New LA-ICP-MS cryocell and calibration technique for sub-millimeter analysis of ice cores

Sneed, Sharon B.; Mayewski, Paul A.; Sayre, W.G.; Handley, Michael J.; Kurbatov, Andrei V.; Taylor, Kendrick C.; Bohleber, Pascal; Wagenbach, Dietmar; Erhardt, Tobias; Spaulding, Nicole E. (2015). New LA-ICP-MS cryocell and calibration technique for sub-millimeter analysis of ice cores. Journal of glaciology, 61(226), pp. 233-242. International Glaciological Society 10.3189/2015JoG14J139

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Ice cores provide a robust reconstruction of past climate. However, development of
timescales by annual-layer counting, essential to detailed climate reconstruction and interpretation, on ice cores collected at low-accumulation sites or in regions of compressed ice, is problematic due to closely spaced layers. Ice-core analysis by laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) provides sub-millimeter-scale sampling resolution (on the order of 100μm in this study) and the low detection limits (ng L–1) necessary to measure the chemical constituents preserved in
ice cores. We present a newly developed cryocell that can hold a 1m long section of ice core, and an alternative strategy for calibration. Using ice-core samples from central Greenland, we demonstrate the repeatability of multiple ablation passes, highlight the improved sampling resolution, verify the calibration technique and identify annual layers in the chemical profile in a deep section of an ice core where annual layers have not previously been identified using chemistry. In addition, using sections of cores from the Swiss/Italian Alps we illustrate the relationship between Ca, Na and Fe and particle
concentration and conductivity, and validate the LA-ICP-MS Ca profile through a direct comparison with continuous flow analysis results.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Climate and Environmental Physics
10 Strategic Research Centers > Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR)

Graduate School:

Graduate School of Climate Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Erhardt, Tobias

Subjects:

500 Science > 530 Physics

ISSN:

0022-1430

Publisher:

International Glaciological Society

Language:

English

Submitter:

Doris Rätz

Date Deposited:

01 May 2015 11:28

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:45

Publisher DOI:

10.3189/2015JoG14J139

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.67658

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/67658

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