Validity of the isotopic thermometer in central Antarctica: Limited impact of glacial precipitation seasonality and moisture origin.

Abstract

The classical interpretation of water stable isotopes (deuterium or oxygen 18) retrieved from ice cores into past local temperature relies on the use of the spatial isotope/temperature slope as a surrogate of the temporal slope. Whereas this assumption has been challenged by independent methods in central Greenland, it is still considered as valid in central Antarctica. We use an atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) to study two parameters highlighted by previous studies as being among the most important with respect to this assumption. We show that in the GCM, between present-day and Last Glacial Maximum, the change in precipitation seasonality and the cooling of the moisture sources have limited and opposite effects on the isotopic record of the Antarctic local temperature. This conclusion strengthens the validity of the classical interpretation of isotope records in central Antarctica.