Browsing by Author "Pedro, JB"
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- Item10Be concentrations in snow at Law Dome, Antarctica following the 29 October 20 and 20 January 2005 solar cosmic ray events(World Scientific, 2009-08) Pedro, JB; Smith, AM; Duldig, ML; Klekociuk, AR; Simon, KJ; Curran, MAJ; van Ommen, TD; Fink, D; Morgan, VI; Galton-Fenzi, BKRecent model calculations have attempted to quantify the contribution of major energetic solar cosmic ray (SCR) events to 10Be production.1,2 In this study we compare modeled 10Be production by SCR events to measured 10Be concentrations in a Law Dome snow pit record. The snow pit record spans 2.7 years, providing a quasi-monthly 10Be sampling resolution which overlaps with the SCR events of 29 Oct 2003 and 20 Jan 2005. These events were calculated to increase monthly 10Be production in the polar atmosphere (>65° S geomagnetic latitude) by ~60% and ~120% above the GCR background, respectively2. A strong peak in 10Be concentrations (>4σ above the 2.7 y mean value) was observed ~1 month after the 20 Jan 2005 event. By contrast, no signal in 10Be concentrations was observed following the weaker 29 Oct 2003 series of events. The concentration of 10Be in ice core records involves interplay between production, transport, and deposition processes. We used a particle dispersion model to assess vertical and meridional transport of aerosols from the lower stratosphere where SCR production of 10Be is expected to occur, to the troposphere from where deposition to the ice sheet occurs. Model results suggested that a coherent SCR production signal could be transported to the troposphere within weeks to months following both SCR events. We argue that only the 20 Jan 2005 SCR event was observed in measured concentrations due to favorable atmospheric transport, relatively high production yield compared to the 29 Oct 2003 event, and a relatively high level of precipitation in the Law Dome region in the month following the event. This result encourages further examination of SCR signals in 10Be ice core data. © 2009 World Scientific Publishing
- ItemBeryllium-10 transport to Antarctica: results from seasonally resolved observations and modeling(John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2011-12-15) Pedro, JB; Heikkilä, UE; Klekociuk, AR; Smith, AM; van Ommen, TD; Curran, MAJCosmogenic 10Be measured in polar ice cores has important application in the reconstruction of past solar activity. However, the processes controlling its atmospheric transport and deposition to the ice sheets are not fully understood. Here we use the seasonal changes in 10Be concentrations in a 10 year monthly resolved ice core record from the Law Dome site (East Antarctica) in conjunction with ECHAM5-HAM general circulation model (GCM) simulations of 10Be and 7Be deposition as tools to examine this problem. Maximum 10Be concentrations are observed in the ice core during the austral late summer to early autumn (summer-autumn), while minimum concentrations are observed during the austral winter. The GCM simulations, corroborated by earlier observations of 10Be:7Be ratios in Antarctica from the Georg von Neumayer air sampling station, suggest that the 10Be concentration maximum is linked to direct input of stratospheric 10Be from the Antarctic stratosphere to the lower levels of the Antarctic troposphere during the austral summer-autumn. This result contrasts with the modeled transport of 10Be to Greenland, where the seasonal maximum in stratospheric input is seen in the late winter to spring, synchronous with the timing of the seasonal maximum in midlatitude stratosphere to troposphere exchange. Our results suggest that a different combination of processes is responsible for the transport of 10Be to the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. © 2011 American Geophysical Union
- ItemHigh-resolution records of the beryllium-10 solar activity proxy in ice from Law Dome, East Antarctica: measurement, reproducibility and principal trends(Copernicus Publications, 2011-07-12) Pedro, JB; Smith, AM; Simon, KJ; van Ommen, TD; Curran, MAJThree near-monthly resolution 10Be records are presented from the Dome Summit South (DSS) ice core site, Law Dome, East Antarctica. The chemical preparation and Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) measurement of these records is described. The reproducibility of 10Be records at DSS is assessed through intercomparison of the ice core data with data from two previously published and contemporaneous snow pits. We find generally good agreement between the five records, comparable to that observed between other trace chemical records from the site. This result allays concerns raised by a previous Antarctic study (Moraal et al., 2005) about poor reproducibility of ice core 10Be records. A single composite series is constructed from the three ice cores providing a monthly-resolved record of 10Be concentrations at DSS over the past decade (1999 to 2009). To our knowledge, this is the first published ice core data spanning the recent exceptional solar minimum of solar cycle 23. 10Be concentrations are significantly correlated to the cosmic ray flux recorded by the McMurdo neutron monitor (rxy = 0.64, with 95 % CI of 0.53 to 0.71), suggesting that solar modulation of the atmospheric production rate may explain up to ~40 % of the variance in 10Be concentrations at DSS. Sharp concentration peaks occur in most years during the summer-to-autumn, possibly caused by stratospheric incursions. Our results underscore the presence of both production and meteorological signals in ice core 10Be data. © Author(s) 2011.
- ItemA northward shift of the southern westerlies during the Antarctic cold reversal: evidence from Tasmania(Australasian Quaternary Association, 2018-12-10) Alexander, J; Fletcher, MS; Pedro, JB; Mariani, M; Beck, KK; Blaauw, M; Hodgson, D; Heijnis, H; Gadd, PS; Lisé-Pronovost, AThe Last Glacial Termination (LGT) was interrupted in the Southern Hemisphere by the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR; 14.7 to 13 ka), a millennial-scale cooling event that coincided with the Bølling– Allerød warm phase in the North Atlantic (14.7 to 12.7 ka). This inter-hemispheric asynchrony of climate change through the LGT, the bipolar seesaw, has been theoretically linked to latitudinal shifts in the southern westerly wind belt (SWW) and their proposed influence over the global carbon cycle via wind-driven upwelling of CO2 rich deep waters in the Southern Ocean (SO). However, while climate models and theory predict a northward shift of the SWW during the ACR in response to ocean-atmosphere heat dynamics, proxy-based reconstructions disagree on the behaviour of the SWW through this interval, and the role of the SWW during the LGT remains contested. Here we present terrestrial proxy palaeoclimate data (pollen, μXRF geochemistry, charcoal) from multiple lakes across Tasmania (40-44⁰S), an island located at the northern edge of the SWW. Our data reveal a clear SWW increase over Tasmania during the ACR, synchronous with reduced SWW-driven upwelling in the SO at the southern edge of the SWW. When combined with evidence from Antarctic ice cores and terrestrial records from New Zealand and Patagonia our results suggest a hemisphere-wide migration of the SWW during the LGT, lending support to the hypothesis that changes in wind-driven ventilation of CO2 from the Southern Ocean were a key driver of the global carbon cycle during the LGT. © The Authors.
- ItemA quasi-monthly record of 10Be concentration at Law Dome, Antarctica, from 2000 to 2015(Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, 2016-03-07) Smith, AM; Curran, MAJ; Etheridge, DM; Galton-Fenzi, BK; Heikkilä, UE; Klekociuk, AR; Moy, AD; Pedro, JB; Simon, KJ; van Ommen, TDThis paper presents an overview of work undertaken over a number of Australian Antarctic Science projects, beginning in season 2001/02 with a shallow snow pit. In season 2005/06 this was augmented with a 260 m thermally drilled ice core and a 4.5 m snow pit. A core taken in 2008/09 overlapped the 2005/06 core and pit samples. From 2009/10, short cores spanning a few year’s deposition, along with snow pit samples spanning about half a year, have been taken each season. This has continued through to the current 2015/16 season. The cores permit an overlap with earlier years to match the chronology and to yield samples for 10Be analysis at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) by the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). Together, the data provide a unique, continuous, quasi-monthly record over 2000 to 2015 as we have moved from Solar Cycle 23 to 24. The snow pits yield larger samples for 7Be analysis, earlier by gamma spectroscopy but lately by AMS. Along with comparison with neutron monitor data and GCM modelling, this unique, high-precision record has enabled us to learn much about the production, transport and deposition of 10Be to Law Dome and to improve our use of 10Be as a proxy for past solar variability.
- ItemReprocessing of 10B-contaminated 10Be AMS targets(Elsevier, 2013-01-01) Simon, KJ; Pedro, JB; Smith, AM; Child, DP; Fink, D10Be accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is an increasingly important tool in studies ranging from exposure age dating and palaeo-geomagnetism to the impact of solar variability on the Earth’s climate. High levels of boron in BeO AMS targets can adversely impact the quality of 10Be measurements through interference from the isobar 10B. Numerous methods in chemical sample preparation and AMS measurement have been employed in order to reduce the impact of excessive boron rates. We present details of a method developed to chemically reprocess a set of forty boron-contaminated BeO targets derived from modern Antarctic ice. Previously, the excessive boron levels in these samples, as measured in an argon-filled absorber cell preceding the ionisation detector, had precluded routine AMS measurement. The procedure involved removing the BeO + Nb mixture from the target holders and dissolving the BeO in hot concentrated H2SO4. The solution was then heated with HF to remove the boron as volatile BF3 before re-precipitating as Be(OH)2 and calcining to BeO. This was again mixed with niobium and pressed into fresh target holders. Following reprocessing, the samples gave boron rates reduced by 10–100×, which were sufficiently low and similar to previous successful batches of ice core, snow and associated blank samples, thus allowing a successful 10Be measurement in the absence of any boron correction. Overall recovery of the BeO for this process averaged 40%. Extensive testing of relevant processing equipment and reagents failed to determine the source of the boron. As a precautionary measure, a similar H2SO4 + HF step has been subsequently added to the standard ice processing method. © 2012, Elsevier B.V.
- ItemReprocessing of 10B-contaminated 10Be AMS targets(GNS Science, 2011-03-24) Simon, KJ; Pedro, JB; Smith, AM; Child, DP; Fink, DForty 10Be samples of Antarctic ice (DSS0506-pit) along with associated procedural blanks, measured at the ANTARES AMS facility at ANSTO were found to have 10-100 times the 10B levels of routine BeO samples and blanks (full procedural blanks with this beryl carrier are typically 10Be/9Be <5 x 10-15). These exceptionally high boron rates (measured via an active absorber cell filled with argon gas), coupled with the relatively low 10Be/9Be ratios of ice samples, made any correction to the raw 10Be detector count rate highly unreliable and uncertain. As this was a unique sample set, a method for reprocessing the targets to remove the boron was developed and tested. For measurement on ANTARES ~0.5mg BeO is mixed with 2.0mg of niobium powder and rearpressed into an aluminium target holder with a 1.6mm diameter recess at 120 kPa. To reprocess the samples, this BeO/Nb mixture was physically removed from the target holders by pushing the sample loading pin forward with a hand press. The beryllium was separated from the niobium by dissolving the BeO in concentrated H2SO4. This solution was then heated with HF to remove the boron as BF3. The beryllium was then re-precipitated as Be(OH)2 and calcined to BeO, which was then mixed with new niobium powder before being rear-pressed into a detachable cap target holder with a smaller (1 mm) diameter recess. Overall yields for this process averaged 40%. Boron levels for all the original samples and blanks returned to acceptable levels, with 10Be/9Be blanks of ~10 x 10-15. Extensive testing of the equipment, reagents and laboratory failed to determine the source of the boron. As a precautionary measure, a similar H2SO4/HF step has been subsequently added to the standard ice processing method, resulting in consistently low boron levels without any decrease in processing yields. Copyright (c) 2011 AMS12
- ItemScientific drilling of sediments at Darwin Crater, Tasmania(Copernicus Publications, 2019-06-12) Lisé-Pronovost, A; Fletcher, MS; Mallett, T; Mariani, M; Lewis, RJ; Gadd, PS; Herries, AIR; Blaauw, M; Heijnis, H; Hodgson, DA; Pedro, JBA 70 m long continental sediment record was recovered at Darwin Crater in western Tasmania, Australia. The sediment succession includes a pre-lake silty sand deposit overlain by lacustrine silts that have accumulated in the ∼816 ka meteorite impact crater. A total of 160 m of overlapping sediment cores were drilled from three closely spaced holes. Here we report on the drilling operations at Darwin Crater and present the first results from petrophysical whole core logging, lithological core description, and multi-proxy pilot analysis of core end samples. The multi-proxy dataset includes spectrophotometry, grain size, natural gamma rays, paleo- and rock magnetism, loss on ignition, and pollen analyses. The results provide clear signatures of alternating, distinctly different lithologies likely representing glacial and interglacial sediment facies. Initial paleomagnetic analysis indicate normal magnetic polarity in the deepest core at Hole B. If acquired at the time of deposition, this result indicates that the sediment 1 m below commencement of lacustrine deposition post-date the Matuyama–Brunhes geomagnetic reversal ∼773 ka. © Author(s) 2019.
- ItemSolar and climate influences on ice core 10Be records from Antarctica and Greenland during the neutron monitor era(Elsevier, 2012-11-15) Pedro, JB; McConnell, JR; van Ommen, TD; Fink, D; Curran, MAJ; Smith, AM; Simon, KJ; Moy, AD; Das, SBCosmogenic 10Be in polar ice cores is a primary proxy for past solar activity. However, interpretation of the 10Be record is hindered by limited understanding of the physical processes governing its atmospheric transport and deposition to the ice sheets. This issue is addressed by evaluating two accurately dated, annually resolved ice core 10Be records against modern solar activity observations and instrumental and reanalysis climate data. The cores are sampled from the DSS site on Law Dome, East Antarctica (spanning 1936–2009) and the Das2 site, southeast Greenland (1936–2002), permitting inter-hemispheric comparisons. Concentrations at both DSS and Das2 are significantly correlated to the 11-yr solar cycle modulation of cosmic ray intensity, rxy=0.54 with 95% CI [0.31; 0.70], and rxy=0.45 with 95% CI [0.22; 0.62], respectively. For both sites, if fluxes are used instead of concentrations then correlations with solar activity decrease. The strength and spectral coherence of the solar activity signal in 10Be is enhanced when ice core records are combined from both Antarctica and Greenland. The amplitudes of the 11-yr solar cycles in the 10Be data appear inconsistent with the view that the ice sheets receive only 10Be produced at polar latitudes. Significant climate signals detected in the 10Be series include the zonal wave three pattern of atmospheric circulation at DSS, rxy=−0.36 with 95% CI [−0.57; −0.10], and the North Atlantic Oscillation at Das2, rxy=−0.42 with 95% CI [−0.64; −0.15]. The sensitivity of 10Be concentrations to modes of atmospheric circulation advises caution in the use of 10Be records from single sites in solar forcing reconstructions. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
- ItemWhat happened at the end of the mid-Pleistocene transition in the Southern Hemisphere? Insights from western Tasmania, Australia(International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), 2019-07-30) Fletcher, MS; Lisé-Pronovost, A; Mallett, T; Mariani, M; Cooley, S; May, JH; Gadd, PS; Herries, A; Blaauw, M; Heijnis, H; Hodgson, DA; Pedro, JBThe current southward shift in the southern westerlies that is stripping southern Australia of rainfall is unprecedented over the past 12 kyrs years at least, and is due to the effects of both the anthropogenic hole in the ozone layer and greenhouse gas-driven global warming. Predictions of future climate suggest the Earth is moving in to a “super-interglacial” (peak warming) because of anthropogenic greenhouse gas release. “Super-interglacials”, which are warmer than today, are uncommon in the geological record. A recent increase in the frequency of these peak warming events since ca. 450 ka (the end of the mid-Pleistocene transition; MPT) is associated with a 7° latitude southward shift of the southern westerlies and an increase in atmospheric CO2 that warmed the atmosphere - a stark similarity to current trends. Here, we present multi-proxy analyses of two closely spaced (<50 km) sediment cores that comprise a complete sequence from the mid-Pleistocene to the present from western Tasmania, Australia - in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Lake Selina is a modern-day lake with a continuous ca. 230 kyr sediment sequence, while Darwin Crater is a palaeo-lake within a meteorite impact crater that formed at ca. 816 ka and which completely in-filled during MIS5 (ca. 120 ka). We report on petrophysical whole core logging, lithological core description, spectrophotometry, grain size, natural gamma ray, paleo- and rock-magnetism, loss-on-ignition, pollen analyses and micro-XRF geochemisrty. The composite record is unique in the Australian sector of the Southern Hemisphere and we discuss the data in the context of the global and regional changes that occurred at the end of MPT, paying particular attention to impact of the shift toward warmer super-interglacials, the large-scale southward shift of the southern westerlies and higher atmospheric CO2 content that occurred at ca. 450 ka (MIS11 to present).