Earth 10 – Fall 2019 Yuma Sho nai

Name: ____________________
562899
Perm: ____________________
Thursday 5pm
Lab day & time: ____________________
Meghna Rao
TA: ____________________

Lab 7 – Antarctica Paleoclimate and CO2 Records

Ice cores are important records of environmental change over time. Our longest ice core
records come from Antarctica—the longest is an 800,000-year-old core from EPICA on Dome C, shown in
the map below. Different molecules contained in ice cores tell us about change over time—in particular,
trapped gases in bubbles within the ice cores are direct records of atmospheric composition at times in
the past. Most other aspects of environmental change cannot be measured directly, but instead require
climate proxies. A proxy is an indirect means of measuring some variable. For example, we cannot
directly measure temperature in the past, so instead we measure the temperature-dependent ratio of
certain isotopes in ice.

An isotope is a variation of an element that has the same number of protons, but a different
number of neutrons (and therefore a different mass). Oxygen has three stable isotopes: O-16, O-17, and
O-18, all of which have 8 protons. Hydrogen has an isotope called deuterium (D), which has one proton
and one neutron. O-18 and D are heavier isotopes and are less likely to evaporate from the oceans, and
thus they compose LESS of the H2O in snow falling on the poles. Therefore, O-18 and deuterium
concentrations DECREASE in the ice at the poles during ice ages. The opposite is true for marine
sediment records of isotopes, where a relative INCREASE in heavy isotopes correlates with ice ages.

Figure 1
http://chromblog.thermoscientific.com/blog/bid/82599/Ion-Chromatography-Analyzes-Antarctic-Ice-Cores
Figure 2 is from the 5th IPCC report (2013). (a), (b), and (c) show orbital variations over time, which controls the
amount of incoming solar energy Earth receives. (d) represents CO2 and (f) represents temperature records
-
derived from Antarctic ice cores. The temperature record was calculated from measurements of the temperature
proxy deuterium throughout the ice core.

Q1. Focus on the plots of temperature and CO2 in the figure above. What patterns do you notice in the long-
term temperature and CO2 records from ice cores in Antarctica?

When the tmpwtme gets high the rate of ,

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and When the longerdue gets kw ,
the
rate of CO a is
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 Q2. Do high concentrations of CO2 correlate with glacial or interglacial periods? How can you tell?
Yes High conditions of (a comdate with Hardacid period s ,

in the
graph
.

Interglacid periods are period of highlyNature s or Peaks

The Peak oftenNature einde with the Peak with CO Concertratio

ns.5interglacial
z

Q3. In Figure 2 on plot (f), draw a small vertical line through the peak of each interglacial over the last 400,000 years.
How many glacial cycles have happened over this time? How often do ice ages seem to happen over this record?
**Note: time is in thousands of years (ka)**

experienaynowadays.co period including the s cone are are

,

ver This read iceagesseemstohoppeneveryabatloo.co

,
Years ,

Q4. Look at the glacial/interglacial cycle that peaks at ~340,000 ka. At what rate did glaciation occur, and at what rate
did deglaciation occur? Report your rate in degrees temperature change per thousands of years. Please show your
work for the two rate calculations.
Rate of Change linkedin.pt/=o.oau8
=

330000 34 0。。。
of Change Thousand
-

the rate of 0.0008 と

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s
-

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was per

Rate of Change =

1學
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From ・
が 、 。 。 。 Kato v34 aka, the rate of deg lacid on was 0.00121 of Change per Thousands
of Years
Do glaciation and deglaciation occur at the same rate? If not, which is faster? .

the rate
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consent Easter rate

Deg laciati.no
a .

Q5a. What is the range in temperature (in degrees C) and CO2 (in ppm) for the last interglacial/glacial cycle (i.e.
the one starting at ~125ka)?
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Intergl acid / gl acid Cycle was
item
Nature v11 も CO 80
ppm
. .

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、
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Q5b. Are the ranges in temperature and CO2 (the amplitudes on the curves) similar for each glacial cycle in the past
400,000 years?

Yes ,
its similar .

Q5c. Calculate the rate of increase in CO2 during deglaciation from 140 ka to 120 ka (i.e., over 20 ka) in ppm/yr. Please
show your work.

The Change from 140 Kato RO Ka was 240 18 ppm 6 0 ppm

ppm
-
=

difference of between 14 0 Ka and

。

The number 120 Ka is aka .

As ve have rate =
Change in CO z Kids / number of Years
,

60 ppm / 20 Ka = 0 003
.
ppm /yr
RECENT RECORDS OF TEMPERATURE AND CO2

Figure 3 – The graph below shows the CO2 record from Law Dome in Antarctica and the atmospheric record of CO2
measured in Hawaii since the mid 1900s. Since this record is more recent, it has a higher resolution to distinguish
between changes in CO2 level on shorter (i.e. annual) time scales.

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/education/faq_cat-3.html

Q6. What is the difference in CO2 values between the last glacial maximum (~20,000 years ago, from Figure 2), and
that of today? (CO2 values after 2000 are not shown on the above graph, but-
present day CO2 concentrations are ~400
ppm). Show your work/calculation.
The Is the Last gl acid about 1 9 0 ppm
'

in mon mm was 、

Present day conditions are 400 ppm .

S 。 400 ppm -
190 門に 210 ppm ,

Q6b. What do you notice about the trend in CO2 levels after 1850 (near the end of the Industrial Revolution)?
From the graph Say that Her 1 850 , the CO

le.ve/stookanwpwardtrend.Inl85O.. C0z=285ppm
,
I an a z

Q6c. Calculate the rate of increase in CO2 from 1850 to today (410ppm) in ppm/yr.
, Today (2021 ) . . .
CO2 410 ppm
=

Number of Years difference is 2021-1850 = 1 7 1 Years

Rate of Incread = 1 25 ppm / 17 1 Years = 0 73

ppm per Year
.
,

Q7. How does the recent rate of change in CO2 levels that you calculated in Question 6c compare to the rate of change
during the last deglaciation (Question 5c)? If the values differ, what do you think may have contributed to this change?
The recent rate of Change in a Kids is higher Compact
to the rate of Change during the Last deg 1 acidon .

As a result of the risein CO Emissions due to the developed of

z

him Kind I Think that the Progress of Global Warning

an
,
has Ted to significant a

incase in the value .

Figure 4 – This plot combines the data from Figure 2 and Figure 3 to show CO2 levels over the last 400,000 years
derived from ice cores, as well as more recent atmospheric measurements reflecting present-day levels.

https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/24/

Q8. Are current atmospheric CO2 levels “normal” in the context of the variation that has happened over the last
400,000 years? By how much do they differ?

The Current dimsphere CO a Kids are not Normal in

the Cortext of the var iation that has

hoped o ver the
Last 400,000 Years Until 1950 the .
,
Maxi mm C。2 Nd

www.sina.ethenitkeepsincreasing.andhits4ooppmat
(pas per will Ion ) was 3 0 h 0 。
,

the Current Level .

and Current
levelsarelooppmhighercompwedtothevariat.in
They di Mer by 10 0
ppm
hoped that has o ver

the Last 400,000 Years .