A two thousand year annual record of snow accumulation rates for Law Dome, East Antarctica

Abstract

Accurate high resolution records of snow accumulation rates in Antarctica are crucial for estimating ice sheet mass balance and subsequent sea level change. Snowfall rates at Law Dome, East Antarctica, have been linked with regional atmospheric circulation to mid-latitudes as well as regional Antarctic snowfall. Here, we extend the Law Dome accumulation record from 750 to 2035 years, using recent annual layer dating that extends to AD g'22. Accumulation rates were calculated as the ratio of measured to modelled layer thicknesses, multiplied by the long term mean accumulation rate. The modelled layer thicknesses were based on a power law vertical strain rate profile fitted to observed annual layer thickness. The periods AD 380-442, AD 727-783 and AD 1970-2009 have above average snow accumulation rates, while AD 663-704, AD 933-975 and AD 1429-1468 were below average. The calculated snow accumulation rates show good correlation with atmospheric reanalysis estimates, and significant spatial correlation over a wide expanse of East Antarctica, demonstrating that the Law Dome record captures larger scale variability across a large region of East Antarctica well beyond the immediate vicinity of the Law Dome summit. Spectral analysis reveals periodicities in the snow accumulation record which may be related to ENSO and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation frequencies.