A Tropical Perspective on 20th Century Climate Change from Ice Core Histories and Glacier Area and Volume Measurement from the Quelccaya and Coropuna Ice Caps in the Southern Andes

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

This award will help obtain and analyze four ice cores to bedrock from the Quelccaya and Coropuna ice caps in the Peruvian Andes. These new cores, covering the last 10,000 years will provide a more robust and detailed history of Pacific sea surface temperature variability than has been possible with previous cores. Approximately 6,000 samples will be obtained from each core for stable isotopes of oxygen and deuterium, insoluble dust concentration and size distribution, and soluble aerosol chemistry analyses. These and other proxy measurements will be used to reconstruct a regional temperature and precipitation history and produce a high-resolution record of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variations. In addition, black carbon and fire history will be attempted on tropical ice cores for the first time. Other aspects of this research will address the current rates of retreat for the Quelccaya and document a baseline extent and thickness for the Coropuna ice cap and its relation to changing climate. A number of Peruvian scientists and students will be engaged in both the field and laboratory aspects of the project. This participation provides scientists from a developing nation the opportunity to participate in a "state of the art" ice core drilling and analysis project. Collaborating colleagues represent three Peruvian organizations: the government, industry and a university. The results from the ice core analyses as well as the glacier area and volume measurements will have significant social and economic implications for Peru's water resources that are used for irrigation, hydroelectric production, and municipal water supplies.