Elemental composition determined by PIXE analysis of the insoluble aerosol particles in EPICA-Dome C ice core samples representing the last 27000 years

Abstract

107 samples from the first 581 m of the EPICA ice core, Dome C, East Antarctica, representing a 27000 year record, were analysed by the PIXE technique. The concentrations of several elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe) were determined in the insoluble particles, collected by filtration from the melted ice samples. The average elemental ratios for Holocene and LGM are in agreement with continental crust values. The element depositional fluxes, evaluated from PIXE concentration data by means of the EPICA ice accumulation rate, are smaller in the Holocene than during Glacial times, confirming the differences in dust loads in the atmosphere during the contrasting climatic conditions. In Holocene, the fraction of the insoluble particle mass (estimated as the sum of the measured element oxides) agrees well with the total dust mass as determined from Coulter Counter measurements, but during the LGM the particle counting shows a larger dust mass.