REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON INSOLUBLE MICROPARTICLES IN THE POLAR CORES

There are various kinds of information recorded in the polar ice core. In the past research, microparticles have been playing a significant role in implicating paleo-environment and paleo-climate. To sum up, the concentration of microparticles is high in winter and low in summer, and moreover, it behaves high in cold term and low in warm term. Past work on microparticles in ice core is discussed in this paper as a summary. Emphasis is laid on the achievement acquired from the ice cores drilled in Polar region. Ice age can be determined based on the seasonal character of microparticles. For shallow ice cores, dating is accurate just according to microparticles. But for deep ice cores, it must be carried on together with oxygen isotopes. The mineral and radius characteristics can implicate the source and the background value. Furthermore, information of atmosphere circumfluence, intensity of the wind power, droughts, volcano, sandstorm, etc will also be recorded in them. Human factors in global change are always the hotspot of research. In recent years, burning source and carbon are talked much more than before. In the analysis of Euro-core in Greenland, three different types of burning source are found, which will be much helpful in tracing the hunman information. In spite of the immense achievement people have got, there are still lots of difficulties in analysis and sampling. In the past decades, much work has been done on the analysis technique of particles. There are four main methods now in use. Firstly, optics microscope and XEDS are used in the analysis of the single particle, but it is limited to 5μm. Secondly and regularly, Counlter analyzer is used in measuring the quantity and radius of microparticles by the current between the two electrodes. This method is fit for the scale between 0.4~1200μm. Third, after getting enough samples by largely melting, XRD, microscopes, thermionization mass spectrum are utilized in finding out the characters of microparticles on mineralogy, isotopes and granularity. Finally, volcano particles analysis is used in recent years. Volcanic glass and eruptible chippings are transfer to the polar region by atmospheric circumfluence after huge volcano eruption. It is findable of volcanic layers in the ice core of Antarctic. Restrict by the geography and the low concentration of particles, it is hard but necessary to largely sample in Antarctica. It will be advantageous to analyze the ice core directly in the field. But now the technology remains exiguous. Biscaye has explored a new method in Greenland by melting a great amount of ice to get particles in the field. But it is hard to realize in Antarctica. Exterior factors also block the precision of analysis, such as the ice drape, the low accumulation rate, etc.