Barkan E, Luz B. Record of δ 18O and 17O-excess in ice from Vostok Antarctica during the last 150000 years. Geophys Res Lett, 2008, 35: L02709
Lorius C, Merlivat L. Distribution of mean surface stable isotope values in East Antarctica: Observed changes with depth in the coastal area. Inter Assoc Sci Hydro Pub, 1977, 118: 127–137
Morgan V. Antarctic ice sheet surface oxygen isotope values. J Glaciol, 1982, 28: 315–323
Giovinetto M, Zwally H. Areal distribution of the oxygen-isotope ratio in Antarctica: An assessment based on multivariate models. Ann Glaciol, 1997, 25: 153–158
Zwally H, Giovinetto M, Craven M, et al. Areal distribution of the oxygen-isotope ratio in Antarctica: Comparison of results based on field and remotely sensed data. Ann Glaciol, 1998, 27: 583–590
Masson-Delmotte V, Hou S, Ekaykin A, et al. A review of Antarctic surface snow isotopic composition: Observations, atmospheric circulation and isotopic modeling. J Clim, 2008, 21: 3359–3387
Wang Y, Hou S, Masson-Delmotte V, et al. A new spatial distribution map of δ 18O in Antarctic surface snow. Geophys Res Lett, 2009, 36: L06501
Bowen G, Wilkinson B. Spatial distribution of δ 18O in meteoric precipitation. Geology, 2002, 30: 315–318
Wang Y, Hou S, Masson-Delmotte V, et al. A generalized additive model for the spatial distribution of stable isotopic composition in Antarctic surface snow. Chem Geol, 2010, 271: 133–141
Craig H. Isotopic variations in meteoric waters. Science, 1961, 133: 1702–1703
Yurtsever Y, Gat J. Atmospheric waters. In: Gat J, Gonfiantini R, eds. Stable Isotope Hydrology: Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in the Water Cycle. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Association, 1981. 103–139
Jouzel J, Alley R, Cuffey C. Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores. J Geophys Res, 1997, 102: 26471–26487
Schlosser E, Oerter H, Masson-Delmotte V, et al. Atmospheric influence on the deuterium excess signal in polar firn-implications for ice core interpretation. J Glaciol, 2008, 54: 117–124
Noone D, Turner J, Mulvaney R. Atmospheric signals and characteristics of accumulation on Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. J Geophys Res, 1999, 104: 19191–19211
Masson-Delmotte V, Jouzel J, Landais A, et al. GRIP deuterium excess reveals rapid and orbital-scale changes in Greenland moisture origin. Science, 2005, 309: 119–121
Ekaykin A, Hondoh T, Lipenkov V, et al. Post-depositional changes in snow isotope content: Preliminary results of laboratory experiments. Clim Past Discuss, 2009, 5: 2239–2267
Neumann T, Waddington E. Effects of firn ventilation on isotopic exchange. J Glaciol, 2004, 169: 183–194
Neumann T, Waddington E, Steig E, et al. Non-climate influences on stable isotopes at Taylor Mouth, Antarctica. J Glaciol, 2005, 51: 248–258
Steig E, Grootes P, Stuiver M. Seasonal precipitation timing and ice core records. Science, 1994, 266: 1885–1886
Krinner G, Genthon C, Jouzel J. GCM analysis of local influences on ice core δ signals. Geophys Res Lett, 1997, 24: 2825–2828
Ciais P, Jouzel J. Deuterium and oxygen 18 in precipitation: An isotopic model including mixed cloud processes. J Geophys Res, 1994, 99: 16793–16803
Jouzel J, Russell G L, Suozzo R J, et al. Simulations of the HDO and H2 18O atmospheric cycles using the NASA GISS general circulation model: The seasonal cycle for present-day conditions. J Geophys Res, 1987, 92: 14739–14760
Hoffmann G, Werner M, Heimann M. Water isotope module of the ECHAM atmospheric general circulation model: A study on time scales from days to several years. J Geophys Res, 1998, 103: 16871–16896
Noone D, Simmonds I. Associations between δ 18O of water and climate parameters in a simulation of atmospheric circulation for 1979–95. J Clim, 2002, 15: 3150–3169
Schmidt G, Hoffmann G, Shindell D, et al. Modeling atmospheric stable water isotopes and the potential for constraining cloud processes and stratosphere-troposphere water exchange. J Geophys Res, 2005, 110: D21314, doi: 10.1029/2005JD005790
Werner M, Heimann M. Modeling interannual variability of water isotopes in Greenland and Antarctica. J Geophys Res, 2002, 107: D14001
Werner M, Langebroek P, Carlsen T, et al. Stable water isotopes in the ECHAM5 general circulation model: Toward high resolution isotope modeling on a global scale. J Geophys Res, 2011, 116: D15109
Risi C, Bony S, Vimeux F, et al. Water stable isotopes in the LMDZ4 general circulation model: Model evaluation for present-day and past climates and applications to climatic interpretations of tropical isotopic records. J Geophys Res, 2010, 115: D12118
Helsen M, van de Wal R, van den Broeke M. The isotopic composition of present-day Antarctic snow in a Lagrangian atmospheric simulation. J Clim, 2007, 20: 739–756
Salamatin A, Ekaykin A, Lipenkov V. Modelling isotopic composition in precipitation in Central Antarctica. Mater Glyatsiol, 2004, 97: 24–34
Picciotto E, de Maere X, Friedman I. Isotopic composition and temperature of formation of Antarctic snow. Nature, 1960, 187: 857–859
Motoyama H, Hirasawa N, Satow K, et al. Seasonal variations in oxygen isotope ratios of daily collected precipitation and wind drift samples and in the final snow cover at Dome F Station, Antarctica. J Geophys Res, 2005, 110: D11106
Ekaykin A. Meteorological regime of central Antarctica and its role in the formation of isotope composition of snow thickness. Dissertation for the Doctoral Degree. Grenoble: University Joseph Fourier, 2003
Helsen M, Van de Wal R, Van As D, et al. Oxygen isotope variability in snow from western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica and its relation to temperature. Tellus, 2005, 57B: 423–435
Schneider D, Steig E, Van Ommen T. Interpretation of high resolution ice core stable isotopic records from Antarctica: Towards interannual climate reconstruction. Ann Glaciol, 2005, 41: 63–70
Jouzel J, Alley R, Cuffey C, et al. Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores. J Geophys Res, 1997, 102: 26471–26487
Qin D, Petit J, Jouzel J, et al. Distribution of stable isotopes in surface snow along the route of the 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition. J Glaciol, 1994, 40: 107–118
Zhang M, Xiao C, Ren J, et al. Climatic and environmental features on both sides of the Lambert glacier basin (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 2004, 59: 709–715
Graf W, Oerter H, Reinwarth O, et al. Stable isotope records from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Ann Glaciol, 2002, 35: 195–201
Ding M, Xiao C, Jin B, et al. Distribution of δ 18O in surface snow along a transect from Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica. Chin Sci Bull, 2010, 55: 1268–1273
Sime L, Tindall J, Wolff E, et al. Antarctic isotopic thermometer during a CO2 forced warming event. J Geophys Res, 2008, 113: D24119
Cole J, Rind D, Webb R, et al. Climatic controls on interannual variability of precipitation δ 18O: Simulated influence of temperature, precipitation amount, and vapor source region. J Geophys Res, 1999, 104: 14223–14235
Schneider D, Noone D. Spatial covariance of water isotope records in a global network of ice cores spanning twentieth-century climate change. J Geophys Res, 2007, 112: D18105
Jouzel J. Calibrating the isotopic paleothermometer. Science, 1999, 286: 910–911
Jouzel J, Vimeux F, Caillon N, et al. Magnitude of isotope/temperature scaling for interpretation of central Antarctic ice cores. J Geophys Res, 2003, 108: 4361
Sime L, Marshall G, Mulvaney R, et al. Interpreting temperature information from ice cores along the Antarctic Peninsula: ERA40 analysis. Geophys Res Lett, 2009, 36: L18801
Vinther B, Buchardt S, Clausen H, et al. Holocene thinning of the Greenland ice sheet. Nature, 2009, 461: 385–388
Siddall M, Milne G, Masson-Delmotte V. Uncertainties in elevation changes and their impact on Antarctic temperature records since the end of the last glacial period. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 2012, 315–316: 12–23
Lee J, Fung I, DePaolo D, et al. Water isotopes during the Last Glacial Maximum: New general circulation model calculations. J Geophys Res, 2008, 113: D19109
Masson-Delmotte V, Buiron D, Ekaykin A. A comparison of the present and last interglacial periods in six Antarctic ice cores. Clim Past, 2011, 7: 397–423
Schmidt G, LeGrande A, Hoffmann G. Water isotope expressions of intrinsic and forced variability in a coupled ocean-atmosphere model. J Geophys Res, 2007, 112: D10103
Sime L, Wolff E, Oliver K, et al. Evidence for warmer interglacials in East Antarctic ice cores. Nature, 2009, 462: 342–345
Armengaud A, Koster R, Jouzel J, et al. Deuterium excess in Greenland snow: Analysis with simple and complex models. J Geophys Res, 1998, 103: 8947–8953
Uemura R, Matsui Y, Yoshimura K, et al. Evidence of deuterium excess in water vapor as an indicator of ocean surface conditions. J Geophys Res, 2008, 113: D19114
Petit J, White J, Young N, et al. Deuterium excess in recent Antarctic snow. J Geophys Res, 1991, 96: 5113–5122
Ren J, Qin D. Distribution of deuterium excess in surface snow of the Antarctic ice sheet. Chin Sci Bull, 1995, 40: 1629–1633
Sodemann H, Stohl A. Asymmetries in the moisture origin of Antarctic precipitation. Geophys Res Lett, 2009, 36: L22803
Reijmer C, van den Broeke M. Air parcel trajectories and snowfall related to five deep drilling locations in Antarctica based on the ERA-15 dataset. J Clim, 2002, 15: 1957–1968
Satake H, Kawada K. The quantitative evaluation of sublimation and the estimation of original hydrogen and oxygen of a firn core at East Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Bull Glacier Res, 1997, 15: 93–97
Vimeux F, Masson V, Delaygue G, et al. A 420000 year deuterium excess record from East Antarctica: Information on past changes in the origin of precipitation at Vostok. J Geophys Res, 2001, 106: 31863–31873
Vimeux F, Masson V, Jouzel J, et al. Glacial-interglacial changes in ocean surface conditions in the Southern Hemisphere. Nature, 1999, 398: 410–413
Johnsen S, Clausen H, Cuffey K, et al. Diffusion of stable isotopes in polar firn and ice: The isotope effect in firn diffusion. In: Hondoh T, ed. Physics of Ice Core Record. Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press, 2000. 121–140
Uemura R, Yoshida N, Kurita N, et al. An observation-based method for reconstructing ocean surface changes using a 340000-year deuterium excess record from the Dome F ice core, Antarctica. Geophys Res Lett, 2004, 31: L13216
Uemura R, Barkan E, Abe O, et al. Triple isotope composition of oxygen in atmospheric water vapor. Geophys Res Lett, 2010, 37: L04402
Landais A, Steen-Larsen H, Guillevic M, et al. Triple isotopic composition of oxygen in surface snow and water vapor at NEEM (Greenland). Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 2012, 77: 304–316
Risi C, Landais A, Bony S, et al. Understanding the 17O-excess glacial interglacial variations in Vostok precipitation. J Geophys Res, 2010, 115: D10112
Winkler R, Landais A, Sodemann H, et al. Deglaciation records of 17O-excess in East Antarctica: Reliable reconstruction of oceanic normalized relative humidity from coastal sites. Clim Past, 2012, 8: 1–16
Franz P, Röckmann T. High-precision isotope measurements of H2 16O, H2 17O and H2 18O and the 17O-anomaly of water vapour in the Southern lowermost stratosphere. Atmos Chem Phys, 2005, 5: 2949–2959
PAGES. Science Plan and Implementation Strategy. IGBP Report No. 57. Stockholm: IGBP Secretariat, 2009. 1–67
Steig E, Brook E, White J, et al. Synchronous climate changes in Antarctica and the North Atlantic. Science, 1998, 282: 92–95
Blunier T, Brook E. Timing of millennial-scale climate change in Antarctica and Greenland during the last glacial period. Science, 2001, 291: 109–112
Pedro J, van Ommen T, Rasmussen S, et al. The last deglaciation: Timing the bipolar seesaw. Clim Past, 2011, 7: 671–683
Stenni B, Buiron D, Frezzotti M, et al. Expression of the bipolar see-saw in Antarctic climate records during the last deglaciation. Nature Geosci, 2011, 4: 46–49
EPICA community members. One-to-one coupling of glacial climate variability in Greenland and Antarctica. Nature, 2006, 444: 195–198
Brook E, White J, Schilla A, et al. Timing of millennial-scale climate change at Siple Dome, West Antarctica, during the last glacial period. Quat Sci Rev, 2005, 24: 1333–1343
Ding Z, Derbyshire E, Yang S, et al. Stacked 2.6-Ma grain size record fromthe Chinese loess based on five sections and correlation with the deep-sea δ 18O record. Paleoceanography, 2002, 17: 1033
Lisiecki L, Raymo M. A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ 18O records. Paleoceanography, 2005, 20: PA1003
Kawamura K, Parrenin F, Lisiecki L, et al. Northern Hemisphere forcing of climatic cycles in Antarctica over the past 360000 years. Nature, 2007, 448: 912–916
Laepple T, Werner M, Lohmann G. Synchronicity of Antarctic temperatures and local solar insolation on orbital timescales. Nature, 2011, 471: 91–94
Clark P, Archer D, Pollard D, et al. The middle Pleistocene transition: characteristics, mechanisms, and implications for long-term changes in atmospheric pCO2. Quat Sci Rev, 2006, 25: 3150–3184
Liu T, Ding Z, Rutter N. Comparison of Milankovitch periods between continental loess and deep sea records over the last 2.5 Ma. Quat Sci Rev, 1999, 18: 205–1212
Xiao C, Li Y, Hou S, et al. Preliminary evidences indicating Dome A (Antarctica) satisfying preconditions for drilling the oldest ice core. Chin Sci Bull, 2008, 53: 102–106
Hou S, Li Y, Xiao C, et al. Recent accumulation rate at Dome A, Antarctica. Chin Sci Bull, 2007, 52: 428–431
Wang Y, Sodemann H, Hou S, et al. Snow accumulation and its moisture origin at Dome Argus, Antarctica. Clim Dyn, 2012, doi: 10.1007/s00382-012-1398-9
Cui X, Sun B, Tian G, et al. Ice radar investigation at Dome A, East Antarctica: Ice thickness and subglacial topography. Chin Sci Bull, 2010, 55: 425–431
Ren J, Xiao C, Hou S, et al. New focuses of polar ice-core study: NEEM and Dome A. Chin Sci Bull, 2009, 54: 1009–1011
Dansgaard W, Clausen H, Gundestrup N, et al. A new Greenland deep ice core. Science, 1982, 218: 1273–1277
Johnsen S, Dansgaard W, Clausen H, et al. Oxygen isotope profiles through the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. Nature, 1972, 235: 429–434
Severinghaus J, Sowers T, Brook E, et al. Timing of abrupt climate change at the end of the Younger Dryas interval from thermally fractionated gases in polar ice. Nature, 1998, 391: 141–146
Blunier T, Chappellaz J, Schwander J, et al. Asynchrony of Antarctic and Greenland climate change during the last glacial period. Nature, 1998, 394: 739–743
Jouzel J, Petit J, Barkov N, et al. The last deglaciation in Antarctica: Further evidence of a “Younger Dryas” type climatic event. In: Bard E, Broecker W S, eds. The Last Deglaciation: Absolute and Radiocarbon Chronologies. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1992
Blunier T, Schwander J, Stauffer B, et al. Timing of the Antarctic cold reversal and the atmospheric CO2 increase with respect to the Younger Dryas event. Geophys Res Lett, 1997, 24: 2683–2686
Broecker W. Palaeocean circulation during the last deglaciation: A bipolar seesaw? Paleoceanography, 1998, 13: 119–121
Anderson R, Ali S, Bradtmiller L, et al. Wind-driven upwelling in the Southern Ocean and the deglacial rise in Atmospheric CO2. Science, 2009, 323: 1143–1148
Barker S, Knorr G, Edwards R, et al. 800000 years of abrupt climate variability. Science, 2011, 334: 347–350
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Hou, S., Wang, Y. & Pang, H. Climatology of stable isotopes in Antarctic snow and ice: Current status and prospects. Chin. Sci. Bull. 58, 1095–1106 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5543-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5543-y