LGM-Holocene changes and Holocene millennial-scale oscillations of dust particles in the EPICA Dome C ice core, East Antarctica

Measurements of the concentration and size distribution of dust particles found in the EPICA (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) Dome C ice core, East Antarctica, provide records covering the last 27 000 years. The total concentration decreased drastically by a factor of 55 from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (800 ppb) to the Holocene (15 ppb), with a well-marked absolute minimum around 11 500-11 600 years ago. This latter almost corresponds to the end of the Younger Dryas in Greenland, which was marked by a methane peak related to the expansion of tropical wetlands. Assuming that the source region for Antarctic dust is the southern part of South America, the Antarctic dust minimum suggests a larger geographical extent for this wet period. The volume (mass) -size distribution of the particles displays a mode which is close to 2 μm in diameter, shifting from 1.9 μm in the glacial period to 2.07 μm in the Holocene. As opposed to previous results from old Dome C, EPICA suggests a greater proportion of large particles in Holocene samples than in LGM samples. In addition, for the period 13 000-2000 BP, structured millennial-scale oscillations of the dust mode appear. These are especially well marked before 5000 years ago, with higher frequencies also present. The difference between LGM and Holocene particle distributions may be related to changes in the pattern of dust transport to East Antarctica. At Dome C the greater proportion of coarse particles observed during the Holocene suggests greater direct meridional transport. During the LGM, atmospheric circulation was likely more zonal, causing a greater amount of large dust particles to be removed from the atmosphere before reaching Antarctica. Changes in atmospheric circulation could also be the cause of the millennial-scale dust-mode oscillations during the Holocene.