High net accumulation rates at Campo de Hielo Patagónico Sur, South America, revealed by analysis of a 45.97 m long ice core

Abstract

A 45.97 m long ice core was recovered in the accumulation area of Glaciar Tyndall (50°59′05″ S, 73°31′12″ W; 1756 m a.s.l.), Campo de Hielo Patagónico Sur (southern Patagonia icefield), during December 1999. The firn core was subjected to visual stratigraphic observation and bulk density measurements in the field, and later to analyses of water isotopes (δ18O, δD), major dissolved ions and snow algal biomass. The drillhole remained dry down to about 43 m depth, where a water-soaked layer appeared. Seasonal cycles were found for δ18O, δD and the D-excess, although the amplitudes of the cycles decreased with depth. Major dissolved ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-) and algal biomass exhibit rapid decreases in the upper 3 m, probably due to meltwater elution. Annual increments defined by the δ18O and D-excess peaks suggest that the minimum net accumulation rates at this location were 17.8 m a-1 in 1997/98-1998/99 and > 11.0 m a-1 in 1998/99-1999/2000. These are much higher values than those previously obtained from past ice-core studies in Patagonia, but are of the same order of magnitude as those predicted from various observations in ablation areas of Patagonian glaciers.