Continuous 25-yr aerosol records at coastal Antarctica Part 2: variability of the radionuclides (7)Be, (10)Be and (210)Pb

Author(s)

Christoph Elsässer, Dietmar Wagenbach, Rolf Weller, Rainer Matthias Auer, Anton Wallner, Marcus Christl

Abstract

We investigated the variability of (210)Pb, (7)Be and (10)Be in coastal Antarctic aerosol samples based on continuous, monthly and annually resolved time series obtained from Neumayer Station over the period 1983 to 2008. Clear seasonal cycles peaking in the local summer half year stand out as a common feature of all three radionuclide records. Time series analyses suggest that significant multiannual changes are confined to a 4-6 yr periodicity resembling that of the Southern Annual Mode index in case of (210)Pb and to the expected decadal solar cycle in case of the cosmogenic Be-isotopes. Both, changes in the meridional transport and surface inversion strength appear to drive the seasonal (210)Pb cycle, which generally peaks in November. In contrast, stratospheric air mass intrusions are proved to be the main reason for the Be-isotopes seasonality. This finding is revealed by enhanced (10)Be/(7)Be ratios occurring during late summer / early autumn broadly concurrently with the individual Be-isotopes and the (7)Be/(210)Pb ratio. The (10)Be and (7)Be records clearly reflect the decadal, solar-modulated production signal but, for unknown reasons, they substantially differ in their detailed pattern. It is ruled out, that an excess (7)Be production by solar energetic particles was responsible for this mismatch.

Organisation(s)

Isotope Physics

External organisation(s)

Scientific Software Center, Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich

Journal

Tellus. Series B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

Volume

63

Pages

920-934

No. of pages

15

ISSN

0280-6509

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2011.00543.x

Publication date

2011

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103005 Atomic physics, 105904 Environmental research

Portal url

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/continuous-25yr-aerosol-records-at-coastal-antarctica-part-2-variability-of-the-radionuclides-7be-10be-and-210pb(e315e5b7-d432-4258-9209-8fc038e9fbf3).html