Aeolian dust and diatoms at Roosevelt Island (Ross Sea, Antarctica) over the last two millennia reveal the local expression of climate changes and the history of the Ross Sea polynya

Abstract

Abstract. The pattern of atmospheric and climate changes recorded by coastal Antarctic ice core sites, and the processes they illustrate, highlight the importance of multiproxy studies on ice cores drilled from such peripheral areas, where regional to local-scale processes can be documented. Here, we present a 2000 year long record of aeolian mineral dust and diatoms windblown to the Roosevelt Island obtained from the RICE (Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution project) ice core. Mineral dust and diatoms are highly complementary at RICE since they are related to the large-scale South Pacific atmospheric circulation regime, carrying dust-rich air masses that travelled above the marine boundary layer, and local oceanic aerosol transport by low-level marine air masses, respectively. The 550–1470 CE period is characterized by enhanced mineral dust transport originating from the Southern Hemisphere continents, reduced sea-ice extent in the Eastern Ross and Amundsen Seas, and more frequent penetration of humid air masses responsible for the relative increase in snow accumulation. Around 1300 CE, in particular, in concomitance with marked El Niño-like conditions, the Ross Sea dipole reaches its maximum expression. After 1470 CE, relatively lower dust and snow deposition at RICE suggests an increase in pack ice. This period is characterized by episodes of unprecedented peaks of aeolian diatom deposition, indicating a rapid reorganization of atmospheric circulation linked to the eastward enlargement of the Ross Sea polynya, likely culminating with the opening of the proposed Roosevelt Island polynya, and to an increased influence of low-level marine air masses to the site during the Little Ice Age.