Arctic and Antarctic ice

Amy Ng and Clair Patterson. Natural Concentrations of Lead in Ancient Arctic and Antarctic Ice. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 45 (Nov. 1981) 2109-2121. 

A. Ng, C. C. Patterson, Natural concentrations of lead in ancient Arctic and Antarctic ice, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 45 (1981), 2109-2121. 

Ice cores from Arctic and Antarctic ice caps have provided atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration data for periods of up to 160,000 years before the present [71]. During most of this period, when humans contributed little to the atmospheric carbon dioxide, there were nevertheless wide fluctuations in concentration [72, 73]. Climate studies have correlated warm periods with... 

Hodge, P. W., E. W. Wright C. C. Langway, 1967. Studies of particles for extra-terrestrial origin. 5. Compositions of the interiors of spherules from Arctic and Antarctic ice deposits. J. Geophys. Res. 72 1404-1406. 

Biological antifreezes constitute a diverse class of proteins found in Arctic and Antarctic fish, as well as in amphibians, trees, plants and insects. These compounds are unique in that they have the ability to inhibit the growth of ice and consequently, are essential for the survival of organisms inhabiting environments where sub-zero temperatures are routinely encountered. 

Case Study IV - BrO in the springtime Arctic - In the spring time in both the Arctic and Antarctic large clouds of BrO-enriched air masses are observable from space (see Figure 22).These clouds cover several thousand square kilometres over the polar sea ice with BrO levels up to 30 pptv. The BrO is always coincident with low levels of ozone in the MBL. In order to observe these events, there is a requirement for meteorological conditions that stop mixing between... 

This estimate includes a 1 GtC contribution from macroalgae (Smith, 1981). Differences in ocean NPP estimates between Behrenfeld and Falkowski (1997) and those in the global annual NPP for the biosphere and this table result from (i) addition of Arctic and Antarctic monthly ice masks (ii) correction of a rounding error in previous calculations of pixel area and (hi) changes in the designation of the seasons to correspond with Falkowski et al. (1998). 

Among the most commonly used algorithms for estimation of ice concentration from passive microwave data (such as SMMR and SSM/1) are the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms [22-24]. These algorithms use various combinations of TB data from various polarisations (H or V) and various frequencies (19 or 37), such as the polarisation (PR) and spectral (GR) gradient ratios. For Arctic and Antarctic tie points for open water, first-year and multi-year ice has been identified and based on them estimation of both ice cmicentration and type are possible [24,25]. 

It is important to note that some phases of ice are particularly difficult to prepare, as in ice XI and ice XII, and sample purity is subject to their particular preparation conditions and sample history [35]. This offers one plausible explanation for the slight differences reported between INS spectra of ancient ices recovered from the depths of the Arctic and Antarctic. Altogether, however, there are but minor differences between either ancient ice and, or, ice Ih [31, 36]. 

The last great areas of exploration at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of this century were the Arctic and Antarctic. There was much activity in the exploration of the Arctic throughout the nineteenth century. Typical of such expeditions was to journey around Cape Horn, up the American Coast and along the Northern coast of Alaska. Such a journey was undertaken by the ship Investigator, whose experiences have been described in detail by Carpenter. This and other ships became stuck in ice, often for several years. In many such cases, scurvy often struck, sometimes even when they had what was regarded as an antiscorbutic diet. Indeed, by the time of Scott s first expedition to the Antarctic, the idea that scurvy was caused by the primary... 

Another potential source of drinking water in the long term is the water from Arctic and Antarctic icebergs and ice fields in which the major part of normal non-mineralized water on the Earth is accumulated. 

The data given by Murozumi et al. (38) for salt and dust in Arctic and Antarctic snows and ice are of interest. The salt-to-dust ratios in those samples range from 2.5 to 100 and are reasonably within the extremes shown in Table I for atmospheric aerosols. In their samples, the Na/K do not exceed 22 (seawater ratio is 28) and are lowest when the salt-to-dust ratios are low (39, 40). The second point is compatible with a salt and dust mixing model 12), and the first demonstrates the ratios found in a fractionated marine aerosol (40). 

The average atmospheric temperature between 1981 and 1990 increased by 0.48°C over the previous 100 years. If the temperature keeps increasing at this rate, it has been estimated that the average atmospheric temperature will increase another 2-4°C by 2050, causing a significant portion of the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic to melt. If this happens, many coastal cities like New York, Tokyo, Sydney, and Shanghai may be submerged in water. 

Spindler, M. 1990. A comparison of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice and the effects of different properties on sea ice biota. Geological History of the Polar Oceans Arctic Versus Antarctic 173-86. 

DDT has been reported in the fat of Eskimos in the Arctic and in fish according to Durham (7), and in Weddell seals and Adelie penguins in the Antarctic according to George (8). In these remote areas any form of direct contamination is out of the question and we must turn to the sea and air for the source. Certainly the sea, or the life dwelling in it, is a prime suspect. We cannot, however, rule out air-borne contamination. Ice laid down in 1964 on Mt. Olympus, in the state of Washington, has been found to contain 0.3 p.p.b. of DDT [cited by Metcalf... 

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