Françoise Vimeux

A Review of Antarctic Surface Snow Isotopic Composition: Observations, Atmospheric Circulation, and Isotopic Modeling*

A database of surface Antarctic snow isotopic composition is constructed using available measurements, with an estimate of data quality and local variability. Although more than 1000 locations are documented, the spatial coverage remains uneven with a majority of sites located in specific areas of East Antarctica. The database is used to analyze the spatial variations in snow isotopic composition with respect to geographical characteristics (elevation, distance to the coast) and climatic features (temperature, accumulation) and with a focus on deuterium excess. The capacity of theoretical isotopic, regional, and general circulation atmospheric models (including “isotopic” models) to reproduce the observed features and assess the role of moisture advection in spatial deuterium excess fluctuations is analyzed.

Water‐stable isotopes in the LMDZ4 general circulation model: Model evaluation for present‐day and past climates and applications to climatic interpretations of tropical isotopic records

We present simulations of water-stable isotopes from the LMDZ general circulation model (the LMDZ-iso GCM) and evaluate them at different time scales (synoptic to interannual). LMDZ-iso reproduces reasonably well the spatial and seasonal variations of both delta O-18 and deuterium excess. When nudged with reanalyses, LMDZ-iso is able to capture the synoptic variability of isotopes in winter at a midlatitude station, and the interannual variability in mid and high latitudes is strongly improved. The degree of equilibration between the vapor and the precipitation is strongly sensitive to kinetic effects during rain reevaporation, calling for more synchronous vapor and precipitation measurements. We then evaluate the simulations of two past climates: Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka) and Mid-Holocene (6 ka). A particularity of LMDZ-iso compared to other isotopic GCMs is that it simulates a lower d excess during the LGM over most high-latitude regions, consistent with observations. Finally, we use LMDZ-iso to explore the relationship between precipitation and delta O-18 in the tropics, and we discuss its paleoclimatic implications. We show that the imprint of uniform temperature changes on tropical delta O-18 is weak. Large regional changes in delta O-18 can, however, be associated with dynamical changes of precipitation. Using LMDZ as a test bed for reconstructing past precipitation changes through local delta O-18 records, we show that past tropical precipitation changes can be well reconstructed qualitatively but not quantitatively. Over continents, nonlocal effects make the local reconstruction even less accurate.

Glacial–interglacial changes in ocean surface conditions in the Southern Hemisphere

The stable-isotope signatures of oxygen and hydrogen in the water of preserved ice and snow are both widely used to infer local temperatures of past environments. A derived quantity based on these two signatures, the ‘deuterium excess’, provides additional palaeoclimatic information, as this parameter depends on the meteorological and oceanic characteristics of the waters source-regions (in particular, their temperature, and relative humidity). Published studies mainly focus on records from the past 40,000 years. Here we present a deuterium-excess history obtained from ice cores from Vostok, East Antarctica, spanning the full glacial–interglacial cycle of the past 150,000 years. The deuterium-excess record shows a strong anticorrelation with the Earths orbital obliquity (∼41,000-year periodicity), and values are markedly higher during the cold stage 5d (following the last interglacial) than during the other cold stages. We interpret the relationship with obliquity as resulting from changes in the latitudinal insolation gradient affecting ocean surface conditions and, thus, the delivery of moisture to the polar region. We argue that the high 5d values, relative to other cold stages, are driven by relatively less moisture delivered from high latitudes, and more from low latitudes. The deuterium-excess in Antarctic precipitation thus provides long-term, spatially integrated information on ocean surface conditions and ocean/atmosphere circulations in the Southern Hemisphere.

Covariation of carbon dioxide and temperature from the Vostok ice core after deuterium-excess correction

Ice-core measurements of carbon dioxide and the deuterium palaeothermometer reveal significant covariation of temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations throughout the climate cycles of the past ice ages. This covariation provides compelling evidence that CO2 is an important forcing factor for climate. But this interpretation is challenged by some substantial mismatches of the CO2 and deuterium records, especially during the onset of the last glaciation, about 120 kyr ago. Here we incorporate measurements of deuterium excess from Vostok in the temperature reconstruction and show that much of the mismatch is an artefact caused by variations of climate in the water vapour source regions. Using a model that corrects for this effect, we derive a new estimate for the covariation of CO2 and temperature, of r2 = 0.89 for the past 150 kyr and r2 = 0.84 for the period 350–150 kyr ago. Given the complexity of the biogeochemical systems involved, this close relationship strongly supports the importance of carbon dioxide as a forcing factor of climate. Our results also suggest that the mechanisms responsible for the drawdown of CO2 may be more responsive to temperature than previously thought.

A 420,000 year deuterium excess record from East Antarctica: Information on past changes in the origin of precipitation at Vostok

Here we present and analyze the complete Vostok ice cores deuterium excess record which spans the last four climatic cycles, back to ∼420,000 years B.P. To extract paleoclimate information from this record, we use isotopic modeling showing that changes in deuterium excess (d = δD-8δ18O) of Vostok precipitation reflect changes in the average temperature of oceanic moisture sources. Over the last 250,000 years the deuterium excess is strongly anticorrelated with changes in Earths obliquity. This reflects changes in the relative contribution of low and high latitudes to the Vostok precipitation, resulting from changes in the latitudinal annual mean insolation gradient governed by the obliquity. However, this modulation by obliquity is not observed prior to 250,000 years B.P. We attribute this difference to the ice flow, the deeper ice under Vostok station having accumulated in a location upstream Vostok, receiving precipitation from different oceanic origins. Despite this difference between the earlier and the later portions of the record, the deuterium excess changes during all the glacial inceptions are similar in amplitude and timing relative to the deuterium decrease. The glacial inceptions are characterized by high deuterium excess, indicating the significant role of the tropics in supplying moisture to the already cold poles.

The pH-dependent dissolution of wind-transported saharan dust

An open flow reactor was developed and used to study the pH dependency of atmospheric aerosol weathering. Under ultraclean conditions, this reactor enables experiments below the saturation of hydroxy salts and over the short time span (2 hours) that is typical for weathering by rain and cloud water. The weathering simulations show a two-step process of dissolution rates: First, the rate increases quickly during the hydration of the solid particle surface, then after a maximum, it progressively decreases. In general, there is an increase in the dissolution rate of dissolved elements as the pH is lowered. However, between pH 3.80 and 5.30, the dissolution rate for Fe and Cu depends on both H+ and OH− concentrations and exhibits a minimum as a function of pH. This minimum can be related to pHpzc of the mineral containing these elements. The affinity of minerals for H+ was also determined by correlating hydration constants and pH.

Holocene hydrological cycle changes in the Southern Hemisphere documented in East Antarctic deuterium excess records

Abstract Four Holocene-long East Antarctic deuterium excess records are used to study past changes of the hydrological cycle in the Southern Hemisphere. We combine simple and complex isotopic models to quantify the relationships between Antarctic deuterium excess fluctuations and the sea surface temperature (SST) integrated over the moisture source areas for Antarctic snow. The common deuterium excess increasing trend during the first half of the Holocene is therefore interpreted in terms of a warming of the average ocean moisture source regions over this time. Available Southern Hemisphere SST records exhibit opposite trends at low latitudes (warming) and at high latitudes (cooling) during the Holocene. The agreement between the Antarctic deuterium excess and low-latitude SST trends supports the idea that the tropics dominate in providing moisture for Antarctic precipitation. The opposite trends in SSTs at low and high latitudes can potentially be explained by the decreasing obliquity during the Holocene inducing opposite trends in the local mean annual insolation between low and high latitudes. It also implies an increased latitudinal insolation gradient that in turn can maintain a stronger atmospheric circulation transporting more tropical moisture to Antarctica. This mechanism is supported by results from a mid-Holocene climate simulation performed using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model.

Understanding the Sahelian water budget through the isotopic composition of water vapor and precipitation

The goal of this paper is to investigate the added value of water isotopic measurements to estimate the relative influence of large-scale dynamics, convection, and land surface recycling on the Sahelian water budget. To this aim, we use isotope data in the lower tropospheric water vapor measured by the SCIAMACHY and TES satellite instruments and in situ precipitation data from the Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation and collected during the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis field campaign, together with water-tagging experiments with the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique general circulation model (LMDZ) fitted with isotopes. We show that some isotopic biases in LMDZ reveal the misrepresentation of dehydrating processes that would be undetected without isotopic measurements. In dry regions, the vapor isotopic composition is primarily controlled by the intensity of the air dehydration. In addition, it may also keep some memory of dehydration pathways that is erased in the humidity distribution, namely the relative contribution of dehydration in the tropical upper troposphere versus midlatitudes. In wet regions, vapor and rain isotope compositions are primarily controlled by changes in convection, through rain reevaporation and through the progressive depletion of the vapor by convective mixing along air mass trajectories. Gradients in vapor isotope composition along air mass trajectories may help estimate continental recycling intensity, provided that we could quantify the effect of convection on the isotopic composition of water vapor.

What controls the isotopic composition of the African monsoon precipitation? Insights from event-based precipitation collected during the 2006 AMMA field campaign

[1] The stable isotopic composition of the tropical precipitation constitutes a useful tool for paleoclimate reconstructions and to better constrain the water cycle. To better understand what controls the isotopic composition of tropical precipitation, we analyze the d 18 O and deuterium-excess of the precipitation of individual events collected in the Niamey area (Niger) during the monsoon season, as part of the 2006 AMMA field campaign. During the monsoon onset, the abrupt increase of convective activity over the Sahel is associated with an abrupt change in the isotopic composition. Before the onset, when convective activity is scarce, the rain composition records the intensity and the organization of individual convective systems. After the onset, on the contrary, it records a regional-scale intra-seasonal variability over the Sahel, by integrating convective activity both spatially and temporally over the previous days.

Deuterium excess in marine water vapor: Dependency on relative humidity and surface wind speed during evaporation

We provide the first continuous measurements of isotopic composition (δD and δ18O) of water vapor over the subtropical Eastern North Atlantic Ocean from mid-August to mid-September 2012. The ship was located mostly around 26°N, 35°W where evaporation exceeded by far precipitation and water vapor at 20 m largely originated from surface evaporation. The only large deviations from that occurred during a 2 day period in the vicinity of a weak low-pressure system. The continuous measurements were used to investigate deuterium excess (d-excess) relation to evaporation. During 25 days d-excess was negatively correlated with relative humidity (r2 = 0.89). Moreover, d-excess estimated in an evaporative model with a closure assumption reproduced most of the observed variability. From these observations, the d-excess parameter seems to be a good indicator of evaporative conditions. We also conclude that in this region, d-excess into the marine boundary layer is less affected by mixing with the free troposphere than the isotopic composition. From our data, the transition from smooth to rough regime at the ocean surface is associated with a d-excess decrease of 5‰, which suggests the importance of the ocean surface roughness in controlling d-excess in this region.