Denali Ice Core Record of North Pacific Hydroclimate, Temperature and Atmospheric Circulation over the Past Millennium

Abstract:

While tree ring and lake sediment core studies have revealed a great deal about North Pacific (e.g. Alaska) surface temperature variability over the past millennium, we do not have an equivalent understanding of North Pacific hydroclimate variability or temperatures at high elevations. A millennial-length precipitation proxy record is needed to place late 20^th century Alaskan precipitation increases into longer context, and to evaluate hydroclimate changes during the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly. High-elevation summer temperature records would be valuable for understanding the sensitivity of Alaskan glaciers to past warm and cool periods. Here we present an overview of the new Denali Ice Core record collected from the summit plateau (4000 m a.s.l.) of Mt. Hunter (63° N, 151° W) in Denali National Park, Alaska. Two parallel ice cores were collected to bedrock (208 m in length) in May-June 2013, sampled using the Dartmouth continuous melter system, and analyzed for major ions, trace elements, particle concentration and size distribution, and stable isotope ratios at Dartmouth and the Universities of Maine and New Hampshire. The cores are dated using robust annual oscillations in dust elements, methanesulfonate, ammonium, and stable isotopes, and validated using major volcanic eruptions recorded as sulfate, chloride and heavy metal spikes, and the 1963 nuclear weapons testing ¹³⁷Cs spike. Preliminary analyses indicate a significant increase in both summer temperature and annual accumulation over the 20^th century, and significant relationships with major ocean-atmospheric modes including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. We compare the new Denali record to the Eclipse Icefield and Mt. Logan ice core records and develop composite records of North Pacific hydroclimate and atmospheric circulation variability over the past millennium.