Aerosol and chemical measurements from ice cores, Summit, Greenland, 1446-1763

The main research goal of this project was to provide the first reliable record of pre-industrial carbon monoxide concentration ([CO]) and stable isotopes (δ13CO and δ18CO) in the Arctic atmosphere which is representative of a large part of the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Two large diameter ice cores were collected near Summit, Greenland. The deeper core drilled near the old EUROCORE site provides ice from 80 to 170 m depth (air age from ~1960 to ~1640 AD). A second, shallower core drilled near Summit Station provides ice from 80 to 98 m depth (air age from ~1890 to ~1960). Continuous analyses of trace chemistry were used to establish the ice core chronology and improve understanding of mechanisms of in situ CO production in ice.